Stories by PC World Staff

Top 10 Power PCs

Got CPU envy? If you simply must have the latest in processor power (and you've got the cash to pay for it), the machines on this month's chart just might satisfy your craving. Three speedy new systems appear on the chart, including the Gateway 2000 Inc. Select 1000--the first 1-gigahertz PC on the Top 10.

Top 10 Monitors

Flat-screen CRTs control nine spots on the chart
this month. Of the four newcomers, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.'s SyncMaster
700NF ascends the highest, thanks to its bright colors and reasonable price.
Sony Corp.'s CPD-G200 and Mitsubishi's Diamond Plus 73 also render bold
graphics. The AOC7Glr from EPI carries a $199 price--the lowest we've seen for
a 17-incher. Models from Optiquest and Panasonic fell short. Next month we look
at 19-inchers.

Top 10 Graphics Boards

The Guillemot Maxi Gamer Xentor 32 remains a Best
Buy, combining hot gaming performance with an affordable price. Boards based on
NVidia's latest chip set, the GeForce2 GTS, should be available now, though
none arrived in time for testing. Read about our first look at one of these new
boards, the ELSA AG Gladiac, on page 82. ELSA and Creative Labs Inc. have
discontinued their popular GeForce 256 boards to focus on the new chip.

Top 10 Scanners

Microtek Lab Inc., Acer Inc., and Visioneer Inc.
drop their prices this month. Though the SOHO chart remains remarkably stable,
Visioneer's $99 price cut puts the OneTouch 8600 back in the running and shoves
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s ScanJet 5300Cse off the chart. On the corporate chart,
Canon Inc.'s sharp, well-priced CanoScan FB 1200S continues to dominate, but
Epson America Inc.'s Expression 1600 offers a smart new option for those
scanning high-end graphics.

Top 10 Midrange PCs

Dell Computer Corp.'s top-notch reliability and support ratings keep the Dimension XPS T600r ahead of the CyberMax Enthusiast K7-750 and the MicroFlex-850A, a speedy newcomer from Micro Express that sports a hard-to-beat price of $1449 for an Athlon-850 CPU. Three new machines from Dell, Gateway 2000 Inc., and Micron also hit the chart this month, each earning an impressive PC WorldBench 2000 score and selling for a moderate price.

Windows Millennium Nears Release

Release of Windows Millennium Edition, the pending upgrade to Windows 98, is drawing near, as Microsoft Corp. has issued its first "release candidate" to beta testers.

Compaq Ships Sub-$1000 Notebook

Compaq Computer Corp. has broken the $1000 barrier for notebook computers with the release yesterday of a $999 Presario 1200 XL-450.

Netscape posts security fix

Netscape Communications has posted instructions to fix a minor security hole in its Communicator browser, offering a corresponding minor upgrade, and blaming the whole problem on Microsoft.

Top 10 Modems

Archtek redefines bargain pricing this month. With
competitive V.90 performance and a $25 price, the no-frills SmartLink PCI modem
is made for the ultimate bargain hunter. Viking's 56K ISA Modem retains its
lead, however, with a winning combination of features and support. Meanwhile,
$20 price reductions on Viking's USB Modem and Diamond's SupraExpress make the
external chart a $100-and-under club.

Top 10 Power PCs

The Dell Computer Corp. OptiPlex GX300, number five on last month's chart, rises to the top of this month's chart thanks to a $493 drop in price. Gateway 2000 Inc. also hits the chart with an 800-MHz version of its GP7, while Sys introduces the Performance 850A, with an Athlon-850 processor; both systems boast impressive speed and massive hard drives.

Top 10 Midrange PCs

A new Cybermax almost breaks into Best Buy territory, occupied this month by returning 600-MHz Dell Computer Corp.s--but its Enthusiast K7-750 falls two notches short, coming in at number four. The lower half of the chart experiences a major shakeup, however. Three systems--the Quantex SM700, the Sys Performance 750, and the NuTrend AMD K7-600--make their debuts on our leader board, claiming the seventh, ninth, and tenth spots, respectively.

Briefs: ELSA and 3dfx Announce New Graphics Cards

New 3D Graphics: Gamers take note--both ELSA AG and 3dfx have announced their latest graphics cards, featuring new functions to enrich 3D gaming and design. Both should be available in May. 3dfx will have its new Voodoo5 5500 AGP ($299) with 64MB of RAM. ELSA's new Gladiac board, sporting NVidia's latest graphics chip set, the GeForce2 GTS, will come in two varieties: a $350 version with 32MB of RAM, and a $449 version with 64MB.

Top 10 Graphics Boards

Cardexpert's GeForce 256 DDR makes an impressive
debut, joining a group of four other DDR-equipped GeForce boards on the chart
this month. A fraternal twin of Leadtek's WinFast GeForce 256 DDR (our
sixth-place board this month), the Cardexpert is a superb value if you're
willing to live with a bare-bones software bundle. In coming months, keep a
lookout for graphics boards based on new chip sets from 3dfx, ATI, and NVidia.

Top 10 Monitors

Prices of big CRT monitors are plummeting--six
units on this month's chart are under $1000. Cornerstone Technology's C1025, a
new Best Buy, costs just $639--the lowest price yet, and about half as much as
several other chart makers. The Panasonic Corp. PanaSync/Pro P110i nabs the top
spot on the strength of sharp text, lively colors, and a $50 price drop. A
model from Sony missed the chart. Next month, we tackle 17-inchers.

Top 10 Budget PCs

Budget processing power shoots way up this month as two new 650-MHz PCs grace the chart: The NuTrend Athlon Force 2, based on an AMD Athlon CPU, occupies the fifth spot, and the Quantex Corp. M650, based on an Intel Pentium III, takes number six. Another newcomer, Micro Express's MicroFlex-600A, tops the list thanks to great performance from a 600-MHz processor and an excellent all-around package.

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