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Review: Top 10 value PCs

With Dell's OptiPlex GX150 you can choose either Intel's Pentium III or Celeron processor

By PCWorld Staff

(IDG) -- Dell's multifaceted new OptiPlex GX150, bearing tool-less components and comprehensive management features, debuts this month at number two on our value chart. Even with all its high-end options, this corporate machine comes in at an affordable $1459. Farther down the chart, another inexpensive managed PC, Gateway's E-1600 XL, captures the ninth spot, thanks to its Very Good performance and its solid corporate features.

Also of Note

Even using the latest 900-MHz Duron chip, the Polywell Poly 900KLX couldn't muster enough oomph to jump onto our chart. Its 17-inch Optiquest Q71 monitor delivered vibrant colors but displayed blurry text at 1024 by 786 resolution and higher. The unit is housed in Polywell's older-style case, a clunky-looking gray tower. Impressive documentation ships in a sturdy box, and Lotus SmartSuite Millennium Edition comes with this PC. The small motherboard has three open bays and two open PCI slots for expansion.

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Top ten value PCs

1. Dell Dimension 4100: Priced at a reasonable $1699, the Dimension 4100 runs circles around comparable PCs. Small to medium-size businesses will appreciate its performance and Dell's strong record for reliability.

2. Dell OptiPlex GX150: This inexpensive and feature-rich system should please everyone in the company -- from system administrators to cost accountants to end users.

3. Tangent Valera: Very fast and quite reasonably priced, the Tangent Valera would make an excellent small-office system with lots of room for expansion.

4. Sys Performance 1000T: With exceptional speed and high-end attributes, this Sys would be right at home in any small or home office.

5. Gateway E-3400XL Deluxe: This office-ready machine makes a good match for any midsize to large business seeking a powerful PC with management options.

6. ABS Conquest GL: An impressive PC for the money, this ABS would make a solid small-office system for buyers on a tight budget.

7. NuTrend Athlon Mega 2: Small-office users will appreciate the low price and respectable performance of the Athlon Mega 2.

8. Sys TaskMaster 850D: This inexpensive, powerful system and its large, clear display are well suited for any small-office environment.

9. Gateway E-1600XL: A stalwart performer with attractive administration features, the Gateway E-1600 XL qualifies as a legitimate bargain for its $1298 price.

10. ABS Conquest SB: This is a solid, if fairly generic, PC for small-business applications--as long as you can live with the short technical support hours.

Tech Trend: New Tools Put Administrators in Control

Managing a networked computing environment is all about control, whether you're troubleshooting problems, updating software, providing tools that your users need, or removing things that they don't. Our new number two value pick, Dell's OptiPlex GX150, includes LegacySelect features, which provide an easy way to control which drives and ports are enabled.

"Customers have been telling us they have a desire for a simpler computing environment," says Harvey Rosenblum, Dell's director of strategic planning. Dell claims that the new features of the GX150 let administrators "attune the technology for end users or workgroups."

Simply put, an administrator can control access to ports and drives in the GX150 remotely. If users don't need a serial port, it can be turned off, but if they do need it, an administrator can turn it back on quickly and easily. Floppy and CD-RW drives can be turned off as well, to keep data from being copied and removed from the office. And since these changes are made at BIOS level, the operating system doesn't detect disabled ports and devices. To the user, they simply don't exist.

"These features can be attractive to a certain class of customer," says Mark Margevivius, an analyst with the Gartner Group. "It's another feature set for hardware, another tool that an IT manager can use."

OptiPlex LegacySelect settings can be altered through the BIOS or remotely through management software, Rosenblum says. "Or if the customer prefers, we'll do it for them," he adds. On request, Dell can preset new PCs to a specific configuration before shipping them.

Though most users won't want these tools, they can be extremely useful to an administrator managing a network that contains secure data or that may be publicly accessible, because they can keep people from copying data. With theft of corporate data increasing, administrators will welcome the extra help in preventing improper use of company computing resources or unauthorized copying of data.