Joel Strauch

NuTrend Athlon Mega 2

Equipped with a 1.33-GHz Athlon processor and 128MB of DDR SDRAM, this system raced to a creditable score of 178 on our PC WorldBench 2000 tests. An IEEE 1394 (aka FireWire or i.Link) card provides three high-speed ports for connecting digital video cameras, scanners, or storage devices.
Though the 19-inch ViewSonic Optiquest Z90 monitor displayed vibrant colors and crisp text at 1024 by 768 resolution, we noticed that 12-point text became blurry beginning at a resolution of 1280 by 1024. In our anonymous tech support calls, NuTrend has earned an undistinguished rating of Fair--due in part to vague responses that we received from its representatives.
The unit's one open PCI slot and four open drive bays (three of which are externally accessible) provide room for expansion in the spacious, well-kept interior. Modem and network interface cards furnish connectivity options, and the Leadtek WinFast GeForce2 MX graphics card provides a TV-out port. A Microsoft Internet Keyboard, with ten Internet and multimedia hot-keys, allows smooth and quiet typing. Corel's WordPerfect Office 2000 suite comes bundled.
This speedy small-business system can pinch-hit as a multimedia workstation for tasks such as video editing.

Buying Information

NuTrend Athlon Mega 2 PC WorldBench 2000 score of 178, Athlon-1333 CPU, 128MB of SDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows Millennium Edition, 40GB hard drive, 16X DVD-ROM drive, Leadtek WinFast GeForce2 MX graphics card with 32MB of SDRAM, 19-inch Optiquest Z90 monitor, Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live Value sound card, Altec Lansing ACS 54 speakers, network adapter, V.90 modem, midsize tower case. Three-year parts warranty, lifetime labor warranty; free, unlimited, 9-hour weekday toll-free tech support. $ 1069 PC WorldBench 2000 score of 178, Athlon-1333 CPU, 128MB of SDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows Millennium Edition, 40GB hard drive, 16X DVD-ROM drive, Leadtek WinFast GeForce2 MX graphics card with 32MB of SDRAM, 19-inch Optiquest Z90 monitor, Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live Value sound card, Altec Lansing ACS 54 speakers, network adapter, V.90 modem, midsize tower case. Three-year parts warranty, lifetime labor warranty; free, unlimited, 9-hour weekday toll-free tech support. 888/482-6678 http://www.nutrend.com