March 1998
PCs UNDER $1,000
Budget-minded technology for business
If you're still working on the dinosaur computer from 1983 or have yet
to make the technological plunge at all, it might be time for you to consider
a trip to the computer store.
CNET, an on-line computer magazine, recently reviewed 12 PCs that will
be lenient on your bank account. Computers costing less than $1,000 now
make up 40% of computer retail sales in the U.S., the site reports. Systems
that offer the most for the money:
- Acer Aspire 1240, $999. The price includes a 15-in. monitor, 2 GB hard
drive and beginner tutorial software. Reviewers say the system is slow
(equivalent to a 166-MHz, non-MMX Pentium processor), but its 256K external
cache adds zip. The reviewers also cited easy setup and good support and
service. Drawbacks include few available ports for ancillary equipment.
Contact www.acer.com or (408) 432-6200.
- CyberMax Family Max C1 PR166, $1,199. Though higher than the $1,000
ceiling, the package includes a 15-in. monitor, 2.5 GB Western Digital
hard drive, 16X CD-ROM drive and STB Nitro 3D Graphics card for multimedia
effects. The 33.6-kbps modem offers voice mail, speaker phone and simultaneous
voice and data transmission. Software includes Corel's Wordperfect Suite
7, Intuit Quicken SE and a package of CDs. Speed is considered average
(equivalent to a 166-MHz Pentium processor with MMX, but at a much lower
price). Contact www.cybmax.com or (800) 345-8939.
- Maximus Magna Media-A, $999. Reviewers were amazed at the price of
this PC, which they recommend for business use. The package includes 32MB
of RAM, a 2.4 GB IBM hard drive, 166-MHz MMX Pentium processor, 12XCD-ROM
drive, 14-in. monitor and accompanying Lotus Smart Suite office software.
The computer scored second place in CNET's performance ratings among the
12 evaluated PCs. For more information on the PCs reviewed by CNET, see
www.computers.com.
- by Stacey King
Copyright © 1998 by Bond Communications.
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