Top 15 Office PCs

This month one of the first Athlon XP 1900+ systems we've tested makes the Top 15. A good overall performer and number six on the power chart, the Systemax Ascent-SA15 features Windows XP Professional and a 60GB hard disk. The other newcomer to our power chart is the Pogo Linux Pogo Altura Workstation, at number four. This system, which achieved a PC WorldBench 4 score of 118, includes a 1.53-GHz Athlon XP 1800+ processor, 512MB of SDRAM, and a 120GB hard disk.

The top ranks of both charts remain unchanged from last month. On the power side, the Polywell Poly 815TS-1260, which uses a 1.26-GHz Intel Pentium III CPU for servers, takes the top spot--and our Best Buy award--for the third month in a row. In the value rankings, the Micro Express MicroFlex 1200C, which uses a 1.2-GHz Athlon processor, once again wins our nod for Best Buy.

Three new systems debut on the value chart. At number four is the Sys Taskmaster 1000T; our $1342 test system came with a 1-GHz Athlon CPU and a sharp 15-inch LCD monitor. The fifth-place IBM NetVista A22p, based on a 1.6-GHz Pentium 4 processor, couples average performance with ample security and manageability features. Meanwhile, the $899 1.7-GHz Pentium 4-based Systemax Venture-U17, in sixth, is the least-expensive system on the chart.

Five other systems we tested this month didn't make the cut: the Dell OptiPlex GX240, the Hewlett-Packard E-pc 40, the Hewlett-Packard Vectra VL800, the Polywell Poly 880XP-1900, and the Premio Aries 845M.