Sys Technology Sys Performance Pro 300LA

Sys Technology Sys Performance Pro 300LA

The Sys Technology Sys Performance Pro 300LA is the fastest PC we've ever tested, and it packs some impressive components. But at $3210 without business applications, it's not an inexpensive PC.

Still, if you must have the fastest system on the block, the Sys Performance Sys Pro 300LA is the one. Its PC WorldBench score of 277 is 5 points higher than that of the next fastest system we've tested, 3 percent faster than the average Pentium II-300--enough to stroke the ego, even if you'll be hard-pressed to detect much difference in day-to-day computing.

The components are noteworthy, from the 6.4GB Ultra-DMA hard drive, to the Number Nine Revolution 3D AGP graphics card with 8MB of WRAM, to the good-looking 17-inch Sys SPM-17-MS monitor. The Sound Blaster AWE64 wavetable full-duplex sound card is well matched with a good-sounding set of MLI-818 speakers. The Cardinal Connecta 56-kbps modem, using 3Com/U.S. Robotics' x2 protocol, is another nice addition.

This midsize tower is sturdy and well designed. Its interior is clean and uncluttered, thanks in large part to the tubular connector cables. Plenty of expansion slots, memory sockets, and drive bays are available.

The system documentation for this PC could be better. It consists of component manuals but no user guide. If you're not a technical whiz, you may have a hard time finding the information you need.

You'll also have a hard time keeping this PC's warranties straight. Sys Technology covers different parts of its systems for different periods of time. The good news is that the CPU and the memory are covered for six years; the warranties on other components run from one to five years. Labor is covered for five years and on-site service for one year.

Sys Technology's technical support is limited compared to that of big vendors like Dell. You get toll-free support around the clock for the first year, but then support drops to 9 hours per weekday, and you pay any toll charges. Recent anonymous calls to the company's support line were disappointing. We had to leave a number of messages before getting a response, and when we reached tech staffers, they were impatient and sometimes rude.

SUMMARY

PRO: Blazing speed, top-notch components CON: Fairly expensive, no user guide