Dell Inspiron I530-120B
We recently matched this $650 off-the-shelf Dell Inspiron I530-120B against a $560 HP Pavilion a6700yThe results weren't good for HPBut as that HP looked subpar compared with the slightly more expensive Dell, we can make a similar charge against this Dell system when we hold it next to HP's step-up retail model, the $710 Pavilion a6750yDell has a respectable offering in the Inspiron I530-120B, especially if you're focused on single-application performanceBut if you're willing to spend just a bit more, you'll find that HP will provide you with a better all-around system
Dell's white and gray cases for both its Inspiron 530 and Inspiron 530S lines have been around for almost two years now, and while neither is outright ugly, they're both starting to feel a bit plainThe DVD burner, a spare optical drive bay, and the media card reader sit tucked behind the front panel doors, in almost the same layout as both HP systems (whose black case has been around almost as long, yet somehow feels less dated)The only difference is HP puts the media card reader right up front on the face of the system, making it more accessible than with Dell's design
| Dell Inspiron I530-120B | HP Pavilion a6750y | |
| Price | $650 | $710 |
| CPU | 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 | 2.3GHz AMD Phenom X4 9650 |
| Memory | 6GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM | 8GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM |
| Graphics | 128MB (shared) Intel GMA 3100 integrated graphics chip | 256MB (shared) ATI Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics chip |
| Hard drives | 750GB, 7,200 rpm Seagate | 750GB, 7200 rpm Hitachi |
| Optical drive | dual-layer DVD burner | dual-layer DVD burner |
| Networking | 10/100 Ethernet | Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g wireless |
| Operating system | 64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 | 64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 |
You'll notice a few features differences between these two systems, but each is roughly what we expect to find for its priceWith 6GB of RAM, the $650 Dell is arguably the poster child for cheap PCs with lots of memoryWe say arguably because the HP gives you 8GB for just $60 moreIn addition, the HP has a better complement of networking componentsWhile we chided the HP Pavilion a6700y for including wireless networking when its performance was so mediocre, we don't mind Wi-Fi in the a6750y, because it doesn't feel like you're sacrificing anything to get itAs these are both midtower desktops, we don't think most of you will mind that the Dell lacks Wi-Fi, but for those of you who do want it, the HP provides a worthy alternative