Budget PCs: The grand slam

With an abundance of PCs on the market, all offering competitive performance and numerous features, it's getting hard for buyers to identify the best machine for their individual requirements.

For those on a fixed budget it's even harder determining the importance of processor speeds and features and getting value for money.

Traditionally, AMD represented a cost-effective but slightly inferior alternative to Intel's Pentium-based PCs.

However, with the launch of the Duron range, AMD was able to compete at the budget end of the market and make the Celeron look like a very poor relation to the Pentium option.

When AMD launched the Athlon, the Pentium III started to look fallible too.

Three years on, however, and Intel is still in the ascendant. In raw megahertz (MHz), the Pentium 4 still rules and prices are very reasonable. For buyers looking for fair performance at a budget price, the new Celeron PCs look a convincing buy. So where exactly does the Athlon fit in?

We've looked at nine PCs from various manufacturers: three based on each of the most popular processor choices of AMD's Athlon and Intel's Celerons and P4s. All cost £1,000. But which PC will come out on top?

ATHLON PCs

Evesham 831 Compac
Getting your system up and running is half the hassle, so anything that quickens this process is a bonus.

Like all the PCs on test, this Evesham model has colour-coded ports with matching connections - a great help to those unfamiliar with the installation process. In addition, it's supplied with a colour set-up poster so you'll be ready to go in no time.

The monitor, a Samsung 19in flat-screen SyncMaster, is a handsome bonus. It fits on to a rotating stand that can be adjusted to suit.

The PC has an Athlon XP 2000+ processor running at 1.67GHz and performed reasonably well in our tests.

General performance was tested using a test called Sysmark 2002, which sees how each PC handles a variety of everyday applications and gives a score at the end. It performed better than the Celeron computers but achieved the lowest score among the Athlon-based PCs on test.

3D graphics performance was measured using 3D Mark 2001. This tests how well equipped the system is for games, but the 3D Mark score is influenced by the graphics card more than anything else.

The ATI Radeon 8500 graphics card fitted in the Evesham is very good and scored well in the tests, placing the PC among the 3D front runners. The on-board sound card is also one of the better ones available, allowing the Creative 5.1 speakers to provide surround sound for games and movie watching.

The machine has both a DVD-Rom drive and CD-RW drive, with one drive bay free. There are also three 3.5in drive bays: one used for the external floppy drive, one for the 80GB hard disk, and one left free for an additional hard disk if required.

The great thing about this machine is that it has good upgrade options for those seeking even further improvement. As it is, there's 256MB of memory but two slots are free if a further performance boost is required.

Out of the five PCI slots; two are used by the modem and FireWire card and the latter has three external ports for devices. There are three slots free for expansion cards.

USB slots are plentiful and conveniently placed, with two at the back and two at the front. There are also two USB 2 slots at the back for devices with faster connections.

The system comes with a Microsoft keyboard and a Logitech optical mouse.

Mesh Matrix XP 2100+SO Pro
As with the Evesham PC, setting up the Mesh was easy thanks to a combination of colour-coded ports and a colour set-up poster that includes a clear guide to unpacking. There's also a great user guide, making the initial process very user-friendly.

The 19in Hansol monitor is a nice size with a plain and easy-to-use interface, and the stand allows it to swivel completely.

At a slightly higher specification than the Evesham, the Mesh has a 1.76GHz Athlon XP 2100+ processor and, at 512MB, double the memory. It has a 60GB hard disk, which is adequate for most home users although smaller than the Evesham's.

The PC has a chunky tower but sports a CD-RW and a DVD-Rom drive with one bay free. Unlike the Evesham, there's only one 3.5in bay and this is used for the floppy drive.

Inside, the PC is very neat and tidy, with fans at the back and on the motherboard. It has an additional outlet on the front to aid airflow.

The AGP slot holds the nVidia GeForce MX440 graphics card, which performed well in tests and nestled into a mid-table position among the other systems.

The PC performs well with the current 512MB of memory but does have two additional slots for upgrades. At first sight, the five PCI slots look impressive with only two taken up by the modem and soundcard, but the soundcard blocks a further slot, leaving only two free.

