Although the Vostro 460's Intel i7-2600 CPU does its job in terms of general performance, graphics performance is another story. The Vostro 460 doesn't come with a discrete graphics card, relying instead on the Core i7-2600's integrated graphics. In our Unreal Tournament 3 graphics performance tests, the Vostro 460 managed to eke out only an unplayable 14.8 frames per second at a resolution of 2560 by 1600 pixels with high quality settings. It wasn't until we scaled the resolution down to 1024 by 768 that we got a reasonably playable frame rate of 37 fps (on high quality settings).

While that kind of result is what we expect from the integrated graphics of Sandy Bridge processors (the performed similarly in graphics tests), the technology is no match for a decent discrete graphics card. Still, it's acceptable for playing HD video and streaming media online. Media-encoding tasks have also been improved, thanks to Intel's Quick Sync technology. (For more information about Sandy Bridge, check out ".")

Gaming isn't likely to be high on a small business's list of priorities anyway, so feel free to ignore those results if you're just looking for a number-cruncher. If you'd like to toss your own discrete graphics card into the Vostro 460, however, you can: Just unscrew the left side of the chassis, and you're in. The interior of the Vostro 460 is a tad messy, but workable. Though wires are held together with twist ties and haphazardly scattered about, the case has enough room for upgrading. The chassis sports two 5.25-inch bays (one free), two 3.5-inch bays (one free), three PCIe x1 slots (two free), and one PCI slot. So although you won't be able to transform this PC into a dual-graphics-card gaming rig, you have sufficient space to install an extra card, and perhaps another hard drive if you're up for it.

The Dell Vostro 460 is a full system at a reasonable price, and it performs well. If you're seeking a fast performer to get work done, the Vostro 460 is worth a look--but you can find speedier, sexier systems for less. The Micro Express MicroFlex 25B, for instance, is faster, offers a discrete graphics card, and starts at $850. It has severely limited hard-drive space (just 300GB), and it lacks peripherals and Windows 7 Professional; but as fixer-uppers go, it's a relatively inexpensive option.