In order to make a proper choice of a personal computer (PC), it is necessary to compare basic characteristics of computers, their price and to take into consideration the needs of the buyer. Among the variety of PCs that sellers offer nowadays, it is possible to distinguish Dell Inspiron 531s and Lenovo Thinkcenter A60, both of them are desktop computers.
Both desk computers are produced by well-known manufacturers and, therefore, the brand value of both computers is practically the same. Dell and Lenovo are multinational corporations which products are spread worldwide. At the same time, speaking about the characteristic of hardware of Dell Inspiron 531s and Lenovo Thinkcenter A60, it is necessary to underline that both computers are equipped with dual core AMD processor, but it should be pointed out that Lenovo offers AMD Athlon 64 3500+ AM2 processor (Lenovo), while Dell offers customers a choice of several processors from AMD Athlon 64*2 Dual Core 4000+ to 6000 +, though all processors upper 4000+ require additional payment (Dell). Nevertheless, even the use of standard AMD Athlon 64* Dual Core 4000+ is more effective than the processor supplied with Lenovo Thinkcenter A60. On the other hand, such a difference may be annihilated depending on the field of application of the computer. For instance, if the computer is supposed to be used for studying, it does not make a lot of difference, while if the computer is acquired for gaming, for instance, than Dell’s product is apparently in an advantageous position.
Such an advantage of Dell Inspiron 531s increases, when the video adapter is taken consideration. Dell’s computer is equipped with NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE Integrated Graphics GPU (Dell), while Lenovo’s computer has NVIDIA GeForce 6100 integrated graphics (Lenovo). However, it is worth mentioning that neither of video adapters is really advanced and, consequently, it is possible to estimate that if a user is interested in the quality of graphics and the use of the computer implies high characteristics of video adapter than neither of these computers is perfect, though the advantage of Dell Inspiron 531s is undeniable.
As for total memory, even though its size is the same for both computers, 1 Gb, still Dell seems to be better because it has 1 Gb dual channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667 MHz ”“ 2 DIMMs (Dell) while Lenovo has PC2-5300 SDRAM 1 DIMM only (Lenovo). This difference in the memory of the two computers may affect the speed of their work and, therefore, Dell seems to be more preferable for those who appreciate higher speed.
Furthermore, first hard drives of both computers differ consistently and again, Dell Inspiron 531s is in an advantageous position compared to Lenovo Thinkcenter A60. To put it more precisely, Dell has 250 Gb serial ATA hard drive (Dell), while Lenovo has only 80 Gb hard disk drive (Lenovo). Dell Inspiron 531s can store consistently larger amount of information compared to Lenovo Thinkcenter A60. In fact, nowadays, it is quite important since the larger amount of data can be stored on a PC the better. On the other hand, this fact is important if a computer is used in an office or for gaming, while for home usage by a student such a difference may not be a determinant factor.
As for keyboard and mouse supplied with both computers, it should be said that they are to a significant extent similar. Dell offers Dell USB keyboard and Dell optical USB mouse (Dell), while Lenovo offers Lenovo preferred pro full size keyboard and Lenovo optical wheel mouse USB (Lenovo). In this respect, Dell probably has certain advantage, because of Lenovo use of wheel mouse, which, at the present moment, seems to be a bit archaic, but the pro full size keyboard may compensate this insignificant drawback, especially for an experienced user.
Also, it is necessary to underline that Lenovo has integrated gigabit Ethernet (Lenovo) while Dell uses 56 K PCI data fax modem (Dell). In this regard, it should be said that Lenovo is in a better position compared to Dell because it can provide more effective and faster network connection than Dell, which 56 K PCI data fax modem is not really impressing and it seems to be quite slow, taking into consideration the development of contemporary technologies.
On analyzing characteristics of both computers, it is possible to conclude that Dell is more preferable since it is a bit faster, has better video adapter characteristics and more storage room that makes this computer really multifunctional, while Lenovo may be also effectively used for studying, especially due to its good network characteristics.