Dell Optiplex GX260 desktop computer review

Bottom-Line: The Dell Optiplex GX260 is an inexpensive high performance workhorse that more than meets our current computing needs and fits into our network-centric environment with ease.   

The Dell Optiplex GX260 is very similar in design to the Dell** Optiplex designs in the GX series.  The primary difference for our particular environment is the size of the computers (the **GX260 is larger) and the hard drive technology; the GX260 uses the Parallel ATA (PATA) drives while the GX250 utilizes the newer SATA technology exclusively, and the GX270 can utilize either hard drive technology. 

The GX260 can be ordered in one of three configurations, all in flat gray and silver; the Small Form factor, Small Desktop, and Small Mini-Tower.  All have the same basic innards with the major difference being the size, and of course weight of the units.  All of our units utilize the Small Desktop design.       

As a base unit our complement of some 25 Dell Optiplex GX260's shipped with 533MHz FSB (Front Side Bus) Pentium (4) 2.0GHz processors.  Each workstation also shipped with 512MB of DDR RAM in a Single Channel configuration; a 40GB (PATA) hard drive (HHD); CD-ROM drive; 3.5" floppy drive; 4 rear USB 2.0 ports; Integrated Intel Network Pro 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet; Integrated Intel 845/GL Video, and Windows XP Professional SP1.

My Viewpoint

Despite the limited (expandable) capabilities of the **Dell Optiplex GX260 **I do like the unit, for the same reason I like the other Dell GX series desktops in our inventory; they perfect for our environment, where in many cases space on the desktop is at a premium. 

The built-in 10/100/1000 network card (NIC) works as advertised, but I as I stated is earlier reviews of others in the GX line, I would have preferred a standalone card which could be swapped out, or a card that could be upgrade in the future via firmware.  And I wish Dell would stick with one manufacturer; preferably Intel, or 3Com.  The NIC chip can be disabled via the BIOS. 

The built-in sound card works remarkable well and produces sound comparable to many high end offerings.  The built-in speaker however, offers limited fidelity.  Space on the front panel containing a lone headphone jack is a welcome convenience, an innovation it has taken PC manufactures over a decade to incorporate into their designs.     

The integrated Intel 845/GL Video chip is fine for business applications, and is the only option available for this machine.  Most of our stock of **GX260's **is mated with 17 - 19 inch CRT's or 19" flat panel LCD displays.  Colors are sharp, crisp, and brightly rendered. 

The six USB version 2.0 ports (four in the back, two in the front) are a welcome addition especially the two in the front (behind a hinged door), though I would like to have seen the number reversed; i.e. two in the back and four in the front. Increasing, the devices that utilize USB ports are portable in nature and having to continually move the Tower in order to access them can become a pain.  Nevertheless, I do appreciate the two USB 2.0 port in the front of the tower, though they are quite close together which might hinder the use of more then one at a time.

The Dell Optiplex GX260 desktop is powerful business class workstation that is more than adequate for my company's primary business computing needs.  For the base price of sub-$500.00 the Dell Optiplex GX260 is an inexpensive high performance workhorse that more than meets our current computing needs and fits into our network-centric environment with ease where we always have an eye, or two, trained on TOC.