PC: Nethighstreet Net PCW 799
Net PCW 799 was the fastest PC in our Sysmark 2004 SE tests with a score of 190
Thanks mainly to its Socket 754 Athlon 64 3400+ processor, the Net PCW 799 was the fastest PC in our Sysmark 2004 SE tests with a score of 190. The Mesh Matrix includes the seemingly quicker 3500+ CPU, but this runs at 2GHz, while the chip used here is clocked at 2.4GHz.
The processor sits at the centre of an MSI motherboard with 512MB of RAM. Unfortunately this board provides just two Dimm slots, limiting users to a maximum of 2GB, or 1.5GB in this configuration.
Much better news is the inclusion of a 200GB Maxtor hard disk, an Asus DVD-Rom unit and an NEC 3520A dual-layer DVD rewriter. There’s also a floppy drive with an integrated 6-in-1 memory card reader.
The MSI board offers both an advanced graphics riser and an x16 PCI Express slot for graphics cards. While the former is compatible only with certain adapters, the system comes with a 128MB PCI-Express Geforce 6600GT fitted – a popular choice.
This is the only machine to pair this card with a 19in monitor, a 12ms Philips 190S5 LCD. The Net PCW 799 managed a 3Dmark05 score of 3,800 and produced nearly 65fps in our Far Cry tests, providing smooth gameplay at a resolution of 1,024 x 768.
There’s plenty of room for both internal and external expansion, including four free 3.5in bays, four rear and two front USB2 ports and Gigabit Ethernet. The system comes preloaded with Windows XP Home, PowerDVD 5, a suite of Nero utilities for burning CDs and DVDs and Open Office. It also ships with Norton Internet Security 2005 and games.
PC: Watford Aries Performa 7211
This was one of the most interesting systems on test. Like the Carrera (see page 45), it uses an impressive 256MB ATI Radeon graphics card and a PCI Express X800XL.
Unfortunately, the PC’s relatively slow Athlon 64 3000+ managed to hold performance back to deliver the lowest Sysmark 2004 SE score of the pack, despite being paired with 1GB of RAM. The machine is still ideal for general productivity tasks, but it just doesn’t cut the mustard when compared with the others tested. It also scored the second highest 3Dmark with 4,787.
We found the Aries case design a little annoying. It looks as if two optical drives are installed when there is really only a single LG DVD rewriter, and this was impossible to open using the eject button on the review model.
In addition, the floppy drive bay does nothing but smile at the user; the real floppy is directly above and includes a more useful integrated 6-in-1 memory card reader. Things are much better inside, with tool-free drive bays and expansion slots, a healthy 200GB hard drive and four Dimm slots.
Watford supplies the same 17in BenQ monitor, Microsoft keyboard and mouse set and Creative 5.1 speakers as the Carrera. Six USB2 (four rear and two front) ports and Firewire connections allow for extras, although the lack of a modem is a little disappointing. However, the ATI RX480-based motherboard does include Gigabit LAN and support for 7.1-channel surround sound.
To get users up and running the system comes with Microsoft Works 8 and Easy CD Creator, along with Windows XP Home Edition. Watford has also included Panda Anti-virus to help keep any nasties at bay.
All in all, the Aries Performa is a capable machine for the price.
PC: Jal Serena+
This machine’s black and silver tower case doesn’t stand out from the crowd. The front includes two optical drives: a BenQ DVD-Rom unit and a 16-speed dual-layer DVD rewriter from Toshiba/Samsung, a 3.5in floppy drive, plus USB2 and audio connectors neatly concealed behind a small grille.
Unlike some modern cases, the Jal’s requires a bit of screwdriver action before you can remove the side panel. Inside, the PC is designed around an Athlon 64 3200+, running at 2GHz, ably supported by two 512MB Dimms giving a total of 1GB of memory. Two slots remain for further modules, and the ATI-based Optronix motherboard can take up to 4GB. In tests, the system managed a Sysmark 2004 SE score of 169.
