Dell Dimension 3000 Desktop Views

General Goods

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The Dell Dimension 3000 is based on Intel's 865G chipset, which offers plenty of benefits, such as support for dual-channel, 400MHz DDR memory and Intel's Extreme Graphics 2 technology. But we were miffed to see that the motherboard does not provide an AGP slot for graphics card upgrades. (Although Extreme Graphics 2 is an improvement over Intel's previous integrated graphics chips, it still has limitations.) The same is true with the floppy-drive slot: unless you have Dell install one at the time of purchase, the slot comes blocked and is therefore useless to you. And there's no option for adding a handy media-card reader--a choice that all of eMachines' current models offer.

The Dimension 3000's main attraction is the fact that it's highly configurable via Dell's Web site, while retail systems such as the eMachines T3256 ship as is. Our Dimension 3000 test system came with a 2.66GHz Celeron processor, 512MB of RAM, and DVD-ROM and CD-RW drives. You can, of course, configure it with a faster processor, including Pentium 4 chips, more memory, and higher-end optical drives. You'd do well to upgrade the tiny 40GB hard drive found on our test system, which provides a quarter of the capacity of the T3256's drive. For businesses looking for an inexpensive, no-frills PC, Dell's OptiPlex SX280 offers many of the same options in a much more compact case.

The Dimension 3000's design is tried-and-true, even if it's not particularly attractive--the trademark matte-black box with battleship-gray accents doesn't quite match the black-and-silver peripherals that come with it. A tool-free side panel slides open easily to reveal a roomy interior with two free PCI slots. Rear ports include four USB 2.0 connectors, while another USB 2.0 port and a headphone port adorn the front. The included Internet keyboard features the hardware volume wheel and audio buttons we've lauded in the past. Dual A215 stereo speakers provide basic sound, but Dell offers a number of options here, all the way up to a 5.1 surround-sound system for use with the optional SoundBlaster Live audio card (our test system relied on integrated sound, which provides 5.1 sound).