Loading...
The URL can be used to link to this page
Your browser does not support the video tag.
Home
My WebLink
About
16 NETWORK BLDOUT 10-06-97
Inter-Com NO. 16 10-6-97 DATE: October 1, 1997 TO: FROM' SUBJECT: William A. Huston, City Manager Ronald A. Nault, Finance Director COMPUTER NETWORK BUILD-OUT II RECOMMENDATION: le Reject the Workstation, Printers and peripherals bids and authorize Staff to negotiate directly with potential Vendors to secure the best pricing and greatest level of technology possible. · Authorize the Finance Director to sign the Brea MIS Standard Services Agreement, upon review and approval of the city Attorney, to provide' current system, maintenance services, project administration of the Network build-out, and negotiations and recommendations on Workstations, Printers and Peripherals, ensuring connectivity and compatibility with the proposed Network. · Accept the Data General, Inc. proposal.for Network equipment and services and authorize the Finance Director to finalize negotiations and enter into a lease purchase agreement with Data General, Inc., subject to the review and approval of the City Attorney, to acquire hardware and services to complete the Network installation. e Authorize the following appropriations to pay for the first year of the Network lease expense (approximately six months) and project administration during the build-out: General Fund Redevelopment Agency Water Enterprise $ 90,300 6,300 8,400 $ 105,000 FISCAL IMPACT: The proposed Network build-out cost is approximately $384,000, tax included, for all hardware and services. The annual lease expense is approximately' $140,000. Total expense over three years is approximately $420,000. DISCUSSION: At the September 15 City Council meeting, lengthy discussion was held regarding the level of technology included in the Staff's recommendation, with the primary focus being the proposed Workstations. Over the past.three weeks, we have gathered a significant volume of information addressing the City Council's concerns.. Attached to this report are several exhibits including a response from. Data General, Inc. describing the differences between a commercial grade machine and a consumer grade unit. See Exhibit I. Also-attached is a cost comparison of the Acer product and a-Dell product both at commercial grade. We have also included several ads from PC World that are representative of consumer unit pricing. When comparing the prices in these ads, the Application Software and Network Card costs need to be added in order to make a proper comparison. This may be as little as $200 or as much as $400 per Workstation depending on what level of pre-loaded software they offer at the advertised price. See Exhibit II. I think the concerns expressed by the City Council warrant taking 'additional time to address more fully. I believe the bottom line concern'they have voiced is that as long as we are undertaking a project of this magnitude, they want their staff to have the very best equipment at the'best possible price. It is well worth the additional time to continue to work toward achieving this goal. As everyone is well aware, pricing and technology change almost daily. At the same 'time, we shduld continue to move forward with the actual Network build-out. From a 'practical standpoint, the Consultants have recommended from the start that the Network be in place prior to receiving and plugging in Workstations. Data General has indicated that they would proceed with the Network portion independent from .the Workstations. They were not proposing'Data General products in their Workstation proposal. Brea MIS has been reviewing the Network configuration with both Data General and the design Consultant and have made some minor suggestions which they feel will enhance the operation and maintenance of the Network. Brea is taking the view that if they are going to be responsible for maintaining the Network for the next three years, the more efficient they can make the system now the more cost effective it will be for Tustin over time. With the city Council's approval we will use the next thirty days to continue to pursue cost effective Workstation options with the help of Brea MIS and our Consultants with AEF Systems Consultants, Inc. We will come back to 'the City Council with our final recommendation as we approach the completion of the Network build- out. Finance Director RAN:ts Attachments RAN6:Agendal .Oct P/~t/~_~ LiOEN s?srst, r$ 25r ~73 Exhibit -- jenes.b, u~ine,. 'a systems 6120 wes! by noahwe~st blvd houston, tx 2?040 Dam Geac.,at ! 500 Rose ;rahs Ave. Suite 300 ManhaZtaz~ Beach, CA 90266 Monday, September 22. 1997 The purls.a: of this letter is to explMn surer' of the differences between commcrcia! ~ade pc'$ a~d comcumer ..a'ade units, I will also l'ullx explain tll the features and bcn¢fit$ of the AeerPowex units that we ha. ,e quoted. W~il¢ bott eomrn~r~iaJ and consumer grade p¢'$ se. ella {O have identical 'speeds and feecr~' really ~orn.: quit~ dramatle di~¢rcncc~ between ii,ese two pc's. Somc of tho~¢ dlfl'e~cnce$ are: 1. Comme' rial pe's ace rigorously tested for cc, mpadbiliiy with n~work operating system cnvironme ':ts. The Ac=Power systems are cci-dried b}' Microsoft, Novel), SCOa, O0 Sun lO their netwt,rk operating ~ystem envirmtment$. · 2. Comme, rial p¢'$ arc are oRen m.~:d ~nd approved by net~vork peripheral m~mufacturer's ~uch as 3Corn to ~ ork with their prmluet.~. The AcerPower uzfit~ ~e 3Cnm N~twork PC Certified b,v .. 3. Common.rial units gcncr'e, lly po~se.q$ greater manageabiliD'. The AccrPower s¥~tcrr~ tn¢Iudo and Smart ~.~tem cmnplian¢~ a,q well a~ lntei hand~k Client thal can.report impending problem~ with rJae $~.. ~tcm to ~c admird.~trator. 4, ¢x:~nrn~) rial grade units have tcchn~al support Omt unOea'staz;d$ how. the .gystem works wldtin the network oI e.~tinl system environmcnt. The .~kcerPower Unir.¢ u{ili~- Acer's Enterprise 're,finical Support .OE l'S). The ~1~ group knows laow to confi.~a~: 'and troub;c.~hoot the client $oftw.~u'c t'or Novell, M[; NT sJid other network o.peratiag $, Comme, rial graclc units are more robux, ,hah their Consume:' grade counterparts, they generally have lm'ge}..pow~ mi)plies and are const~cted of mot~ substanual materials. Tbi~ is done so that thc>' are gn .'stet able to ~ith3tand the day ie~ day ou~ u~c uvc~ many year~. Most of th{ xwmjor pc manufacturers. I.e. Compaq. L%II, liP, Acer a~d Gateway havc both commerchtl tdafl comstrmcr ~radc pr~0c( line. I feel ~at when comped ~d~ :, A~cr ~ a ~' competitive ~icc ~int Wen the level of qualit ~t Ac~ o ~, Hel M~L~ ~is Sales Engit ~ JBS Open Systems Distribution 71. 3-895-6800 tel - 713-895-9333 fax - 800-8T6-UNIX (8549) jt~ oj~n ..,ey.$tet~$ ~]$trlbutiO/3 - e division'of /ones 12u.~rte.~ SEP-23-1997 . 09: 55 P. 04 Other M; A, :er A~erPowe~ Mi~itow~r $¥~t~m.~:~A2WC ~,,. [ikcerPower Mh~itoWer Pro :~or PII266 , .. C ~cha Har, 1 DrNe 4.