Dell Dimension XPS T500 review

This latest Dimension is part of Dell's T Series, which replaces the company's top-end R Series. At the time of writing, two models were on offer, both based on Intel's new Pentium III processor - one clocked at 450MHz, the other (reviewed here) based on the 500MHz chip.

You can opt to have the Dimension configured as a business machine with NT 4, networking and a straight CD-ROM drive or, alternatively, you can plump for fancy audio, 3D graphics and DVD. The Windows 98 system reviewed here falls into the latter category, its intention clearly being to deliver some serious fun together with more mundane functions.

Despite featuring the latest, greatest processor, the Dell doesn't look out of the ordinary. It comes in a standard midi-tower with a pleasant but unremarkable fascia. The twin rear-mounted cooling fans are quiet and unobtrusive, which is surprising given the power packed by this machine.

The Dimension is supplied with the usual smallish Dell keyboard, distinguished by a rattly and characterless action, although it's solidly constructed compared to many of the alternatives out there. The mouse is a Logitech Mouseman Wheel, a Microsoft IntelliMouse clone which features a fourth programmable button on the side that you click with your thumb. This works well enough, but I wouldn't fancy my chances with it if I were left-handed.

The monitor is a Dell-badged unit, designated the UltraScan P990 and based on a 19in Trinitron tube with an 18in image diagonal. It has a well-presented OSD with all the necessary geometry corrections and a sufficient scope for colour tuning. It provides a stable image thanks to 85Hz vertical refresh support from 1,280 « 1,024 resolution downwards. Not all 19in monitors can retain their clarity at 1,280 « 1,024, but the UltraScan takes it in its stride, though 1,152 « 864 really offers the best results.

The STB Velocity 4400 graphics card combines AGP, 16Mb of SDRAM and the excellent nVidia Riva TNT 2D/3D chipset. Thanks to a 128-bit architecture and twin-texture mapping engines, it's a brilliant 3D performer.

If you're using the DVD-ROM drive to play films, the MPEG-2 decompression is handled by a Quadrant Cinemaster 3 card which also provides Dolby AC-3 digital surround sound decoding and adds an S/PDIF (Sony/Philips digital interconnect format) digital output to the back panel of the machine. This output can be used to get the best out of AC-3 DVD film soundtracks because the supplied speakers (four satellites and a subwoofer) have an AC-3 decoder circuit which, providing both the S/PDIF cable and analog input are connected, cuts in automatically when AC-3 input is detected.

You can set the speakers up as a three-piece or a five-piece. Either way, the volume level, sound quality, spatialisation and general impact is impressive. The Turtle Beach Montego 2 sound card provides analog output along with Aureal A3D spatialisation (with A3D 2 support), 320-voice wavetable synthesis and hardware-accelerated DirectSound support.

With 128Mb of system memory, 12Gb of hard disk space after formatting, and an Iomega Zip 100 drive, the Dimension is equal to almost any task. Still, despite all the power this machine has to offer, there's a fair amount of expansion potential too. There are two fully accessible DIMM sockets free and a 5.25in and a 3.5in drive bay spare, both opening through the fascia, as well as a third internal 3.5in mount for a second hard disk. You can only add two more cards to the system, either two PCI, or one ISA and one PCI, but given what you're starting out with this should prove ample for most needs.