Video: Dell Inspiron 531s

The Dell Inspiron 531, the company's newest, small-scale Windows desktop, may not offer the most bang for the buck, but it does offer more options than the competition.The new Inspiron 531S is the slimmed-down desktop we've been waiting for from Dell. By finally offering a wireless networking adapter option, Dell lets this small PC preserve the tidy profile lacking in its past attempts at the category. Our $659 config, while a decent enough performer, doesn't distance itself from its lower-priced competition as much as we'd like. What's probably most important is that in its specific category, Dell's new Inspiron offers more flexibility than HP's SlimLine. Of the systems in its class, then, the Inspiron 531S is the model we'd pick. For budget-priced PCs in general, you can get more for your money from other vendors.

Dell Inspiron 531S
eMachines T5230
CPU
2.3GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400
2.3GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400
Memory
2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
1GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics
64MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 6150SE
128MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 6150SE
Hard drive
250GB, 7,200 rpm
250GB, 7,200 rpm
Optical drives
16x dual-layer DVD burner
16x dual-layer DVD burner
Operating system
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Home Premium