« Return to: Top 15 Office PCs
| Rank | Power System | Overall rating | Street price (2/20/02) | PC WorldBench 4 performance score1 | Comments | Base configuration:CPU | Base configuration:RAM (MB/type) | Base configuration:Hard drive2 | Base configuration:Monitor size (diagonal inches) | Base configuration:Graphics board | Base configuration:Case type3 | Base configuration:Open bays/slots | Extra features | Design/ documentation | Vendor's reliability/ service |
| 1 | Best Buy Dell Dimension 8200 | 83 | Expensive $2236 | Windows 2000 Good 119 | Solid all-around performer with a vibrant monitor and tool-less access for upgrades. (  Nov 01) | 2-GHz Pentium 4 | 256/RDRAM | 80 | 19 | 64MB GeForce3 Ti 200 | Midsize tower | 2/3 | Very good: 16X DVD-ROM drive, 16X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, network adapter, Wake-on-LAN, Microsoft Office XP SBE | Good/Good | Outstanding/Fair |
| 2 | Gateway 700XL | 82 | Very expensive $3098 | Windows XP Professional Good 118 | Pricey system packs a powerful punch. The DVD-RAM/R drive is good for data backup/archiving and video recording. ( Apr 02) | 2.2-GHz Pentium 4 | 512/RDRAM | 120 | 15 (LCD) | 64MB ATI Radeon 8500 | Tower | 3/2 | Outstanding: DVD-RAM/R drive, 4 24X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, V.90 modem, network adapter, Wake-on-LAN, Office XP SBE | Good/Good | Good/Fair |
| 3 | MicronPC Millennia TS Professional | 79 | Expensive $2575 | Windows XP Professional Good 111 | Offering plenty of expansion room, this system lets you easily access the case interior and drive bays. ( Apr 02) | 2.2-GHz Pentium 4 | 256/DDR SDRAM | 80 | 19 | 64MB VisionTek GeForce3 Ti-200 | Midsize tower | 4/3 | Very good: 16X DVD-ROM drive, 16X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, V.90 modem, network adapter, Office XP Small Business Edition | Good/Good | Good/Fair |
| 4 | Micro Express MicroFlex 1900A | 79 | Inexpensive $1499 | Windows XP Home Very good 125 | This reasonably priced model is a top-notch performer and includes a DVD+RW recordable drive. ( Apr 02) | 1.6-GHz Athlon XP 1900+ | 512/DDR SDRAM | 60 | 17 | 64MB GeForce 3 | Midsize tower | 4/2 | Very good: DVD+RW drive, 4 V.90 modem, network adapter | Good/Adequate | 5/5 |
| 5 | New Sys Performance 2000+ | 78 | Expensive $2452 | Windows 2000 Very good 124 | Includes a giant, high-quality LCD monitor. SmartMedia and CompactFlash readers are handy for digital photographers. | 1.67-GHz Athlon XP 2000+ | 256/DDR SDRAM | 80 | 18 (LCD) | 64MB Leadtek WinFast Titanium 200T 6 | Midsize tower | 4/1 | Very good: 16X DVD-ROM drive, 24X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, network adapter, digital media readers, WordPerfect Office 2002 | Good/Adequate | 5/5 |
| 6 | Systemax Ascent SA-167 | 76 | Inexpensive $1299 | Windows XP Professional Good 116 | Beige-box system offers solid performance and plenty of expansion room, but the monitor displayed blurry text. (  Mar 02) | 1.6-GHz Athlon XP 1900+ | 256/DDR SDRAM | 60 | 19 | 32MB Matrox MGA G-550 | Midsize tower | 3/4 | Good: 16X/10X/32X CD-RW drive, network adapter, Office XP Small Business Edition | Good/Adequate | 5/5 |
| 7 | New Polywell Poly 880NF-2000 | 76 | Expensive $2385 | Windows XP Professional Very good 123 | Small-office system clad in a sleek aluminum case offers top-level performance and a great monitor. | 1.67-GHz Athlon XP 2000+ | 512/DDR SDRAM | 80 | 19 | 64MB Hercules 3D Prophet 3 Ti 500 | Midsize tower | 7/1 | Adequate: 16X DVD-ROM drive, 16X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, V.90 modem, network adapter | Good/Good | 5/5 |
| Percent of overall rating | 15 percent | 20 percent | 10 percent | 15 percent | 15 percent | 25 percent | |||||||||
| Rank | Value systems | Overall rating | Street price (2/20/02) | PC WorldBench 4 performance score1 | Comments | Base configuration:CPU | Base configuration:RAM (MB/type) | Base configuration:Hard drive2 | Base configuration:Monitor | Base configuration:Graphics board | Base configuration:Case type3 | Base configuration:Open bays/slots | Extra features | Design/ documentation | Vendor's reliability/ service |
