Dell Inspiron One 2320: Stuck in the Middle With You
by Dustin Sklavos on November 17, 2011 12:30 AM ESTGaming Performance
I can only hope I've contained my excitement enough for this part. As mentioned in the frequently referenced HP TouchSmart 610 review, these GPUs just aren't powerful enough to be driving these 1080p displays. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M is pretty heavily hamstrung, operating at even lower clocks than the already underpowered desktop GT 430. I can't believe this is the best Dell can offer in this all-in-one. We'll start with our "Medium" 1080p test suite. It'll be a little underwhelming with just the two all-in-ones tested here, but bear with me.
Medium is about as good as you're going to get for half of these games if you want to try and play them at native, but the Inspiron One 2320's GPU is sadly even weaker than the already mediocre AMD Radeon HD 5570 in the TouchSmart. It leads in DiRT 2 but trails everywhere else, and the "High" testing is only more depressing.
At our high settings the games are unplayable across the board. All-in-ones need something at least at the level of a Radeon HD 5750 to really support the resolutions they're shipping at. And keep in mind that our gaming test suite is mostly over a year old, so newer titles will likely struggle even more (e.g. Battlefield 3, Batman: Arkham City, Skyrim, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Rage, and the slew of additional games coming out this holiday season).
I asked a friend of mine who's a big fan of StarCraft II to give playing it on the touchscreen a try. As some of you have observed, I'm honestly too much of a moron to grok RTS games, but my buddy Benjamin is a big fan so I turned him loose on the Inspiron One 2320. His response was that the potential for a touch interface in the game was definitely there, but the game's not really designed for it and would need some changes to be playable that way. There are also the issues inherent with responsiveness in current touchscreen technology (misregistered clicks, etc.) that keep it from being a home run. I do feel like this genre of games is one of the places where a touchscreen might be viable on the desktop, but it seems to be a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation at present, and without decent graphics hardware I'm not sure it can ever really succeed.
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mbmack - Monday, November 21, 2011 - link
I have enjoyed reading all of the posted comments regarding the Dell Inspiron 2320 and the HP All-In-One models. Clearly you guys know your computers! I am a stay-at-home mom of 4 kids and I am looking to purchase an all-in-one touchscreen computer. I think I have narrowed my choices down to either the Dell Inspiron One 2320 or the HP TouchSmart 610x, but am not quite certaint. I am a general everyday multi-purpose - email, web browsing, photo storage/editing, word processing, video watching - user who does not do any "real" gaming. My young boys like to play basic games though, and will no doubt venture into more hardcore games as they get older. I would like a system which has a strong & fast processor, has plenty of memory for data & photo storage, can handle semi-advanced gaming, and will live a good long life. I want to cover my needs fully, but without going overboard. I am also sensitive to energy efficiency & want a system with a good built-in fan to keep it from over heating, which I understand can be a problem with some AIO models. I am not a very tech-saavy consumer, so I would really appreciate any advice & guidance on the must-have system requirements to fit my bill. If there is a machine you particularly like or dislike, please let me know.Also, can anyone tell me the notable difference/advantage between an Intel Core processor & an AMD Athlon processor? Which is a better choice?
Thank you so much for your guidance!
mbmack - Monday, November 21, 2011 - link
I meant I am not certain.... not certaint!heyyu - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
I've had my 2320 for a few days now. I love everything about it, except for the screen quality. My wife's description of the problem is that it seems like it has a film of plastic over it, causing the screen to be quite dim. I just got back from Best Buy, hoping I got a lemon, but unfortunately, the floor model there had the exact same problems. Stupid TN panel.If you are still wanting to take the plunge, I'd suggest trying the Dell Outlet. I got a fully loaded one for around $700. Too bad the screen stinks.
jpa813 - Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - link
is it possible to change the service tag in the bios. i changed the motherboard over the weekend and the service tag number doesnt match the one on the back of my machine.andy6134 - Wednesday, July 4, 2012 - link
Please help.. URGENT !! No GRAPHIC CARD ?