Dell Dimension 4600c

Dell Dimension 4600C Review

by Mick Lockey

- What's Hot: Dell's 4600C--a black and silver compact system that can stand horizontally, or vertically using its included T-shaped supporting base--comes with a well-rounded set of features for home entertainment. Foremost among the features on our test unit was its operating system, Windows XP Media Center 2004, a special version of XP designed for entertainment functions; the new version of the OS includes Microsoft's latest interface updates and improvements for navigating through recorded TV and playing back music.Our test unit came stocked with a series of notebook-style components--including a slimline 2X DVDA+R/RW drive and two PC Card slots (two adapters, one for CompactFlash cards and another for reading SD, Smart Media, and Memory Stick, are included). The use of notebook components is a necessary concession to the unit's small form.The two slim drive bays--the maximum the 4600C can handle--host a 120GB hard drive and the aforementioned DVD burner. The drives are stacked together and secured in mounting rails with squeezable tabs that are designed to help you release them (sans tools) from their bays for service, repair, or replacement.The 4600C has eight USB 2.0 ports (two up front, six on the back), as much as you'll find even on full-size towers; the ports help mitigate the system's lack of internal expansion capability. The motherboard has only one PCI slot, but it also has integrated 5.1-channel surround sound, so you can listen to DVDs in all their glory despite the absence of a fancy sound card. You can connect A/V components via S/PDIF, too. Coaxial-in and S-Video out ports let you hook the PC to a TV or set-top box. One FireWire port is up front; another is at the rear. The E171 17-inch LCD--a no-frills analog display--performed very well in our tests for image quality. As we've said before, we like its rendering of bright colors.