CyberMax Enthusiast KII 350

CyberMax Enthusiast KII 350

It's astounding how much computer a little over a grand will buy you these days. For just $1149, CyberMax's Enthusiast KII 350 offers such features as a DVD-ROM drive and a 17-inch monitor along with plenty of expandability and acceptable performance.

The Enthusiast, powered by AMD's K6-2-350 processor, scored 161 on our PC WorldBench 98 test suite, on a par with systems running on Pentium II-300 CPUs. Its performance is also about average for computers priced under $1200--so speed shouldn't be your first, or even second, priority if you are considering this machine.

The 17-inch CyberMax monitor bundled with this PC disappointed us. Displayed images lacked crispness, and colors seemed a bit dull. The system's sound quality, on the other hand, was quite pleasing, thanks in part to the Altec Lansing ACS 45.1 speaker and subwoofer combination. If you like to listen to music through your PC while you work, these speakers are a fine choice.

Open drive bays and adapter slots abound inside this midtower. Once we removed the screws and the sturdy casing, we found a spacious interior--and a tangle of wires. But we also found six free drive bays and four open expansion slots.

The Enthusiast ships with both a quick setup guide and a thorough system manual to get you up and running. CyberMax backs its systems with a warranty of three years on parts and one year on labor. Technical support representatives are available around the clock.

SUMMARY

PRO: Great set of features for the price CON: Poor monitor quality