As a bonus, there are six USB ports at the back, which is great for peripherals addicts who want to add webcams, gamepads and other goodies. It would have been even better if some of these were on the front, but that oversight is not a huge problem.

Along with a Microsoft internet keyboard and IntelliMouse, Mesh has thrown in Creative Inspire 5300 5.1 speakers to complement the impressive Creative Audigy soundcard (complete with its own FireWire port), a BenQ 4300 USB scanner, an Epson Stylus C42X printer and a pack of 50 recordable CDs, which makes it a great bundle and excellent value for money.

Multivision AMD 2100+ XP
While this Multivision PC doesn't come with the huge bundle that Mesh is offering, it topped the performance chart in the Athlon group.

The documentation was also good, but aside from these plaudits the technical specification is very similar to the Mesh. It too has an Athlon XP 2100+ processor and 512MB of memory. However, the Sysmark score was nearly as good as the Pentium 4-based systems, outperforming the other Athlons.

Thanks to the GeForce Ti4200 graphics card, the 3D Mark test measuring graphic performance was very high and ran very smoothly on games tested. In fact, it beat two of the Pentium 4s on test. In addition, the machine offers an 80GB hard disk - an improvement on the Mesh.

The machine has a DVD-Rom drive and CD-RW drive, leaving two 5.25in bays free for upgrade options but to be honest, that won't be an issue for most users.

There are also an impressive four 3.5in bays. One of these is used for the floppy drive, one for the hard disk, leaving one internal and one external bay free.

Inside are five PCI slots, of which two are used for the soundcard and modem and three are free for expansion. There are also two free memory slots.

There are only two USB ports at the back and the Audigy soundcard has a FireWire port.

As with the other Athlon PCs, there is the bonus of a 19in flat-screened cathode-ray tube (CRT) Mitsubishi monitor that shows off the impressive 3D performance.

The package is topped off by some classy Videologic silver speakers and a Logitech keyboard and mouse. Although the whole package isn't quite as generous as the Mesh, the impressive performance makes up for it.

CELERON PCs

Hi-Grade Ultis PV4 Celeron
Although it is smaller than the monitors supplied with the Athlon PCs, the LG 17in Flatron CRT still looks the part with crisp vision and a clear-cut interface.

The keyboard and mouse are both Hi-Grade's own and once all is unpacked, the excellent box of documentation guides the way through an easy set-up process.

The system has a 1.9GHz Celeron processor that performed better than all the Celerons on test here. It will have been upgraded to a 2GHz version by the time you read this, which will improve its performance still further.

There is a DVD-Rom drive and CD-RW drive, as well as two free drive bays. In addition to the floppy drive, there are also two free 3.5in bays, should you wish to add a storage drive or additional hard disk at a later date.

Internally, the system is well ventilated, thanks to the three fans - one at the front, one at the back and an extra cooler on the motherboard. The memory is a sufficient 256MB but not as impressive as either the Mesh or Multivision, which both come with 512MB.

However, the system does have one free memory slot for upgrading if necessary, and the 80GB hard disk provides ample storage space.

The GeForce 4Ti 4200 graphics card is the same as the one used in the Multivision Athlon PC and consequently, 3D performance is again very impressive. The Creative Live Player soundcard and 5.1 speakers are good performers too, making this a competent games machine.

There are two free PCI slots, which may seem limiting, but this PC wants for very little, packing in a TV tuner/ FM radio card and two FireWire ports. It's definitely a good value-for-money system.

JAL Intel P4 Celeron
The Intel P4 Celeron PC from JAL includes a thorough documentation pack, rivalling those supplied with the Mesh and Evesham PCs. A telephone number to call for a 'talk through' the initial set-up is a nice touch, although the colour set-up poster and colour-coded ports should ensure you won't need to call.

Aesthetically, the system is not well matched to the colour of the monitor. However, such things needn't worry you; the 17in Hansol flat-screen CRT is good and simple to set up.

With a Celeron 1.7GHz processor and 256MB of memory, JAL's system was slower than Hi-Grade's. However, it still has enough speed for most uses.

