Small but powerful

GIZMO GALLERY

Small form factor PCs seem to be scoring among home and professional users as their low prices act as an attraction. The Acer 3450 may not be the best small form factor (SFF) desktop in the market, but its relatively low price makes it popular. Thanks to the development of power-efficient and smaller components, small form factor desktop PCs from Acer, Dell and HP have become quiet popular among home and professional users.

SFF PCs are mostly sold with kits that include a motherboard, case, power supply, and central processing unit (CPU) cooler. This makes them cheaper when compared to professional PCs.

Most of the SFF systems in the market are based around Intel processors, particularly the mobile CPUs. Acer's 3450 is no exception. Powered by Intel Core2 Duo Desktop Processor E4500 (2.2 GHz), it can make Acer 3450 a performance junkie.

Also, the system is equipped with 1 GB RAM DDR2, which can be upgraded to 2 GB for enhanced performance and a 160 GB hard disk drive that can lay the user's multimedia storage concerns to rest.

Dell has an SFF offering for the home user segment also. The Dell Inspiron E530s, which is the Intel Core 2 Duo desktop processor line-up, is matched up with 1GB of DDR2 memory. This is sufficient for Windows Vista to operate, but users are recommended to upgrade to 2 GB.

Storage is quite strong with the Inspiron E530s. The slightly larger slimline case has an advantage in the amount of space it can have for drives. This means it contains a full size dual-layer desktop DVD burner. It can also handle multiple desktop hard drives. Dell packs in a standard 320GB 7200 rpm hard drive that is sufficient for most applications and has options for upgrades for those who need more.

The biggest disadvantage is the lack of expansion. In order to save space, many internal expansion slots and memory slots are removed. But Acer offers 10/100/1000 Mbps Fast Ethernet LAN connection and 56K ITU V.92 data/fax modem card.

The desktop also offers 8 USB v2.0 ports - 4 in front and 4 on CPU top. Acer also offers 2 PCI (32-bit) free slots, 1 PCI-E (X16), 1 PCI-E (X1) free slot, Realtek 7.1 Channel Audio Support with Creative speakers with integrated subwoofer. All this support makes the machine worthy enough. Linux comes pre-installed on Acer 3450 and is available at Rs 24,999 (plus taxes). Pre-bundled with a 19-inch TFT LCD and powered by Intel Graphic Media Accelerator GMA 950 graphics chipset, you won't complain about pictures looking weak on Acer 3450.

Included with most Dell systems is their great lineup of LCD monitors. In case of the Inspiron E530s, it comes with a 19-inch wide-screen display. The price for this package is Rs 25,000, which is comparable with Acer.

Graphic wise, the Inspiron E530s uses the new Intel GMA X3100 integrated graphics. While its 3D performance is still quite low, it does feature improved support for items such as streaming video that make it a good choice. There is a PCI Express x16 graphics slot in the computer, but its half-height design, limits the option of graphics cards that can be installed. One cannot expect to get any high-end PC graphics cards that can fit in the slot.