Dell Dimension 5100 user reviews (Pentium 4 3.4GHz, 256MB RAM, 80GB HDD, XP Home)

Pros New Box Design. Quiet!!

Cons Limited upgrades. Needs bigger PSU. Outsourced tech support from other countries is a BIG NEGITIVE!

Summary I am quite happy with my new Dimension 5100.

Dell could have offered a better video card option. The X600 ATI 256meg card is weak. I ended up buying a ATI X800XL 256meg PCIe card from another source.

Lack of a firewire built-in ports is a negative too. I got the SB Audigy 2 sound card just to have ONE firewire port.

Overall it is a nice machine. Easy to open up and swap out cards. Runs real quiet! Even after I installed the X800XL video card I can hardly hear it.

Paying extra for a resource disk was a gouge in my opinion. That should ALWAYS be included for no extra charge.

Also, Dell should offer different Power supply options. The 305w PSU is better then my older Dim 4600's 250w, however, We as consumers should be able to pick and choose a beefer power supply. This way we can put in better, more powerful Graphic cards.

Pros Great replacement for the 4700

Cons BTX chassis is cramped

Summary Overall good computer. Recommend this for people who don't like emachines. It'll give you the same performance and package deal, for not a huge premium over the t6522, alone with a cutting edge btx chassis. What it lacks is the 9-in-1 media card reader or a floppy drive, it can only have one. Other than that good buy.
Roger

Pros ...does everything I need it to do at a reasonable speed.

Cons ...after seeing the scaled down computer sizes Dell has to offer, the Dimension 5100 seems HUGE

Summary This system does everything I expected of it. I had it delivered with a Pentium-4@3.4GHz; 1Gb memory; 250Gb hard drive; dual DVD drives (the best); 24bit sound-blaster card; medium sized video card (256Mb); a 17" flat panel digital monitor. I watch and make DVDs, download movies, make CDs, watch movies, plus do all of my college work on it -- yeah, it's nice ^..^~~

Pros Fast, Quiet, Easy to Open, Works well with add-on PCI Video Capture Card

Cons Expandability (Only 1 PCI slot)

Summary Opinion: I am quite pleased with this PC’s value, versatility and speed. I purchased it to upgrade my 9 year old Gateway P-133 PC that was only still good getting email. Now I can capture, edit and burn home movies onto DVDs or CDs. I can also copy DVDs or CDs w/ the dual DVD drives. My only pet peeve was that the Jukebox Basic software that came pre-loaded only ran at 1/10’th speed. Every time I would rip a CD, I got their add saying that I could get the full-speed version for a modest fee. I then discovered that the MyDVD software on the box ripped CDs at full speed, so I un-installed the Junkbox Basic software and will never put it back. I’m trying to get away from watching TV, so I did not purchase a TV-tuner card. Now if only I could upgrade to Dell’s newer, slightly faster, more expandable, E510, I would be in heaven.

Cost: I paid approx. $1,490 (includes tax & shipping) for the hardware and warrantees listed below. The list price was $2,223 so I thought I got an excellent deal.

Hardware: I took advantage of their Employee Purchase program and a 30% off deal they had running for a few days (I haven’t seen this deal since), so I loaded up on some of the extras. Here is the complete list.

Dimension 5100: Intel(r) Pentium(r) 4 Processor 531 w/HT Technology (3GHz,800FSB)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 400MHz (4x256M)
Dell Wireless Keyboard and Optical Mouse
19 inch UltrasharpTM 1905FP Digital Flat Panel
128MB PCI ExpressTM x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X300 SE HyperMemory
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
9 in 1 Media Card Reader
Microsoft(r) Windows(r) XP Media Center 2005 Edition
Mouse included in Dell Wireless Package
Integrated Intel(r) PRO 10/100 Ethernet
56K PCI Data Fax Modem
Adobe(r) Acrobat(r) Reader 6.0
Dual Drives: SAVE $59! 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/dbl layer write
Integrated Audio with Dolby Digital 7.1 capability
Dell AS501 10W Flat Panel Attached Spkrs for UltraSharpTM Flat Panels
Microsoft Works Suite 2005 - Includes Word 2002, Streets & Trips 2005
McAfee SecurityCenter with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 15-months
Musicmatch(r) Jukebox Basic
Photo Album Premium - Archive, remove red-eye,create calendars and more
SAVE $60 (After Rebate) 4 Yr Ltd Warr, 4Yr At-Home plus Nights and Weekend
6 Months of America Online Membership Included
Microsoft(r) Windows(r) XP Media Center 2005 Edition backup CD
Free Dell Color Printer 720

Add-ons: I bought a $9.95 refurbed floppy disk drive to transfer some files from my older PC. I purchased Pinnacle’s Studio 9 AV/DV software/card for $89 and had no problem installing and using it. It works great w/ my older analog camcorder and my new digital camcorder. I have also captured VHS tapes from my VHS player using the analog capture port.