Dell VOSTRO 420

13 reviews

Apr, 2024

General overview
Price comparison

alaTest has collected and analyzed 13 reviews of Dell VOSTRO 420. The average rating for this product is 4.3/5, compared to an average rating of 4.1/5 for other Desktops for all reviews.

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other Desktops the Dell VOSTRO 420 is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 78/100 = Good quality.

Review analysis

(Based on 13 reviews)

User Reviews

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Showing 1 - 10 of 11 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (2)

Consumer review (dell.com)

Nice computer well built - a little slow

I think this would be a good system if you are not super sensitive for speed. Runs office applications well as well as multimedia apps, does very well on multi tasking.

Nice build - case looks good

Not as fast as I had hoped even with a quad core processor and 4GB of ram computer feels a little slugish

Apr, 2009

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Consumer review (dell.com)

Fast and silent

I really like this 420. It is really fast yet runs so quiet. I have had no trouble with it so far and am well pleased

The only con is that IE sometimes locks up--so nothing new there

Mar, 2009

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Consumer review (dell.com)

Better than my old Dell Dimension 9600

I love Dell products, but do not like the rigid solution process used by the Dell support technicians. I am sure that I am not the only one that has had the network card problem, so Dell should have stepped up to the plate and offered to send out a...

Fast, quiet and mostly reliable

The integrated network card was a disaster. I have purchased 2 Vostro 420s in the last 4 months. The first network card worked fine for about 2 months and then died. The network card on my new Vostro worked for 2 days and then died. Dell's solution was...

Mar, 2009

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Consumer review (dell.com)

Vostro 420 not so business

It came with Vista basic which I allowed a few days to make work then decided to install XP which works very well for us. If you decide to go this way, make sure you slipstream your XP version with the latest Intel drivers and burn this into an ISO...

With a Q9550, 4G of RAM, 2 x 160G in datasafe (i.e RAID1) and the base ATI 3450 video card it run all our business application without a hitch... powerful, fast, very quiet and at around 140W power consumption

As noted elsewhere the enclosure is a departure from the hinged design. Now all parts are rivetted and more or less friendly for any upgrades. Any h/w using the 3.5" slots will have an overhang of approx 1/2 inch. The front plastic bezel is about one 1...

Mar, 2009

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Consumer review (dell.com)

Better than expected

You must use a 64bit OS to use more than 4GB ram. I am currently using Solaris 10 with all hardware operating. ZFS with two drives as parity so three drives need to fail before I lose any data. Great box for clustering with another Vostro 420 (since...

Specs say 4GB ram only and up to 4 HDD's, but I'm currently running with 6 HDD's (over 5 GB total storage) and 8GB ram. Great for virtual machines

only 4 HDD bays, needed to use 5.25" to 3.5" converter to mount additional HDD's. Other than that, nothing to report

Feb, 2009

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Consumer review (dell.com)

Vostro 420

When I began unpacking the computer, I noticed that the lower right side of the faceplate was open (see photo). I began to question the quality control, and removed the cover on the left side and then opened the faceplate and snapped it into place. In...

PC design and expandibility, monitor flexibility with USB ports, overall value for the price, ease of setup and use

Initial quality control scare, no instrutions on when to use the VGA or PCI connector for the monitor

Feb, 2009

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Consumer review (dell.com)

If only it could take more memory!

I was pleased to see the eSATA port on the back - I've ordered an external disk to utilise this and see if I can spot the 6x performance increase over USB2.

Works with Windows 2008 Hyper-V really well

Once you start using virtual machines you quickly discover that 4GB isn't really enough

Feb, 2009

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Consumer review (dell.com)

Lack of different power supplies

I would think twice before buying this PC unless you are going to stick to one hardrive and the 350 watt power supply that comes with this PC. Sorry Dell..bad choice

This would have been a great PC to have for work HAD Dell had enought sense to offer a few different power supplies

How can Dell offer a PC that uses more then one hard drive-up to 4 hardrives if you need/want..and not offer an option to get something more substantional then a 350 watt power supply

Feb, 2009

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Consumer review (dell.com)

Vostro 420

Arrived on time- started right up. Normal Microsoft software issues....

Nice package at a very good price. Downloaded to XP

No parallel port- that would have been nice to know! And try to get a parallel card to work- good luck

Feb, 2009

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Consumer review (dell.com)

Nice Machine - with Some Rough Spots

General impression: A quiet, fast, expandable computer. I'm happy with it now, but had to wrestle with hardware problems for a few days. And the BIOS might be a work in progress. Reasons for selecting: Hugely expandable - four drive bays, four PCI and...

Reasonably priced (with discounts). Roomy, highly expandable chassis. Fast and quiet

Silly drive doors. Dismal quality control. Not offered without video card

Feb, 2009

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