As with the Hi-Grade, there is a spare slot for additional memory. Although not as well specified as the Hi-Grade's 80GB hard disk, the JAL has 60GB, which is still a great deal. Despite DVD and CD-RW drives, there are two large bays free.

In addition to the floppy drive, there is a pair of free 3.5in bays for optional upgrades too.

Disappointingly, there are only two USB ports at the back although there is a FireWire port.

The tower case is bulky but there is plenty of room inside if you plan to upgrade. There are five PCI slots holding the modem, soundcard and, as a bonus, a TV tuner card, leaving two free.

The AGP port holds an ATI Radeon 8500 graphics card, which performs well but can't match the power of the Hi-Grade's GeForce4.

The system also includes an optical mouse and Nicole SD 5.1 speakers with remote control, which are powered by the Creative Audigy soundcard. All in all, the JAL is not a bad system and definitely worth considering.

NEC Powermate I-Select ML1
Out of all the PCs on test, this NEC is the smallest with a very dinky tower. The most striking thing about this unit is the fantastic NEC 17in thin film transistor monitor, which looks great and can be placed on top of the desktop, saving precious space.

It also has a matching NEC keyboard and mouse. Aside from that though, things aren't so good. The NEC uses the older Celeron processor, based on the nigh extinct Pentium III, rather than the newer Pentium 4-based chips used in the JAL and Hi-Grade machines.

It runs at 1.4GHz, which isn't that far behind in numerical terms, but the older design meant it made heavy weather of our benchmarks, limping home well behind the other systems.

It has 256MB of memory and a 40GB hard disk, which is adequate but not as big as you'd expect in a £1,000 computer. These specs are not as impressive as the other Celeron systems and the lack of upgrade options - one consequence of the cute case - is also limiting.

On a brighter note, despite only having one drive bay, it has a drive that combines CD-RW and DVD-Rom functions into one unit. There are no other bays free and only one 3.5in bay that's in use for the floppy drive.

Usefully, however, there are two USB slots at the front and two at the back of the machine. One of the slots at the back of the machine also powers the USB hub built into the monitor, which provides seven ports in total.

The graphics were also very disappointing, as this PC has integrated graphics rather than a separate graphics card. There is a free AGP slot inside which would improve the graphics performance considerably, but no £1,000 PC should need an upgrade before it is sold.

There's also a free memory slot to up the performance but once again this would mean additional expense. The NEC also has two free PCI slots.

To make up for these lower specs, NEC has thrown in a Lexmark Z25 printer, Logitech gamepad and Labtec speakers. Despite this and the glorious monitor, we cannot recommend this system.

PENTIUM 4 PCs

Advent 3310
The 3310 looks a sleek affair with the whole system - tower, monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers - colour coordinated in a metallic blue.

All the ports are colour-coded (as is standard with most PCs now), and with a colour set-up poster included it's very easy to put together.

The Advent 17in flat-screen CRT monitor fits onto a rotating stand for comfortable positioning, and its menu for tweaking the settings is straightforward. The keyboard is smaller than those with the other systems but is still comfortable enough to use.

The machine is a P4 2.2GHz unit with 512MB of memory and an 80GB hard disk, which seems pretty impressive.

However, the Sysmark scores for overall performance were not as impressive as the other P4 machines, and closer to the Athlon PC's results.

The 3D Mark score for testing graphics was very low. The system only has a GeForce 4 MX420 graphics card - the entry-level model in the GeForce 4 range - and as a consequence it scored lower than the JAL and Hi-Grade Celeron PCs.

The PC has a DVD-Rom drive and a CD-RW drive with one 3.5in bay used for the floppy drive. Peering inside it's a bit messy, with no real space for upgrade options. But with an 80GB hard disk that's not such a huge problem.

There are also three PCI slots of which one is used for the modem. This has the advantage of being the only PC on test that can be bought from a high-street shop and taken home the same day rather than being a direct sale machine - important if you need a PC, pronto.

Easy PC E22001
This PC from Easy PC comes packed with a Relisys flat-screen CRT 17in monitor, a keyboard and a mouse, all colour-coded for straightforward set-up.

