Acer Veriton L460

by Jon L. Jacobi

Tiny but powerful, this PC is perfect for small workspaces and kiosks.

About the size of a hardcover novel, the Acer Veritron L460 is a great option if you want to fit a value PC into a tight space (such as behind a desk, under a table, or in a kiosk). It may be small, but this Acer's case is tightly packed with an Intel E4700 CPU, 2GB of 337-MHz DDR2 memory, and a 3.5-inch 160GB (7200-rpm) hard drive.

Despite having all of those components jammed into it, the L460 ran amazingly cool to the touch-an important but often overlooked factor to consider when choosing a PC for tight quarters. The 3.5-inch hard drive surprised us a bit: Though 3.5-inchers are usually faster, they also emit more heat and leave less room for an additional drive than less power-hungry 2.5-inch models.

The L460's styling is nice though hardly spectacular. We appreciated the compact desktop's ability to stand upright or on its side when the included base is screwed on. The base is wide enough to allay any concern that a user might inadvertently tip the unit over; you can keep the L460 on top of your desk to access the DVD-writer slot or USB ports without fear of toppling it.

Speaking of USB ports, we would have liked to see a few more. Two in front and four in back may sound adequate, but you lose two of them right off the bat to the bundled keyboard and mouse. Four ports aren't enough when the only available way to expand the unit's capabilities and storage is via USB. That said, you can overcome the shortage of USB ports by using an external hub.

The system's score of 94 on our WorldBench 6 test suite means that the L460 should have no trouble handling the business chores it's designed to perform. On the other hand, it's not a viable option for gamers; in fact, its gaming frame rates are amongst the lowest we've seen recently, and the unit has no room to hold a graphics card if you're tempted to upgrade. Despite the system's incapacity to deal with action games, its bundled Acer X193W 19-inch wide-screen display had a very nice picture.

We heartily recommend the L460 for any space-challenged environment, especially if its primary duty will be to perform business tasks. It's also a great fit for users who simply don't want a large, ungainly PC hanging around

Source : www.pcworld.com

Polywell Poly I7050

by Richard Jantz

Delivers solid performance for basic tasks but not for fast-action games, and its compact case limits expansion.

If you want a space-saving value desktop computer that's powerful enough for general applications, Web surfing, and other routine tasks, the $729 (as of 2/7/08) Polywell Poly i7050 fills the bill. The i7050 weighs only about 12 pounds, versus 28 pounds for Dell's Inspiron 530. But as with nearly all compact models, the trade-off is that you have fewer expansion options inside.

The configuration we tested was equipped with a 2-GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2180 processor and two sticks of 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 memory (2GB total) mounted on an EVGA NF77 nVidia nForce 630i motherboard with integrated nVidia GeForce 7150 graphics and HDMI output.

Despite the entry-level CPU, the Poly i7050 scored admirably in our productivity application benchmarks. It tied with the Sys Technology Sys Slimline Si200 in earning a WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 77, the best in our roundup. But like all of the other low-priced systems that use integrated graphics instead of a discrete graphics card, the Poly i7050 tested poorly in graphics performance, so it's not a good choice for 3D gaming fans. However, you can add a low-profile (half-height) graphics card in the system's open PCI Express x16 slot if you want to improve graphics performance; Polywell charges $72 for a 256MB nVidia GeForce 8400GS card (which has twice the memory as the one in the Dell Inspiron 530 we tested) and $85 for a 512MB nVidia GeForce 8500GT.

The Poly i7050's components are housed in a small, 13-by-16-inches, black-and-silver case that's barely 4 inches high. (You can get the same Poly i7050 system components in a cube-shaped case, as well.) Numerous vents--sides, top, and rear--helped keep our test unit cool, along with a quiet CPU fan inside.

The unit we tested had a 250GB Seagate hard drive and a DVD/CD combo writer, leaving only one drive bay (an external 3.5-inch one) free; accessing it requires unlocking a large metal cage and tilting it upwards, a somewhat cumbersome procedure.

Our i7050 also included a KDS K-92BW 19-inch LCD (1440 by 900 native resolution) with a VGA analog-only interface and decent image quality, though it wasn't quite as bright as some of the other 19-inch LCDs on competing systems. The i7050's USB-based Logitech RX300 optical mouse and Logitech 350 keyboard are better than the bare-bones input devices bundled with some budget PCs, but they also take up two of the PC's seven total USB ports.

If small size matters most to you, the Poly i7050's strong performance and features make it a good candidate among the budget-priced compact models. Otherwise, the midsize, $689 Dell Inspiron 530 is arguably a better deal, since it costs a bit less and comes with a discrete graphics card.

Source : www.pcworld.com

Micro Express Microflex 82B

by Nick Mediati, PC World

The MicroFlex 82B gives you plenty of horsepower without draining your savings.

A powerful, fully equipped value-oriented system, the MicroFlex 82B sports a 3-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU, 2GB of memory, a 250GB Serial ATA hard drive, and Windows Vista Business. Unlike many budget PCs, the MicroFlex 82B ships with a dedicated graphics card--an nVidia GeForce 8800GT that carries 512MB of video memory. Thanks to its speedy processor and dedicated graphics, the MicroFlex 82B achieved a WorldBench 6 score of 117. While that doesn't quite reach high-end gaming PC territory, it makes this machine ideal for everyday computing tasks and even some gaming, too.

Our test unit's $799 price (as of August 8, 2008) included the cost of a 17-inch Samsung 740BX display. The bundled Microsoft keyboard and mouse are about what you would expect from a budget system: good but not extraordinary. Despite its generic-looking case, the MicroFlex 82B has plenty of features to like, such as a total of eight USB ports, gigabit ethernet, and S/PDIF digital audio input. In addition, the 82B supports up to 7.1 surround sound.

The MicroFlex 82B is very expandable too, with a total of two PCI and five PCI Express slot (four of which are open), plus a good number of open drive bays. This is one budget PC with plenty of growing room. I also found the system to be reasonably quiet.

The documentation left something to be desired, though. Though the PC comes with documentation for various pieces of the system, there is no user's guide for the entire package. A hardware installation guide provides instructions for installing or replacing certain components, but the instructions are somewhat lacking in detail.

All things considered, however, the MicroFlex 82B does enough right for it to be a very good option for anyone needing a budget PC

Source : www.pcworld.com