Three hundred may have been the charm last month, but this time around vendors have settled for nothing less than 333MHz for processor speed -- going all the way to 450MHz and every increment in between. Our tests reveal that there's less difference in performance between the models than Intel would have you believe That's right. While Intel may quote iCOMP indexes showing smooth incremental performance gains with each successive CPU release, the reality is a far more disjunctive set of benchmark figures with erratic overlaps between the frequencies once the complete system is taken into account. And the final result depends more on how each vendor sets the system up and what components are used rather than the processor speed itself.
Pioneer Computers stood out this month as a class-leading performer with its latest Pioneer 98 PII 350 PC. It came within a hair's breadth of the Prodigy Diamond running on a 450MHz Pentium II in the SYSmark tests and beat just about anything we've ever benchmarked under Norton's Multimedia and 3D categories. Not surprisingly, it finishes first pushing down one of its own -- last month's chart topper Pioneer 98 CII 300 which underwent a $100 price drop. And $150 off the Pioneer 98 PII 300 makes it a trifecta for this Sydney-based PC vendor landing it in third place, up one from last month
Maxi Domain makes a come-back with a Pentium II 350 powered desktop and is the only other Value PC reviewed this month to help itself into the charts. The others, while all quality PCs in their oven rights, didn't have quite the price/performance combination this time around. But happily, there were no duds.
The Blue Chip list received a fresh injection of two new PCs from direct sale rivals Dell and Gateway, both running at 333MHz. But while Gateway goes the path of Pentium II, Dell has decided to give Intel's new "Basic PC" Celeron processor a spin. The latter is suffixed by a lower case "c" to denote that there is actually some cache on board the processor now -- 128K to be exact. Appointed the Dimension XPS V333c, it scored impressively in all benchmarks and almost takes out the top spot for this month. Optima, however, stayed a step ahead and dropped its PII 350 PC to $2520 retaining its crown.
And saving the best till last, this month's sole portable is a stunning subnotebook entry from Acer. Where the TravelMate 311T differs from most ultra-lights is that it's actually usable with a comprehensive array of connectivity and a reasonably sized keyboard. The tiny lithium ion battery is capable of lasting up to two hours on the road and a second battery will be supplied with the higher-end model 312T once it's released. Apparently selling like hotcakes in Japan and Hong Kong, the 311T features a silver finish on the display panel that is purely modal and will probably wear out around the edges if it is used in the way it was intended, but I doubt that will bother many people.
Blue Chip PCs reviewed this month
DELL DIMENSION XPS V333C
The V-Series of Dimension PCs sit just under the R-Series in Dell's desktop line-up. Catering for the home user, Dell has opted for Intel's "budget" Celeron 333MHz to offer a low-cost alternative to the high-performance Dimension Rs. However, it still carries most of the same equipment in its configuration as the R range. Available in either a mid-tower or desktop design, the XPS V333c adopts the 440BX chip set from Intel allowing for a 100MHz bus; though the Celeron 333 processor will have to settle for a 66MHz bus. The mid-tower configuration we reviewed is a well-styled design that integrates the floppy drive in its fascia leaving the remaining two externally accessible 3.5in bays free for expansion. Unfortunately, the side panel on the case is still a little difficult to remove for two-handed bipeds.
The XPS V333 integrates the ATI Rage Pro graphics adapter into the motherboard and can be optioned with an internal 56K US Robotics modem. Options such as DVD-ROM and Zip Drives abound, as well as a choice of Windows 98 or NT 4.0 Workstation.
[check] Good design, quality [x] Case difficult to open Rank: (2) Price: $2459 Dell Computer Phone: 1800 810 678 www.dell.com.au
GATEWAY E3200 333
The E-Series desktop range from Gateway targets the business network environment and emphasises LAN manageability by including everything a workstation' needs and nothing it doesn't. Our review system is configured in a compact desktop case …
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий