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Xi MTower PCIe

82

Very Good

  • Pros
  • Strong performance
  • Low-cost power system
  • Cons
  • Could use more hard drive space
  • Bundled LCD monitor could be better
  • Performance: Superior: 92
  • Features: Fair: 68
  • Design: Very Good: 89
Performance
Adobe Photoshop CS2307
Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 DirectX320
Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 Rendering532
Firefox 2193
Microsoft Office 2003 with SP-1327
Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9.0186
Nero 7 Ultra Edition347
Overall Graphics ScoreVery Good
Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator 1.5193
Winzip Computing WinZip 10.0178
WorldBench 6 Score121
WorldBench 6 Word ScoreSuperior
WorldBench 6 Tests
Multitasking231

What You Should Know about the MTower PCIe

Good Amount of RAM for Running Multiple Apps at Once

This computer includes between 1GB and 3GB of RAM, our recommended level for a new PC. This much memory lets you run any modern operating system and comfortably work with quite a few applications open. The more installed memory your PC has, the more programs you can run smoothly at once, and the better the system will perform. Upgrading memory in a desktop after you purchase the PC is a breeze, but usually it's worthwhile to buy the amount of memory you want preinstalled with the system.

To use more than 4GB of memory on your PC, you need the 64-bit version of Windows XP or Windows Vista. The PCs that you see equipped with 3GB of memory (instead of 4GB) tend to use the 32-bit versions of Windows that are limited to 4GB of addressable memory, the top portion of which is addressed by the various hardware devices on the system. 

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