Dell Vostro 430 Packs Intel Core i7, Core i5 Punch

Dell has released a new Vostro desktop for small businesses that offers the latest Intel processors, as well as a range of graphics options from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.

The Dell Vostro 430 desktop, which officially rolled out Oct. 1, is geared toward small businesses and those companies with a budget but with the need for solid computing power. Dell introduced the Vostro line in 2007 as a way to address the small and midsize business (SMB) market.

While many of Dell’s other Vostro laptops and desktop are priced in the $300 to $400 range, the Vostro 430 represents the higher end of the company’s offerings for SMBs. The Vostro 430 configuration that Dell is promoting has a price tag of $749.

One reason for the price is the use of Intel’s newer Core i7 and Core i5 processors. These chips are built with Intel’s newer “Nehalem” microarchitecture and add to the overall price of the client. In addition, Dell offers a choice of 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT220 and GTS240 graphics or an AMD 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4350 GPU.

For a look at some low-cost PCs from Dell, Acer and Lenovo, please click here.

The Vostro 430, which will replace the Vostro 420, offers up to 16GB of DDR3 SDRAM (double data rate 3 synchronous dynamic RAM). In addition, the desktop supports two SATA (serial ATA) hard disk drives, each supporting up to 1TB of data storage. There are also 10 USB ports along with two PCI slots. 

For operating systems, the Vostro 430 supports either Microsoft Windows XP or Vista, and Dell does plan to offer Windows 7 when the OS is released Oct. 22.

Finally, the Vostro 430 comes with preinstalled video conferencing software, although a touch-screen display and Web camera is required. Dell also offers services through its Dell ProSupport program.

While the $749 price tag is for a Vostro 430 desktop that offers the most cutting-edge configurations, Dell does offer other options. For instance, a $699 price gives the buyer a desktop with Vista Home Basic, an Intel Core i5-750 processor running at 2.66GHz, an 80GB hard drive, 1GB of DDR3 memory and the AMD ATI Radeon GPU. Dell also includes a one-year warranty with the $699 configuration.