WHAT'S HOT: The design of the NetVista M41 is particularly conducive for getting inside the system. When you press in a button on each side, the entire case cover pops up and slides off, revealing a neat interior that gives you fast, tool-less access to components. Drives reside in cages that lift out via handles; but only one is available for expansion. You can add cards to the three open PCI slots after lifting up a purple slot cover. The case itself is black, with two USB 1.1 ports up front.

WHAT'S NOT: Those front-mounted USB ports were loose inside our test system's case, requiring us to open it up and snap them into the front slot before they could be used. The NetVista M41 we tested came with a 16X DVD-ROM drive, but it lacked a recordable optical drive. At this system's price, we would have expected a reasonably fast CD-RW drive.

WHAT ELSE: With a 2.2-GHz Pentium 4 and 256MB of PC133 SDRAM memory, this NetVista scored 103 on our PC WorldBench 4 tests--7 points below the average for comparably configured systems running Windows XP Professional.

The ATI Radeon 7000 graphics board with 64MB of video RAM is a surprising inclusion in this machine; although it's an older-generation board, it's more powerful than is typical for a corporate workstation.

Our test unit came with IBM's G78 monitor, a 17-inch CRT with a flat-screen design. It performed well on our tests, displaying vibrant colors and natural-looking skin tones, as well as crisp, legible text.

Designed for use in large corporate environments, the M41 has a Wake-on-LAN-enabled network interface and ships ready to connect to an existing office network. Though client management software is not included, IT managers can download IBM's Remote Deployment Manager 3.1 for remotely managing M41 PCs. The software is included in the cost of M41 systems; it can be used with non-IBM systems for an additional fee.

The documentation that shipped with our test unit consisted of only a quick-reference guide with brief sections on setting up the M41, troubleshooting it, and contacting tech support. Other, more-detailed system information is available at IBM's Web site.

UPSHOT: Pricier than its components might suggest, this NetVista M41 still is a well-designed system suitable for corporate environments.

SUMMARY

IBM NetVista M41 (679244U) PC WorldBench 4 score of 103, 2.2-GHz Pentium 4 CPU, 256MB of PC133 SDRAM, Windows XP Professional, 40GB hard drive, 16X DVD-ROM drive, ATI Radeon 7000 graphics card with 64MB of DDR SDRAM, 17-inch IBM G78 monitor, integrated sound, network adapter, desktop case. Three-year parts warranty, one-year labor warranty; paid, 24-hour daily tech support. $1839 800/426-2968 www.ibm.com/netvista