Joel Strauch
Polywell Poly 880KR-1300
Running Windows 2000 and packed with 256MB of DDR SDRAM, this pewter-colored, 1.3-GHz Polywell scored an impressive 224 on PC WorldBench 2000. The system's pair of 30GB hard drives connected to an IDE RAID card should speed up disk-intensive tasks like video editing. The 19-inch ViewSonic GS790 monitor delivered brilliant colors with our test images and crisp, readable text with only slight blurring at its maximum resolution of 1600 by 1200. The zippy 16X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, 16X DVD-ROM drive, and top-notch Creative Labs Cambridge SoundWorks Desktop Theater 5.1 DTT2200 speaker set combine to make this system a full-fledged multimedia powerhouse.The smart brushed-aluminum case clashes with the plain beige plastic of the system's monitor and keyboard, which clacks a bit and comes with a very small Backspace key.
Thumbscrews secure the PCI slots, so you can swap cards quickly. Five open drive bays (four with external access) provide ample expansion room. The spiral-bound system manual offers detailed information, and Lotus SmartSuite Millennium Edition comes bundled.
If you can justify the $2699 cost, this Poly will give you serious processing power and multimedia extras.
| Buying Information |
| Polywell Poly 880KR-1300 PC WorldBench 2000 score of 224, Athlon-1333 CPU, 256MB of DDR SDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows 2000, two 30GB hard drives with IDE RAID card, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 16X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, Leadtek Winfast GeForce2 Ultra graphics card with 64MB of DDR SDRAM, 19-inch ViewSonic GS790 monitor, Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live sound card, Creative Labs Desktop Theater 5.1 DTT2200 speakers, V.90 modem, network adapter, midsize tower case. Three-year parts warranty, five-year labor warranty; free, unlimited, 24-hour tech support. $ 2699 PC WorldBench 2000 score of 224, Athlon-1333 CPU, 256MB of DDR SDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows 2000, two 30GB hard drives with IDE RAID card, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 16X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, Leadtek Winfast GeForce2 Ultra graphics card with 64MB of DDR SDRAM, 19-inch ViewSonic GS790 monitor, Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live sound card, Creative Labs Desktop Theater 5.1 DTT2200 speakers, V.90 modem, network adapter, midsize tower case. Three-year parts warranty, five-year labor warranty; free, unlimited, 24-hour tech support. 800/999-1278 http://www.polywell.com |