Polywell Poly 830K7-1100

WHAT'S HOT: Based on an Athlon-1100 processor, the Poly 830K7-1100 blazed to a score of 240 on our PC WorldBench 2000 tests, setting a new high for systems running Windows NT 4.0 (for details on making comparisons between OSs, see " New in the Top 100"). This souped-up powerhouse offers 256MB of RAM and 60GB of storage on two 30GB hard drives that are connected by an IDE RAID card--a setup that reads and writes data faster than a single drive can.

WHAT'S NOT: The Poly 830K7-1100's unusual 4X/4X/24X CD-RW and 4X DVD-ROM combination drive uses one less drive bay than a configuration with two separate drives. The rather large keyboard's keys clack loudly during typing, and its backspace key is annoyingly small.

WHAT ELSE: The 19-inch ViewSonic GS790 monitor, which currently owns the number three slot on our Top 10 Monitors chart, displayed rich colors and sharp text at 1024 by 768 resolution. The Poly 830K7-1100's shiny silver midsize tower case looks more like a tiny train engine than a corporate system. To access its interior, you must remove the entire case, though it comes off easily when you push two buttons on the sides. The interior is crowded, but three open PCI slots and three open drive bays provide adequate expansion room. A large box holds the accompanying detailed system manual and the thorough documentation for individual PC components.

BEST USE: Any work environment, large or small, could benefit from the Poly 830K7-1100's combination of speedy performance and attractive features.

SUMMARY

Polywell Poly 830K7-1100 PC WorldBench 2000 score of 240, Athlon-1100 CPU, 256MB of SDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows NT 4.0, two 30GB hard drives with IDE RAID card, 4X DVD-ROM and 4X/4X/24X CD-RW combination drive, Creative Labs Tech GB0040 graphics card with 64MB of SDRAM, 19-inch ViewSonic GS790 monitor, Creative Labs SB Live sound card, Cambridge PCS100 speakers, network card, midsize tower case, Lotus SmartSuite Millennium Edition. 3-year parts warranty, 5-year labor warranty; free, unlimited 24-hour tech support. $2405 800/999-1278 www.polywell.com