Dell Optiplex sx270 Pentium 4 Computer Package P4 2.4gHz, 1GbMB, 40gb IDE USFF

Who says corporate PCs have to be dull? Witness the Dell OptiPlex SX270, a tiny tower built for big business. Its 2.4gHz Pentium 4 processor, Intel 865G chipset, and 1Gb of DDR memory make it impressively fast for a business system, and its clever design saves space and upgrade hassles. Plus, what the SX270 lacks in internal expansion, it more than makes up for with its endless supply of USB ports. Factor in Dell's industry-leading warranty, and the OptiPlex SX270 rivals IBM's ThinkCentre S50 as the business PC to beat. Despite its intended corporate audience, the near-$2,000 OptiPlex SX270 would make an excellent home-office system, as well.

Quick Specs:

• Processor manufacturer:    Intel
• Processor model:    Pentium 4
• Clock speed:    2.4 GHz
• RAM installed:    1Gb
• Hard drive size:    40 GB
• Case form factor:   Ultra SFF
• Operating system:    Windows XP (SP2) Professional

Manufacturer Technical details:

Standing just less than 10 inches high and measuring just more than 3 inches wide, the diminutive OptiPlex SX270 packs a remarkable amount of expandability. At the rear, there's a full compliment of ports, including serial and parallel, line-in/-out, DVI (for digital flat panels), two PS/2, and four USB 2.0. At the front, the OptiPlex SX270 serves up two more USB 2.0 ports, plus microphone and headphone jacks.

The tower has two access panels, either of which pops right off with the push of a small, green lock switch. As you might expect, there's no room inside for slots of any kind, save for a pair of SDRAM slots, both of which are occupied. The smaller of the two panels reveals the system's 2.5-inch hard drive and a lock switch for the DVD/CD-RW combo drive, which pops out (or not, if you lock it) just like that of a notebook drive. You'll find two plastic covers in the box that can limit or prevent access to the rear ports and the primary lock switch, but you'll need to supply your own standard Kensington lock; Dell doesn't include one.

The SX270 has a module bay in which you can swap drives. Our test system included a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive.

The OptiPlex SX270's Intel Extreme Graphics 2 chip improves dramatically over the previous generation of integrated hardware, meaning games are fair game, so long as you steer clear of higher-end 3D titles. We loaded Star Trek: Elite Force II, ran it at a comfortable, 1,024x768-pixel resolution, and enjoyed very smooth gameplay.