Dell Dimension XPS R450

Dell Dimension XPS R450

If you're venturing away from the corporate fold, Dell's top-of-the-line Windows 98 midtower is a terrific choice. Dell upgraded this system with one of the new, faster 4.8X DVD-ROM drives and increased the video memory from 4MB to 8MB, while decreasing the price slightly by $18, to $2561. The Dimension's speed, multimedia features, and good reliability and support ratings make it one of our top choices for small businesses or home offices.

This Dimension sports the fastest processor currently available, the 450-MHz Pentium II, and it shows: The R450 slung bloatware like Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer onto the screen almost instantly. Its outstanding PC WorldBench 98 score of 212 is one of the fastest among PII-450 systems. You also get a 10GB hard drive--plenty of space to store bulky files--plus an Iomega Zip drive.

Multimedia capability is one of the XPS R450's strengths. DVD video played back smoothly, thanks to the included MPEG-2 decoder board. The substantial 128MB of RAM and 17-inch Trinitron monitor also helped. Even during fast-motion scenes and with a half-dozen applications churning in the background, playback was flawless. The Altec Lansing ACS295 speaker-subwoofer combo was a little thin on bass, but the sound was powerful and crisp, and the tone was as clear as a bell. Just make sure you have enough room under your desk--the subwoofer is the size of a small microwave oven.

In every other respect, the Dimension XPS R450 is a nicely built system. It comes with well-written manuals (which we hardly needed for setup, owing to clearly labeled and color-coded cables), and Dell backs the XPS R450 with a support policy that includes around-the-clock technical phone support.

SUMMARY

PRO: Impressive performance, upgraded DVD-ROM drive and video memory CON: Included subwoofer is somewhat large