![]() Windows XP Home, Microsoft Works Suite 2004, Dell Picture Studio, and other programs for playing movies and music and burning CDs.
![]() roundup of budget systems may not be enough for some, however, depending on their needs. The Dell's older components and the fact that it shares memory with the graphics system hurt its performance. By sharing memory, both the graphics system and the overall system performance suffer, though in general, the Dimension 2400 does what it's supposed to do. You should have no problem browsing the Web, checking e-mail, playing movies and music, or running low-intensity productivity software. If you plan to use this machine for digital-video editing, playing games, or other more challenging tasks, you should look for a system such as the ABS Awesome 1300 at the minimum, since it has a discrete AGP graphics card.
Application performance (Longer bars indicate better performance)
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BAPCo SysMark 2004 rating | |
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SysMark 2004 Internet-content-creation rating | |
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SysMark 2004 office-productivity rating | |
To measure application performance, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's SysMark 2004, an industry-standard benchmark. Using off-the-shelf applications, SysMark measures a desktop's performance using office-productivity applications (such as Microsoft Office and McAfee VirusScan) and Internet-content-creation applications (such as Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Dreamweaver).
3D graphics and gaming performance
The Dimension 2400 is not intended to play 3D games, a fact demonstrated by the unplayable 10.6fps score on our Unreal Tournament 2003 benchmark. This should come as no surprise, given the aforementioned shared graphics memory and the low-end Intel graphics chip on the motherboard. What's more distressing is the lack of an AGP port. Essentially, this means that not only will the system fall short as a gaming system, you will also have very few options for upgrading after purchase. But again, if playing games is not your goal, this limitation will be of little concern.
3D gaming performance (in fps) (Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Unreal Tournament 2003 Flyby-Antalus 1,024x768 | |
To measure 3D gaming performance, CNET Labs uses Epic Games' Unreal Tournament 2003, widely used as an industry-standard benchmark. We use Unreal to measure a desktop's performance with the DirectX 8.0 (DX8) interface at a 32-bit color depth and at a resolution of 1,024x768 and 1,600x1,200. Antialiasing and anisotropic filtering are disabled during our 1,024x768 tests, and are set to 4X and 8X respectively during our 1,600x1,200 tests. At this color depth and these resolutions, Unreal provides an excellent means of comparing the performance of low-end to high-end graphics subsystems. We report the results of Unreal's Flyby-Antalus test in frames per second (fps).
Performance analysis written by CNET Labs technician David Gussman.
Find out more about how we test desktop systems.
System configurations:
ABS Awesome 1300
Windows XP Home; 1.92GHz AMD Athlon XP 2600+; Via KT600 chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440 64MB; Maxtor 6Y080P0 80GB 7,200rpm
Dell Dimension 2400
Windows XP Home; 2.66GHz Intel P4; Intel 8645G chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; integrated Intel 845G 64MB (shared memory); Seagate ST3120026A 120GB 7,200rpm
eMachines T3085
Windows XP Home; 2.17GHz AMD Athlon XP 3000+; Nvidia Nforce-2; 512MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; integrated GeForce4 MX 64MB; WDC WD1600BB-00FTA0 160GB 7,200rpm
Systemax Ascent 64
Windows XP Home; 2GHz AMD Athlon 64 3000+; Via K8T800 chipset; 256MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; ATI Radeon 7000 64MB; Samsung SP1203N 120GB 7,200rpm
Dell's well-written, well-illustrated user manual, plus the oversize quick-setup page, will answer almost all of your basic questions and get the Dimension 2400 out of the box and on (or under) your desk in no time at all. For more challenging issues, Dell provides 24/7, toll-free tech support. This system carries a one-year onsite parts-and-labor warranty, which can be extended and expanded with a variety of options and upgrades. You would be wise, though, to keep in mind the cost of that maximum extension compared to the $699 price of the system. Also pay attention to Dell's CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service: it's well worth the money if there are younger children in the house. Hide Review Average User Rating 2.5 stars out of 5 user reviews Rating Breakdown -
5 star: 1 -
4 star: 1 -
3 star: 1 -
2 star: 1 -
1 star: 1 My Rating 0 stars click stars to rate product Most recent user reviews Showing 3 of 5 reviews 5.0 stars Pros: Very Fast, Very reliable Cons: None to speak of Summary: I upgraded the processor to 2.44 (MHZ/GHZ?)Intel Pentium 4, so I do not have any of the graphics issues others have. Very nice. Very solid reliable performer. Summary: I upgraded the processor to 2.44 (MHZ/GHZ?)Intel Pentium 4, so I do not have any of the graphics issues others have. Very nice. Very solid reliable performer. 4.0 stars Pros: inexpensive, easily upgradeable Cons: could be a little faster Summary: I don't know why these other people gave such negative reports! There is open slots for graphic cards, sound cards, ram, etc. They should have read thoroughly about the computer before they bought it. Most celeron computers will not play graphic intense games without being choppy. If you want ... Expand full review Summary: I don't know why these other people gave such negative reports! There is open slots for graphic cards, sound cards, ram, etc. They should have read thoroughly about the computer before they bought it. Most celeron computers will not play graphic intense games without being choppy. If you want a gaming computer, buy a P4 or an
amd. Most computerphiles know that a celeron processor is not fast enough for these games. It works great for old atari type games, and some of the older less graphic intense games. I guess they thought they could get a top of the line computer for nothing. I just installed more memory and a tv tuner card, they work great. Thanks for your submission!
Which desktop is right for me?
Like most consumers, you probably have an idea of how much you want to spend on a desktop. But how do you ensure that you get exactly what you need? The different shapes and sizes, the wide range of configurations, and the seemingly constant arrival of new and faster technology all make for a difficult decision.
To help you find the right mix, we've outlined the four basic types of PC user in our handy buying guide. Chances are, you'll fall somewhere in between two or more of these archetypes, so carefully consider what you'll be using your new desktop for.
Read our guide
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