The hard disk is a 160GB model – adequate but dwarfed by the 200GB drives on most other machines in this selection. The Serena includes the popular GeForce 6600GT graphics card, which helped it to an average of 58fps in Far Cry and 3,107 under 3Dmark05.
There’s plenty of room for external expansion with another four USB2 ports at the rear, plus Firewire, serial, parallel and PS/2 connectors. There’s also an output for an onboard graphics chip, an Intel modem, Ethernet and five PCI slots.
The Serena+ comes bundled with a wireless Logitech keyboard and rechargeable mouse, plus a Viewsonic VG712s monitor.
Jal is the only manufacturer to supply the often underrated Microsoft Works Suite 2005, which includes six popular packages including Word, Money and Encarta.
It’s not Office, but it’s perfect for small office/home office computing. There’s also a 30-day trial of PC-Cillin anti-virus software, something of a must for Windows users these days.
PC: Intellect Prodesk A64/3000+
This is possibly the most interesting PC in our group test. It features several recent technologies and came with the new Windows XP x64 Edition pre-installed.
The Prodesk A64/3000+ is one of two to have an Althon64 3000+ processor, clocked at 1.8GHz, supported here by a whopping 2GB of RAM. This is supplied as two 1GB Dimms and the Gigabyte motherboard has two more slots for extra memory.
All of this is complemented by a 200GB Maxtor hard drive, more than enough storage for most users’ immediate needs. A 13-in-1 memory card reader is included, along with an NEC dual-layer DVD rewriter and, although plain, its case is more appealing than that of many rivals.
The single optical drive does make disc-to-disc copying a little laborious, but this is not a big problem. The Pro Desk comes with a Microsoft multimedia keyboard and optical mouse, and its Sharp LL-176GB 17in monitor delivers a crisp image.
Digging further reveals one reason for so much RAM. Intellect has used a 256MB nVidia Geforce 6200 Turbocache graphics card, which has 64MB of its own memory and borrows the rest from the system. The technology is designed to bring more power to lower-priced machines, but can’t hold its own against the competition here, as demonstrated by the lowest Far Cry and 3Dmark05 scores.
The extra RAM did help lift the Intellect’s Sysmark 2004 SE results and the PC can cope well with standard office applications. There’s also good news on the expansion front with eight USB ports and two external 800Mbps 1394b Firewire ports. Software is the splendid Open Office 1.1, Avast Anti-virus and Nero Reloaded.
PC: Evesham Axis SB
Evesham’s Axis SB is designed around an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ processor, fitted to an MSI K8N Neo-4 Platinum Nforce4 Ultra motherboard. Two Dimms provide 512MB of dual-channel memory and there are two spare slots for further expansion. The case is easy to open, with a clip-based side panel and it’s tidy inside.
There’s a 160GB hard disk, which is small compared to the 200GB offerings on other PCs here. However, unless users intend to edit video, build a sizeable photo library or develop a large MP3 music collection, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The case has plenty of room for additional drives.
One worrying feature is the 128MB Geforce 6600 graphics card. This performs far better than integrated chips but doesn’t stack up well against the GT version or ATI offerings used by the competition. It explains the PC’s 3Dmark05 scores, which shows that anyone looking to run modern games at the monitor’s native resolution may be disappointed. The Axis also came in the bottom half of the Sysmark 2004 SE results table.
Other components include a Sony DVD rewriter and matching DVD-Rom drive, six USB2 and two Firewire sockets, plus twin Gigabit Ethernet ports. A set of Creative Inspire 5800 5.1 speakers, a Microsoft keyboard and mouse and a 17in Viewsonic VX715 monitor round off the hardware. Evesham bundles Microsoft Works 8 and Roxio Easy Media Creator Basic with the Axis, along with Sonic Cineplayer for watching DVDs and Etrust anti-virus. All in all, this is a good starter pack.
PC: Carrera Ultimate 64 PCW-09
Even at first glance, Carrera’s Ultimate 64 has a lot going for it. Its Matrix midi-tower case is stylish and won instant approval.