~GB HD I[ ~e~ cc '~o~~ _ _ tph~ Stendard L~Ol~r ~ut;d Card Ne~o~ .Intf Fora, FaVor Mini Tower Op~ :rating Sba, ~t Price Acer, ~an~ges= ! OptiPIox GXa PII2G~ PII256 s~KB. ~USB 64.MB 4MB SGRAM :6.4GB EIDE Standard SOund Card Mi~i Tower Yr. $2,025 09:56 A,~ar AcerPewelr Mlnitower Systerns.9606WC rs, Dell OpflPlex GXa P!1233 - Minitower OptiPlex GXa Pil253 - Ace~r Mtnit~ver Sy~iame se0~wc 512KB' 32.Mla 384MB DR~M EIDE ~20X Standa~ : Mini ,Tower ---~,ratlng- iW~ng5 '~'~antyr "i3 Yr S-~'~it Price -Acer; [dvantages: P. [85 I I : 1' SEP-23-19g? 09:S6 Ac. er A,-erPawer B. uslness Multimedia Systems D~I OpflP;ax Gn 2~U~ MT .......... ~?~,r S'.~=~ ~)s~- ~"' usa :' ~[~: Std 3~B 3ZMB Ha~'.i O~e 3.2GB · ~D I.l~~ ~]O~_ __ _ .... IelDe ~em a~phi~- S~hd=~ I $~und Card/.speakers ., - Min'i Tower · 3 Y~' - Coritroller - Net~work Inb :rf~_,-~ For~ ~ Factor ~ ~em Wa~ tSound Card 0/100. E~ernet i..Mini Tower_ . ....... IWingS' .[3 Yr P. 06 i TOTRL P. I~ ~"22-1997 2 : 2 ~ P1,t II .-- i: FROM : URNDYKE TRD×FP~ PHONE NO. : 916622598~ Oct. 01 1997 08:46AM P2 Exhibit II _ ir Exhibit III TOP 20 P.OWER DESI(I'OPS ;2~ Dell Dimension XPS H266 800/388-854Z www. dell.com Dell Dimension XP$ 800/388-854z www. dell.corn Gateway ZOO0 G6-733 800/846-2000 www. clatewa¥.com ?Dell OptiPlex GXi 5ZOOM 800/388-8542 www. delLcom [Gateway ZDDD GS-Z33 800/846-2000 www.~cteway.com Ouantex OP6/Z33 SlVl-3 800/896-4898 www.quantex.com Dell OptiPlex GXpro ZOO BOO/388-SS4Z www. dell.com NMC Expert Pro II 80D/800-466Z www. natmicro.com Sys ·Technology Performance Pro Z66A 800/613-9963 www. systechnology, com Ouantex OP6/ZO0 SM-4 800/896-4898 www. quantex.com · Premio FXZ Shadowhawk Z66 800/677-6477 www. premiopc.com DTK ouin-55M/Pl~233 8OO/2.E~-:~385 www. dtkcornputer, com Gateway ZOOO G6-266XL 8oo/845-zooo www. gateway, com Digitron PS4000 8B8/708-2800 www. dicjitronpc.com Nova K6-2OOTX' B00/461-5535 www. novacompinc'.com Acma EXP ZOO 800/786-65B8 www.acma.com CLR Infinity PT5-A ZOOMi4X B00/611-1555 www.clrusa.com HP Vectra VA 6/200 MT 800/322-4772 wwwthp.com Total Peripherals Archer ZOOOA 800/9z3-7718 www. totalpc.com IBM PC 365 800/426-2968 www. pc.ibm.com 18 19 11 Pentium 11-266 Pentium MMX-Z33 Pentium II-Z33 Pentium MIVlX-ZOO Pentium IdMX-Z33 Pentium II-Z33 Pent um Pro-ZOO Pentium 11-Z66 Pentium 11-~66 Pentium Pro-ZOO Pentium 11-Z65 Pentium MMX-Z33 Pentium I1-Z66 Pentium 11-266 AMD K6-PR200 SZ495 Pentium MMX-ZO0 SZT20 Pentium MMX-200 ......................... S3134 Pentium Pro-ZOO $Z499 Pentium MMX-ZO0 S4013 Pentium Pro-Z00 r~ Ultrafast, with superb multimedia. Zip drive, 56-kbps modem. lop service and reliability, best PMMX-233 performance, big hard drive. S50 drop on fast, loaded PC with Ultra-DMA hard drive. Do-it-all corporate PC: has ethernet, multimedia, voice modem; now S52 less. S170 more affordable full multimedia, 56K modem, reliability rating just fair. r~ Low-cost, expandable, lots of software, improved support record. Corporate powerhouse is slightly faster than its PMMX-ZO0 sibling. Very fast P11-266 moves up chart with SZ94 price cut; support is minimal. · · Superquick PC has big hard drive, great multimedia; weak support policies. Nimble business PC costs S150 more than PIt-?.33; improved support. Very fast PII-Z66 has 64MB of RAM; lacks a modem. S140 price cut puts this fast tower on the chart; comes with 56K modem. 5uperfast, with OYD drive, 21-in:h display, 9GB hard disk, tape backup; pricey. Blazing minitower has great multimedia; expensive. Big $300 price chop puts lively minitower on chart; sUppOrt is sparse. Fast, affordable PMMX-200 comes with CorelOraw; limited support. Reasonably fast minitower has good multimedi~ and support policies.. Good corporate PC; reliability ratings slipped from best to good. $430'price slash puts this fast, well-appointed minitower on chart. SZ08 price drop helps keep business PC on chart, despite support score slip. 244 ' Insufficient'data~ '... :'- ' '.' ' . . .INTEL STILL DOMINATES THE POWER DESKTOPS CHART, but competition is brew- ing. The AMD K6-based Nova K6-2ooTX landed at ~sth place this month, a~er a $300 price cut lifted this quick rninitower into contention..In addition to four new Pentium II-266 systems on the chart this month, two others--the Unicent Avanta 266 XLS and Digital Celebfis GL-2 6266--placed not too far behind the pack. The Avanta scored a 264 in the PC WorldBench test suite, joining the Sys Technolo- ~ Performance Pro 266A (in ninth place) as the fastest PC we've ever tested. Skimpy documentation and poor design, however, kept us from giving the Avanta a Top 20 nod. I~~1~ 0 C T 0 B £ R 1997 The Matrox Mil- ~- " ~:..~ ~ :__.~ lennium II graph- i~! " i'! ics card boasts a "substantial 8MB ::~of video memory, ~! and the ~7-inch ~' monitor produces DeU Dimension XP$ i-i766 · :i~ exceptionally crisp text and graphics. '~ The Dimension also includes a 56-kilobits- . · per-second modem that uses 3Corn's U.S. .izi Robotics xz technology. The system's ~:! speedy z4X CD-ROM drive, wavetable- ..~ equipped Yamaha sound card, and Altec :/! Lansing ACS 9© speakers with subwoofer · :':-i comprise a great multimedia setup. i~ In addition, you get a huge 6.4GB hard il drive and a software bundle that includes :'ii Microso~ Office 97 Small Business Edi- i! tion. The company also throws in an ~i Iomega Zip drive, which accepts ~ooMB "~ floppy-style disks. '.i~ We did have a couple of complaints. ., Dell, like most vendors today, supplies separate manuals for the main system and each peripheral. Also, pulling the .~: case's side panel offand putting it back on ~ takes some finagling. Dell's service and system reliability continue to score high in our ongoing '~ ~:) DELL DIMENSION XPS MP335 .5 PRo: ~'~stest pldlvl×-233, large hard clisk, "~ ctrive, uvgraded CD-RO~ drive and modem CON: RA~ rnaxes out at An improving balance of power and value helps the Dell Dimen- sion XPS M~33s hold steady at sec- ond place on our Power Desktops chart The $z599 minitower sells for $3oo less than it did last month and now comes with a faster CD-ROM drive and modem. The improvements are welcome to this blazing Pentium . _ MMX-~33 system, ~ w'hich posted a .,~ PC WorldBench score of a43--the fastest of any Pen- tium MMX-~.33 Deu Dimensio~ .system we've tested so far. This month, Dell boosted ~e variable- speed ~X/~6X CD-ROM drive to one that supports a top z4X spin rate. Also, the 243/outstanding very inexp~ns~ best/best 669 226/very good average best/best ' 671 247/outstanding very inexpensive best/best 673 260/outstanding very inexpenshte '/fair 675 230/very good inexpens~e best/best 677 238/outflanding very inexpensive '/poor 679 259/outstanding expens~ '/poor 681 233/very good very inexpensive '/fair 683 22g/very good average fair/fair 685 232/very good very expen.