NVidia now rules the PC graphics subsystem, with only ATi's Radeon offering any credible alternative. We had no ATi boards in this collection. They just don't come this far down the price curve. Bundled software was uninspiring, with Lotus SmartSuite and Microsoft Works Suite both common attendants. We want hardware.
Software is only the icing on top.
Our shortlist comes down to six machines. You won't go far wrong if you plump for the Atlas , Poweroid , CCL , Mesh , Multivision or the Systemax . Plus It was really hard to decide on the Multivision as this month's favoured machine, but the performance of the system turned out to be the deciding factor. Though it's matched in many ways by some of the competition, a well set-up 1GHz Athlon can't be taken lightly. The biggest deficiency of this machine is the Yamaha sound system, because it lacks the tools and techniques common to the market-leading Sound Blaster series.