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Test-Driving a Quartet of Early Pentium IIIs Machines from Quantex, Pionex, and Sony come equipped with Intel's latest speedster -- and in some cases, lots more In the race that is the personal computer business, consumers will get their latest speed fix on Mar. 1. That's when PC makers will begin to unveil their new offerings featuring the Pentium III (P3) microprocessor from Intel. These latest chips from the leading microprocessor maker are the fastest it has ever produced. And they come equipped to better handle voice recognition, 3D graphics rendering, and other multimedia tasks such as digital video editing. Of course, such power doesn't come cheap. While most consumers are comfortable with spending $1,200 to $1,500 for a PC -- or as little as $500, in some cases -- new P3 machines will cost $2,000 to $3,000 to start. Just what do you get for your extra money? Based on test drives of four early-model P3-equipped PCs - Pionex's M7500x, Quantex's QP6/500 SM-4x SE, and Sony's PCV E518DS and PCV-L600 -- the answer is: It depends. Outwardly, the first P3-equipped units don't seem that much different than units featuring older Pentium chips. In fact, in the Pionex M7500x, the older microprocessor seems to have been swapped out for the new. Such a setup keeps the price of the Pionex machine low -- $2,099, including a standard 17-inch color monitor and a wonderful sounding three-piece speaker system from Altec Lansing. Sit down at the keyboard, however, and you'll experience markedly improved performance for common tasks such as loading and installing software. In fact, of the four P3 machines that NSTL Laboratories has tested so far for the Business Week Computer Buying Guide, the Pionex PC scored the second highest. And in my testing of the unit, its speed was obvious. Installing a complex 3-D game that soaked up more than 300 megabytes of the Pionex PC's generous 17-gigabyte hard drive took just under four minutes from start to finish. EXTRAS. The P3s have a number of other traits worth noting. Unlike sub-$1,000 machines, some new P3s, such as Quantex's QP6/500 SM-4x SE, come loaded with computing extras. For example, in addition to a 17-gigabyte hard drive and 4.3-X DVD-ROM drive to play DVD movies, the $2,799 Quantex comes with a 100-megabyte Iomega Zip drive and an Ethernet network card. Such options would make the unit ideal for use as a small-office computer network "server" or the centerpiece of a techno-geek's home. Such added extras help give the Quantex unit such a high overall score among the other P3 machines. More impressive, Quantex throws into the package a 17-inch flat panel LCD -- normally an $899 option for its other PC offerings -- instead of a standard tube-based monitor. The flat panel looked as sharp as any standard monitor but without the desk-hogging space. And with two stereo speakers built into the pedestal base, it cut down on the clutter of wires. The most impressive characteristic of the LCD monitor, however, is that the display can be swiveled 90 degrees from "landscape" mode to "portrait" mode. This makes it extremely convenient for viewing Web pages or desktop publishing files, which are usually best displayed in long rather than wide windows. Oddly enough, while included software drivers help you reorient Windows 98 to take advantage of the portrait feature, the flat panel's on-screen display (OSD) controls remain unchanged. In other words, if you have the screen positioned in portrait mode and want to adjust the display's brightness, pushing the "function" button on the pedestal produces an adjustment window that is still oriented for the normal "landscape" mode. To make sense of the on-screen display, you'll have to either turn the panel back to normal viewing, or tilt your head 90 degrees to the right to view the adjustment display. A minor annoyance, but a glaring oversight in an otherwise remarkable package. NEW GROUND. While the Pionex and Quantex machines seem to be mainly updated versions of existing machines, the two Sony units break new ground. Both the PCV-E518DS and the forthcoming PCV-L600 continue the idea of convergence -- the merging of the PC with other consumer-electronic gear. Like their predecessor in Sony's VAIO line of PCs, both units are a cool-looking metallic-purple in color, giving the appearance of a home appliance rather than just another beige computer box. And that's just the start. Sony designed the PCV-E518DS to take full advantage of the new multimedia processing power of the P3 chip. In fact, Sony refers to the unit as the "Digital Studio." And as with any media-editing box, the Digital Studio comes with a plethora of options that would make it right at home next to a living-room TV. In addition to the normal computer "ports" such as printer, keyboard, and monitor connections, the Digital Studio features a proprietary "S-link" port that can connect to and control other Sony consumer gear such as VCRs, camcorders, and audio CD "jukebox" players. The unit also features three so-called i.Link ports. These (two on the back of the machine and one up front), which also come on high-end Sony camcorders, make it possible to digitally transfer, edit, and copy home videotapes on Digital Studios without loss of quality. And while the Digital Studio doesn't come with a DVD-ROM drive, it does feature a rewriteable CD-ROM drive, so all those home masterpieces can be preserved on a fairly inexpensive CD for all eternity. Adding to the appliance feel of the $2,799 (with $200 factory rebate) Digital Studio, the keyboard features dedicated Internet keys that can be programmed for common tasks such as logging on and retrieving E-mail. Perhaps the most impressive of the new P3 systems I saw is Sony's PCV-L600. Sony introduced this machine at the recent Technology Entertainment Demonstration conference held in Monterey, Calif. The PCV-L600 crams a 500-Mhz P3 chip, 128-megabytes of memory, 10-gigbyte hard drive, and a 24X-speed CD-ROM drive into a box no larger than a VCR. Indeed, at 11-in by 3.5-in by 13.2-in., it truly is what Sony calls a Slimtop PC. Adding to its sleek appeal is the metallic silver gray 15-inch flat panel LCD monitor with equally flat stereo speakers hanging off the side. The keyboard also features dedicated "Internet keys" as well as a cover that can be folded away from the keys to form an ergonomic wrist rest. NOT OPTIMIZED. What's more, Sony has taken a page from the Apple iMac and made the Slimtop super easy to set up. One cable connects the display to the sleek box and supplies both the power and audio/video data to the digital screen and speakers. The keyboard connects to a clearly labled port in the back, while the mouse connects to one of two ports located on either side of the keyboard (lefties rejoice!). In sum, the $2,999 VAIO Slimtop delivers the power of a P3 PC in a neat package that takes up no more space than most notebook computers. Should you buy a P3? If money is no object and you're a power user, the answer is yes. The NSTL tests show that the P3 is a hefty performer. But it is interesting to note that the Pentium III units in this review aren't the best-performing machines. Some setups using the older Pentium II outperform these first new units. That's because while the P3 chip is indeed the fastest of the Intel line of Pentium processors, a PC's overall performance depends on a lot of other components such as the hard drives, video card, and amount and type of memory. It will be a few months before PCs are truly optimized for the raw speed and performance of the P3 chip. And software designed to specifically take full advantage of the P3 capabilities won't be out until late this summer. You might also remember that Intel's rival, AMD, is releasing its K6-3 chip, and that machines based on it might be equal in speed -- and cheaper -- than a lot of P3s. Also remember that Intel will continue to push the power curve. In fact, some industry analysts speculate that P3 speeds could hit 1-GHz -- that's 1,000-MHz -- by yearend. So, if you rush to buy a P3 speed demon now, you may kicking yourself later for not having been more patient.
By Paul M. Eng, senior correspondent, Business Week Online
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