~.ve fair/good This Month's Best Buys 1 DELL DIMENSION XPS PRO: Lightning fast, fine features, now upgraded with a 24X CD-ROM drive CON: Case is harcl to remove Dell's top-rated Dimension XPS H~66 iust continues to get l~etter. At $~49. this Pentium powerhouse sells for little more than competing models from Gateway ~ooo and NMC, and its CD-ROM drive has been upgraded from ~:zX to z4X. In ad- dition to Dell's unrivaled record ofservice and support, the XPS H~-66 offers terrif- ic performance, with a PC LVorldBench score of ~-6~ that is among the best for Pentium II-zG6 systems. The Dimension is packed with features.' o c T 0 a £ e ~997 ~ 245 TOP 20 POWER DESKTOPS Dell Dimension ):,PS H766' PenthJm,-z66 Dell Dimension XPS 1~233s' Pentium MMX-Z33 Gateway ZOO0 G6-Z33* eentium Dell OptiPlex GXi 5ZOOM' Pentium MlaX-ZO0 Gateway ZOO0 G5-Z33* Pentium MMX-233 Ouantex OP6/Z33 SM-3 Pentium 11-?.33 Dell OptiPlex GXpro ZOO Pentium NMC Expert Pro II Pentium 11-266 Sys Technolocjy Performance Pro 266A Pentiumllq.6& Ouantex 0P6/200 SM-4 Pentium Pro-Z00 Premio FX2 Shadowhawk 266 eentium DTK Ouin-55~,/PM233 Pentium MMX-L~3 Ga{eway 2000 G6-Z66XL Pentium II-Z6~ Matrox Millennium II 17/15.9 Matrox Millennium II 17/15.T STB Virge 4MB 31) PCI 17/15.9 Matrox Millennium II 17/16 STB Virge 4MB 3D PCI 17/16 Matrox Millennium II 17/16 Matrox Millennium 17/15.8 eatrox Millennium II ' 17/15.9 N'umber Nine Revolution 3D .. 17/15.8 · . Matrox Millennium 17/16 . ..... .: ~..,. C:,"":]:':??~]:7; ..... ATI 3D Pro~'urbo PCZTY;: ~': :17/15.9'" '.:... L. L..,..~L.;.; ' '" '" Diamond Stealth 31) 3000 17/15.T Dicjitron PS4000 Pentium 11-266 STB Velocity 3D Video 17/16.1 Nova K$-ZOOTX AND KrrPR;;O0 ,..' 'Matrox ~lJliennium ir':::. :! .:._ 17/i5'7''. Acma EXP ZOO Pentium MMX-200 eatrox Millennium II 17/15.9 CLR Infinity PTS-A ZOOMMX Pentium MMX'200 lumber.. ..N~n~. In~agine; .. 128. Series'il. re ':''' 17)15.7 ': HP Vectra VA 6/ZOO MT Pentium Pro-200 Matrox Millennium II 17/15.7 .., Total Peripherals Archer ZOOOA . Pentium MMX-ZOO '"-'; "-Ma~ro-x'~lillennium .';,]: ~7/15'5"]'' IBM PC 365 Pentium Pro-ZOO Matrox Millennium II 17/15.7 · Best Bm/ " .... CPU a~d'mai" RAI~, o,~ to five years on other parts. ' First'year. 'Toll call. Downloads only, uploads at 33.6 kbps; uses 3Com/U.S.'Rob°ti~ x2 technology.- :] ~ Six years on : .......... · ...- ........ :..~: ..... · ............... ..~.] .... .~,, ].,',...~,. ...... .L]~.'~::_'~ ....... ' ...................... -:.:,: ...... ~- - 33.6-kbps modem has been replaced with a 56-kbps unit using 3Com's U.S. Robot- ics x2 spec. The gigantic 6.4GB EIDE hard disk and 3D-savvy Matrox Millenni- um II graphics card with 8MB of WRAM are both outstanding, and the internal lomega Zip drive comes with three ~ooMB cartridges. The M233s is equipped with 32MB of SD1L~,M and 51:zK of secondary cache. The Altec Lansing ACS 9° speakers pro- duce rich sound, while the a7-inch moni- tor will please the eyes with its display. We liked the case design of the XP$ M233s. You won't mistake the panel's reset button for an On/off s~4tch. Color- coded I/O ports make monitor and mouse installations quick and easy, while undo- ing a single thumbscrew allows quick access. The PC's interior is dean and free of dutter. The motherboard sports a pair of Universal Serial Bus ports, though the system doesn't come with any compliant peripherals. The software bundle includes Microsoft Office 97 Small Business Edi- tion, plus Publisher and Photo Editor. If the XPS Mz33s has any drawback, it is lack of exTanclability. RAM is Limited to a maximum of 64MB~a once unheard-of amount that could become mainstream. Dell's documentation is top-notch, and technical support is awailable z4 hours a day. The warran- ty covers parts for three years and labor for one year, and our readers consistently rate Dell's service and system reliabilit3' in a class by itself. 3 GATEWAY 2000 G6-233 PRo: Fast, excellent documentation, nice design CON: Drive bays can be tough to access At $z839, Gateway zooo's G6-233 is a terrific performance-minded value. With a PC WorldBench score of 25x, the fleet-footed Pentium II-~33 minitower rivals some PII-266 systems in performance, and it comes well appointed witl'/ 64MB of EDO DRAM and 512K of secondary cache. This powerful multimedia system is a good Gateway 2000 G6-233 choice for both home and business use. Our test unit came with a ~6-bit Ensoniq Audio PCI Wavetable sound card, Altec Lansing speakers with a subwoofer, and an 246 ~0 C T 0 B r R 1 ~ g7 , . Ensoniq Audio Pci Wavetable integrated Ens°nk~ Audio P~I Wavetable integrated Yamaha OPL3-Sax . . i:r~.-,,= ~--~-~- Creative Labs CT 3600 (OEM) Ensoniq Soundscape V'wo PnP ' :'=77. :' ~ :';? ;7' ~ :-',.7~%~ '; '7 ?7' '. Sound Blaster AWE32 PnP :. · ~ · ~ .;.. ,......: 5ound Blaster AWE64 Sound Blaster AWE64 CT4380 · ?'!~_*'.~jnd Blaster AWE64 integrated Sound Blaster PnP ..'::..:'.,.,'.:-:::....:: :.:',... ~ 3/1 3/3 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 9 . · · 24. 24 9 9 24 9 · 8 10 12 11 ' 9 24 AOL BBS, Cig MSN. WWW AOL BBS, CIS. MSN. WWW AOL BBS. CIS. MSN, WWW AOL BBS, CIS, MSN, WWW AOL BBS, CIS. MSN, ~ AOL, BBS, ~LS, M<;N, WWW .. -' AOL, B~.S. CLS, MSN, www AOL B ~,~S. CiS, WWW ..................... AOL .~S, C]S, WWW STB Virge 4MB 3D PCI graphics card. The 3.2MB Ultra-DMA hard drive spins at twice the top data transfer rate ofstandard EIDE drives, while a 56-kbps x2 modem provides fast data communications. Our unit had plenty ofex'pansion room. Large thumbscrews make getting inside the case very easy, and we liked the color- coded I/O ports. Drawbacks are minor: We had to undo thumbscrews on the case's right side panel to remove the drive cages, and the hard disk occupies the most accessible of the internal bays. Gateway 2ooo's documentation is thor- ough and clear. Our readers rank the com- pany's system reliability, as only fair. but support gets top scores: You get a three- year warranty on parts and labor, plus round-the-dock toll-free tech support. 4 DELL OPTIPLEX GXI 5200M PRO: Fast; above-average service, support, and system reliability CON: Expensive, limited expandability The $3n20ptiPlex GXi 52oom remains expensive when com- pared to most of the Pentium MMX-2oo competi- tion. But this corporate desktop has everything you need in a high-end business box--snap- py performance, bountiful stor- age, built-in networking, and great support The D2728D-LS The GXi 52ooM is particularly well desig'ned. Expansion slots sit on a daugh- tercard above the motherboard; we found plugging cards into the slots as painless as it gets. Our only beefs: With iust one available external drive bay, one free 32-bit monitor isn't Dell's' top ~7-inch Dell OptiPlex OXi 5200M model; but for an extra $~oo, you can I 'warranty on parts and one ;'ear on labor, · I move up to a ~7HS Trinitron, which dis- i and Dell continues to run up top marks plays even sharper text and provides more i for se:Tice quali~' and system reliability in on-screen controls. ! our monthly reader fax-back sur,'eys. slot, and two ~6-bit slots, the expansion options are a bit tight. In addition, ',.he 8X CD-ROM drive is slower than most. As with all systems in the 'OptiPlex line, Dell's sup- port for the GXi 52ooM is great. You get a three-year OCTOBER 19 9 7 ~ 247 5 GATEWAY 2000 G5-233 PRO: LoaOed. af!oroaDle, good SuDDO~ CON: Poor disD:ay, some wires lef: unconne:tec:, systerr, reliability rated only fair Gateway 2ooo's G5-233 sports a stylish chassis and a S~7o price cut. This Penfium MMX-233 mini- tower posted a PC WorldBench score of z4o. yet costs just 5,25o8 for a loaded mul- timedia configuration. The G5-233 comes outfitted with a fast ~ 6X CD-ROM drive. as' wd] as an Er:soniq Audio · I'C1 Wave:.',ble sound card. speakers, and Microsoft