Dell Dimension 4700
Written: Mar 03 '07 (Updated May 01 '08)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Quality of Tech Support: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Dependable and sturdy with 4 RAM slots and a PCI-E slot.
Cons: The fan is not installed properly which causes heat issues.
The Bottom Line: The PC works very well and is durable with many possibilities at expansion based on the motherboard.
|
|
|
| mongomad1's Full Review: Dell Dimension™ 4700 (DIM47RM) PC Desktop |
I bought my 4700 back in 2005 and have not had a moments problem with it but for the Roxio My DVD LE locking up and not working. None of my recovery CD's Dell sent had this on it, so I had to contact customer support.
Surprisingly, it only took an hour or so to get them to send me one and I was out of warranty. It now works, though it is not the best software in the world but I have since installed Nero that works better. Here are the specs on what I got:
Dimension 4700 Series
Intel Pentium 4 Processor 520 with HT Technology (2.8GHz)
512MB DDR2 SDRAM at 400MHz
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelator 900
80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Microsoft Windows XP Professional,Service Pack 2
16X DVD-ROM and 16X DVD+/-RW
The case is bulky and sturdy. This is what you want if you plan to add items, like an increase in memory or other cards you may find the need to have. Smaller cases may take up less space, but they also are often not the easiest to access internal components, forcing you to remove things just to see the motherboard. Not so here. In front, there are 2 USB ports, which are great for ease of access when you plug in something short term. Other than that you have the power button and a headphone jack.
The back has standard PS2 connections for mouse and keyboard, but, in addition to the two upfront, there are 6 USB connectors in back, a male DE-9, female DB-25 old school printer connection as they are mostly USB now and your speaker, microphone, PC cam connections ready to go.
As far as the mother board, you get the one PCI-E slot and two regular PCI slots. The RAM is in two sticks and two other empty slots for upgrading. I like the bigger boards where you have the ability to upgrade without removing what you have.
As another reviewer wrote, mine did run a little hot for a while. I found that the CPU fan was blowing air in over the CPU instead of sucking the hot air out. I reversed the fan and where the case was warm to the touch, it now is cool. I would consult someone you trust to do this if you are not confident you can handle it, as improperly installed could = no fan, which = fried CPU quickly.
Also, there is debate whether the engineering of this case is designed to work properly with air flowing inward, per Dell. BUT, you go into ANY datacenter and show me a server that does not push warm air out versus trying to draw cooler air in. I read on some blogs where people did temperature tests and it was always cooler when reversed to push out hot air. If it is on the Internet IT MUST BE TRUE!
Other than that, it has worked like a champ and that PCI-E slot is useful for your better video cards that are able to connect to a compatible monitor using a DVI-D connection (normal VGA mode converts digital in your PC to analog for your monitor, DVI-D allows the digital image to flow faster and with higher quality to a compatible monitor as these monitors accept digital info). I recently acquired a 20" widescreen that begs for this set-up!
It has run nearly 24 X 7 since Feb of '05 and has not failed me yet. I know that they no longer are making this specific model, but they can be found on occasion on e-bay and at Dell's refurb site. I burn home movies from my Sony Handy Cam (burns to mini DVD's that will play in my PC). I also have added an Hauppage WinTV card that allows me to run cable TV through my PC and record shows, then burn to DVD. I back-up my important files (pics of my wife and son) on DVD's as well. I recently added 2GB of SDRAM2 and thanks to the 4 slots, I kept the original memory in place for 2.5GB RAM.
I have yet to mess with dual layer DVD's as I really have not had the need, but lately I have seen some possibilities. Record that Disney Channel program and get double the amount for his overnight stays at grandma's house.
That's another thing, the 3 year-old beats and bangs on all my equipment, specifically mule kicks it as he swings his legs in glee playing Reader Rabbit, but the 4700 is running strong! I knocked on wood.
Update 4/10/07:
I added a PCI-E GEFORCE 256MB video card to run the digital signal to my monitor. It runs very strong still and I see no need for upgrading in the near future.
If this review was informative, please feel free to visit my other Computer Hardware reviews:
APC ES 550 UPS System - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Apple MacBook Pro 15-INCH 2.3GHz 2GB RAM Notebook - I Rated It: 4 Stars
ASUS (DRW-1814BL) DVD-RAM Burner - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Brother HL-2040 Laser Printer - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Brother P-Touch® PT-2600 Labelmaker with PC Interface - I Rated It: 3 Stars
Corsair Memory 2 x 1 GB PC2-4200 DDR2 RAM - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Dell Dimension E521 PC Desktop - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Dell UltraSharp 2007WFP 20.1 inch LCD Monitor - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Fellowes Premium 30-Piece PC Tool Kit - I Rated It: 4 Stars
GeForce® 6800 XTreme, 256 MB PCI Express Video Card - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Hauppauge WinTV PVR250 Video Capture Card - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Hewlett Packard Compaq Presario SR5010NX PC Desktop - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Hewlett Packard Officejet 4215 InkJet Printer - I Rated It: 1 Star
Kenneth Cole Laptop Carrying Case - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Kingston Multimedia Card Reader - USB 2.0 - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Linksys WRT54G Router - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Logitech V200 Laptop Cordless Mouse - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Microsoft Desktop Elite Multimedia Keyboard and Mouse - I Rated It: 4 Stars
RIM BlackBerry® 8703e Smartphone - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Seagate OneTouch III 300 GB USB 2.0 Hard Drive - I Rated It: 3 Stars
PNY Attaché 2GB Thumbdrive - I Rated It: 3 Stars
ViewSonic VA1930WM LCD Monitor 19 Inches - I Rated It: 4 Stars
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $957.95
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mongomad1
|
|
Location: Actionville, FL (Jacksonville)
Reviews written: 58
Trusted by: 64 members
About Me:
I would give my right arm to be ambidextrous.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.