NEXT REVIEW  |
| ||||||||||||
| Aspire P200 MMX | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Like other Acer Aspires, the Aspire P200 MMX ($3,100 street) is aimed at home multimedia users. It has many of the components and software programs that add to the line's appeal, such as a quick-start resume feature and ATI's 3D Rage II, a graphics chip set with 2MB of SGRAM to enhance games. Acer plans to keep Pentium PCs without MMX in its Aspire line, though most will be entry-level and midrange units, with slower CD-ROM drives and no 3-D graphics support.
Performance was mostly competitive within the home PC group. But the unit posted the roundup's lowest scores on the Winstone 97 and Graphics WinMark 97 tests. On our applications tests, the Aspire was on a par with its competition, and it delivered a better-than-average score on our PhotoDeluxe Unsharpen Mask test.
The Aspire has the line's familiar dark gray case, a 17-inch monitor with integrated speakers (a telephone handset and holder that attaches to the monitor is a $29 option), a 33.6/14.4-Kbps modem, a 12X CD-ROM drive, and a 3.6GB hard disk.
The software bundle includes the ACE Windows 95 interface and productivity applications such as MS Works, MS Money, and Quicken SE. It also features some MMX-enabled applications, like Slamscape and DeathDrome 1.0.
For those who don't need top-notch performance, the Aspire offers lots of software and other accoutrements that should satisfy everyone in the family.
- Anush Yegyazarian
Aspire P200 MMX. Street price: $3,100. Acer America Corp., San Jose, CA; 800-558-2237, 408-432-6200; fax, 408-922-2933; www.acer.com/aac.
| NEXT REVIEW
|