Dell Dimension L

The main achilles' heel of the dimension L is it's lack of a quality motherboard, which features no AGP and little support for RAM. Worse, the tower is VERY small and the inner components were NOT meant for upgrading.

If you want to give your L a face lift, tough luck. The Dimension L was created for the computer inept, and no consideration was made by Dell for those who may want to transform their machine into something respectable. I had the misfortune of buying the L series (forgive me, I was young!!!) and after LONG searches, I was able to find only one board that would fit in the tower. (You see, the power distribution box sits right over the center of the motherboard, limiting space to four slots. That left me to find a three slot PCI 1 slot AGP board, which was near impossible to locate. When I finally DID track one down, it didn't work with the tower's layout, as the slot that powers the ON switch was too far away for the cables. This is not to mention the other unbelievbably asnine problems I encountered. Why Dell made such a poor design for a tower and motherboard is beyond me.) *Note- the motherboard for the Dimension L is unlike any you can find for sale in stores or online. This computer is quirky, and locating the right parts is overly difficult. You have been warned. (It's a shame Dell won't sell upgrade parts made specifically for their models, life would be a lot easier.)

Enough with my ramblings, you get the idea. The L series comes with crummy integrated video which I explained can't really be upgraded, and the all-star OS that nobody likes, Windows ME.

On the bright side, The low tech parts that come with it are VERY reliable and well made. They do not break unless you take a hammer to them. Also, you'll be backed up by Dell's great customer service policy. For this, I am forced to give the quality rating high marks, though the other scores are a bombshell for obvious reasons. In conclusion, this computer is GREAT for the first time user. ME is an easy operating system to use, and the simple design will make it a cinch for even the most clueless newcommer. Unfortunately, on a technical level the L series is a disaster. If you want a powerful computer look to Dell's higher series'. Buy this machine for grandma, but it will make the computer savvy cringe. You get what you paid for, and the low-end price means a low-end comp.

This should be an example for anyone who goes for CPU speed above all else.

This system is *A LOT* slower than an on-paper similar Dimension 4100. Slow PC100 memory, integrated graphics (Intel 810) and slow hard disk, it feels very slow compared to 933MHz system with better supporting components and Windows 2000

DO NOT get this machine (or any other with the Intel 810 chipset- sometimes described as integrated graphics) if you want to play games.

Our experience of Dell is of reasonable lead time and the website is a good source of software updates.