Dell Dimension L466C review

Verdict:

Intel's new i810 chipset helps keep the cost down, and Dell has been generous with components and bundled software. Nevertheless, the absence of an AGP slot limits this system's upgrade potential.

Review Date: 1 Sep 1999

Price when reviewed: (£939)

Reviewed By: - Dominic Bucknall

Our Rating 5 stars out of 5

Altec Lansing knows its business, and the ACS340 speakers are loud, tuneful, and enriched by good bass response from the large sub-woofer accompanying the twin satellites.

The small motherboard permits the use of a tiny case about half the depth of a normal mini-tower, which will be handy if space is tight. A catch unlocks the cover, and the power supply hinges up and out of the way to provide unrestricted access to the Socket 370 mounted processor. The only bum note here was the irritating noise made by the cooling fan - hopefully something will be done about this before the machines go on general release.

Expansion is possible, but limited. You can add RAM easily, thanks to a free memory socket, and there are three PCI slots open, plus a single front-opening 3.5in drive bay which would look nice with something like a Zip drive in it. As we said, there's no AGP slot, which limits graphics enhancement. This might be a problem, as the integrated i752 accelerator isn't in the same league as the best of the current 3D graphics crop, and the gap will only widen. Furthermore, the Socket 370 motherboard does not currently allow an upgrade to Pentium III.

There's plenty of power for standard 2D Windows applications, however. So, although demanding gamers won't get on with this chipset, home or indeed business users wanting an affordable but relatively well-specified general purpose desktop should be pleased as punch.

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