New PC Sets Performance Record in WorldBench 5 Tests
Sony's VAIO VGN-T150P has an integrated multiformat DVD burner and business applications.
The four PCs new to our desktops chart this month have one trait in common: They all turned in strong performance numbers in our WorldBench 5 suite. One system--the Polywell Poly 939N-FX55--notched a score of 113, the fastest performance we've seen yet. In our high-end gaming tests, this Poly averaged 283 frames per second--also the best result we have recorded to date.
The other new entrant on the power side of the chart, the MPC Millennia 940i, is a rather staid-looking system intended for business and educational applications. Appearances aside, the unit is well equipped for general power computing; and with a WorldBench 5 score of 99, it has plenty of speed to spare. It also came with one standout feature: a massive 1050GB of storage, which should cover the needs of just about every type of user.
The two newcomers in the value section--Polywell's Poly Mini-Box 939AX 3200 and WinBook's PowerSpec 9262--are opposites in both design and styling. The petite, black, shoe-box-size Mini-Box, which runs Windows XP Media Center, costs just $1350, making Media Center extras, such as digital video recorder capabilities, affordable for many.
The other new model, the WinBook, takes the last spot on the chart. Though it isn't the most decked-out PC we've seen--in fact, the machine is pretty basic--it nevertheless strikes us as the sort of workhorse office system it's meant to be. It performed well in our WorldBench 5 tests (scoring 91), but if you need graphics horsepower, we suggest you upgrade the graphics card.
Notebooks
New notebooks this month include the Sony VAIO VGN-T150P, which weighs a svelte 3 pounds without its power adapter. The VAIO VGN-T150P wowed us by lasting over 7 hours on one battery charge. Just pop this two-tone Wi-Fi-ready notebook in your bag and go. The 10.6-inch wide-aspect screen is small but readable, and the keyboard works well enough for quick touch typing.
Snagging fifth place in the desktop replacement part of our chart, the relatively inexpensive HP Pavilion Ze2000 sports a five-in-one card reader, a long 4.4-hour battery life, and the option to upgrade to a multiformat DVD burner. A sloped front and back give style to its chunky black-and-silver case.
Four other notebooks we tested were not sufficiently competitive to make the chart this month. The Compaq Presario M2000 is a virtual twin of the HP Ze2000--just without the curvy case and long battery life. The WinBook C240, priced reasonably at $1199, fell short of our value list. The Sharp Actius PC-MP30, a 2.8-pound unit that doubles as a personal DVD player or USB hard drive, landed just shy of our ultraportable ranking, as did the stylish 4.6-pound Sys Technology MobileElite M2000.
Inside Info
Hot New Monitors: Our chart of 19-inch LCD monitors sees strong debuts from Samsung, CTX Technology, and LG Electronics. A retested model, ViewSonic's VP912b, sports a new addition--an antiglare screen--and earns a Best Buy this month. However, its image quality, though good, doesn't live up to its predecessor's outstanding performance.
More on the Web: PC World uses its industry-standard benchmarking application, WorldBench 5, to evaluate desktop PCs, notebooks, and tablet PCs. We run a number of real-world applications performing real-world computing tasks. See the WorldBench 5 page for more information on the tool. And see more details about PC World's Star Ratings.
The Top 100 Team: Freelance writer Andre Kvitka, Contributing Editor Carla Thornton, and PC World editors Laura Blackwell, Tracey Capen, Kalpana Ettenson, Rebecca Freed, Melissa J. Perenson, Narasu Rebbapragada, and Alan Stafford contributed to the Top 100 section this month. Ulrike Diehlmann, Julio Giannobile, Elliott Kirschling, Jeff Kuta, Tony K. Leung, Thomas Luong, and William Wang of the PC World Test Center performed testing on the products reviewed in this section, with logistical support from Julian Weatherby.