SYS International Performance 2800

WHAT'S HOT: The Sys Performance 2800 easily trampled the competition. Powered by a 2.8-GHz Pentium 4 processor and 512MB of 1.066-GHz RDRAM, it posted a blazing score of 129 on PC WorldBench 4--making it one of the fastest Windows XP systems we have tested.

The elegant 18-inch Sys 180L LCD monitor is noteworthy, too. Silver with a lavender-toned base and pedestal, our review unit looked snazzy and handled our image quality tests with ease. The display rendered text with excellent clarity and crispness at all font sizes. In our test photo, colors looked warm, rich, and detailed without being oversaturated.

WHAT'S NOT: For the $2815 price, we expected to see a few more storage options than the 80GB hard drive our system arrived with. Many PCs in this price range offer 120GB hard drives and rewritable DVD drives. Some competing systems also achieve better aesthetics: The 2800's beige midsize tower, silver LCD, and putty-toned speakers are mismatched.

WHAT ELSE: Our test system provided four open bays (two for removable media drives and two for hard drives) and three open PCI slots. Both the bays and slots are easy to access.

The Altec Lansing AVS300W system--with two satellite speakers and a subwoofer--delivers acceptable sound for general purposes, though it isn't designed for hardcore gamers or audiophiles. Testing the sound on this set at high volumes, we heard cracks and other distortions. Unlike other speaker sets, the right satellite lacks separate controls for adjusting bass level; the control is inconveniently mounted on the right side of the subwoofer.

The Microsoft Internet keyboard offers 10 hot-keys for launching applications. We liked the large spacebar, a bit bigger than most and a good option for typists who are all thumbs. The software bundle offers titles for both work and play, including Corel WordPerfect Office 2002, plus the games Dronez and Gunlok.

UPSHOT: This system is for homes or offices willing to pay a premium for excellent performance and top-notch image quality.