Micro Express Micro Express Microflex 64KB

The ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics board, with 128MB of SDRAM, complements the other components nicely, delivering good frame rates in test games running at 1280 by 1024 resolution with 32-bit color depth (the LCD's native resolution).

We liked the look of Micro Express's new case: It's all black and much more attractive than other MicroFlex models we've seen. The interior is neat with cables tied and out of the way. And there's room to upgrade; our test system had four open PCI slots (out of a total of five) and five open drive bays (out of eight total).

The 4X Toshiba DVD-R/-RW recordable drive is good for burning video to DVD media, but it's a single-format drive (many power systems we see these days come with a versatile dual-format drive), and our test system lacked FireWire ports, video-editing software, and other software applications.

If you want a robust audio system, you won't be happy with this PC's integrated sound from Realtek AC97. The Creative SBS 560 5.1-speaker set, which consists of five small satellites and a subwoofer, send out appreciably loud surround sound, but its quality doesn't match the output from beefier setups such as the Klipsch Pro Media 5.1 or the Logitech Z-680. The system has a SPDIF port for connecting devices such as stereo amplifiers.

Micro Express's documentation consists of individual component manuals, a thick tome dedicated to Windows XP Home Edition, and a user manual; but the manual isn't much help--especially to intermediate or advanced users--because it devotes too much space to explaining basic computer terms that most people are already be familiar with.

Upshot: The MicroFlex 64 KB offers terrific speed at an attractive price, but some of its components resemble those you'd find in value-priced package.

Mick Lockey