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Dell OptiPlex GX620 Review

The Monster Hiding Behind the Monitor

August 16, 2005
By Eric Grevstad

The Monster Hiding Behind the Monitor

We're never sure if Dell is the poster child for Intel or if it's the other way around, but IT managers can count on one thing: Whenever Intel introduces a new platform, such as stepping up from the 915 Express chipset to the 945 Express series, Dell will step right along with a new model in its OptiPlex business desktop line -- usually one that's tidy and capable enough to serve as a reference system or benchmark for the new technology.

The OptiPlex GX620 is the newest case in point -- and a new case or chassis for us, since we've tested two of the brand's four available designs or form factors before.

The largest is a conventional minitower. Second-largest is a compact desktop, as seen in the OptiPlex GX280 we reviewed in March. Smallest is what Dell calls an "ultra-small form factor" that clips onto the back of an LCD monitor, like the SX280 seen in these pages in September 2004.

That leaves the second-smallest chassis choice, sensibly named "small form factor" and the subject of this review. Like its ultra-small sibling, the 12.4 by 13.4 by 3.6-inch system can be attached to the back of a Dell-supplied flat-screen display to shrink the PC's desktop footprint to a minimum.

Unlike the ultra-small case, it makes room for an internal, 275-watt power supply instead of a laptop-style external brick. It also holds twice as much memory (up to 4GB of DDR-2/533) and has expansion slots -- one PCI Express x16 for a graphics upgrade and one PCI for older I/O cards, although both are low-profile or half-height slots. Our test system filled the PCIe slot with a 128MB ATI Radeon X600 SE card, as a step up from the 945G chipset's Graphics Media Accelerator 950 integrated video.

Small-form-factor OptiPlexes are also available with stronger CPUs than ultra-small models, which hit their ceiling with Intel's Pentium 4 650. Our GX620 flaunted a Pentium 4 660 (3.6GHz, 2MB of Level 2 cache, 800MHz bus, Hyper-Threading, and EM64T 64-bit capability). And both the 3.8GHz model 670 and Intel's dual-core Pentium D chips are options for serious speedsters or multitaskers.

Of course, few IT managers will buy a Pentium D for every office drone. Most will likely configure something a little cheaper than our test unit, which combined the 3.6GHz processor and Radeon X600 card, 512MB of memory, an 80GB Serial ATA hard disk, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, and 17-inch, 1,280 by 1,024-pixel Dell 1706FPV LCD monitor for a total of $1,779 ($1,689 on 8/16/05, after two of Dell's changed-almost-daily discount and free-upgrade deals -- Ed.). As with other OptiPlexes, that includes a three-year warranty with next-day on-site service, though extra-cost contracts offer reduced time on hold and same-day repairs.

Some Assembly Required

Setting up the GX620 is fairly straightforward, though it takes a few minutes' twiddling to mount first the LCD monitor and then the computer on their shared stand, securing the PC with a plastic bracket on top and a thumbscrew on the bottom (and invariably trying it with the PC facing the wrong way and having to start over). The stand gives the LCD a welcome 6.5 inches of height adjustment as well as forward or backward tilt; a handle at the top helps you grapple the combo into position in lieu of a swivel mount.

With the screen and system hugging either side of the stand, connecting the necessary power and video cables is a minor challenge. When we first switched on the PC, after plugging the display's preinstalled analog cable into the VGA port on the back of the GX620, the screen gently set us straight: "This computer has an add-in graphics card, but the monitor cable is plugged into the integrated video connector." We hurried to make the DVI digital connection between the display and the Radeon PCI Express x16 card, and were off to the races. (No, the system wouldn't let us connect both the Dell flat panel and an analog VGA display at the same time.)

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