Of- fice 97 Smal] Business Edi- tion. While the 56-kbps Gateway 2000 Telepath x2 modem provides the poten- tial for swift downloads, be aware that [ your Internet service provider must use the, matching 3Corn/U.S. Robotics proto- col for this modem to have an)' advantage Gateway 2000 G5-233 over 33.6-kbps units. The w-inch CrystalScan 700 display provides ~ ~en- erouk ~6-inch viewable area, bm our test PC's mon- itor suffered from a less- than-sharp picture that bowed outward at the top and bottom. Gateway also includes a speedy 4MB STB Virge graphics card with 3D acceleration for exalting game pla),. · TOP 20 POWER DESKTOPS Dell Dimension XPS HZ66* Dell Dimension XPS ~Z33s* Gateway Z000 GG-Z33* Dell OptiPlex GXi 5200~* Gateway 2000 G5-233' Ouantex 0P6/233 SM-3 Dell OptiPlex GXpro 200 NMC Expert Pro II Sys Technology Performance Pro Z66A Ouantex 0P6/200 SM-4 Premio FXZ Shadowhawk 266 · DTK Ouin-55M/PMZ33 Gateway 2000 G6-Z66XL Digitron PS4000 Nova K6-ZOOTX ' ' · _ . .. Acma EXP ZOO cLR Infinity PT5-A 200MMX ' ' HP Vectra VA 6/ZOO MT :'TeCtal PeriPheral~ Archer zoOoA ' .. , · IBI~ PC 365 243 ....... Z26 247 230 .' 7'" -. 26O :L ...~:'; ...,,.:. '. &..:~; -~ 230 : .:.Z -/:Z~-:, ~_.. :~;;:. "'""' ';' 263 " 259 · i.i.. i'.' 2~s',!~ 'i: 'l 233 Pentium 11-266 Pentium MMX-Z33 Pentium II-g33 Pentium egX-700 Pentium NINIX-Z33 Pentium I1-g33 Pentium Pro-ZOO Pentium It-g66 Pentium ii-Z66 Pentium Pro-gOO pentium 11-266 Pentium MMX-g33 Pentium 1t-266 Pentiurn 11-g66 AMD KG-PRZO0 Pentium MMX-200 Pentium Pro-ZOO pentium Pentium Pro-gOO 229 232 (~ Word 7.0 for Windows 95 ~ Picture Publisher 6.0 for Windows 95 ~ WordPerfect 6.1 for Windows ;:. ~ Excel 7.0 for Windows 95 ~ Paradox 5.0 for Windows ~ i-1-3 release 5 for Windows . . , i" HOW WE TEST All systems are tested with PC WorldBench, PC World's application-based benchmarK. A higher PC WorldBench score is better. All PCs have Windows 95, and video resolution is set to i~!. 800 by 600 in g56 colors. We run automated scripts on six popular business applications, performing common tasks such as spelling the.cks, scrolls, saves, sorts, and recalculations. The PC'.: WorldBench score is a sum of the weighted result of each script: Word (Z5 percent), Lxcel (gO percent), Picture Publisher (15 percent), Paradox (15 percent), WordPerfect (6 percent), and 1-2-3 i:ii~.- (10 percent). For more details on our benchmark and how we run it, see Pr. World Online (www.pcworld.com/testing). .. 248 ~~,1~ o c T 0 S E ~ ~ e e ? - YOUR GUIDE TO THE :T.O P 10'0 "" ~ ": . :'-.~-' i'~' , :: .. .... -;.' ...~.~:,~..-':', :~":':':-: .: -:,':~:r:'::.~%.~.~; :'.'::~!., - ~ · . ".: .. · OUEs?IONs ABOUT OUR CHARTS?The following section sl~uld'a'~-.?'C! c°~'e from readers who respond to the Reliability and Service fax-back swer m"os~ of them: If' not~ a'~k us; see P~g'e'14 fo~'~:b~tact infor'r~tiL~? "~br~e~ iri each issue of PC World. The policies score is based on the ven- How do the Charts ~°-rk? The Top 20 and Top 10 charts '~r~ dc~r;s'support policies (such as length of warranty and support hours). 'q~ evolving lists of the best PCs, monitors, modems, printers, and graphics boards we've tested. The Top 20 charts are divided by price. Power desktops cost $2500 or more; power notebooks cost $2750 or more. Every month we test the latest products in e~ch category and ~i~ What do all those word scores mean? Word scores for perfor- mance and price are based on a product's rating in relation to other products in its category. For exam pie, a budget PC that is rated "expensive" is high priced only in relation to other budget PCs. Like- compare them to the pool of items We've already reviewed. A~ new ' wise, a power notebook rated "good" for performance, is good only in products earn places on the charts, those'at the bottom drop off. Price.~'~ '~ejation to .other power notebooks. Word scores for other categories, cut~ also ~:ause cha'rt Chang~,s. ' ;' '.' i-.'~' ";-;':? ~:.'--..'" ".' ' -~: .... ~'""" ':' "":":' fea;cures~ are · _. :.... -, :;.;): .-...:.--,..such as .. relative to all desktops or all notebo~)ks. ,~ Where.do you get your prices? We est!mate.street pri.c..es based ..,q~ Where can ! find the online version of the Top 1007 Go to PC on vendor information and our own research,'including surveys. '. World 'Online (www. pcworld.com). There you'll find not only the of retail outlets. We recheck all prices every month. ': ........ ; ;:-:. :: i~::il.k: cu'rr~nt issue of PC World and reviews for the last 10 months, but some ,~ What does the overall rating mean? It'S'the sum of all our te~ts-:- · ~Xtr~ features you'll want to check out. For one thing, PC World Online both hands-on evaluations and automated speed tests. The includes reviews you won't find in print. If a product misses a chart and scale is 1 to 100, so a product that scores in the 90s is'generally con- sidered eXceptional, one in the 80s is among the best, one in the 70s' is above average, and one that scores lower usually doesn't place. ' What does the'PC WorldBench scm-e mean? It's a measure oi . . fast a PC is in relation to our baseline machine, a Dell P?5t con- figured with 8MB of RAM, a 540MB hard drive, and no secondary cache. . . A PC that scores 200, for instance, is twice as fas;c as the baseline unit. '~ ,~ Where do th e scores for reliability, SupPort quality, and support policies come from? The reliability and ~upport quality scores we don't cover it'here, you can go directly to an online review by using the URL provided in each Top 100 section. Have you ever wished you could build your own chart based on your buying criteria? You can, with Buyer's Guide, our Web site's unique chart customizer. Buyer's Guide combines your criteria with PC WOrld's current data and test results to generate customized Top 20s and Top los. For instance, if you want your chart to rank notebooks that have 120-MHz processors and 1.6GB hard drives, the guide's Personal 'Adviser will find and rank all the machines that fit your specifications. TURNING BACK THE CLOCK SPEED WHILE ZNTEZ. was making a lot o/norse about faster CPUs, it quietly released a new Pentiurn MMX-~33 notebook proces- sor~and in so doing, pushed the entry- level processor for MMX-based portables down from xSo MHz. The PMMX-x33 should result in a new crop of fast but 7' .;. '-~ PENNY WISE, PRINT FOOLISH: Canon's BJC-2SO is only $179, but you have to swap black and color ink cartridqes. inexpensive notebooks. The first of these we've seen is Fujitsu's $1999 LifeBook 435Dx. With a PC WorldBench score of ~9~, it kept pace with the typical PMMX- ~5o notebook we've reviewed. IMPROVE YOUR IMAGES GRAPHICS BOARD VENDORS keep tell- ing us how terrific their products are at handling 3D. Indeed, some are~but in "~.D and 3D Graphics Boards: You Can't Always Get What You Want" we evaluate the latest crop of accelerators and find that no one board does it all ATI's $2~9 3D Pro Turbo PC2TV earned our top Best Buy: It's affordable, offers one of the best combinations of 2D and 3D performance, and 'is the best choice for animation- based multimedia presenta, tions. But if video's your thing, go for the $~7o Dia- mond Stealth 3D 3ooo, which placed second overall. For 3D buffs, Hercules's $~49 Stingray ~.8/3D at number nine is our pick. If you're searching for a low-cost color ink iet, check out this month's Top ~o Printers. We tested Canon's latest crop, including the new color Best Buy, Canon's BJC-43oo. This $~99 unit is one of the least expensive color ink jets we've seen from a maior vendor, and it prints nicely on plain paper as well as on ink iet stock The BJC-25o, which we also tested, is even cheaper at $~79, but not as convenient. Michael Desmond and Bryan Hastings are senior associate editors for PC World. Assistant Editor Grace Aquino; Editorial Researcher Julie Campagna, Editorial Assistant Mick Lockey, Associate Editors Melissa Riofrio and joAnne Robb, and freelance writers Jon jacobi and Dan Littman contributed to the Top ~oo. 