Dell beefs up desktop range with dual-processor PC

Dell Computer has taken the wraps off a high-end PC based on two Intel Pentium III processors.

The OptiPlex GX300 uses two 533MHz PIII chips, as well as a 256KB Advanced Transfer Cache, 133MHz front-side bus and supports up to 1GB of PC800 Rambus DRAM - features the company hopes will attract power users found in fields such as design, engineering and finance.

The setup is unusual for a PC - normally dual-processor configurations are reserved for servers or networked desktop workstations.

Joe D'Elia, associate director at Gartner Group, said: "This is going to get people asking: 'At what stage does a high-end PC become an entry-level workstation?'

"Users could use this for intense number crunching while carrying out other operations, but I wouldn't have thought there would be a huge market."

Dell described Windows 2000 Professional as the "ideal" choice for "corporate and institutional customers wanting to take advantage of the OptiPlex GX300's dual-processing capability".

D'Elia said the high-end Dell PC is also likely to have a different 'peripheral fit' to workstations.