Dell Inspiron i570-7034PBK review: Dell Inspiron i570-7034PBK

Editors' note: This review is part of our 2010 retail laptop and desktop back-to-school roundup, covering specific fixed configurations of popular systems found in retail stores.

6.1

Dell Inspiron i570-7034PBK

The Good

Has an HDMI port; organized interior with room for upgrades; Wi-Fi.

The Bad

Competition offers similar configuration for less money; generic tower; bland connectivity options.

The Bottom Line

The Dell Inspiron i570-7034PBK's mediocre configuration and generic tower are hardly offset by the HDMI port and Wi-Fi card extras you get in the bundle. If you're on a tight budget, we recommend picking up the cheaper, more resourceful HP Pavilion p6510y instead.

We like that Dell includes an HDMI port and Wi-Fi on the Inspiron i570-7034PBK, but we can't recommend this $600 PC when a competing system from Hewlett-Packard offers more features and costs $70 less. Not only does the HP Pavilion p6510y have a wallet-friendly $530 price, but it finished several of our benchmark tests faster than the Dell did. If you're hunting for a budget desktop to perform basic tasks, your needs and your wallet are better served by the HP Pavilion p6510y.

Not surprisingly, Dell uses the same generic case across its entire Inspiron line of budget computers. Dell gave the front of the case a glossy black finish and it has a media card reader that supports Compact Flash, SD, MMC, MemoryStick, and xD cards. You also get audio jacks for your headphones and microphone, as well as two additional USB 2.0 ports--in addition to four more on the back--and an empty drive bay just below the DVD burner.

This comparison chart highlights the similarity between the Dell Inspiron and the HP Pavilion p6510y. Both systems have the same 2.8GHz AMD Athlon II quad-core processor, a similar integrated graphics chip, and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi; however, Dell gives you an additional 2GB of memory for $70 more--we did a quick price check, and a single 2GB stick of DDR3 1,333MHz memory only costs $45 on Newegg.com. When you look at the performance charts, you'll see why we're more confident recommending the HP p6510y than the Dell.

Cinebench
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Rendering multiple CPUs

Rendering single CPU

HP Pavilion p6540y

11,596 

3,258 

HP Pavilion p6510y

10,618 

2,977 

Dell Inspiron i570-7034PBK

10,176 

2,974 

Gateway DX4840-03e

9,605 

4,095 

Gateway SX2801-01e

5,947 

3,183 

Once again, a comparison of Dell and HP's benchmark scores show congruent results with little deviation between the two computers. Both PCs finished the single application and multitasking tests in about the same time, but the p6510y registered a slightly better score in the multicore Cinebench rendering test. That result could be a testing anomaly, or a result of multiple minor hardware variations between individual components. Regardless, from a performance standpoint you won't see faster results by spending the $70 more for the Dell Inspiron i570-7034PBK.

When two computers have such a similar specifications, the final buying decision comes down to the extras you get in the form of external connections and internal upgradability. In addition to the two USB 2.0 ports on the front, the back of the Dell has four more USB ports, a set of 7.1 audio jacks, Ethernet, and a 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi card installed in one of the two 1x PCI Express slots. The system also has an HDMI port if you decide to use it with an HDTV; however, we don't recommend using a midtower PC in the living room as it's an inelegant solution.

The p6510y gives you more connections than the Dell does, including eight total USB ports (two on the front, six around back), 7.1 audio jacks, S/PDIF digital audio, Ethernet, FireWire 400, and both DVI and VGA video ports. Additionally, the inside of the HP gives you two more total memory slots and two more 1x PCI Express slots than the Dell, with plenty of room to increase storage with another hard drive.

Juice box
Dell Inspiron i570-7034PBK	Average watts per hour
Off	0.68
Sleep	1.85
Idle	53.68
Load	121.09
Raw (annual kWh)	221.70684
Energy Star compliant	No
Annual power consumption cost	$25.16

Neither the Dell nor the HP is close to earning Energy Star certification, and we'd like to see both companies make a stronger push to conserve power since both the p6510y and the Inspiron i570-7034PBK are among the most expensive systems to operate; costing more than $20 a year to power. The Dell provides yet another data point to suggest that, in general, AMD systems consume dramatically more power than their Intel-based counterparts in the same price range do.

Dell covers the Inspiron i570-7034PBK with their standard one-year warranty that includes 24-7 phone support coupled with a comprehensive Web site with support for RMA returns, manual and driver downloads, and a comprehensive list of FAQs to get you started.

Find out more about how we test desktop systems.

System configurations:
Dell Inspiron i570-7034PBK
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); 2.8GHz AMD Athlon II X4; 6MB 1333MHZ DDR3 SDRAM; 256MB (shared) ATI Radeon HD4200 integrated graphics chip; 750GB, 7,200 rpm hard drive

Gateway DX4840-03e
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); 3.0GHz Intel Core i3 540; 8GB 1,333MHz DDR3 SDRAM; 64MB (shared) Intel GMA X4500 HD integrated graphics chip; 1TB 7,200 rpm Western Digital hard drive

Gateway SX2801-01e
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); 2.8GHz Pentium Dual-Core E5500; 6MB 800MHZ DDR3 SDRAM; 32MB (shared) Intel GMA X4500 integrated graphics chip; 1TB, 7,200 rpm hard drive

HP Pavilion p6510y
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); 2.8GHz AMD Athlon II X4 630; 4GB 1,333MHz DDR3 SDRAM; 256MB (shared) ATI RS880 integrated graphics chip; 750GB, 7,200 rpm hard drive

HP Pavilion p6540y
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); 2.8GHz AMD Phenom II X4 830; 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM; 256MB (shared) ATI Radeon HD 4200 integrated graphics chip; 1TB, 7,200rpm Western Digital hard drive