Many people who have media systems will be familiar with the Matroska (.mkv) file format which is often used for high definition video. In this test we will be using VLC Media Player to play a 1080P MKV file of Lord Of The Rings (ripped from our BluRay disc) while recording CPU usage.
The MKV container places a more demanding load on the system, than the native Bluray disc. Still there are plenty of free CPU cycles for other duties.
Good timing, I was looking at one of these a few days ago for the missus.
Looks ideal for a family as review says. Inexpensive, and Core i3. Dont think many people would need one of these for gaming duties.
Fair review. Core i3 seems great. I want to get a new laptop with a core i3 in it. ive an older core duo system and its starting to feel a bit long in the tooth
Looks like a family machine to me, not really for a gamer at all. SHame they didnt do a version with a bundled monitor. I think people might expect a screen on the config tool
THe plain black one looks best IMO. not into the colored gimmicky stuff.
I wish Dell would use better power supplies instead of their own poorly branded models. even an entry level thermaltake or something
These are nice little systems but people like me aren’t ever really impressed with pricing of something like this that I can build for the same price or at least slightly cheaper. I also wish that Dell would just add a couple of pounds to the tag and put a decent PSU and some memory heatspreaders on this thing. A lot of people that will be purchasing a system usually keep a computer quite a long time because it fits their very limited computing needs. Longevity seems like it should be at the forefront of design but perhaps that’s just my thought.
Bought an Inspiron 620 MT less than 3 months ago. Had motherboard replaced twice (wouldn’t power up), hard drive replaced (return to depot) and video card (HDMI port not working following ‘repair’) All data gone and I now have to set up from scratch again. This has no WiFi as standard and no option to have it added! I am getting very frustrated with Dell after nearly 10 yrs of having used desktops and laptops.
I am looking to update my Inspiron 530, I only use it for emails and “Photoshop” work, would the 620 and St2220 monitor be a reasonable combination?
Dave Norris
Seems like a good price now and for what you need, it would be fine. Just make sure you get a reasonable amount of memory installed, depending on how heavy your photoshop work is.