A single LG dual-layer DVD rewriter sits at the top, while a floppy drive with an integrated 6-in-1 memory card reader occupies one of the 3.5in bays – handy for digital camera users. The front also features two easily accessible USB2 sockets, audio connectors and a Firewire port. The look is finished off with a bright blue LED.
Inside, the Ultimate 64 is built on an Asus K8V SE Deluxe motherboard with an Athlon 64 3700+ processor clocked at 2.4GHz, the joint fastest on test. This is backed by 512MB of RAM and a 200GB Maxtor hard disk. Having the fastest processor doesn’t always make for the fastest PC and the Ultimate came in a tight second, just ahead of the Mesh Matrix Eclipse PCW in our Sysmark 2004 SE tests.
Although the Asus board has an 8x AGP slot, the system’s 256MB ATI X800 All-in-Wonder graphics card blew away the competition in 3Dmark05. It also notched up a healthy score in Far Cry. Add an integrated TV tuner and video-capture facilities and you have a real winner.
The Carrera has plenty of room for add-ons, with four more USB2 ports and Firewire at the rear, and has exactly the same 17in Benq TFT screen, speakers and Microsoft keyboard and mouse as the Watford Aries. Customers also get Microsoft Works 8, Easy CD Creator and Panda Anti-virus on the software front, plus ATI’s utilities for the All-in-Wonder card. The Carrera Ultimate 64 PCW-09 is a cracking performer that’s packed with features. It even looks good.
Colour laser printer: Canon LBP-5200
The price of colour lasers has now dropped enough to make them worth considering for large volume printing. The LBP-5200 is the latest, and cheapest, addition to Canon’s Laser Shot range.
The LBP-5200’s features surprised us. It is capable of churning out mono text at a rate of 19 pages per minute (ppm), according to Canon, but that doesn’t take into account the 24 seconds for the first page to appear.
Colour images mixed with text took a bit more processing time. When we printed 10 pdf documents they arrived in two minutes, 44 seconds, which equates to about 4ppm. A full A4 colour image took 38 seconds to print.
Print quality was impressive considering the printer’s low cost. Black text was sharp, accurate and legible at all point sizes. Colour graphics were good and largely free from the laser hatching effect.
Colour photo quality was admirable, but lacked the depth, clarity and richness of inkjet printing. Canon’s Automatic Image Refinement (AIR) technology, which allows an equivalent printing resolution of 9,600 x 600dpi, helps out, but for photo prints an inkjet is the best bet.
One slight downside is the 125-sheet paper feed, which is exposed to the elements and feels slightly flimsy. Running costs are average, and as with most commoditised printers, the consumables is where integrators can make money. Overall, the LBP-5200 is a quality laser at a good price.
Multifunction device: Lexmark P4350
The P4350 is Lexmark’s newest multifunction device (MFD) and the design is an improvement on previous models.
Combining a flatbed A4 scanner with an inkjet photo printer in a sleek and stylish case, the P4350 can also produce colour photocopies. The memory card reader built into the control panel spanning the front of the unit grabs image files from every major memory card format, while a USB socket enables users to print photos direct from a Pictbridge digital camera.
A range of image manipulation features make dealing with photos simpler, a helpful function for SMEs or marketing departments. There are resize and rotate buttons at the front of the unit, and the menu button gives access to basic image-editing settings, print quality and paper-size options.
Images can be previewed on the 1.7in colour LCD screen or printed as an index sheet of thumbnail images. The inclusion of a page preview button allows users to print draft photos before using more expensive photo paper.
The printer houses a three-colour cartridge (cyan, magenta and yellow) along with a photo cartridge (light black, light cyan and light magenta). Image quality was good and on a par with other MFDs, but not a patch on dedicated photo printers. As for photo print speeds, the Lexmark won’t break any records. Waiting more than six minutes for an A4 colour photo at top-quality settings can be tiresome.
The Lexmark P4350 might not be able to produce pixel-perfect prints, but users do get a lot for your money.