Review: Can the Vostro Help Dell's Comeback?

And while some may question whether Dell has actually broken that slump, and many are waiting to see if it gains traction with VARs, its Vostro lineup continues to evolve for both its direct sales and for its sales through partners who have signed on the dotted line with the PC maker. The Round Rock, Tex.-based PC maker is hoping the Vostro lineup can help it gain traction in both the broader market and with the channel. So the Test Center decided to take a look at one of the offerings in the Vostro lineup.

With the Vostro 200 Slim, part of the Vostro line aimed at small and mid-sized businesses, Dell is delivering an aggressively priced yet technologically sound PC that is poised to have an impact in a down economy. List-priced recently for as low as $239, which is cheaper than a lot of LCDs, the Vostro 200 performs well, is available in both Windows XP and Windows Vista, and demands less desktop real estate than standard towers. (At press time, though, Dell was list-pricing the PC at a higher $379.)

The metrics: The Vostro 200 Slim that was examined in the Test Center lab was built with an Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 at 2.66 GHz, with 2 GB of RAM, Windows XP Professional and 250 GB of internal storage. On a performance-per-dollar basis, the Vostro 200 Slim makes its case. Measuring with Primate Labs' Geekbench benchmarking software, the Vostro 200 Slim rang up a score of 3051 -- significantly higher than more than half of the PCs measured here so far in 2008. At startup, the PC drew 98 watts of power, but after a few minutes it idled at 61 watts. After a few hours, at its rear vent, the Vostro 200 Slim measured 95 degrees -- warm but not hot. It was very quiet, and didn't rise about the ambient noise in the lab.

But here's a point that is worth noting: the Vostro 200 Slim handled perhaps one of the most painless XP-to-Vista SP1 upgrades ever seen in the Test Center lab. Not a file or pre-loaded application encountered a single problem post-upgrade. There was one, minor driver update that was required (ATI Catalyst) but Windows fetched the update and installed it without an issue. (Although, with Aero running, Vista SP1 scored a Geekbench rating of 3017, which still underperformed the PC's score when XP was running it.) The ease with which the upgrade was handled indicates Dell has put a lot of time and effort into integration and driver support.

For those new to the Dell platform, the Vostro 200 Slim is pre-loaded with some Dell management software including Dell Network Assistant. This application is redundant in many ways to standard Windows management functionality. For example, the Dell Network Assistant provides a GUI for connecting a PC on a network to a printer on a network. Not quite groundbreaking, and here, it seems, is where the company added a function to assist its direct sales customers that don't have an IT department.

Dell also pre-loaded an application that connects a PC to its online storage backup service. This allows an end user to store up to 10 GB worth of files or data to an online queue hosted by Dell. For a small or mid-sized business with compliance concerns, a VAR might have to proactively remove the software or disable it for some more cautious customers. (Just like a VAR may want to talk a customer into blocking services like Microsoft's SkyDrive online storage service if management, security and compliance issues are a concern.)

The Bottom Line: Dell has a long way to go to regain its past glory, and likely an even longer way to go to win over the channel. But whether you're a Dell channel partner or a Dell competitor, you'll need to keep an eye on the Vostro lineup. It's a solid, low-cost desktop choice that, with its incredible ease in upgrading from XP to Vista could demand the market's attention sooner rather than later.