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We have changed our method of measuring noise levels. We have built a system inside a Lian Li chassis with no case fans and have used a fanless cooler on our CPU. We are using a heatpipe based passive power supply and an Intel SSD to keep noise levels to a minimum. The motherboard is also passively cooled. This gives us a build with completely passive cooling and it means we can measure noise of just the graphics card inside the system when we run looped 3dMark tests. Ambient noise in the room is around 20-25dBa. We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the chassis and 4 foot from the ground to mirror a real world situation.
Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on only the video card. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
The system is generally emitting around 29-32 dBa of noise, but when pushed hard it reaches a maximum of 34.8 dBa.
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.