Dell's OptiPlex range of desktops has been the mainstay of the company's business and corporate PC operation for many years, constantly being updated to bring the latest technologies to the end user.

The latest addition to the line-up is the GX620, which is available in four new chassis designs ranging from an Ultra Small Factor up to a full-size desktop. All of them use Dell's latest BTX format designs. They are also the first Dell chassis built to conform to RoHS environmental requirements and as such have lead-free chassis, power supplies and motherboards.

As with most Dell systems they're user configurable before you buy, so you can get exactly the hardware you need. The GX620 model under review is based on the new Desktop (DT) chassis (second from left in the photo).

The first thing you notice about the new DT chassis - apart from the fact that it's not finished in Dell black but a pleasant shade of dark metallic grey instead - is that it can either be set up as a normal desktop or, if space is at a premium, stood on its side as a thin mini-tower.

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The front fascia contains a panel in which sit two audio and two USB 2.0 ports (the rear panel contains another six USB ports) and something Dell calls DirectDetect; an LED panel that displays hard drive activity, network function and other systems status.

Inside, the internals are dominated by the huge BTX-style CPU cooler, under which sits an Intel Pentium 4 630 (a 3GHz P4 in old money). Other options for the DT range from the P4 520 (2.8GHz) up to the P4 670 (3.8GHZ). Dell has opted for Intel's i945G chipset for the GX620, which supports up to 4GB of PC4200 DDR2; our base model came with 512MB of memory in the form of two 256MB modules. All of which give the GX620 a reasonable overall performance; a Sysmark04SE score of 172 is more than enough for its intended business function.

The same can be said for the integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics subsystem which shares system memory and so doesn't offer much in the way of 3D performance. Not that you're likely to need it, but if you do, there is an option of a 128MB ATI Radeon X600SE PCI-E card. The review system had an expansion card sitting in the PCI-E slot providing a DVI/I output. As well as the graphics sub-system, you also get integrated Gigabit Ethernet with remote Wake-up and PXE support.

Storage is provided by an 80GB 7,200rpm SATA drive and there is also a 48x DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, but a DVD+/-RW drive is available as an additional option and would make more sense for business use if you want to back up important data, etc.

Rounding out the package is a USB keyboard and mouse combo and the GX620 comes with Windows XP Pro (SP2) pre-installed. Dell backs the system with a 3-year, on-site (NBD) warranty.

The OptiPlex GX620 system offers bang up-to-date technology without the usual clutter of extras, and is a perfect addition to Dell's well respected line up of business systems.