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Reviews

Dell Inspiron 530

CPU: 1.8-GHz Pentium Dual-Core E2160 • Graphics Adapter: Nvidia GeForce 8300GS • Monitor Model: Dell SE198WFP • Total HD Size (GB): 250 • WorldBench 6 Word Score: Superior • Price When Reviewed: $689
Dell Inspiron 530 (Front)
Dell Inspiron 530 (Front)
Dell Inspiron 530 (Back)
Dell Inspiron 530 (Open)
88.6 Very Good
Last updated
February 07, 2008
Test Center Reviewed by
Richard Jantz
Pros
  • Strong performance in all benchmarks
  • Discrete graphics card
Cons
  • FireWire ports not standard
  • Requires tools for upgrades
  • Pricing:Very Inexpensive: $689 (2/7/2008)
  • Performance:Superior: 95
  • Features:Very Good: 81
  • Design:Good: 79
Find out how these four scores, and their relative weights, combine to produce the PC World Rating.

Pricing Very Inexpensive: $689

Very Inexpensive: $689

Performance Superior: 95

Superior: 95
WorldBench 6 Tests - Superior: 73
WorldBench 6 Component Results (seconds)
Adobe Photoshop CS2 563 
Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 DirectX 448 
Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 Rendering 904 
Firefox 2 393 
Microsoft Office 2003 with SP-1 422 
Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9.0 304 
Multitasking 495 
Nero 7 Ultra Edition 777 
Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator 1.5 263 
Winzip Computing WinZip 10.0 302 
Graphics Tests (frames per second)
Overall Graphics Score Superior 
Doom 3, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit 35.1 
Doom 3, 1280 by 1024, 32-Bit 28.1 
Doom 3 with AA, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit 19.67 
Doom 3 with AA, 1280 by 1024, 32-Bit 15.7 
Far Cry, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit 46.85 
Far Cry, 1280 by 1024, 32-Bit 30.25 
Far Cry with AA, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit 29.19 
Far Cry with AA, 1280 by 1024, 32-Bit 16.61 

Features Very Good: 81

Very Good: 81
Basics
CPU 1.8-GHz Pentium Dual-Core E2160 
System Memory 2048 
Video & Display
Graphics Adapter Nvidia GeForce 8300GS 
Graphics Board Type PCI Express 
Graphics Board RAM (MB) 128 
Graphics Board RAM Type DDR2 
Monitor Model Dell SE198WFP 
Monitor Type LCD 
Monitor Size 19 
Storage
Hard Drives 1 
Total HD Size (GB) 250 
RAID Type none 
Optical Drive Type DVD±R DL/DVD±RW 
Optical Drive Speed 8 
Expansion
PCI Slots 2 
PCI Express Slots 2 
Open PCI Express X16 Slots 0 
Open PCI Express X1 Slots 1 
Open Slots 2 
External Drive Bays 3 
Open External Drive Bays 1 
Internal Drive Bays 2 
Open Internal Drive Bays 1 
Ports
Serial Ports 0 
Parallel Ports 0 
Front USB Ports 4 
Rear USB Ports 4 
Front FireWire Ports 0 
Rear FireWire Ports 0 
Other
Audio Adapter Model Integrated Realtek AC'97 Audio 
Audio Channels 7.1 surround 
Network Adapter 10/100 network adapter 
Case Type Midsize tower 
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium (32 bit) 
Included Software Roxio Creator DE, McAfee 
Warranty & Support
Labor Warranty (years) One 
Parts Warranty (years) One 
Weekday Support Hours 24 
Saturday Support Hours 24 
Sunday Support Hours 24 
Other Service Free onsite during warranty 
Toll-Free Support Yes 
Reliability & Service
Summary of results for all of brand's products in this category The company earned decent marks for reliability overall here, but it also attracted more gripes about long hold times for phone support. Once again, Dell's tech staff is good at solving problems. 
Reilability of brand's products in this category
Reports of products with core component problems Average 
Reports of products with failed components Average 
Reports of products with any significant problems Average 
Reports of products arriving with problems Average 
Overall satisfaction with reliability of brand's products in category Average 
Service & Support Quality
Time spent holding for phone support Worse than Average 
Overall quality of vendor's phone support Average 
Reports of problems unresolved after contacting service Better than Average 
Overall quality of service Better than Average 

Design Good: 79

Good: 79
About the Test Center

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