Cheap PCs: The Real Deals

Budget Linux PCs: Too Cheap for Their Own Good?

As you might expect, such machines offer entry-level features. The Microtel we reviewed comes with a Sempron 2200+ CPU, a 20GB hard drive, 128MB of RAM, and Xandros Linux (available at Wal-Mart). The GQ 3111 from regional retailer Fry's Electronics (and at Outpost.com) is equipped with an Athlon XP 2000+ CPU, a 40GB hard drive, 128MB of RAM, ethernet, a modem, and the Linspire OS.

The Linux-based Linspire and Xandros operating systems resemble Windows, with similar icons, menus, and shortcuts. Both feature a button similar to Windows' Start that you click to access pop-up menus for launching applications or tweaking the OS.

Both distributions also offer software in a way that might surprise Windows users: via links to installed apps and to others you may download online. The selection for both companies is surprisingly good. Both systems come with versions of the Mozilla Web browser and OpenOffice, a suite of applications compatible with Microsoft Office. The Microtel Xandros PC also includes a handy image editor called The GIMP.

In our hands-on tests, the biggest disappointment with these PCs was their abysmal performance. Linux may not require as much power as Windows does, but it demands more than these systems provide. Booting up and launching apps went agonizingly slowly, as did performing basic operations. For example, rotating a photo, which occurs nearly instantaneously in Photoshop Elements on most Windows-based budget PCs, took over 10 seconds in The GIMP on the GQ 3111 Linspire system. When we boosted the machine's RAM from the included 128MB to 512MB, the excruciating delays disappeared, but CPU-intensive tasks still dragged; ripping a CD took about twice as long on the GQ Linspire as on the other PCs, regardless of the amount of RAM. The Microtel Xandros system was even more feeble than the GQ Linspire--it was barely able to run two applications at once.

Considering such disappointing performance, we don't recommend either of these ultracheap Linux machines, though Linux is probably not the culprit. The hardware is simply too wimpy. In the end, it doesn't pay to go rock-bottom cheap.

S.C.

Seán Captain is a freelance journalist who specializes in technology. Narasu Rebbapragada is an associate editor for PC World.