Dell Inspiron 530-115B first look
Dell’s Inspiron 530 may be the best PC deal on store shelves. Thanks to an aggressive CPU and hard-drive selection, this $599 desktop outclasses its competition, delivering the best performance we’ve seen in a desktop for less $600. It also provides an instructive lesson regarding processor speed versus processing cores and what you get from each at this price. If speed isn’t your primary concern, you can find pcs with comparable or better features for less. If you’re looking for quick, affordable performance, the Inspiron 530 is a bargain. Back in April, we reviewed the Inspiron 530 in a different configuration available from Dell’s online store. This one comes off the shelf of Best Buy, and as such, its features cannot be customized prepurchase. Like most lower-end pcs, the Inspiron 530 offers small in the way of fancy extras or groundbreaking new technology. Its design is thoroughly standard, with the exception of its hard-drive cage. Unlike most pcs, where you slide the hard drives in and out like a cartridge, the hard drives in this system mount flat against an internal panel. This design causes no operational difference, and like most budget desktops, you still get room to add an extra internal hard drive.
