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IBM NetVista A40 6578-PBU

Bare-bones corporate box.

  

WHAT'S HOT: Though it sports the standard blue-and-beige desktop packaging that IBM has used on its desktops for years, the NetVista A40 6578-PBU offers some of the latest corporate features: The system is DMI-compliant and comes with IBM's Universal Manageability Services. The entire case slides off smoothly without tools; users can easily access the unit's one open drive bay to quickly swap installed components. The 17-inch IBM G76 monitor produced deliciously rich colors and crisp text at 1024 by 768 resolution.

WHAT'S NOT: The NetVista A40 6578-PBU lacks a reset button. In addition, because the unit uses its motherboard's integrated graphics--which must borrow system memory--it's slow when running graphics-intensive applications (fortunately, it's possible to add AGP cards).

WHAT ELSE: The system offers two open PCI slots and one open drive bay for future expansion. With a PIII-866 CPU, the A40 6578-PBU earned a 168 on our PC WorldBench 2000 tests, which is 4 points below the average for similarly configured systems running Windows 2000--an imperceptible margin. Apart from a manual for the monitor, IBM shipped only a skimpy quick-reference guide with our test system. Typing on the basic, flexy IBM keyboard proved quiet, but a little sluggish.

BEST USE: The NetVista A40 6578-PBU provides many of the features large businesses are looking for.


SUMMARY
IBM NetVista A40 6578-PBU


PC WorldBench 2000 score of 168, Pentium III-866 CPU, 128MB of SDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows 2000, 20.4GB hard drive, 20X-48X CD-ROM drive, integrated Intel 815 graphics with UMA, IBM G76 17-inch monitor, integrated SoundMax Digital Audio sound, network card, desktop case, IBM Universal Manageability. 3-year parts warranty, 3-year labor warranty; free, unlimited 24-hour tech support.

$1195
800/426-2968
www.ibm.com/pc

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