'Test- lng for the Top ~oo by Ulrike Diehlmann. Robert James, Elliott Kirschling, jeffrey Kuta. Mike Salayko. and Susan $ilivius. see page ~4 for contact information. ~. OCTOBER 19 9 7 ~ 243 I'1"1 Direct from IBM' '::,:c,~;" I ' i~., ....tij '~.. · * 4.3,3?. · 24X Imax~ · .. %~,,,,~ C,:,-~OM 14' Color Monilor (13.1" viewablej 15' COtO: Monilo: ($-,.u wewablei · !5' Colo: Monlto: · K, ua~ ._~'~'. 3D fi3.6' viewabie) · 233M~ linc Pentium' · Exsius~v~ A2',~ Photo Processor with MMX" Dire:co;~ ~rom IBM and iecnnolo~y Ko,ale · 32MB SDRAM · ~ci~s:ve · 4.2GB HD S:[9I?o~3'?" tdogsg · 24X (m~) ~rJabte · Interne: speed CD-ROM - Lotus Smz~Suite 97 · MPEG-I V~aeo · Worl~ ~9gk ~nccJo~dJa ~ Soun~ by Bose aha $2 3' -9 · !5' CoJo[ k/JOnito: * AT~ 3D Fia~ Pro . P[osessor witr: MMX ~2h~olog)' · ~siusfv5 · 32MB SDBAM S;rol~oJr,: Mogs~ · 6.4GB HD · EZ Bu~o~ K~,goard · 512K ~ Casne · Lmus Smz~Suit~ 97 * M~:q~i3r M~enaries · Stunt by Bose an: Xm, wjwn v(Ju in,chair ~ ~¢* .~tk~. you (~ join ~M O~w:' ~ivil~?E ar: t'xclus~'t' meml.,crshi], pn,?am d~at deJivt'r¢ pwferred sen4('c, unite afix~u~' itfibrmadon, and speci~ d~b on acces~orie~ and 1 800 426-7235, 4263 Or ~4si~ u~ al w~cibm.com 3,',-Pax Mtm,~-Bat'k Ouarant~ ]-h~-~r Limited ~an'an~' gain-Spin ~zu~;~} (Eastern / Gateway GP-Series '~s for the Office · thief lfifMHz Pentium~' Processor with MMX'"Technology = 32MB DRAM · 512K Pipelined Burst Cache · EVS00.28 Screen Pitch 15" Monilor (13.9" viewable) · 2MB 3-D 64-Bit PCI Gr:4phics · 2GB llms Ultra ATA Hard Drive · 12X min/16X max CD-ROM & 3.5" Diskette Drives · GP-Series Desktop Case · 104' Keyboard & MS~'' InlelliMouse"' · Microsoft*; Windows* 95 & MS Office 97. Small Business Edition plus Encarta*' 97 · Gateway Gold", Service & Support for GP-Series PCs $1449 P/'ofesxional '- ...... = Intel 200MHz Penfium Processor with MMX Technology · 32MB DRAM · 512K Hpelined Burst Cache · CrystalScan~"700.28 Screen Pitch 17" Monitor (15.9" viewable) · 2MB 3-D 64-Bit PCI Graphics · 2GB llms Ullra ATA Hard Drive · 12X min/24X max CD-ROM & 3.5" Diskette Drives · GP-Series Desklop Case · 104" Keyboard & MS InlelliMouse · MS Windows 95 & MS Office 97, Small Business Edition plus Encarta 97 · Gateway Gold Service & Support for GP-Series PCs $1749 Business U ,sC $64/mo. · Intel 233MHz Pentium® II Processor with 512K Cache · 64MB DRAM · CrystalScan700.28 Screen Pitch · 17" Monitor (15.9" viewable) · 4MB 3-D 64-Bit Graphics · 4GB llms Ultra ATA Hard Drive · 12X min/24X max CD-ROM & 3.5" Diskette Drives · GP-Series Mid-Tower Case · 104" Keyboard & MS IntelliMouse · MS Windows 95 & MS Office 97, Small Business Edition plus Encarta 97 · Gateway Gold Service & Support for GP-Series PCs $2399 Business Lease* $88/mo. · Intel 266MHz PentiumlI Processor with 512K Cache · 64MB DRAM · Evg00.26 Screen Pitch 19" Monitor (18" viewable) · 4MB 3-D 64-Bi! Graphics · 6.4GB 10ms Ultra ATA Hard Drive · 12X min/24X max CD-ROM & 3~5" Diskette-Drives · GP-Series Mid-Tower Case · 104" Keyboard & MS IntelliM°Use · MS Windows 95 & MS Office 97. Small Business Edition plus Encarta 97 · Gateway Gold Service & Support for GP-Series PCs $2899 Business Lease' $107/mo. (Some items only available to new or ex~ting Gateway customers or with the purchase of a system.) Hewlett®_Packard DeskJet 820Cse Color Printer'S299 ' TR4 IDE 4GB Tape Backup Unit with Tape $199 [] TelePath® Modem for Windows with x2TM Technology" $79 [] Iomega®Internal ZIP'" Drive with Two Discs $99 (with.rystem purchaxe} Please call for current pricing on RAM and other upgrades. pentium~ ustness. "1~ ' 800-846.206.5 www.gateway.com . . .' . . . · , . . . · .. · · ::':: ::.!.;...:'..i :: ! :; ( :. :.:.; : :'::'..' :: : (.." i..: ;'.': :-:. i': :'J':.:..'.-.: i::' :.:"'.:'-: :: i': ...;.: :.:. :.,.:. -:.'..':: ..'::: ....::. i..)..., v:.' ::..:.: .:.':.'.:.'..:.:..':::: :.:.:.j:-:": ':::'::::. ::':::v ::"7:" :'::-.:'").i": :': '!:.": "-' ': ""-::: :'.::': :':':i' :.'::::':(:':"".: :' :' :':' .'.': .'.[ '.' :... . ."f - :... ... . . '-.. ::.'-. '. :.:j.-':: · .....'::'.... ::::::: :::::::::::::: ::::::: ::::: :::::: : ::;:::i:': : . : .?>:: :::...':.:.-:.'/ ...... :....- :.....~ ..':..:..7........ ':.:.:: .-:'..:..::.--.::'....::...::::::::'.'.):::..'...'.. · · .. . . . . · Inte~ ~O0~.k: t'entm~* ~'ocesso' wilt M~.,~' tecUnoio~ 5Z2KL pmei,~ Ours: cz~. flzs~ 24~ [ID[ var:abk sp~ CD-ROV dr~vt Z.~ hopp~ ort~e ]OOME Iome~z ZIp drive 32 ~oice wa~etabif steren sound wit~ speakers US~ S~s~e~ 56K ~ internal data qa~ mooem* PCI ~*b~ 3~ ~ideo. MP[~, 4MC ID0 ~ ~' Mt~o~ ~FGz. ~6dp [16.0' d~splay~ 3ool*tree mmi~ower Mkcroso~' Inlellim~se*', l~*ke) ke~oard Mi~oso~ Windowse 95 and MS' Plus~ Microso~ ~ce 97 Small Business Ed~o~ Choice of So.are Sol.ions Paks ~-year~year Micro~ Power~ limi:e~ p.ent, ium.' ]33MHz Fentium processor Intel 430V,! chipset 256KB L2 pipeline burst cache 24MP. [DO DRAM 2.1CP. bard d~ye 1!.3' D~T~ SV~ SOOx600 SX CD-RO~. drive ]G-bi~ stere~ sound Built-in s~ereo speakers and microphone Motoro~z Montana 33.6 tax/modem wffh celJuJar connector Zoomed vi~eo*soppod MP£G c~m~atible 2 wa)' inki~ed port Touchp~ rm~iag device Modul= fiop~ oYive Mic~os~ tYmdows 95 and k'.S pi~ Microsot:. Otlict 97 Stall Business Edition Manageme~; Pak /~ 5,2399 G.ycar/~*yur Micron §mated war~aq ~r lintel 26G~H-- Pentium II processor (features M~X technology) 512KB icte~na112 cache, 2MB BIOS 64M[~ EDG P2~,M 4CB ElD[ F. ard drive 24! ElD: ~e:iable speed CD-RO~ drive 3.5" fiopp) 1OOMi~ iome~.[ ~p drive 32 ~oim wave,able stereo sound with speakers USR S~:~e: 5GK ~ internal da~/f~ modem' PCI ~ 3D ~deo, MPEC, 4M6 EDO ~" Mi~o~ 70G F~ ~6dp fiE.O" ~spla~) USg ~npe~on T~I-~, minitower Mi~o~ i~ellimouse,~4-ke)' ke~ Mi~o~ ~ndows 95 and KS PJud Mi~oso~ 0~ 97 Small ~usiness Choifl o~ hhire Sol,ions Paks Heat thin up with Computers Now ! Order a Micron computer through our Computers Now! program for same-day shipment.