From...

April 9, 1999
Web posted at: 5:48 p.m. EDT (2148 GMT)

by Bryan Hastings and Michelle Campanale

(IDG) -- Intel steals market share from itself as PCs based on high-end Celeron chips emerge as an excellent choice for budget-system shoppers, pushing past some PCs based on midrange Pentium IIs. This month, three of the four new chart-makers use the Celeron-366, and small wonder. On average, the Celeron-366 PCs run only 9 percent slower than PII-400­based PCs, yet the average price -- $1297 -- is 21 percent below that of the PII-400s. Despite Intel's plethora of processors, AMD-based PCs hang in there. Three of the systems on the budget chart use an AMD-K6 processor, including CyberMax's Enthusiast KII-400R, an excellent multimedia PC that almost nabbed a Best Buy.

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1. Dell Dimension V350: Excellent small PC, terrific reliability rating for company's PC in this month's R&S survey.

2. Gateway GP6-400: Quick, expandable small-business PC has network card, sharp monitor, and Zip drive.

3. Micro Express MicroFlex C400B: System offers plenty of RAM and DVD-ROM drive, but the monitor is mediocre.

4. Sys TaskMaster Z-366C: $100 less this month on PC with great expandability and good support policies.

5. Gateway E-1200 366: Exceptionally affordable and manageable workstation lacks features and speed.

6. CyberMax Enthusiast KII-400R: Low-price business PC stocked with 19-inch monitor, Zip drive, DVD-ROM drive.

7. Axis Systems Orion 100C DVD: Recent multimedia offering boasts great performance; good price for PII-450 PC.

8. IDot.com 366LXA: Basic PC sells for a great price, but it's shy on support quality and features.

9. CyberMax Enthusiast PII-450: Fast SOHO PC with a big monitor, but it's a little pricey.

10. Xi Computer 333A Mtower: Computer is fast for its processor class; good price and management features.

11. CompUSA American Pro 366: Model from small-office line features good sound and Zip drive.

12. MidWest Micro Office Pro 350: Average-price PC benefits from DVD-ROM drive and strong warranty.

13. Sys TaskMaster 350K2: Company cuts $160 off speedy, expandable PC equipped with 40X CD-ROM drive.

14. Quantex QP6/400 M-2X: Zip drive added and $150 lopped off price of SOHO system; monitor picture just mediocre.

15. Micro Express MicroFlex-4A: Small-office PC comes with 19-inch monitor, 9.6 GB hard disk and 3X DVD-ROM drive.

16. HP Vectra VE Series 8: A little short on features and support hours, but this corporate PC performs well.

17. Compaq Prosignia Desktop 310: $50 off already competitive price on this rather underwhelming offering.

18. Micron Millennia C366: Affordable computer with solid reliability reputation falls short on features.

19. Axis Systems Metropolis NX5-333C: Price is low, but speed is lackluster, and features like the 4.3GB hard disk are thin.

20. Racer 2000RS: Inexpensive PC has unimpressive features and performance.