HP Vectra VL800
HP's Vectra VL800 offers power, security, and expansion--for a somewhat stiff price.
Joel Strauch
WHAT'S HOT: The VL800--a member of Hewlett-Packard's Vectra line of PCs designed for large workgroups--packs a top-tier 2.0-GHz Pentium 4 processor and 256MB of PC800 RDRAM, which helped it post an above-average score of 109 on PC WorldBench 4--about average for comparable systems running Windows XP Professional.
All Vectra PCs come with HP's suite of management software, including Toptools and EDiagtools, so administrators can remotely boot up, troubleshoot, and deploy software.
HP also supplies multiple security options for protecting either the VL800's hardware or its data. The case comes with chassis intrusion detection and a substantial lock and key. Users looking for more security measures can choose an HP ProtectTools 2000 Smart Card kit for advanced user authentication or a $55 Kensington lock kit to physically secure the system to a desk.
The gray-and-beige midsize tower (called a minitower by HP) may look ordinary, but it boasts such nifty design features on the inside as HP's UltraFlow, a quieter-than-usual cooling system for the CPU. The case was designed with easy upgrades in mind: By popping a handle on the top, you can remove the sturdy side panel, which comes off and goes back on without much effort.
You can add expansion cards and drives to any slot or bay without using tools. To add a PCI card to one of the four open slots, just snap off a single cover (the more common approach is to remove a screw for each slot). Internal drive bays (one of which is open) face the open side panel for easier access; the drive bay cage can be removed, too. The removable media drive bays (one of which is open) are conveniently accessible through the front of the tower. The front faceplate swings open so you can slide drives in and out.
WHAT'S NOT: The VL800's price--which reflects the premium pricing of RDRAM--may be too steep for some businesses.
WHAT ELSE: Though the unit we tested arrived with only a 17-inch monitor (most systems we see at this price carry a 19-inch model), HP doesn't cut any corners here. We received the HP P720, a solid monitor that currently occupies the number 10 spot on our Top 10 17-Inch Monitors chart. The P720 displayed clean, clear text and adequate graphics, though colors appeared a bit dark and dull in some of our test images.
The VL800's documentation consists of two thorough manuals that together cover setup, upgrading, and overall operation.
The VL800's standard multimedia keyboard is thick and sturdy, with 13 hot-keys for multimedia and Internet shortcuts. The keyboard also provides connectors and pass-through ports so you can connect headphones and a microphone on the desktop, rather than at the back of the system. The included 16X/10X/30X CD-RW drive isn't the world's fastest, but it's reasonably current and suffices for backing up data and burning CD-Rs.
UPSHOT: The Vectra VL800's power and extensive security features make it a great system for the corner office of any corporation.
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