Midwest Micro Business Solutions 400

Midwest Micro Business Solutions 400

The $2014 Business Solutions 400 is a serious machine with fun on its mind. Running Windows NT 4.0, the system racked up a 233 on our PC WorldBench 98 tests. Not only will the Business Solutions 400 help you get work done during the business day, but its multimedia enhancements (which include the first pair of USB speakers we've seen in a Top 20 system plus all the RAM you're likely to need) will keep this system rocking into the night. The PC's Matrox Millennium G200 AGP graphics board claims the top spot among AGP graphics boards on this month's Top 10 Graphics Boards list. The USB-based Altec Lansing ADA305 speakers sound great and don't require a sound card to work.

The Business Solutions 400 will fit well into any corporate environment where PC management is not envisaged. Though the system includes a 3Com ethernet adapter for quick connection to the corporate LAN, it lacks management features such as DMI 2.0 support. On the other hand, you'll find the task of archiving important business files quick and easy. The PC comes with a SuperDisk drive in place of the standard 1.44MB floppy disk, which means that you can read and write to 120MB SuperDisk media as well as to 1.44MB floppies.

Servicing or upgrading the Business Solutions 400 is simple: You can open the case without tools, and inside you'll enjoy unfettered access to every slot and bay. Four of the seven drive bays are open, as are three of the six expansion slots. The accompanying manuals provide instructions for quick setup, plus such additional technical upgrade information as a motherboard manual.

MidWest Micro's parts warranty covers the CPU and main RAM for five years (other parts for three years); the company also offers a three-year labor warranty and around-the-clock tech support. Though we've received little feedback from readers on the reliability of MidWest Micro systems, the quality of the vendor's support seems to be good. In responding to our anonymous support calls, the staff seemed knowledgeable, though they rarely agreed to answer our questions unless we first supplied a serial number.

SUMMARY

PRO: Comes with outstanding speakers and a SuperDisk drive, inexpensive CON: Performance is somewhat lackluster for a PII-400 running Windows NT