IBuyPower Media-XP
Limited media machine runs quietly and looks great.
Artwork by Rick Rizner, John Goddard
The IBuypower Media-XP is very similar to the January 2005 roundup's CyberPower Media Center PC, with a few minor differences. Both are big, attractive black boxes with concave fronts. Though a bit chunky, either would look good in a wall unit, provided that you can spare a shelf at least 6.75 inches tall, 16.75 inches wide, and 16.25 inches deep, plus breathing room. The Media-XP we tested, however, lacked the second optical drive, the floppy drive, and the superior radio tuner of the CyberPower model.
Nonetheless, the Media-XP offers a few advantages. For one thing, it's a quieter machine, an important consideration for the living room. In our speed tests, the Media-XP enjoyed a slight performance edge, too, turning in a WorldBench 5 score of 92, compared with the CyberPower PC's score of 88. The system is nicely designed, with two spring-loaded front panels concealing a seven-in-one memory card reader, a multiformat DVD burner, and two of the PC's six USB ports. The case's rear provides in and out connections for video and audio equipment.
Our $2247 test PC came with a 19-inch ViewSonic Q190mb flat-panel monitor, plus a ViewSonic multimedia keyboard and optical mouse--all fine peripherals. We enjoyed the Creative Inspire P7800 7.1 surround-sound speakers and subwoofer, as well.
Quiet and great-looking, this black-aluminum PC could pass for a stereo component, but it lacks the extras that would propel it to the top of our chart.
Carla Thornton
Artwork by Rick Rizner, John Goddard
Photograph by Rick Rizner
Photograph by Rick Rizner