The Fastest of the Fast
- — 18 January, 2000 13:43
Five slightly more affordable, almost as powerful and more readily available 600MHz machines:
Dell Dimension XPS T600
Digital Star PowerPro P3-600B
Gateway Performance 600
IBM Aptiva 75A
Peripherals Plus Intel PIII 600
Peripherals Plus Intel PIII 600
This particular model from Peripherals Plus is based on the Intel Pentium III 600 and is configured with a 32MB Matrox Millennium G400 with the dual-head setup allowing simultaneous display of different applications on two monitors under Windows 98. Other configuration features include 128MB of SDRAM as well as a 13GB hard-disk drive to take care of the storage.
Internet connectivity is facilitated by an internal NetComm 56Kbps V.90 modem, while CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs are handled by the DVD-ROM drive. Accompanying the DVD-ROM drive is an integrated Sound Blaster audio controller providing the stereo sounds. Peripherals Plus pushes pixels your way using an excellent 17in Sony Trinitron monitor that provides sharp, crisp, colourful images at high, flicker-free resolutions. Peripherals Plus uses an AOPEN ATX form factor case which is neatly set out with the components and includes a diagram describing the layout of the motherboard.
Performance was reasonable within the field and the PC WorldBench 98 result narrowly missed cracking the magic 250 mark, returning a best result of 241. In the realm of graphics performance, it returned a score of 5079 3D marks and when tested using KingPin and Quake II at a resolution of 1024 x 768 it returned scores of 40 frames per second and 69 frames per second, respectively. The Peripherals Plus Intel PIII 600 has a recommended retail price of $3695 and warranty is 3 years on-site (insurance underwritten). - Spiro HionisConfiguration: Intel Pentium III 600MHz CPU, 128MB SDRAM, 13GB hard drive, 32MB Matrox Millennium G400 dual-head graphics adapter.
Extra features: 17in Sony Trinitron monitor, DVD-ROM drive, internal 56Kbps modem, SB integrated audio, speakers, Lotus SmartSuite Millennium, IBM entertainment and education software bundle.
Price: $3695
Warranty: 3 years on-site
Vendor: Peripherals Plus
Phone: (02) 9630 3166
URL: www.perplus.com.au
