Dell C521Dell Dimension C521 Slim Tower
My Home computer 2 years old reason for selling? Purchased a new office system!
When system is purchased we will set back to factory and re-install all Software below.
Delivery & setup n/c
System Cost $649.00
Interested e-mail us
The computer
In The Box
o Dell Dimension C521 Mini-tower computer
o 19” 1907FP LCD Flat Panel Display
o Keyboard & Mouse
Computer as Configured:
o Processor Family: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core processor 5400+ (2.80GHz 512K x2 Cache)
o Operating System: Windows Vista Home Basic
o Installed RAM: 4.0GB DDR2 SDRAM @ 800MHz
o Hard Drive Capacity: 160GB SATA II 7200RPM w/DataBurst Cache
o Graphics Card: Nividia GeForce 6150 LE
o Primary Optical Drive: 48x CD-RW/DVD Combination Drive
o Secondary Optical Drive: None
o Network Interface Card (NIC): Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
o Modem: 56K PCI Data/Fax Modem
o Audio: Onboard
o Speakers: none
o Monitor Type: Analog/ Digital LCD
o Screen Size: 19 inches
Dell designed the Dimension C521 as an entry-level media-center computer and indeed mine shipped with Windows Vista Home Premium pre-installed. The Dimension C521 incorporates the new BTX design into its rather slim mid-tower case. The case itself is a sleek white and silver BTX cassis with large cooling vents cut into the front sides of the case, allowing the fan to draw in a large volume of air. The BTX design calls for more venting slots in the case and a single large fan to keep the innards of the computer cool. The result is a very quite system and I have to strain to hear.
The case is slim-line so the lone DVD player has to be installed vertically and the is only room for one 3.5 inch slot. Inside there is only room for one hard drive, and (3) half-height expansion slots. So upgrading and or expanding the Dimension C521 might prove problematic. And the case only has (6) USB 2.0 ports; (4) in the back and (2) in the front. This may seem like a lot at first glance until you stop and consider that almost everything peripheral shipped that attaches to the outside of the computer does so via USB. The Dimension C521 lacks traditional 9-pin DIN connection for mouse and keyboard, and it lacks 9-pin serial ports and a traditional parallel port for connection a printer.
It has (4) USB 2.0 ports in back and 2 in front
Processor
Dell offers an array of AMD dual core 32-bit and 64-bit processors for the C521; my choice of the AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ (2.80GHz 512K x2 Cache) was chosen for performance
RAM
The system can be ordered with as little as 256MB of RAM (who does that?); I choose 4.0GB mostly because I knew Windows Vista would demand it. There’s a total of (4) slots for RAM which means a maximum of 4GB DDR2 SDRAM @800MHz.
Hard Drive
Dimension C521 standard at the time was 250GB SATA II 7200RPM hard drive, which is more than enough for standard users. There isn’t room for another hard drive, so if one ever needed more space, an external drive would have to do, no doubt I would have to connect it via USB.
Again, because of Windows Vista I got an upgraded video card, the ATI Radeon X1300 Pro with digital output.
Software
Home Vista Basic
Microsoft Office 2007 Professional
Adobe Suite CS3
Uniblue
Over $1000 in Software.
First Impressions:
Cracking open the C521 is a very simple process thanks to a removable (lift-off) side panel. Once inside you will note that like the chassis itself, all internal components are tool-less, and not as densely packed as the GX series I am used to working on.
The Dimension C521 runs Windows Vista well right out of the box; no doubt the 4.0GB memory helps in this regard; at least my tests have shown this to be so.
Service and Support
The Dimension C521 comes standard with a 90-day Limited Warranty
Conclusion
The Dell Dimension C521 Slim-line Mini-tower is powerful home workstation that is more than adequate for Windows Vista and Media Center duties. for the price (just under $1,000.00 including 19” flat panel monitor) the Dell Dimension C521 is a relatively inexpensive high performance workhorse that meet is work demand at the time.
Amount Paid (CAD$): 997.00
Operating System: Windows
Processor: AMD K-2
Processor speed: AMD 5800 Dual Core 2.8 GHZ
RAM: 4G
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 160