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Sub-$2000 Micron Pentium III-500

The Millennia Max 500 system offers top performance for $1999.

By Jon L. Jacobi, PCWorld   

I'm hard to satisfy when I'm hunting up a PC to buy or recommend. I want big performance, plenty of features, lots of expandability--and a small price. Those are tough requirements--and I usually have to make some compromises to get the job done. So I was surprised to find how few compromises I'd have to make to get Micron's Millennia Max 500 for only $1999. After all, you expect 500-MHz power to come at a premium. Yet this system offers top-flight performance, good expandability, and a well-balanced set of features. In short, it has everything you really need in a good business PC.

Speed to Spare

With its state-of-the-art Pentium III-500 CPU and high-performance graphics board, the Millennia Max 500 easily handles complex 3D graphics and spreadsheets that will bog down most entry-level machines. Case in point: Its 234 PC WorldBench score is only 3 points shy of the fastest PIII we've tested--and 14 percent faster than the average 450-MHz Intel-based system we've reviewed.

The system comes with 64MB of SDRAM at this price--less than you'll typically find included with most Pentium III-500s. Yet it performed on par with more generously configured 500-MHz systems on our PC WorldBench 98 test. If you keep a lot of applications open at once, however, consider spending the extra $149 to equip your PC with 128MB of main memory.

Other features include a 13.1GB Western Digital Ultra DMA-33 hard drive, an NEC 17X-40X CD-ROM drive, and a Viper 550 graphics board. The Viper is adept at both 2D and 3D manipulations, and its 16MB of SDRAM will give you all you the colors you can use up to its maximum resolution. The 17-inch Micron 700CX monitor is a fine choice for business: It looked great running at 1024-by-768 resolution, with sharp text and good graphics.

Yamaha's DX-SG 128-voice integrated sound includes hardware wavetable. The smallish Advent 009 speakers come from a brand name provider of home stereo speakers; there's no subwoofer, so there's little bass response, though their clarity and lack of distortion lifts them a notch above typical computer speakers for business use.

Nice and Expandable

The sturdy case that houses all these components is Micron's standard midtower, with an easy-open side panel and plenty of room for expansion. Three 3.5-inch bays are available (two externally accessible) as well as one free 5.25-inch externally accessible bay. Available slots are abundant as well, with two PCI, one ISA, and an additional slot that accepts either a PCI or ISA card. Surprisingly, Micron used two 32MB SDRAM modules instead of one 64MB module, leaving only one of the three DIMM slots available for adding memory (Micron offers a single 64MB module for $20 more).

There's lots of maneuvering room inside the case for repairing and upgrading, and all the cables are tied neatly out of the way. One minor point: A little design work would improve the mundane-looking beige case. And Micron could also do a better job clearly marking and color-coding all the ports to make the initial setup easier.

The software bundle is all most business users will need to get started, including Microsoft's Office Small Business Edition with a free upgrade to Office 2000 when it's available. Micron also gives you the highly competent Norton Anti-Virus to protect you from malicious intruders. Rounding out the package is a 56-kbps 3Com WinModem for online connections.

Micron's documentation is professional-looking and nicely put together, but the out-of-box experience would be much improved by a setup guide.

The warranty is pretty much industry standard. You get three-year coverage on parts and a year on labor (including on-site service). Micron extends coverage on the CPU and main memory to five years. For an additional $79, you can up the labor/on-site portion of the warranty to two years, or spend an extra $99 for three years.

Some Final Extras

Micron also includes one year of free enrollment in Micron-U--an online university dedicated to teaching you about your computer and related technologies. You have access to more than 150 courses--some instructor-led and some self-paced--covering subjects from the operating system to specific applications, as well as marketing and other subjects. The company also throws in 30 days of free Internet access with no credit card needed to activate.

The quibble I have about ease of setup is overshadowed by the fine overall value of the Millennia Max 500. When it comes to spending my own money or advising friends and clients on how to spend theirs, I tend to be a tough judge. In my opinion, this is an outstanding deal.