* Our pre-configured systems are packed with Intel pendum and Pentium II processors, some featuring MMX technology. Our Millennia XKU and MME modds fire off power and performance for the most demanding user. And, om' TransPort VLX delivers a portable that's affordable. No matter which Micron s3~tem you choose, you'll always get our award-winning, 24-hour customer support and a ~eat limited warranty you won't find on a shelf an) where. Call Computers Now! for a computer that turns up the heat -- and really bur~s the other guys up. MICRON POWER" 3-~r Imm~ mm-~ mmmm m~ p,,,f~,: lc, Mi~on Sales Hfs: Mon-Fri 6am-10pm, !;:~[. Sat 7am-Spm (MT) Technical Support :~:*;~ Available 24 Hours A Day, 7 Days A Week It,~,lC r oSofT' W,~)<~ Toll free from Mexico: 95.800-708-'1755 Toll free imm Canada: 800-708-:1758 · Toll free from - Puerto Rico: 800-708-:1756 ·intemational Sales: 208-893-8970 · international Fax: 208-893-7393 .. Ca//now' Ora'er.... 800 6-4-506 www. .... , ....... .., .'.".;r,,'. !!! · :,: .... , ":,','.::',.. ~.'.' , !..i.: '.,::.,.. .;' - ... " ' · .:'",',"',;~ i,~";;i ~:!'- ,;."i'. :' 'q'' . .,,,~' .,;,;~dVV;¢:i¢,~.. :,..p ' ¥!:u' ?'. ';q! NEW DELL DIMENSION XPS DS00 NEW DELL DIMENSION XPS D266 NEW DELL DIMENSION XPS DZ33 DELL DIMENSION XPS M233s 30DMH: P£NllUM I: m"" ;EAIURING ;,,1MX ' TESHNOLOGY · '.k ~il)Dla[J[, I() i;[h/ 5'49.9 3499 ' Business Lease ' S123/Mo. 233MH: PF. NTIUM II PROCESSOR FEATURING MMX TECHNOLOGY 0r~mmfm iealur~:.~. JlSlf:d abovf: plus · 32MF, SDRAM Mumory · NEVI'6 4CB Ullra AlA Hard Drive w~It~ 5i2KB Cache (9.5m:;) ' 1OO0LS Monflor (15.~' · NEWSTB Velocny 4MB AGP V~deo Card* WRAM V~dc, Sard' ; ' AVV~64 VahJe SotJnd Card · · Inl(-!!lr;m;[~ tamaha VVavelahl6 Suurld j . Allec Lansing ACS-BP Speakers - All~:: Lan:prig ACS-BP Speakers : * Ungrag~ lo an fi4GB U/Ira ATA Hard 233MHz PENTIUM' PROCESSOR WITH MMX TECHNOLOGY ~,ommon foatur.q:, h:;led aPr)ye plus · 32MB SDRAM MP. mory · 4.3CB Hard [)nve ID.bras) · 1000LS MorJnor 115.B" v.i.s.) · NEVi/ M, alroz Mdlgnruurn II 4MB WRAIvl Vmeo Card · Sound Blasle~ 16 WaveSymh Wavmable Sound · Aller. Larmmg ACS-OD Speakers * Ungrad,.., to 64fvlB SDRAM. addS199 s2899 Business Lease: 5105IIVIo. D'/ve w/th 512KB £a::ho fO. bm.','/. a,'ld 599 2499 Business Lease: S90/Mo. ()rm;, Cone Upgrade tn a 1flDO TX irinitron Mom to/~75 9" v/. s.. .26dp}. add $99. 2199 Business Lease: S79/Mo. Order [;na~ *M"Hom,~" ,~ ? ' ' ~,~ ~r,. ~ . ' ; ---",-:.. 2 .' Ma× variable CD-ROM Drive + N£W56KCapable*'US Roboticsx2WinModom ,b ~ t:ss~nt~als p us ~st n, ~nterta nmen, :~a,'k + Microsdl W'indows °5 ,~ Me ,-*~,,;,.~ ....... ', ..... - · ..... ' '- ..... : ........ ., ,~ ,.,=,,,,v,uu~u ,, ~ ~ear LlmlleO warran! ~ With I '(ear rl ' , , ~~,rnal Drive ,,,/'One Car[ridge. add $99.+ ?-Pak of Zip lOOMB Car[ridges. add 239.* HR D~es~Jet 820Cseu C~toeJr~;;Cr?add $299. IMENSION XPS 0300 J NEW DELL DIMENSION XPS DZ66 NEWDELL DIMENSION XPS ~ DELL DIMENSION ZPS M21X]s ,.~ L; NULUL~Y · J FEATURING MN,X TECHNOLOGY FEATURING MMX TECHNOLOGY :" WITH MMX TECHNOL~)SGSyOR' '- ~ommon features listed above plus: I Common fBatures hs~ed a~ove plus: Common features listed above plus: Common features listed above plus: · 541vlB SDRAM Memo,? · N£W8 4CB Uhr¢ ATA Hard Drive with 512KB Cache {9.5ms) · 1200HS [Uionitor {17.9' v.i.s...26dp) · A~'14"Matrox Millennium Ii SMB WRAM Video Card' · AW-~64 Value Sound Card · Altec Lansing ACS-490 Full Do!by Surround Sound Speakers with. Subwoofer · ~omega Zip IOOMB Imerna! Drive with One Car[udge s3799 NEWPersonal Lease: S;169/Mo, :,'Per Cod~ ;500904 · 32MB SDRAM Idemory · NEW6.4,SB Ultra ATA Hard Drive with 512KB Cache {9.5ms) · NEWIOOgTX Trinnron lvionitor f15.9' v.i.s., .25d2) · IVEWM, atro,,, Mi!ienmum Ii 8MB WRAM V~deo Card' · Integrated Yamaha Wavetable 5ound · Altec Lansing ACS-290 Speakers with Subwoofer · Iomega Zi~ 10OMB Internal Drive With One Ca.qnd;e 2999 NEWPersonal Lease: S134/Mo.: Order Co0e .*500903 · 32MB SDRAM Memory · 4.3CB Ultra ATA Hard Drive (9.5ms) · 1000LS Monitor (15.9" v.i.s.) · NEWSTB Velocity 4MB AGP Video Card* · Integrated Yamaha Wavetable Sound · Altec Lansing ACS-90 Speakers * Upgrade to 64MB SDRAM addS?,99. * U~grade to Altec Lansing A£S-290 Speakers with Subwoofer. add $75. * Upgrade ~o IO00TX TrinPon tvloni~or (?,5.9' t:~.s...25dp), addS99. 2399 NEW Personal Lease: $107/Mo. ' Order Code .,f500902 · 32MB SDRAM Memory · 4.3CB Hard Drive f9.5ms) · 1000LS Monitor (15.9' v.i.s.) · NEWSTB Nitro 4MB ED0 PCI Video 'Card · Sound Blaster 16 WaveSynth Wavetable Sound · Altec Lansing ACS-90 Speakers '* Upgrade to a 64MB SDRAIvl. addS199. · Ukarade to 6.4CB Ultra ATA Hard Drive wah 512KB Cache fO. 5ms). add 579. q999 NEW Personal Lease: S89/Mo.: ~' Order Code ¢'500901 *ProducL as configured, will ship by October 20. "i~ ..... ~S'"'~:""'~' f'~' ~"~'~' '".~ '?':-,"'-' ';".~,.. :,,*. "~ " .... ?:'""~ "":~""~ '"~ P.- -:v~' - ~t *u'F r'~.,fi'~l~ ;~.c,. 9,-L: ~:~ ;,~ {~:.-. ' . ~,,- · -' · ,~t,'~ mi; ...~.~..,.~ ,~B .~,~_.. :..: .m ~,,r --. ,.~.uo~: .,~ ~ ~1 '.%f, :t'~':,l'~~, .~'- :'~.m). c,*,, ',...~,,r. T': )~.~ · ~ .. ~.... . ,- ~ ~.~ .... : ........ ' ..... ",C.". .', "~ ......"L"' : .............................. Please call for updated shipment information. 'Amount of monthly lease payment, based on 24-month lease fTom Dell Financial Services LP. an independent ent~'; amount due Pri°r t° delivery: °D38: '-~268; '~.14; '$178 lamounts exclude taxes which may vaq,; for example, Harlford Cit); IN fees ~.45); no securitf deposit required, subject to credit approval and availabii~,, base terms s, biect to change. DELL DIMENSION MZOOa 200M;-L- PENTIUM PRO=ESSOfl WITH MMX TECHNOLOGY ~f~mmpr: fS~tures hSleCJ ~,D,')v8 pius · 16M~ SDRAM Mem(,y · 2.2GE: Hard Drive (12ms1 · ~93HS Tnmtron Momlo~ H~ 7' vLs...25dp} · 2MB ~DO ViRGE 3D · 3~;;~. 3;509B ElhezLinL t1: q DM~:; I~A Combo Card · I[m~ Z~p 100MD Imemal Dnv~ · ~7~p:an~' m 32MB SDR4M. ad/l ~ S~u,~ ~las~e~ ~6 PoP and Al~e~ Lans,~u 4C$-90 S~a~'ers. add $1799 Business Lease: S65/Mo. 0!9..' , -~,. =,r, rlnur,h,.~,. MS Office 57 Small Business Edition (SBE)include:: · Ex:ce! 97 · PLJldtsher 87 · Outio~)): 97 · AtJlon~ai) Slreels Plus - Small Business ~manc~al MCr 97 MS Hume Essentials plus Besl of Ente~ainmem Pack (available on desl~ops only)includes: - W~rd 97 · Wud:~, 4.0 · Enca~a 97 · Gr~min~s W~rkshop · Arcade . - inl~rne; Ex[)K}rer · T~TR[S. Ta'p~i. SkiFre~. · Dr Biad;Jad. an~ more. ., Common features: - 512l:~-; inlearal~d L2 ~[:~ ~;;rn;~ · In19~,al{~¢ P~l Ullra-W',c,, M,maun' ~:; 5~' 3 Yea~ Ne~ Business Day On-site Se~ice DELL POI/VEREDGE' 2:200 SERVER 265MHz PENTIUM I1 PROCESSOR Dual Processor Capable, RAID Capable Common fealures lisled above plus: · 54MB ECC EDO Memery (512MB Max) · 4GB Ultra-W~de SCSI-3 Hard Drive I27GB Max) · IIX SCSI CD-ROM Drive · 3Cpm Office Connecl Hub 8-PortflPC · MS Windows NT Server 4.0 110 Chent Access Licenses) - 6 Drive Bays: 3 Hard Drive. 3 Removable Media - [, Expansmn Sims 3 PCI. 3 EISA $4749 Business Lease: $166/Mo. Or(mr Code ~'250081 DELL POWEREDGE 22D0 SERVER 233MHz PENTIUM II PROCESSOR Dual Processor Capable. RAID Capable Common'fealures listed above plus: · 32MB ECC EDO Memory I512MB Max) · 2GB Ultra-W~de SCSI-3 Hard Drive (27GB Max) · 8X SCSI CD-ROM Drive · MS Windows NT Server 4.0 (10 Clienl Access Licenses) - § Drive Bays: 3 Hard Drive. 3 Removable Media · 6 Expansion Slots: 3 PCI. 3 EISA · APC Smart-UPS 70Ow Power Supply. add $399. $3749 Business Lease: S134/Mo. Order Code #250085 Common features: · 255KB L2 Pipeline Burst Cache ,- Options Bay accepts CD-ROM (20X Max"Variable on LM M166ST or 12X Max"Variable on LM M133ST), 3.