Great Home Machine
Written: Dec 04 '01 (Updated Mar 25 '02)
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Pros: Very quiet, inexpensive, and fast for the home user.
Cons: Win XP does not provide driver support for my parallel port, flatbed scanner.
The Bottom Line: Excellent machine for the home user, Granny, and students.
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| heathera1970's Full Review: Dell Dimension 4300 Series |
I recently purchased the following: the Dell 4300s with a 1.4 GHz P4 processor, 128 MB SDRAM, 20 G hardrive, 17 in (.26 dpi) monitor, the 16x/10x/40x cd-rw drive, Harman Kardon speakers, 56 K modem and a 16 MB ATI Rage Ultra 4x AGP video card.
After using this computer for a week, I set out to Sam's Club and for $20, bought an additional 128 MB SDRAM which installed easily...
For those of you that are not aware, the case of the 4300s is a pared down version of the 4300 Dell...
Software includes the Win XP Home Users operating system, MS Works, Encarta, MS Money, Publisher, Dell Picture Studio, Roxio CD Creator, and a litany of other MS products.
This is my second Dell purchase and 4th computer purchase over a 9 year period. The first Dell purchase was made during the Summer of 1996 while attending college and taking an 8051 programming class. Compared to my Dell XPS P133s, this computer is a dream...The differences with speed, heat output, and noise are astounding. As with the first Dell, the machine was very easy to set up and start working.
Unlike the Dell XPS P133s, the 4300s opens SUPER EASY and the case takes up very little room. The major drawback with the 4300s case is MINIMAL expansion ability. One PCI slot, two simm slots, and I cannot see were there's space for another hard drive. If you desire internal component expansion, you must purchase the regular 4300 case.
The computer is used primarily for banking, spreadsheet apps, scanning, picture editing, e-mail, web-surfing, quilt design, and a little bit of desktop publishing. I'm accustomed to NT 4 Workstation and personally prefer that OS above all others...
I've kept my Altec Lansing speakers with sub-woofer so the H/Ks never left the box. The keyboard operates fine with the extra Windows functions and has a smaller footprint. The basic Dell mouse was replaced by an Intel mouse with wheel.
Features that I like about the machine are the CD burner, the 17 in flat screen monitor, and the two USB ports located at the front face plate...IRT the monitor, don't purchase a monitor less than 17 in....The monitor with my 4300 surprised me. It has a wonderful crisp, clear picture. I was concerned that it wouldn't be able to sit atop my monitor arm due to its sheer weight and size, but it sits their without difficulty and has a small footprint...
Most of the software was deleted. Win XP is a tad too user friendly and a hard drive space hog. If I had the option of one great do over, I'd purchase this system with a larger hard drive...
My Mustek digital camera, Okidata laser, and Lexmark Z32 printer installed fine but am currently unable to locate a driver for my Mustek parallel port, flatbed scanner. I subsequently purchased a Win XP compliant USB scanner and it installed like a dream.
The printer installation was terribly easy. I connected the Lexmark printer up to a USB port on the back and turned the printer on. That was it. Win XP did the rest. The drivers for the Okidata were already present in setup so the laser installation went smoothly.
This computer is perfect for home users, students, and grandparents. Yes, many faster machines exist but for those of us who are raising a family and/or living on a budget, the 4300 is ideal.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 895
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: CD-RW
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20
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Epinions.com ID:
heathera1970
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Location: Toney, AL
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 2 members
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