By Chris Stevens, CNET UK
06/12/2005
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/pcperipherals/0,39051161,39096665p,00.htm

Eschewing the traditional bland beige-and-black cases popular with most PC manufacturers, Dell has taken a bold new direction with the 5150. Gone are the black chassis and the floppy disc drive. While the front of the new case is not going to be exhibited in the Tate Modern, the sides are a glorious, relaxing blanc.

Editors' note : The Dimension 5150 is identical to Dell's 5100 model except that the former houses an upgraded processor. Other than an expected increase in benchmark results, the user experience for both models should be identical.

The changes to Dell's new desktop lineup are more than cosmetic: The 5100 can be equipped with up to 4GB RAM (though current versions of Windows can use only 2GB of this). There's also a range of optional harddisk setups that allow for RAID configurations that were previously the sole preserve of much more expensive machines.

Design
Although the new white livery is the most arresting part of the new design, the 5100's chassis is better equipped for quick access to internal components--the clumsy opening mechanism of earlier Dell desktops has been updated with an extremely simple side-panel release system. This side panel can be removed from the case by pulling on a handle positioned on the top of the chassis. Once it's detached, the harddisks, memory and PCI slots are unveiled. Replacing the panel can be fiddly, but a hinged panel would have been more inconvenient, especially where access might be restricted by whatever else lurks on, or under, your desk.

	Futuristic design but with a boring front. (Click for larger image)

We don't expect to see a Dell machine on the cover of Wallpaper magazine, but the 5100 uses a quite unusual air cooling method. The front of the chassis has a cutout section running through it, just behind the fascia. Hot air is propelled from the inside of the case and expelled into this cutout, and out either side. It's an interesting way to cool the front of the unit without having to introduce complex venting channels. What could have been a very clumsy situation (a fan in the front of the case) has been turned into a fairly elegant feature of the chassis design, one that overcomes the cooling problems created by jamming the back of your PC up against a wall. The dual-core Intel processor that the 5100 uses can run quite hot and would explain Dell's sensible provision of ventilation.

The front of the case is a return to the uninspiring 1980s era of PC design. It's a boring grey-and-black panel. Our test machine came with a DVD writer, but no floppy drive (although it's available as a S$15.75 extra). In the slot where you'd expect to find a floppy drive, there are CF, SmartMedia, MS and SD/MMC card readers--a godsend for digital camera enthusiasts. The back of the chassis is also a clean and tidy design with clearly marked cable sockets and a large ventilation grill.

Features
The 5100 comes with Windows XP preinstalled. It's a sensible choice, but won't--at least in its current incarnation--take advantage of the dual-core processor. You'll have to install Linux or wait for future versions of Windows before your 5100 can be driven to its limits. The processor in our review model was a 3.4GHz Pentium 4 with 1MB L2 cache, the highest processor chip available. This makes it a sturdy home-office workhorse, with plenty of headroom for more advanced applications like amateur video editing and retouching digital photos. The 800MHz front side bus also provides respectable bandwidth, and won't be taxed by anything that a user at the entry level of the market is likely to throw at it.

The graphics card on our review model was a 128MB ATI X300 , and this provides sufficient clout for basic gaming, but there is also the option to configure the 9100 with the 256MB ATI X600 , a more boisterous graphics card, but which nevertheless can't deliver the kind of punch that today's really demanding games beg for. While this won't flummox a business user, your offspring may scream and shout if the neighbour's highend PC plays Battlefield 2 three times as fast.

Chock full with computing goodness. (Click for larger image)

The card on our 5100 provided both old school VGA and the newer DVI connectors. If you're looking for a monitor for use with the Dell, we'd strongly recommend you opt for a DVI model, as the sharpness and clarity of these new digital screens can't be beaten. A DVI monitor requires special cables, but these are bundled with most monitors. There was also an S-video out on the Dell, which is useful for connection to a projector or television screen. It's a feature we're more used to seeing on laptops, and domestic applications for the S-video out may be limited. Still, it's an interesting video output alternative and will let you watch DVDs or downloaded movies on your home TV.

As with most tower PCs, because of the easy access to internal components, you can swap out harddisks, motherboards and PCI cards with relative ease. Most users probably won't need to upgrade components in the 5100. It seems fair to assume that extreme gamers will not be opting for the 5100, in which case you're unlikely to need much more power than the 5100 provides. It's an extremely swift machine for home computing tasks. Unless Microsoft releases a horribly processor-intensive version of Windows in the near future (and that's not beyond the bounds of possibility) the 5100, while no gaming monster, is capable even as a professional's machine. The only upgrade that seems immediately obvious is to equip the 5100 with FireWire so that footage can be transferred from your DV camcorder for editing--an option on Dell's Configure page that's just S$26.25.

Performance
The 5100 is so cheap at S$1,688.40 for the basic version that it's almost disposable. Dell is a business-studies textbook example of economies of scale in action. Judging from our experience of the machine, it's extremely capable, despite its low price sticker, and its build quality matched what we'd seen from the slightly pricier Dimension 9100: Both were very solid, respectable chassis. Office applications on the 5100 ran like a tornado, but predictably cracks began to show when we fired up Battlefield 2. The comparison between the 5100 and a dedicated games machine seems unfair to make, but for reference at least know that the 5100 won't deliver much more gaming chutzpah than a PlayStation 2.

Playing Hitman: Contracts, an older game, revealed that textures rendered at a reasonable pace and the general gaming experience was not overly sluggish. Understandably, the 5100 is not pitched as a gaming machine. However, in all tasks other than games it bumbled along at a sprightly jaunt. Home users on a budget should consider the 5100 as their first port of call. In a low-cost PC retail landscape riddled with Fagin-like conmen and DIY systems held together with bailing twine, the Dell 5100 comes as a welcome relief.

Service And Support
Dell offers a one-year next business day onsite warranty which covers parts and labor. The company's support Web site contains a knowledge database for basic troubleshooting and downloading of updated drivers. Optional warranty options include extended three-year warranty, HelpDesk, onsite service during nights and weekends, and Plus Phone support can be purchased together with the system. Plus Phone support extends the technical phone support to include Saturdays. HelpDesk coverage provides a 24-hour phone support to an expert who can help with any problems related to Dell hardware and peripherals and even some third-party software from major vendors like Microsoft Office. The full package, which includes all the optional warranty options, will cost S$216.56. If only three-year warranty with night and weekend onsite service is required, the additional cost is just S$31.50.