Hot-Rod PCs From Micron and Polywell Race for the Flag

When we were younger, many among us dreamed of sleek, fast cars with engines that would howl deliciously whenever we stomped on the gas. The closest most of us got to those dream machines was in the pages of a magazine. In real life, we souped up our old square-box sedans so they could burn rubber when peeling out at stoplights.

The Micron Millennia Max PIII-600 and the Polywell Poly 800K7-650 show a similar split. The Millennia Max is a powerful thoroughbred of a system--a muscle machine that displays Micron's engineering from the ground up. In contrast, the Poly appears to have begun life as a typical beige box. But Polywell installed numerous high-performance parts capped by a big-time power plant, AMD's Athlon-650, to transform a dumpy sedan into a blazing hot rod.

Small-business users who focus on graphics apps or who require top processing power will love the speed and prowess of the Polywell system. They will pay for it, though: The unit costs $600 more than Micron's. Corporate buyers who want the security of a market leader--and don't mind saving a few bucks--may opt for the very capable Micron.

Try Athlon

These new systems employ the two fastest Windows-compatible processors available. The Millennia Max PIII-600's PC WorldBench 98 score of 250 demonstrates the ample power of the Pentium III-600 CPU and falls very near the average of the six PIII-600 systems we've tested running Windows 98. We reviewed a shipping unit. The Poly 800K7-650 is the first in-production PC we've tested that carries AMD's Athlon-650; its PC WorldBench score of 277 shows an advantage of nearly 11 percent over the Micron--a detectable difference in real-world use.

You'll definitely notice how the systems' case designs differ. Micron's understated case features a toolless side panel; it's a bit rough on the fingers, but all the parts line up well. Unfortunately, the Micron's interior is a snake pit of cables. The lines are tied in a bundle in several places, but from there they slither every which way. The Polywell, on the other hand, wears a tacky coat of silver paint, which does a disservice to the orderly layout within. (Polywell even silver-washed the Iomega Zip drive and the DVD-ROM drive--except for the latter's eject button, which retains its primeval beigeness.) Removing the case turned out to be easier than with the Micron, however, and we found the cabling inside neatly organized.

The included monitors also differ. The 17-inch Micron 700Vx supports a maximum resolution of 1280 by 1024, with a refresh rate that hovers at a flickering 60 Hz. Text is fuzzy at all resolutions, although images don't look too bad. Upgrading to a 17-inch Trinitron monitor costs $99 additional. (Our advice: Pay it.) The DecaView 700 19-inch monitor accompanying the Polywell can display 1600 by 1200 maximum resolution at a refresh rate of 85 Hz, although text and images blur significantly at that resolution. Text looks a bit fuzzy in the corners at lower resolutions, but it's still quite readable.

Both monitors displayed unnaturally dark DVD movie images, which we were able to correct by adjusting the DVD playback software. But don't butter the popcorn yet--the speakers included with both systems made us long for the squawk boxes we used to clip to our windows at the drive-in.

Finish Line

The Poly integrates its off-the-shelf components well, and its Athlon CPU should be collecting trophies. On the other hand, despite a few stumbles, the Millennia Max PIII-600 remains a good value. Spending just a few more dollars on optional upgrades for it will ensure a better ride than the one we had.

SUMMARY

Millennia Max PIII-600 PRO: Inexpensive, excellent documentation, solid performance. CON: Monitor below par, messy interior. VALUE: A bare-bones powerhouse suitable for most business needs. $1850 Micron 888/634-8799 www.micronpc.com

SUMMARY

Poly 800K7-650 PRO: Muscle-car power, good case serviceability. CON: You pay for every ounce of performance. VALUE: A souped-up hot rod for demanding power users. $2450 Polywell 800/999-1278 www.polywell.com