The Dimension 5150c is a Media Center PC with a difference. It's one of the first desktop PCs to use Intel's Viiv platform, which indicates it is designed for strong multimedia performance. Fast PCs are usually hot and noisy, but Dell's decision to use a Balance Technology eXtended (BTX) chassis affords the Dimension 5150c cool, quiet operation.
It's not just a pretty face either: it uses a dual-core CPU, has plenty of memory and comes with a 24-inch widescreen TFT. The system spec we reviewed is available from Dell (direct, of course) as a bundle: just quote E-Value code PPUK5-D025C7r1. The bundle comes to £1,349.
So is the 5150c the complete multimedia PC, or does its early adoption of new technology cause more problems than it solves?
Design
The Dimension 5150c is undeniably attractive. Its silver and white colour scheme gives it an almost (whisper it) Mac-like appearance, and its slim, upright chassis gives it the look of a games console. The front panel is very uncluttered, but hit the open button and the top half automatically slides upwards then horizontally along the top of the case to reveal a selection of ports. There are two USB ports, mic and headphone sockets, and an ultra-slim optical drive that was originally designed for laptop use.
The Dimension 5150c's internal layout is very different to that of an ordinary PC. True to its BTX roots, there's a fan located at the front of the case that draws cool air over the processor and motherboard chipset in a very efficient manner.
By using the smallest BTX variant (picoBTX), Dell has been able to cram the components of the Dimension 5150c into a relatively small space. It's just 310mm high, 91mm wide and 363mm deep, so it's just as happy under a desk as it is taking pride of place next to your monitor.
The only drawback of its diminutive stature is that there's very little room for upgrading with internal components. There are vacant PCI Express slots (x16 and x1), but only half-height cards will fit. As a result, the Dimension 5150c can't accept large, powerful graphics adaptors.
The 5150c's laptop DVD±RW drive may also cause problems for upgraders. There's no possibility of adding a second internal drive as there physically isn't room for one, and swapping it for a new one could prove costly, as laptop drives are typically more expensive than their desktop counterparts.
Features
In adhering to the Intel Viiv standard, the Dimension 5150c uses a dual-core CPU and Windows XP Media Center Edition, and has a 5.1-channel audio card. Various processor options are available, but Dell recommends the Intel Pentium D 820, which runs at 2.8GHz. In our review sample, this is joined by 1GB of DDR2 533MHz memory and the Intel 945G chipset. The latter affords the 5150c an integrated graphics adaptor, which in this case is the rather pedestrian ATI Radeon X600 SE.
Despite its poor graphics performance, the Dimension 5150c is a perfectly capable PC in other areas. Its dual-core processor is quick enough to handle intensive tasks like video encoding, and it can multitask without breaking a sweat.
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User reviews7
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jeffm 28 March 2012
Good: I used to own it until I yelled at dell for a trade of whichthey gave me a vostro 200 :(.Anyways,the only good thing was that it multi-task function on that pc was worth keeping.
Bad: the bad thing about this pc is pretty much everything.keep in mind i cleaned it constantly and maintained it pretty healthy.BUT THE NOISE!!! i couldn't sleep >.<"
Comment: The bad thing was that the fans and the heatsinks would overheat. there isn't enough room to work with so i always had to have a home fan pointing at the damn thing.By the way i constantly called Dell for many replacements on the pc. throughout the 3 years that i had it, I replaced both fans every 3-6 months, i replaced the power supply about 2 times, the 2 memory cards, and the dual processor once.soon after that the slide door for the cd drive broke and that when i lost my temper and yelled at dell employees.ok then ta ta i hope you find my info useful because i would recommend DON"T GET ONE!!!
Andy Horton 8 April 2011
Good: Small
Comment: I bought a secondhand one for £150 as an emergency stopgap. Less specifactions than specified (single core processor)and without the Monitor. Still going in 2011. Although, I am using this as a small business machine, I see more of a music home base. DVD burner is a bit iffy. Not quiet and freezes occasionally (although this may be external drivers?). Its size and weight mean it is portable, so as a back-up or special use machine, I anticipate it will have a use in the future.
Thomas Alexander Jenkinson 29 August 2010
Good: Small and thin, lasted the best part of 6 years
Bad: Very loud, Poor upgrade potential, Dell support is minimal, CD-ROM stopped working after 6 months
Comment: Had to replace the mouse since it came with a ball pointer. Upgraded the DDR2 RAM to 4GB but that's all I could upgrade due to the lack of space on the inside. The CD-ROM broke after about 6 months and couldn't buy a new one because the model was discontinued. When Windows 7 arrived in the shops, I checked the hardware and it was compatible with the 64-bit version so it's been running that smoothly ever since. It's currently in the shop as it can no longer power on. This is it's last chance and I will replace it if I have to spend any more than £100 on it. Overall, it's been good over the years but I've been dreaming of getting a new PC for the past 2 years.
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