As a P4 2.2GHz system, its high performance in our tests came as no surprise, coming in a close second. Like most of the others, it has DVD-Rom and CD-RW drives. It also has two vacant 5.25in additional bays and three 3.5in bays, of which one remains free.

The case is a little bit cramped inside. There are five PCI slots: two are in use for the modem and sound card but the other three are free for further additions if required.

The AGP port holds a GeForce 4 Ti 4400 graphics card, which on paper should have been the fastest on test. It didn't outperform the slower 4200 versions in this setting but was still very impressive. As it is, it has 256MB of memory and a 60GB hard disk, which is enough.

To bulk up the package, the system includes Mercury 5.1 speakers and USB camera (webcam), along with a huge 45-title software bundle that covers CD-Roms from family fun to kids' education titles. It's a nice system but it struggles to stand out from the crowd.

Poweroid Asus P4T533C
The Poweroid system does stand out from the crowd but that's more to do with its strange looks. The tower is bulky and the colour matching of components isn't great but aside from that, it's very good.

The 17in flat-screen CRT Iiyama monitor is on a swivelling stand and can rotate sideways but not up or down. It has a basic interface with easy-to-use menu settings. The only minor gripe is that the menu screen closes automatically if you pause when tweaking settings.

This offering from Poweroid is a 2.2GHz P4 system with 256MB memory and a 60GB hard disk. It just goes to show that you should never judge a book by its cover, as this machine outdid all the others on test here in terms of performance. It topped every single test we did for application performance, 3D graphics and games.

It comes with both DVD-Rom and CD-RW drives and also has two free bays left over. There's also an impressive six USB ports - two at the front and four at the back - which is great if you have loads of peripherals to hook up.

One small annoyance is that it has a cooling fan on the side of the case, which can be a hassle for those fitting further drives or upgrades as it gets in the way. Aside from the 3.5in bay used for the floppy drive, there's space for four additional hard drives.

However, there's only room to connect two to the motherboard, so it's a bit of a waste, although it does explain why the tower is so bulky. There are also five PCI slots, of which only one is being used for the modem.

A Microsoft USB keyboard, optical mouse and Creative FPS1600 speakers with mini stands are included and are driven by the integrated surround sound card.

The Poweroid system is an outstanding performer but it was nudged out of top spot by a few minor irritations.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Since weighing up all nine PCs on test, it has been difficult to pick the winner.

Out of the three P4 machines, the Poweroid wins hands down in terms of performance and also beats the other PCs on test. Even though there are no real treats bundled in, the system has space for plenty of upgrades.

For the Celeron PCs, we gave the award to the Hi-Grade system. It offers the fastest processor with a good-size hard disk and good graphics performance. As a bonus it comes with a TV/radio and a FireWire card, and it looks pretty smooth too.

The Athlon-based machines were harder to rank as they all scored highly in different areas.

Out of all the PCs on test, the Buy It award was given to the Multivision PC with an Athlon processor.

Although it didn't come loaded with goodies like the Mesh Athlon PC or Celerons on test, it performed highly with plenty of memory and hard disk space. All three PCs are worth consideration but our money goes on the Multivision.

TESTING THE PCs

There are three tests that we perform for all the PCs that we test, Sysmark 2002, 3D Mark 2001 and a frame rate test based on a game, Jedi Knight 2.

From the results we can see that the new Celerons are far superior to the old one as used in the NEC. As a budget option, they are good.

The Athlons all finish adrift of the Pentium 4 systems, which is expected, but the Multivision is very close to them and far faster than both Mesh and Evesham machines. This is partly due to it using faster memory.

The Pentium 4 PCs are the outright performance winners but we feel the Multivision is the best all-round PC for £1,000.

CONTACTS

Advent 08705 464464
www.pcworld.co.uk

Evesham 0870 160 9503
www.evesham.com

Hi-Grade 020 8532 6111
www.higrade.com

JAL 01782 848100
www.jal.co.uk

Mesh 0870 046 4747
www.meshcomputers.com

Multivision 0870 220 2822
www.multivision.co.uk

NEC 0870 010 6322
www.nec-online.co.uk

Easy PC Direct 0161 482 7000
www.easypcdirect.co.uk

Poweroid 0870 2200444
www.poweroid.co.uk