-.5. Roopy Drive Iboth reduced) or Optional 2nd b-ton Battery <- PCI Bus with 128-bit Graphics Accelerator with 64K Colors + Integrated 16-bit Stereo Sound · Smart Lithium Ion Bmtery · Microsoh Windows ,°5 · IrDA 1.0 S~andard Compliam. + Touchpad * Under 7 Pounds' + Extendable 1 Year Warranty~ DELL LATITUDE i.M M166ST ' 165MHz PENTIUM PflOOESSOfl W/MMX Common features listed above pius: · ",' i' SVGA Active M.a~rix Display · 72;,4~ EDO RAIvl · &'£W4GB Hard Drive · MS Office 97 Small Business Edition - 2..':.Y Lithium Ion B~t~e,3: ac~ $?£9 ,, ,~:ner Car,ying Case, ado $99. , $:,cm Lan+ 33.6 Mooem PC Card. z:,~ $299. ,, 3~;;. Latitude LM Pon Replicator, a:.f $159. $3999: Business Lease: $141/Mo. O,--..e- :ode ~8ooi68 DELL LATITUDE LM M166ST .~'! 7 :'::{ i§,CMHz FENTIUM PROCESSOR W/IvlMX~' Common features listed above plus: · ~2.1' SVGA Active Matrix Display · 40MB EDO RAM (721vlb Max) · 2.~ Hard Drive · MotOrola 33.6 Fax Modem · MS Oflise 97 Small Business Edition - Upgrade .'.c 72MB EDO RAM, a~c' S2£9 , U~grad~ :o ~ NEW 4GB Hard Drive, 'DELL LATITUDE LM M166ST;~/i::'~.,.:~;:i.:: 166MHz PENTIUM PROCESSOR W/MMX. Common features listed above plus: · 12.1" SVCA Active Matrix Display · 'ISMB EDO RAM (72MB Max) · 1.CGB Hard Drive · MS Office 97 Small Business Edition · Upgrade to 40MB EDO RAM, add $299. , Upgrade to a 2.1GB Hard Drive, addS149. ,2ndLithium Ion Barred4, add $199. NEW DELL LA .TI?UDELM M133ST 133MHz PENTIUM PROCESSOR W/MMX Common features listed above plus: · 12.1" SVGA Active Matrix Display · 161VIB EDO RAM (72MB Max) · 1.CGB Hard Drive · MS Office 97 Small Business Edition * Upgrade to 24MB EDO RA/vl, add $99. , Upgrade to a Z1GB Hard Drive, addS149. ,2ndLithium Ion Batte~ addS199. add $$49 ~ 2nd Li;hium Ion Bat[eo: add $199. * Leather Car,wing Case, add $99. Business Lease: SlZ3/Mo. Order Code ¢BOOi69 * NEW 561( Capable.. x2 Modem, add $149. * Dell Latitude LM Port Replicator, add $ !59. 2899 Business Lease: $105/Mo. Order Code #800140 * Nylon.Carrying Case, add $69. * Deft Latitude LM Port Replicator, add $159. * 3Cpm lOBase-TNetwork Card, addS129. $2599 Business Lease: S94/Mo. Order Code#800154 · Call for details on DeWs Business Leasing and new Personal Leasing programs. 888 =517.g 87 TO ORDER ONLINE www. de ll.com/buydell Mon-Fri 7am-Opm CT Sat lOam-Cpm CT Sun 12pm-Spin CT In Canada: call 800-232-§978. GSA Contract #GS-35F-4076D J Keycode #0330B J Integrated L2 NEi/VB.4GB Ultra ATA Hard DriVe '~.NEW1200HS Monitor (17,9' Cr~a~ ~bs A~ Value Sound ~rd i*~ii~ :f°dnd Sound· sPeal~e'rs'with S. ubwbofer!~.i .~:-~t~pa..bi,e~,~i..-$:R!~; ~:i~;~, ~..,,-..ii!~~ '- Microsoft: Office 97 Small Business··;;::: ;'~'! Editi°n'pliJ{; Bo°kshelf 96 ~ '~a ~P~8 ~i' ~e'~' ?~~~.~.~ ::`~' .M~ ........ Wipdo~.9~s"~ ""; ...... ].ntelliMouse:~.,;':.. ,: ........ .?.' On-site Se~lce ¢:. ~?:~' :'' ~/~VSTB Vei'OC~"~l~lB AGP Video C~rd · · IO00'I'X Trinitron Monitor (15.9' v.i.S.): .. · 24X'Max.~ vail'able Cd-FioM'- ..... --.--,-. · , . · Creative LabsAWE64 Value Sound Card' ·Altec Lans!ng ACS-290 Speakers with Subwoofer · 56K Capable'-' U.S.R. x2 WinModem': · Microsoft Office 97 Small Business Edition plus. Encarta · MS Windows 95/MS IntelliMouse · 3 Year Umit~d Warranty With 1 Year On-site Service ..;.- .... ~:..... "' 1000LS M°nit'0i:'{15:'9' V-[is:):/:'.:~"~---¢: · · NEWSTB Velocity 4MB AGP Video Card* · 24X Max-~ Variable CD-ROM . · ~ntegrate;J ~,a~ah;, W~';~tabi~ S~'a'nd, · Altec Lansing ACS-90 SPeakers · 56K Capable'' U.S.R. x2 WinModem · Microsoft Office 97 Small Business Edition plus Bookshelf 96' '~'~ MS Window~ 95/MS IntelliMouse · 3 year'i, imited wa~anty with 1 'Year On-siteService - '-': .... .. " .., 279.9 ': 2399 Business Lease: $101/Mo. Business Lease: $87/Mo. Order Code/500927 Order Code/500926 Yeah, we're talking to you. The one who likes to be on the edge. Correction. Make that over the edge. Which is exactly where the Dell Dimension XPS D300 is going to take you, screaming at a processor speed of 300MHz. More than just the latest megahertz demon, we've equipped this Intel· Pentium' II processor-based system with some of the industry's fastest features around. Like high-speed SDRAM memory that "bursts" data twice as fast as ED0 memory. Perfect for optimizing multimedia applications. And an Ultra ATA hard drive; fast, efficient and up to 8.4GBs big. With two times the data transfer rate of non-Ultra ATA hard drives. And the newest muscle-machine status symbol: Advanced Graphics Port video capability. Faster than the traditional PCl bus, this techno-workhorse boasts accelerated graphic performance for both 2D and 3D applications. So give us a call and we'll build you one of these monsters today. Then strap yourself in for a real power trip. *Product, as configured, will ship by October 20. Please call for updated shipment information. tFor a complete copy of our Guarantees or Limited WarrantJes. please write Dell U~A L.P.. Arm: Warranty, One Dell Way, Round Rock. TX 78682. PLeasing arranged by t.q,rA-pany leasm9 companies to Qualified customere. ~On-s~te service prowded by an inOeoenOent t~ird-party p'ovider. May not be available in certain remote areas..4MB Baser)para w~th a 4MB Uogracle ,Module. ~24X MaxJIZX Mm. "~2 products are capable of 56Kb13s. Due to FCC rums that restrict power output, however, current download speeds are limited to 53Kbps. Upload speeds are lim~t~ te 33.GKr, cs. A::uai speeds may vary depending on line conditions. ,,,Prices and sbec=ficatmns vahd in ~le U S. only and subject to change w~thout tint,ce. Intel. ~e Intel Inside logo and Pemium are registered traOema~s and MMX is a traOemark of ~ntel Corporatmn MS. Microsoft,. Wmclows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporahon. (~1997 Dell Computer Corporation All fights resenm'~. 800-545-3608 ~::Tn ORDER ONUNE~' www. deil.com/buydell Mon-Fri 7am-eprn CT- Sat 10am-Gpm CT Sun 12pm-Spin CT In Canada:call 800-232-6978 ,""~ GSA Contract #GS-35F-4076D ,¢ .. .,. J Keycode ~3300 J --,,. ... , ~ p..ent.¥..m.'ll ~-' - Exhibit V PC headaches ... ('continued from. p. I) summer workout for the newest and fastest. If a neb, or nearly new PC runs erratically or locks up, overheating is the probable culprit. Resellers do not always install heat sinks or fans that match CPU makers' specs. High-speed internal modem chips rank. second in overheating. Faster, high-capaci~' disk drives are a third possible culprit. Add-on (external) fans for pulling air through these newer drives are showing up and can revive a file server. To track doum hotspots: A $32 sensor that monitors internal PC temperatures and alerts a user to possible overheating is available from Cameleon (unx~:cameleon.com). [ Memory malnutrition A shot of tC-tM often does more for application performance than 'Information Technology Adviser'! ED1TOR-IN~3{[EF: ROBIN N~LSON ~L-kI'(AGING EDITOI~ JOI-LN T. HL. kTr PRODUCTION EDITOR: BOB PERSON EDITOKIAL DI]~ECTOR: b-I-v_PHF. N MEYER In,venation Tedmolo~' Adv/ser. (ISSN 1094- l$09}'Augu~t~-~ ~ 1.°~7, Vol. 1, No. 10, iR published ~mi-rnonthly {23 fimm a year, onc~ in December} by ?ro.~,zr~sive Business Publications, 370 Technolo~' 15riw...