| 1 | Best Buy,New Gateway 300X | 79 | Average $1198 | Windows 2000 Average 101 | Offers an LCD monitor and impressive performance from a Celeron CPU, all for a reasonable price. | 1.3-GHz Celeron | 256/SDRAM | 40 | 15 (LCD) | Integrated Intel 815E | Midsize tower | 1/2 | Very good: 16X DVD-ROM drive, 16X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, V.92 modem, network adapter, Wake-on-LAN, tool-less drive bays | Adequate/Good | Good/Fair |
| 2 | Micro Express MicroFlex 1200C | 78 | Inexpensive $999 | Windows 2000 Very good 117 | Excellent performance, ample expandability, and an affordable price keep this system near the top. (  Jan02) | 1.2-GHz Athlon | 256/DDR SDRAM | 40 | 17 | 64MB Asus AGP-V7700 | Midsize tower | 3/3 | Good: 12X DVD-ROM drive, 12X/8X/32X CD-RW drive, V.90 modem, network adapter | Good/Good | 5/5 |
| 3 | ABS Conquest VP | 78 | Average $1149 | Windows XP Professional Very good 115 | An included IEEE 1394 interface bolsters this fast system; the monitor could be better, however. ( Jan 02) | 1.4-GHz Athlon | 256/DDR SDRAM | 40 | 17 | 32MB Leadtek GeForce2 Pro | Midsize tower | 3/2 | Very good: 16X DVD-ROM drive, 16X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, V.90 modem, network adapter | Good/Adequate | 5/5 |
| 4 | IBM NetVista A22p | 78 | Average $1108 | Windows XP Home Average 91 | Features a pop-off front cover for easy drive-bay access; remote management software can be downloaded.(Mar 02) | 1.6-GHz Pentium 4 | 256/SDRAM | 41 | 15 | 32MB VisionTek GeForce2 MX | Midsize tower | 2/3 | Very good: 16X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, network adapter, chassis-intrusion detection, client management software, Wake-on-LAN | Good/Adequate | Good/Fair |
| 5 | New Gateway E-1800 | 77 | Average $1269 | Windows XP Professional Poor 89 | Budget system includes management software for corporate networks and provides easy, tool-less upgrade access. | 1.2-GHz Celeron | 256/SDRAM | 40 | 17 | Integrated Intel 815E | Desktop | 1/2 | Outstanding: 16X DVD-ROM drive, 16X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, V.92 modem, network adapter, Office XP Small Business Edition | Good/Adequate | Good/Fair |
| 6 | Sys TaskMaster 1000T | 77 | Average $1253 | Windows 2000 Good 109 | A good performer; in addition, the configuration we tested included a sharp 15-inch LCD monitor.( Mar 02) | 1-GHz Athlon | 256/SDRAM | 41 | 15 (LCD) | 32MB Gigabyte GV-AG32S | Minitower | 2/2 | Outstanding: 24X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, network adapter, Corel WordPerfect Office 2002 | Good/Adequate | 5/5 |
| 7 | Dell Optiplex GX240 | 76 | Expensive $1471 | Windows XP Professional Average 91 | This business-friendly model offers high security and network manageability but little room for expansion. ( Mar 02) | 1.8-GHz Pentium 4 | 256/SDRAM | 20 | 17 | 32MB ATI Rage Ultra 32 | Desktop | 0/2 | Good: 8X/4X/32X CD-RW drive, network adapter, chassis-intrusion detection, client management software, Wake-on-LAN | Good/Adequate | Outstanding/Fair |
| 8 | Compaq Evo D500 | 75 | Average $1254 | Windows 2000 Average 100 | Attractive case offers tool-less access to components, but limited expandability. Price goes up $109 this month. ( Jan 02) | 1.7-GHz Pentium 4 | 256/SDRAM | 20 | 15 | 16MB Vanta | Desktop | 0/2 | Average: 22X-48X CD-ROM drive, network adapter, intrusion detection, client management software, Wake-on-LAN | Good/Adequate | Good/Poor |
| Percent of overall rating | 25 percent | 15 percent | 10 percent | 15 percent | 10 percent | 25 percent |
All systems tested or retested under our new PC WorldBench 4 test suite. For more details, see "A Guide to PC World's Star Ratings."
1 Performance word scores reflect comparisons of PCs in the same category (power or value) running the same operating system. See "Your Guide to the Top 100" for more details.
2 In gigabytes.
3 We define vertical cases as towers (taller than 20 inches), midsize towers (15.5 to 20 inches), or minitowers (shorter than 15.5 inches); and horizontal cases as desktops (5 inches or taller) or compacts (shorter than 5 inches).
4DVD-RW and DVD+RW drives can handle CD-RW functions; DVD-RAM/R drives cannot. DVD-RW drives can also write DVD-R, but DVD+RW drives cannot.
5Insufficient data to give a rating.
6Tests were conducted with this board, but PC now comes with a 64MB Leadtek WinFast A170 DDRT graphics board.
7Formerly known as the Systemax Ascent SA-15.