Dell Dimension E310 review (Pentium 4 521 2.8GHz, 256MB RAM, 80GB HDD, XP Media Center 2005)

The included monitor is an analog-only Dell E176FP 17-inch LCD, although you can bundle a variety of 19- and 20-inch LCDs starting at an additional $150. The integrated Audigy Sound Blaster audio is fine for all but the most discerning audiophiles, and the included Dell A525 30-watt 2.1 speakers offer surprisingly good sound for a system with such a small subwoofer. The bundled software package, which Dell calls its Starter Entertainment Pack, includes the Musicmatch audio player and Corel Photo Album 6 Starter Edition.

Despite the lack of standard FireWire ports, internal expansion slots, or Media Center hardware, one thing the Dell Dimension E310 does provide is advanced data security, namely Dell's DataSafe hardware-and-software-based data-protection solution. In a nutshell, DataSafe is a dual-drive RAID 1 array with a software component that automates backups. Our review unit came with dual 80GB hard drives, but only one of them was available to us for storage. The other remained invisible, taking regular snapshots of the visible drive. Should the system ever suffer a major hardware malfunction or fall prey to a malicious spyware agent, a few mouse clicks would send the backup software (in this case, Norton Ghost) into action, restoring the main drive with a snapshot taken before the trauma occurred. You can also opt for a DataSafe arrangement that uses two 160GB drives.

The Dimension E310 comes standard with a one-year warranty, which includes at-home service and 24/7 phone (not toll-free) and online support, including chat. Dell provides useful printed documentation and an incredibly thorough Web-based support center. Adding a second year costs $80, while the premium hand-holding service Dell On Call, which can help with anything from hardware problems to spyware, costs $49 for 30 days.

Application performance
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

BAPCo's SysMark 2004 rating

SysMark 2004 Internet-content-creation rating

Dell Dimension E510 (3.0GHz Intel Pentium 4 531, 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz)

161 

187 

eMachines T6420 (2.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 3400+, 1,024MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz)

159 

184 

Gateway DX200X (3.06GHz Intel Pentium 4 519, 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz)

159 

170 

Dell Dimension E310 (2.8GHz Intel Pentium 4 521, 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz)

158 

179 

HP Compaq Presario SR1620NX (2.0GHz AMD Sempron 3400+, 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz)

146 

162 

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System configurations:
Dell Dimension E310
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 2.8GHz Intel Pentium 4 521; Intel 915G chipset; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz; integrated Intel 915G graphics chip using 128MB shared memory; two WDC WD1600JS-75MHB0 160GB Serial ATA 7,200rpm; integrated Intel 82801FR Serial ATA RAID Controller (RAID 0)

Dell Dimension E510
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 3GHz Intel Pentium 4 531; Intel 945G chipset; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz; 128MB ATI Radeon X300 SE (PCIe); Maxtor 6L160M0 160GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA

eMachines T6420
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; 2.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 3400+; Nvidia C51G chipset; 1,024MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; integrated Nvidia GeForce 6100 graphics chip using 256MB shared memory; Seagate ST3200826A 200GB 7,200rpm IDE

Gateway DX200X
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 3.06GHz Pentium 4 519; Intel 915G chipset; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; integrated Intel 915G graphics chip using 128MB shared memory; Seagate ST3160023AS 160GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA

HP Compaq Presario SR1620NX
Windows XP Home SP2; 2GHz AMD Sempron 3400+; ATI Radeon RS480 chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; integrated ATI Radeon Xpress 200 graphics chip using 256MB shared memory; Seagate ST3160021A 160GB 7,200rpm EIDE