Joel Strauch
Polywell Poly 850 GB-1500
Based on a 1.5-GHz Pentium 4 and running Windows 2000, the Poly 850GB-1500 posted a 205 score on our PC WorldBench 2000 tests, very close to what we've seen from other P4-1500 systems. This machine uses two 30GB hard drives connected to an IDE RAID card; together they look like one big 60GB drive on your desktop, but disk-intensive tasks run more quickly. Leadtek's WinFast GeForce2 Ultra graphics board helped the 19-inch ViewSonic PS790 monitor display sharp text--even at the high resolution of 2048 by 1536.You won't bag this Poly cheap. It sells for $2999, and the expensive RDRAM that it uses means that memory upgrades will be pricey as well--adding 128MB will cost $225. The KeyTronic keyboard serves up noisy typing and has too small a backspace key.
Polywell's large, silvery midsize tower case looks very cool, though the system would have looked even better had the keyboard, mouse, and monitor enclosure matched it. After you remove two thumbscrews, the sturdy side panel pops off easily. Cables (especially the ones going from the RAID card to the hard drives) clutter up the interior, but you'll find plenty of expansion room beneath them, thanks to four open drive bays and three open PCI slots. A thumbscrew secures each slot, so you can add and remove expansion cards without tools. A 4X/4X/32X CD-RW drive provides a solid (but not top-of-the-line) backup option. Presenters and movie watchers will appreciate two other components: the excellent Cambridge SoundWorks PCWorks five-speaker set and the 16X DVD-ROM drive.
If you can afford this beautiful and powerful system, you'll be rewarded with the envy of all your office mates.
| Buying Information |
| Polywell Poly 850 GB-1500 PC WorldBench 2000 score of 205, Pentium 4-1500 CPU, 128MB of RDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows 2000, two 30GB hard drives with IDE RAID card, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 4X/4X/32X CD-RW drive, Leadtek WinFast GeForce2 Ultra graphics card with 64MB of DDR SDRAM, 19-inch ViewSonic PS790 monitor, integrated Yamaha AC-GX sound, Cambridge SoundWorks PCWorks speakers, network adapter, midsize tower case. 3-year parts warranty, 5-year labor warranty; free, unlimited, 24-hour toll-free tech support daily. $ 2999 PC WorldBench 2000 score of 205, Pentium 4-1500 CPU, 128MB of RDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows 2000, two 30GB hard drives with IDE RAID card, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 4X/4X/32X CD-RW drive, Leadtek WinFast GeForce2 Ultra graphics card with 64MB of DDR SDRAM, 19-inch ViewSonic PS790 monitor, integrated Yamaha AC-GX sound, Cambridge SoundWorks PCWorks speakers, network adapter, midsize tower case. 3-year parts warranty, 5-year labor warranty; free, unlimited, 24-hour toll-free tech support daily. http://www.polywell.com 800/999-1278 |