Acma ZPower P4

WHAT'S HOT: One box houses all the Acma ZPower P4's software and documentation, which includes a thick system manual with detailed upgrading and troubleshooting sections as well as a setup poster. The software bundle includes Microsoft Office XP Professional Special Edition with Microsoft Publisher 2002. To remove the side of the case you must take out two screws, but the neat and spacious interior includes three open PCI slots and four open drive bays (three exterior, one interior) for expansion. You probably won't fill up the 61.5GB hard drive anytime soon.

WHAT'S NOT: The beige midsize tower lacks a reset button, and the rear ports are labeled with stickers that could come off over time.

WHAT ELSE: Built around a 1.7-GHz Pentium 4 processor and 256MB of PC800 RDRAM, the Acma posted a score of 207 on our PC WorldBench 2000 tests--about average for similarly configured systems running Windows 2000. We liked the rich, vibrant colors on the 19-inch Impression 9Plus monitor. Text looked sharp at 1024 by 768 resolution, but began to blur at 1280 by 1024, and got worse at the maximum resolution of 1600 by 1200. A loop-style case lock protects components from thievery. The basic, sturdy keyboard allows smooth, quiet typing, but it doesn't offer any of the extras that you'll find on other keyboards, such as quick-launch buttons.

BEST USE: Though the ZPower P4 isn't a stellar performer, office users will appreciate the inclusion of Microsoft's newest suite, and upgraders will like its roominess.

SUMMARY

Acma ZPower P4 PC WorldBench 2000 score of 207, Pentium 4-1700 CPU, 256MB of PC800 RDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows 2000 Professional, 61.5GB hard drive, 12X DVD-ROM drive, ASUS AGP-V7700 Ultra graphics card with 64MB of DDR SDRAM, 19-inch Impression 9Plus monitor, Creative Sound Blaster Live sound card, Creative Labs SW310 speakers, V.90 modem, midsize tower case, Microsoft Office XP Professional Special Edition, three-year parts warranty, one-year labor warranty, free unlimited 24-hour tech support. $2598 800/786-6888 www.acma.com