Dell's new PC opts for function over style

January 18, 2001 —

BOSTON -- DELL Computer's new business desktop personal computers are stylistically iMac in reverse. For corporate customers outside the creative fields, Dell is not offering its new OptiPlex GX 150 PC in Apple Computer's popular neon colors. Businesspeople want gray.

"It's a new product and a new chassis," said Anne Camden, a Dell spokeswoman. "We went out and did some research with some focus groups and they wanted a different look, but they didn't want anything radical."

The computer chassis is midnight gray, the color of Round Rock, Texas-based Dell's Latitude notebook PC line. Beyond the cosmetic change come more user-friendly design changes, allowing users to open up the chassis and fiddle with the parts without tools. Two buttons on the side push in to expose internal hardware. The hard drive, motherboard, memory, video cards, and other parts are held in place with levers and pins. No screwdrivers are required.

It takes about 40 percent less time to build one of the new chassis compared to older models. The new computer is designed to last through three years of technology advancements, Camden said.

"You'll see this chassis in the home consumer line eventually. It's just one more thing to consider ... if it comes down to specs, if all things are equal, then I can look at style. No consumer is going to want to pay extra for style," Camden said.

OptiPlex PCs start at $629 for the Intel Celeron 600MHz processor model with 64MB of PC133 SDRAM (synchronous DRAM), a 10GB hard drive, integrated networking, Intel 3D graphics with Direct Accelerated Graphics Port technology and audio, and a 1.44MB floppy disk drive. The 866MHz Pentium III model starts at $799. The Intel 815 chipset can support both Pentium and Celeron processors.

George A. Chidi is a Boston-based correspondent for the IDG News Service, an InfoWorld affiliate.

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