CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 02/14/2006
- Updated on: 11/07/2009
Entry-level PCs usually scrape the bottom of the barrel in terms of components and performance; they're good for Web surfing, e-mailing, and word processing--and not much else. With the Dimension E310, Dell is raising the bar (and the price). Dell calls the E310 ($957 with monitor and speakers) an entry-level multimedia computer, largely because it uses the Media Center version of Windows XP. For serious multimedia work and frequent multitasking, we suggest a dual-core system such as Dell's own XPS 200 or the HP Media Center m7260n Photosmart PC. Choose the Dimension E510 for basic tasks and more occasional use. In the E310's favor are its attractive price (the baseline model costs $499), its 64-bit-capable processor, and Dell's DataSafe hard drive backup solution. We just wish it used a more recent chipset and offered a graphics upgrade path.
From the outside, the silver-and-black Dimension E310 looks about as middle-of-the-road as you can get--understated and unadorned. A cutout directly behind the front panel provides a centrally located fan exhaust--a staple of its BTX design. A media-card reader, a double-layer DVD burner, and a single USB 2.0 port are all you find up front. A FireWire port is available as a $30 option (although it should come standard).
When you pull the case-release lever and remove the side panel, you'll find that the case interior is well laid out, offering easy access to all components and slots. The drives are easily removed, and the cables are well managed. But you may be a bit dismayed with the internal expansion option. While the E310 has two PCI slots and a single PCI Express x1 slot, it lacks a dedicated x16 PCI Express slot for graphics cards. The integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics of the 915G chipset are your only option. By contrast, the $599 eMachines T6420 (the price works out to be approximately the same as the E310's when you add a monitor) features an x16 PCI Express slot, which lets you upgrade the graphics down the road. Even the budget AMD Sempron-based HP Compaq Presario SR1620NX supplies an x16 PCI Express slot.
The Dimension E310 comes standard with 512MB of DDR2 RAM, which is barely enough for most users. Fortunately, upgrading is fairly painless--only $30 for an upgrade to 1GB. Upgrading to the system's 2GB maximum capacity will set you back $180.
CPU choices are slightly more limited. Our review unit came with a 2.8GHz Pentium 4 521 processor. It's not anywhere near the top of the line, but it helped the E310 run 12 percent faster than the Pentium 4 519-based Gateway DX200X on CNET Labs' SysMark 2004 application benchmarks. If you want even more speed, the 3GHz P4 630 makes a worthy $40 upgrade. Your only other CPU option is the 3.2GHz P4 640 (a $90 upgrade). Besides running faster, the 600-series CPUs offer a 2MB L2 cache rather than the 1MB cache on the 521 series. Intel's 915 chipset is fine, especially for a budget system, but it's not the company's most recent.
The combination of midrange CPUs with a lack of video-card options means the Dimension E310 won't do much for you as a gaming system. Frame rates were too low to run Half-Life 2, although older games, such as Unreal Tournament 2004, should run at lower resolutions.
Dell ships the Dimension E310 with the Windows Media Center Edition operating system, giving users an easy way to manage photos, music, and videos. If you want a physical restore CD for the operating system, you'll need to spend an extra $10--a wise investment, even if you shouldn't really have to pay extra for it. Both the Media Center remote and a TV tuner card are optional. The remote alone costs $29, or you can get the remote and a basic single-tuner, standard-def ATI Theater 550-based TV tuner for $100. Plenty of other options are available off the shelf if you decide to add TV tuner functionality later on.
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