Dell's new Dimension 5100 line of home computers features systems packed in a large and handsome tower with an excellent range of internal components. And even though they start at under $950, these complete systems even ship with a monitor, and you have the option of choosing Windows XP Media Center Edition to make your 5100 a personal video recorder as well.

At the heart of the 5100 beats a 2.8GHz Pentium 4 Hyper-Threading processor, a powerful CPU that will handle any home office tasks or games you throw at it. For $20 more, you can step up to a 3.0GHz P4 or make it a 3.2GHz processor for $70. The maximum 3.4GHz P4 will cost a little bit more, at $180.

The default memory is only 256MB, although it is fast 400MHz DDR2 SDRAM. A $40 upgrade to 512MB would give you a lot more elbow room for multitasking and handling multimedia. Users interested in graphics design or video editing might want to increase it to 1GB for $130. These impressive systems can handle up to 4GB of RAM, but it will cost you $710 to get there.

There's a respectable 80GB 7200rpm hard drive inside the baseline 5100. If you are going the PVR route or you want lots of room for multimedia files or game installations, you might want to double the drive up to 160GB for only $50. Or you can max it out at a quarter-terabyte 250GB drive for only $120 over baseline.

Dell provides several different configurations for optical drives in the two available bays. The standard drive is a 48X CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive. Available upgrades include a 16x CD/DVD burner (with dual layer capability) for an extra $30.

Or you can move up to an excellent 16X DVD+/-RW DVD writer that also supports Dual Layer media for $70. This drive lets you create your own DVDs that will playback in a home theater DVD player as well as burn to the extra-large capacity DL media that can store up to 8.5GB on a single disk. For $89, you can pair that drive with a second 48X CD-ROM drive or for $119, match it with a 16X DVD-ROM drive for disk-to-disk burning.

The 5100 has integrated graphics, but it ships with an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950. You can add respectable ATI Radeon X300 graphics board with 128MB of dedicated video memory. It's a great mainstream board that will handle 3D games quite well. If you need even better gaming performance, you can step up to the Radeon X600 with 256MB of memory for $60.

Dell includes an excellent 17-inch flat panel display with the 5100 line. If you already have a monitor, you can skip the display and knock $50 off the sticker price. There are larger LCDs you can opt for as well including a 19-inch flat panel for $249 and the excellent 20-inch UltraSharp 2005FPW Widescreen Digital Flat Panel that, at $549, costs almost as much as the rest of the system.

Moving over to the Media Center Edition of Windows XP is an option, although it's $39 over baseline. Of course, there are a few additions you may want to make to your system if it's going to be sporting Media Center. Adding a single TV tuner with remote control to the 5100 is $99. It requires 512MB of memory, so you'll have to make that upgrade as well, but then you'll be able to watch and record TV on your system. For the ability to watch one show and record another, you can make it a dual TV tuner for $149.

Dell includes both modem and network interface on the 5100 line, so you'll be able to connect to a broadband or dial-up ISP or even to a home network easily. The input devices are rather basic, but you can opt for a wireless mouse and keyboard combo for $50--a great option with the Media Center operating system.

The only office software is Corel's WordPerfect, so if you're planning on bringing work home to your Dimension, you may want to add on an office suite. Microsoft Works Suite 2005, which includes Word 2002, is only $49 while the Basic version of Microsoft Office with Word, Excel, and Outlook is $149.

Dell offers a rather short 90-day limited warranty and only 90 days of tech support on the 5100 line. You can beef it up to a year of coverage for $29 or extend it to two years for $109 or three for $189, but it's a bit of a knock on a system from a company known for its excellent customer service.

They do make up for it a bit with their CompleteCare option--for $62, you can add accidental coverage to any extended warranty plan that will cover most damage to the system incurred by accident, including spills, drops, or power surges. It's an excellent peace of mind plan if you're going the extended warranty route anyway.

The Dell Dimension 5100 line offers excellent systems for general home use that can to play the central role in your home theater system if you're willing to upgrade.

Pro: Monitor included, great components
Con: Memory upgrade needed, short warranty

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Dell Computer Corporation
One Dell Way
Round Rock, Texas 78682
800-915-3355
http://www.dell.com

Warranty
90-day limited