~ak~-n, PA 19355; v~ox'z: $00-220-5000. r&x: 610-647-$099. Subr. eription rate $299 per year. Application to mail at periodicals postage rates b pending at Malverm PA 19355. Po~tmasten S'.nd addre~ changes to jnfon~u~t/on TetJmolo~, Aak,/ser. 370 Technolog)' Drive, Malvern, PA 19355. Subscription sen4ce: 800-220-5000 This publication iR designed to.provide accurate and authoritafi~ information m regard to the ~ubject maner covered. It is ~old gSth the undemanding that the publisher !s not e.n~.ged i? nm&ting l~al, accounting, or other pro~-~mna~ senlc~. If legal or other ex'W'.a't a.~istance is require& the ~en'ice~ of a competent profe~ional should be ~ought. -- From a declaration of prindpk$ jointly adopted by a committee of the .~anerican Bar Association and a committee of publishem i ~ Printed on rec3.'cled paper. COl~.vight O 1.°97 Progt~k~ Busin .e~, ~ Publication~. Pieas~ respect our copwiunv. Reproduction of ~ material is pr~hil~ited g-ithout prior permission. All ri~ts reserved in all countri~ upgrading to a faster CPU. If PC performance suffers when running data-intensive applications, a session with the tL~d~4 doctor could be the cure. Recent research shows that PCs shipped with last year's "standard" (16mb) RAM can run up to 63% faster with more memory. An upgrade from 16 to 32 mb of DRAM in a Pentium 100MHz with 256kb cache improves performance by 35%, outrunning a Pentium Pro 200MHz with 256kb cache and 16mb of RAM. Piling on some RAM before you invest in a neb, processor is a better bet to improve slow performance, even for high-performance file servers with scalable multiprocessing. To experiment: Samsung, one of the largest DtCkM suppli.ers, offers a Website where you can enter various configurations and see the projected effect on performance. Check it out at: wwu.:more.men~oD:samsung. corn Check chipsets, DIP switches Reputable vendors almost always supply the latest available chipsets b,hen they build machines to order. Sadl); a lot of other vendors dgn't. And in the bargain basement price ranges, you're even more vulnerable to this "bait-and-switch" routine. If PCs bog down or don't respond when storage devices (either fixed or removable) are added, the most likely Cause is an outdated BIOS chip. An older BIOS is also often the culprit in application software incompatibility problems. Most major BIOS chip manufacturers will overnight a neb, one. Another surprise: A frequent cause of slob, PC operations - even in sexa,ers- reported frequently is DIP switches never set to the correct CPU speed bY. the vendor or reseller who shipped the hardware. Finall); if modems seem slog; end users can call up simple diagnostic routines that check serial port chips for high-speed (16550 UART) data transfer capability. This feature provides a [ramework for smart decision making and helps keep you and your firm out of trouble. It describes a recent legal conflict and le~ you judge the outcome. Phone system sabotaged IT Director Joe Johnstone was furious. A computer controlling Steadfast Corp.'s phone system had been remotely accessed and almost 80% of company phone lines had been down for most of a day. A security log 'showed that the computer had been accessed from home by a Steadfast computer technician, Bud Lyre, who had been authdrized to work remotely, but on other company systems. "We know he did it," Joe told Steadfast attorney Justin Case. "We just don't know why." Hit the wrong keys? "He claims it was an accident," the laWYer told Joe. "Says he was only fooling around." "Hit five or six wrong keys in a row, huh?" Joe scoffed. "No way. I want him prosecuted for computer tampering. We could have had emergencies in the plant and people would not have been able to call out for help? "Computer tampering? Wait just a minute," Justin cautioned. "We gave him access. He didn't change any code and, technically, he didn't even enter any commands. The court would need more evidence..." 'q'he log shows he initiated the routine that shut down the phones," Joe replied. "We'll get him conviCted.'' Was Joe right?. I' Make your decision, I~en turn to page 6 for the court% ruling. , Information Technology Adviser page 2 August 22, 1997 Exhibit VI 8-Sep-97 wor~1~ben Penbum 200 ~=.'~on l~on~ (see~ ~ for oe~ Dockmg Sullen . · ~3= 4Ge Disk & RAI Server ~,~ ~lbon SerVel' EmaC, Server !=~: Server and penphe~l installabon installation and Wmn'anty Wmrranly Wmrramy Wmn'an~/ Wmrranly Wen-anb, $2.331 $3.600 :/..,ppis:at, on SerVer (Winhlme) ~nfi~'Jmbon Phase I Data General Monthly Lease Pu.--~a~ %' Per MonB'l '1 o~1 C~s: 36 , per Un~ i De~ Un.< Lease Cos! - a~ Mon~ Loose -.~ Tool Pupate ~ ~ Un~ ~a~m ~nua: ; Un~ : all U~ I Pn~. al: U~ ~ Roq, Co~n~ Ma~nle~n~ ' So~ ~:~.m~4 ~. ~ ... .... . ·. Year 1 ,. .. , I I ~r 1~ PC: 16M~.lGB, 15' ~nn~ $70~ ~ X2~87.~ ~ $5.4~9 ~ $197,7~40~ S17E.3~.~~ 7a ;12xCD~a. WmgS. MS~g7 I . INota: Foal nu~r ~s not ~n finnl=eO ~0 s~bo~, ne~ ~nne~on $16.76 I ~.~ ~ $67.02 j $2,412.75 ~~l 4 I . S3BI.W $12.395.~ %1,145.30 ~I~30.73 $37,1n5.~ ~3 ~4GB S~l a~y, Penbum Pm 2~ ~omer.'~B' ' ' In~ne~m 1~ user ii~ $~.52 ~ $:~7.~ I ~ I $7.4~g.~I ~,771.~ ~e an~ M~lex RAID ~n~ller ~3~ ' %367.29~ S11.g25.~ %3~7.2~~ %13,222.~ S11.925.~;~1 ~C~Wm~se~rforC~l~sstoapps. $G27.~ $20.~9.~ 3627.~ %22,~4.~ $20.359.~~ I J~ssa~ng (so~r, ~ & ~an~ ~) ~ i 1 . ss24 '.. ~ -FI" .. Jac~ess ~ ~ to 50 senior. =~RO~Se~r t' ~..B1 j S1.195.~f ~36.81 I ~- . ....... '_ - ...... $1.325.02 $1 195 ~ L[~_ ~3COM ~t~ Conne~ C~ROM se~r for up ~ 7 Wa~n~ ' ' ~ 1 Jshamd C~ROMs ...... ...,.... ......... ~ ..... .....-.--.. ........... . ....... ~San~ ~oh~edi~ D~ (HP. SN) · 251.59I $1,675.~I $1.4~.11J S53,859.~ I ~8,575.~ I 29 INet: Finaln~r~s not ~en final=edCO S~n~Hem~D~(Ssl) ' S113.81 i ~,695.~ I ~682.~ I ~24,5~.10 I $~,170.~ I 6 ~ :o,or P~ter(HP C~or~me~tS) S50.17 ~ S1,~.~ j SI~.35 I ~3,612.47 J S3~58.~ I 2 ~e~onU~forPm~en~do~ { ~6,9e5.~ ~ ~245.~ J'~ ~,995.~ J 1 I WemtekSy~2485~71~752~051 S~n~S~nner(HP4C) ~.31 j S1.179.~ ~ $181.57 ~ $E,5~.38 J %5,895.~ ~ 5 To?ALs..~ ~ I ~Z=" j ~0,0~0..I S=~5,~=Z~ i j ~$11,028 ~ P6nter Mair - ......... Sele'"h~/p,'icing of W~de are network ' . ! ' ,emphasis on me~ I Sele~o~'pncing ~ wi~e area ne~K~t eouip.*nen*. & implementation c:~stl., i , !C. atego~ 5 cabling for each server + Host ; . ICategoryS=blingforallnewworf~tat~on, i J~m 614~7 m~es. P6~ng ~m ~7 ~ i ~ $13,387.~ ~ Ims~nse ..... .. :,: 26,195.00 i ! I I ,T.a~n; Want uP-gmdes/modifi=~tlans. ~rom sf~'~s) to dish.on ~i~t ~m ~on ~int to U~ 1~'1~ ~hamd E~emet hub 5q~t and *e~p I I 2a,33sJ2 f $=oo, o;f.r~ s27o..8.ooI I I I I I $66,,83o ih/w &.,,~.. p.,~., I I Equ~ment and setup costs '3Uil~Z. fF-mld Sen~=esl .lsetup i INeMre Dire=my Servers (NDS) setup and inr..luded configuraGon for lhe enterp6se; Public Safety · network inleDration and gateway access for City off tTustina.~_E~cabons · . I I~ntJfy retained systems reQui~ng upgrades ,W~e-' Management Servi~s" '" MS ~x:~nn~e Training .. :Mig.'ab~ of appti:3bons fi'om blue new serveds) · 'sys~err~establish coflnec~ty for · Upgrade o~ retained systems to meet TOTALS Network ~ease tem~ fa:~:..35418 annual iMyme'flt Wsrl3n~/ i $710,909 fh/w leased, sewlces purchased ~ · ?clo~: .030~0 in a~r~am .O30M