The good: Strong application performance; jaw-dropping 3D graphics scores; excellent digital, 18-inch, flat-panel monitor; thunderous digital speaker system; 4X DVD+RW drive.

The bad: Bundled MGI VideoWave not up to the performance level of the computer.

By Bill O'Brien, December 4, 2002

What do you get when you put every high-performance component you can find into a sleek, charcoal case and top it off with an 18-inch digital monitor? Dell's Dimension 8250. Dell pairs performance--a 3.06GHz P4 processor and ATI Radeon 9700 Pro graphics card--with top-notch peripherals, such as the Dell-branded, 18-inch flat-panel display and the Altec Lansing 5.1 speaker system that accompanied our test system. If you have a fat wallet and a use for all this power, the Dimension 8250 won't disappoint. But if you're looking to spend less, you can dial back the 8250's price to less than $1,500 or look to competitive systems such as the ABS Awesome line for price relief.
 
More photos and the full review of the Dell Dimension 8250:
 Design  |  Features  |  Performance  |  Service and support