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| Dell Dimension 4100 |
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Hardware Reviews May 2001 • Vol.4 Issue 5 |
Dell Dimension 4100 | ||
 Once again, Dell fields a PC with an understated beige case, a boxy monitor, and a standard keyboard. By now, though, we know that Dimensions such as the 4100 ($1,449) have more "go" than "show." Although we can tell you right away this Dell felt fast with everything we did, we need to explain why. For starters it comes with a 1GHz Pentium III, which can actually outperform 1.3 to 1.5GHz Pentium 4s at many tasks (although Intel probably wouldn't want us to point that out). Dell chose to let this smart microprocessor run loose with a 133MHz system bus, which is the pathway to the 128MB of SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM). This fearsome hardware won't be left waiting for hard data, either. A 7,200rpm (revolutions per minute), 40GB Western Digital Caviar WD400BB hard drive loads applications and saves documents surprisingly quickly. It's worth the extra money in our book to specify a 7,200rpm drive instead of a typical 5,400rpm drive. Trust us—you'll feel a difference if you compare the two. The Dimension 4100 also has an NEC DV-5800A 16X DVD-ROM drive on deck, which was more than fast enough to handle our CD-ROMs, audio CDs, and "The Matrix" DVD. (NOTE: 1X equals 1.35MBps [megabytes per second] when we're talking about DVD drives.) Even the furious lobby firefight scene from the movie looked as smooth as the film version using the Dell's included WinDVD software. Dell's crisp 17-inch M781s monitor really was a pleasure to look at. At least its display was. It provided sharp characters and exquisite color, although we can't really call the monitor's case attractive. Perhaps we've been spoiled by all the sculpted PCs with artistic aspirations in this price category, but this great Dell, for all its plainness, outperforms most of them. When you frame the Dell monitor with the included harman/kardon HK-695 speakers, the effect is like planting roses in East Berlin circa the 1980s. The pretty harman/kardons look like champagne flutes. Although they're easy to topple, they sound great, especially when paired with the included subwoofer. This resonant third piece has controls for treble, bass, and the level of "surround" in the sound. One of the willowy speakers has up and down volume membrane buttons tastefully arranged on its crown. The effect is beautiful, but it's not quite as easy to grab as a good knob if you're in a hurry. The 32MB DDR (double-data-rate) ATI Radeon AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) 4X 3-D video card gave us exceptional Quake III Arena gameplay. This continued even up to a huge 1,600 x 1,200 resolution. The solid Microsoft Intellimouse wheel mouse helped make the game controllable. The 3DMark2000 benchmarking utility gave the Dell a score of 4,727 here. This Dimension is proof that you can get a gaming and cinematic powerhouse for less than $1,500. In other tests, the 4100 netted a 159 SYSmark2000 rating and an amazing 2,583 Video2000 score. The SYSmark2000 overall tally came out of a so-so 146 Office Productivity rating and a pretty good 179 Internet Content Creation score. Video2000, which gauges a video card's 2-D performance, really likes the ATI Radeon in this Dell. The system's 1,032 Quality score, 1,021 Performance rating, and 530 Features rating were all head and shoulders above the competition in a recent head-to-head review of systems $1,000 to $1,500. The Radeon's DDR memory even helped it beat the Gateway Performance 1000's GeForce2 MX in the 2-D Video2000 test, but it couldn't best the GeForce2 MX in a 3-D contest. The NVIDIA card walked away with the 3DMark2000 prize with a 4,802 rating. A structural bar along the 4100's left side is a minor obstacle to the mid-tower case's three unused PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slots, but the bar is easy to remove. You'll find a similarly clear path to the free DIMM (dual in-line memory module) slot; the motherboard can handle 512MB at the maximum. This Dell's mid-tower case has enough free bays for three more 3.5-inch drives, two of which can be accessible from the front of the computer if you remove their knockout panels. The 4100 also has room for another 5.25-inch drive, also front-accessible behind a removable panel. The latter would be the perfect place for a CD-RW (CD-rewriteable) drive in the future. CD-RW prices are dropping while their speeds are increasing, and there's no arguing with 650MB of storage on every 30- to 40-cent CD-R (CD-recordable). All of the Dell's interior upgradability is particularly nice, as it has only two USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports. The 4100 has a three-year hardware warranty, with one year in-home service and phone support as long as you own it. It also comes with a laundry list of good software such as Windows Me, Picture It! Publishing 2001, and Norton AntiVirus 2001. by Marty Sems
$1,449 Dell (800) 999-3355 (512) 338-4400 http://www.dell.com
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