The Dell Vostro 1000 is a fairly barebones laptop designed for the business user who has basic needs and wants a solidly-constructed machine that can withstand the rigors of the workplace. Its affordable price is attractive, but Dell may have sacrificed quite a bit of speed and performance to achieve it.

One of the main selling points that Dell advertises for the Vostro 1000 is that it comes with no trial software included, only the operating system, making it ready to go right out of the box. This certainly eliminates the hassles involved with removing a bunch of unnecessary software, but so much focus on this feature makes one wonder if the machine has little else to highlight.

The Dell Vostro 1000 is a bit underpowered by today’s standards. It includes an AMD Single Core processor with an option for an AMD dual-core processor, but neither of these options lives up to the performance of modern Intel processors. Users with basic needs might not notice the difference in performance, but even Microsoft Office will tend to run slower in this configuration.

The model maxes out at 120 GB of storage, which will likely be enough for most office users, but with a maximum of only 2 GB of RAM, this could be another bottleneck for performance, limiting users on how many programs can be opened at once without slowdowns. Wireless support is included, and there is an optional upgrade to Wireless-N support for those who need it.

Excellent support options are included, such as around the clock phone support and a 1-year limited warranty. Dell also includes a 1-year online data backup plan for backing up files up to a maximum of 10 GB.

Overall, the Dell Vostro 1000 is a solid machine for small business users, but its main draw is certainly its low price. Unfortunately, by the time buyers configure the Vostro 1000 for better performance, the price has increased to be more in line with competing models, which tend to offer better performance at the same price.