Dell Inspiron 4000

Last month saw the Dell Inspiron 5000e G750VT (reviewed issue 72, p183) receive full marks in all categories for its impressive combination of outstanding performance, excellent features and tempting value for money. Up against strong competition in this month's Labs group test (see p106) saw the G750VT fare equally well, receiving our Labs Winner award.

The 4000 is targeted at the less serious user, and incorporates interchangeable colour and designed snap-on panels for the lid and handrests. The colour-coded panels could also be used as a means of identifying corporate teams' hardware over others.

The 4000 review sample was powered by a 750MHz Pentium III, although SpeedStep functionality wasn't activated so there's no opportunity to drop processing speed and subsequent power consumption if required. Even without this enabled, the Inspiron 4000 managed to pump its way through some light graphics, database, spreadsheet and processing work for an impressive two hours, 25 minutes.

With processor support from 128Mb of system memory and 8Mb of video memory supporting the AGP 2x ATi Rage Mobility-128 graphics subsystem, overall performance was particularly notable. In our 2D performance benchmarks the score of 2.09 is enough to position the 4000 in the desktop replacement category. At its launch, Dell will offer up to an 850MHz version of the Inspiron 4000 which, coupled with a £75 upgrade to Windows 2000 Professional, further supports this vision for the 4000. 3D functionality is also supported to reasonable levels. 3DMark returned a score of 1,349 although when tested at our normal resolution of 1,024 x 768 the colour depth could only be set to 16-bit even though the chipset supports 32-bit.

When PC Pro was first shown as demonstration of the 4000, Dell intended to supply a 12Gb hard disk to support its entry-level vision of the product. Since this drive has now reached the end of its life you'll receive a 20Gb hard disk instead, which future-proofs your purchase for some time. Even if 20Gb won't satisfy your needs, the removable nature of the disk will still keep your options open. The Inspiron 4000 review sample came with an eight-speed DVD-ROM drive, interchangeable with a floppy disk drive unit in the same bay. Both drives can be used simultaneously simply by plugging the floppy drive unit in the parallel port which, considering the less frequent need for floppy disks, is a tidy solution. Options to replace the DVD-ROM unit with other drives from the Inspiron range satisfy the varying needs of most users, while an extra battery is available for those away from the office for extended periods.

The 14.1in XGA resolution TFT provides comfortable viewing. An even brightness across the display ensures a rich representation of colours although contrast was slightly lacking for this native resolution. There are some concerns over the lid build - the snap-on panel doesn't seem robust enough to completely protect the TFT from external pressure. Elsewhere, build quality is up to the standard I've come to expect from Dell. Typing on the keyboard is a natural transition from a desktop keyboard with it being a good size and the more commonly used keys kept to appreciable sizes. For pointing devices, Dell is continuing to use its excellent glide pad as well as a tough little trackpoint.

To reaffirm its potential as a desktop replacement, the Inspiron 4000 has an expansion bus for use with a docking station. Otherwise, fewer integrated ports are less featured with no S-Video and TV-out, although more pertinent inclusions are still here such as separate RJ-11 and RJ-45 ports. A mini-PCI 3Com V.90 modem is included in the price, but to make use of the RJ-45 port, upgrading to a mini-PCI combo card will cost an extra £30.