Polywell Poly 845PE-2400

WHAT'S HOT: The silver and aluminum sheen of Polywell's latest offering evokes a sleek, industrial coolness. The case has an easy-to-remove side panel: Simply undo two large thumbscrews, tug the rounded handle on back, and the panel slips off easily. The interior is spacious, with cables bound together and out of the way. Each of the PC's PCI slots also has its own thumbscrew--you won't need a screwdriver.

WHAT'S NOT: Our test unit, though inexpensive, didn't arrive with an office suite or any software for general business tasks.

The Creative Cambridge SoundWorks SW320 two-speaker-and-subwoofer set delivered uneven sound. Bass notes were satisfying and powerful, but vocal tracks sounded thin and screechy. The speakers lack a headphone jack, and the knob for adjusting bass levels is ill-conceived; it's located on the back of the subwoofer.

WHAT ELSE: Outfitted with a 2.4-GHz Pentium 4 and 512MB of 333-MHz DDR memory, our test unit clocked a score of 117 on PC WorldBench 4 tests--the slowest system with that configuration and operating system, though only by a couple points. This system has a total of three open drive bays for adding optical or other removable media drives.

The beige, 19-inch AOC 9Glr monitor displayed colors in photos better than it did text in our tests. Colors appeared vivid and facial tones were realistic; text was legible but not evenly focused across the screen. A jog dial lets you cycle through on-screen controls easily.

The keyboard--beige with seven hot-keys--is solidly built. It allows smooth typing. The hot-keys let you launch Internet and other applications, but won't let you adjust audio levels or CD playback.

UPSHOT: Polywell's Poly 845PE-2400 is suitable for anyone who wants a stylish-looking--but otherwise ordinary--PC.

SUMMARY

Polywell Poly 845PE-2400 PC WorldBench4 score of 117, 2.4-GHz Pentium 4 CPU, 512MB of DDR333 SDRAM, Windows XP Home, 120GB hard drive, 48X/16X/48X CD-RW drive, Leadtek WinFast A250LE (GeForce4 Ti 4200) graphics card with 128MB of DDR SDRAM, 17-inch AOC 9Glr monitor, Creative Cambridge SoundWorks speakers, network adapter, midsize tower case. Three-year parts, five-year labor warranty; lifetime 24-hour weekday toll-free support (4 hours Saturday). $1399 800/789-8027 www.polywell.com