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| IBM NetVista A60i |
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Hardware Reviews February 2001 • Vol.4 Issue 2 |
IBM NetVista A60i | ||
 The big question for many people shopping for a new desktop PC is, "What about this Pentium 4?" We've grown used to the idea that each new microprocessor family brings with it a radical leap in raw speed, so the fact that the Pentium 4 is new may be enough for many buyers. But as our tests show, 1.5GHz Pentium 4 systems may not necessarily be faster at all tasks than 1GHz Pentium III or Athlon PCs, let alone new 1.2GHz Athlon systems with DDR (double data rate) 266MHz SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM). Intel has pointed out that Pentium 4 processors perform their best when software takes advantage of their special capabilities. The problem is that very little of this software exists yet. The IBM NetVista A60i is an attractive desktop system with a black mini-tower case. All of its components, from the keyboard to the speakers, are very angular. Besides the 1.5GHz Pentium 4 processor with 256KB of on-die level 2 cache memory, the A60i has 128MB of PC800 RDRAM (Rambus dynamic RAM). PC800 is the fastest RDRAM currently available. All of this silicon isn't just hot on paper, either. This IBM comes with a large case fan right behind the Pentium 4 to augment the power supply's fan. The A60i also boasts a colossal 75GB Deskstar 75GXP hard drive, CD-RW and DVD drives, and an ATI RADEON All-In-Wonder 3D graphics card with 32MB of DDR SDRAM. Including the 17-inch IBM monitor, which wasn't quite as sharp as we would have liked, an A60i configured like the one we tested costs $3,098. Between the A60i's LG Electronics 8X/4X/32X (write/rewrite/read speeds) CD-RW drive and Pioneer 16X DVD-ROM drive, you'll be covered for just about any popular optical disc format except DVD-RAM. The CD-RW will take care of your file archiving needs and your music CD wants, while the DVD will handle movies and possible future DVD software titles. The IBM 345W speakers and subwoofer sound good enough to make your DVD cinema seem larger than it looks on-screen. Part of the credit is due to the Creative Sound Blaster Live! Value audio card with 3-D audio and a digital audio output jack. On the video end, the 32MB DDR RADEON 3D card held up pretty well. We maxed out several of Quake III Arena's video settings and set progressively higher resolutions to see how the RADEON would do. Everything looked very fluid at resolutions up to 1,600 x 1,200, even during some intense periods of rapid action. We also liked IBM's Rapid Access III keyboard, which includes CD/DVD control buttons and hot keys for accessing various Internet sites. Also, the ScrollPoint II mouse has a much better rocking scroll lever than previous IBM scrolling mice. You can choose to plug both the USB keyboard and mouse into the A60i's two front USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports or two in back. This NetVista also has two serial ports and a parallel port. It comes with both a 56Kbps (kilobits per second) data/fax modem and a 100Mb (megabit) Intel Pro/100 integrated Ethernet adapter for DSL or cable modem connections. Finally, its 3.5-inch floppy diskette drive isn't recessed as on some other IBM PCs, so you can insert floppy diskettes without jamming a finger. The A60i's case is roomy enough to have three PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slots and three 3.5-inch drive bays free out of five each. IBM made it easy to reach all of these. Once you have removed the computer's side panel, you can swing the 3.5-inch drive bays outward for easier loading and unloading. You can also add more RDRAM, up to a huge total of 2GB, in the two free slots out of four. If Rambus memory prices continue to drop, future upgrades may not be as painful to your checkbook as they would be today. We tested the NetVista A60i with our usual battery of benchmarks, unearthing disappointing results. The A60i scored 689 in the Video2000 Features benchmark. Adding insult to injury, its 558 Video2000 Quality score was only about half of the typical scores in this arena. The A60i's SYSMark 2000 overall rating was 149, owing to its 134 score in Office Productivity and 171 in Internet Content Creation. It rated a 980 in Video2000's Performance test for 2,228 overall. Finally, its 3DMark2000 score of 4,639 was a blow to our expectations in light of the Pentium 4 and RADEON's aptitude for 3-D processing tasks. Our A60i came with Windows Me, Lotus SmartSuite 9.5, Staccato, PC-Doctor, and other bundled software. It has a three-year parts and labor warranty with onsite repair. This seems to be a very solid system with good components, but until there's a lot of software optimized for the Pentium 4, it's not going to outperform much cheaper systems. by Marty Sems
$3,098 IBM (800) 426-4968 (914) 765-1900 http://www.ibm.com
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