Big Drives Distinguish This Month's New Desktops
'Next-Gen' PCs also join the Top 15; plus, a desktop replacement notebook debuts at 7.2 pounds.Our Top 15 Desktop PCs chart welcomes two new systems this month, as well as two machines that appeared in October's "Next-Generation PCs". CPUs aside, the foursome share the attribute of large hard drives: Each boasts at least 400GB of capacity in a striped RAID configuration.
Xi's MTower 64 AGE-SLI with an Athlon 64 X2 4800+ CPU is our new WorldBench 5 leader, with a score of 130. The MTower 64 also offered impressive performance on our standard and advanced games tests, turning in top scores in several categories.
Velocity Micro's Vision 64, a second Athlon 64 X2 system, produced very high game scores as well. Easy access to the computer's innards will appeal to gamers and graphics enthusiasts who like to get their hands in their hardware.
The Amax Power 660+ with Intel's 3.6-GHz Pentium 4 660 CPU turns in relatively strong performance at a price that looks like a bargain compared with the cost of the two previous machines.
Our latest value system, Sony's VAIO VGC-RA842G, is a fine multimedia PC best suited to the enthusiast who wants a complete audio, video, and graphics package.
Two computers narrowly missed the chart this month: HP's dx5150 Business Desktop and Pavilion a1130n Desktop PC. The dx5150 is a well-designed office system that takes up minimal space and permits easy upgrades to extend its useful life. The Pavilion a1130n is a terrific entry-level multimedia PC for the budget-conscious student.
Notebooks
Notebooks powerful enough to take the place of a desktop PC don't have to be costly, or as heavy as an anchor. Case in point: the new number four desktop replacement, the 7.2-pound Compaq Presario M2000Z. Our model included a $25, 12-cell extended-life rear-mounted battery, which lasted almost 5 hours on one charge in our tests; the battery also gives the notebook a slant that makes typing more comfortable. A port on the left side of the notebook lets you attach the $299 HP xb2000 docking station, which adds powerful speakers and a second hard drive that bumps storage up another 160GB.
Three other notebook PCs made it onto this month's list, including two new all-purpose models, the Gateway M250E and the Dell Latitude D510. Equipped with its own extra-cost ($60), extended-life 12-cell battery, the number three Gateway M250E offers the longest battery life on the chart: almost 6.5 hours.
The Dell Latitude D510, at number four, is a sedate-looking business machine highlighted by a multipurpose bay. All the interchangeable bay devices have built-in spring-loaded side releases so you don't have to fumble around when you want to swap a device.
Toshiba's thin and light Portégé R200-S234 has a surprisingly fine keyboard.
Our one new ultraportable, the Toshiba Portégé R200-S234, more than measures up in the lightweight division at 2.8 pounds (without power adapter or optical drive).
Click on the links below for this month's charts:
Inside Info
Value ScannersThe HP Scanjet 4890 Photo Scanner outpaced the field, including the high-end Epson Perfection 4490 Photo, the Microtek ScanMaker S400, and the Umax Astra 6700. Epson's Perfection 3490 Photo and two Canon CanoScan LiDE models are bargains.
More on the WebPC World uses its industry-standard benchmarking application, WorldBench 5, to evaluate desktop PCs, notebook PCs, and tablet PCs. We run a number of real-world applications performing real-world computing tasks. You can go here for more details on PC World's Star Ratings.
The Top 100 TeamFreelance writers Paul Jasper and Richard Jantz, PC World contributing editors Kirk Steers and Carla Thornton, and PC World editors Laura Blackwell, Eric Butterfield, Tracey Capen, Kalpana Ettenson, Tom Mainelli, Melissa J. Perenson, Narasu Rebbapragada, Dan Sommer, and Alan Stafford contributed to the Top 100 section this month. Ulrike Diehlmann, Elliott Kirschling, Jeff Kuta, Tony K. Leung, Thomas Luong, and William Wang of the PC World Test Center tested the products reviewed in this issue, with logistical support provided by Greg Adler.