The Polywell MiniBox P5500C with a 23-inch widescreen monitor

The Polywell MiniBox P5500C

The Polywell MiniBox P5500C ($1,850 direct, $2,099 with a 23-inch widescreen monitor) isn’t as sleek as the Falcon Northwest FragBox or AVADirect GT3 gaming systems, but what it does have is a lot of internal space for components, while keeping the spirit of a small form factor gaming rig intact. The MiniBox P5500C comes with Intel Core i7-870 power and a single ATI Radeon HD 4890 graphics card, so it has the power to smack your opponents on the game grid. A Blu-ray player and over 3TB of drive space make it a video workstation worth considering if you need to equip a news or a film-support van.

Design
The MiniBox sits in a reasonably compact case (9.5 by 11.5 by 14 inches, HWD), which is a lot smaller than mid-tower chassis, but it’s still a lot bigger than the 15.5- by 4.5- by 12.5-inch (HWD) chassis of the AVADirect GT3. It won’t win any beauty contests, but it does have a windowed side panel showing off the ATI Radeon HD 4890 graphics card (Card makers put ATI’s mascot Ruby on the cards for that reason). There’s a handle on the front so it’s easier to move, though the Falcon NW Fragbox is more convenient since the handle is on the top. The build quality is decent though unremarkable, and the system’s fan noise is present while the system is in operation (not quite noise-cancelling headset levels, but you will hear it in a quiet room).

Features
The MiniBox has 4GB of DDR3 memory, 3.5TB of drive space spread over 3 drives (one is removable), a Blu-ray player (with DVD burner) and a plethora of input/output ports, including ten USB 2.0 ports, two FireWire, HDMI, eSATA, and a DisplayPort. Like other small system builders, Polywell keeps the included software load light: The system came with Windows 7 Ultimate, and all the drivers for the Blu-ray drive and other components. The system did come with 90-day subscription to Notron Anti-Virus.

The system had some buzzing when we turned it on, likely a consequence of rough shipping, but once it was on and running awhile it was fairly quiet. There is some fan noise from the case fans and the Radeon graphics card, but these only made their presence known when the system was working hard on our benchmark tests. If you’re really obsessive about noise, then I’d recommend using a pair of noise-cancelling headphones during gaming sessions. Good headphones are standard for gaming sessions anyway.

Performance
The MiniBox P5500C’s Intel Core i7-870 processor and ATI Radeon HD 4890 graphics card helped it achieve top-notch gaming performance, compared with other gaming systems with Core i7 and a single graphics card. It scored class-leading, playable frame rates on three of our four gaming tests: Crysis at 1,280 by 1,024 (95 frames per second), World in Conflict at 1,280 by 1,024 (124 fps) and 1,920 by 1,200 (46 fps). The P5500C’s Crysis score at 19 by 12 is unplayable at 20 fps, but you’d need multiple “highest-end” graphics cards like three Radeon 5870 cards to get playable frame rates for that test. Compare these scores to those of our current Editors’ Choice the Velocity Micro Edge Z30: Crysis 84fps and 18fps, WiC 103 fps and 44 fps. This is one fast gaming rig.

Likewise, the P5500C is fast at our multimedia tests: 28 seconds at our Windows Media Encoder test is best in class, while 1:18 at our PhotoShop CS4 test is no slouch (the Z30 is fastest at 1:09). The combination of a speedy Core i7 processor, speedy DDR3 RAM, and lots of hard drive space means that the P5500C would serve a multimedia maven as well as a hardcore gamer.

Compared with the competition, the P5500C is good, if a little expensive. If you delete options like the Blu-ray drive, Windows 7 Ultimate in favor of Win 7 Home Premium, and one or two of the hard drives, then you’d come closer to the prices of competition like the AVADirect GT3 ($1,367), Velocity Micro Z30 ($1,299) and Gateway FX6801-03 ($1,279). As is, you can get the same gaming and multimedia performance for a lot less money by going with the competition. The Polywell does have the dual-graphics upgrade space that the GT3 lacks. Ultimately, the Velocity Micro Edge Z30’s bang for the buck wins out, and that model retains the Editors’ Choice for mid-priced gaming systems. I’d recommend the P5500C more for the semi-nomadic multimedia maven, one that needs blazing performance and a lot of drive space in a semi-portable package.

The Apple iMac 21.5-inch (Core 2 Duo) is perfect as an all in one PC

The Apple iMac 21.5-inch (Core 2 Duo)

The iMac 21.5-inch (Core 2 Duo) is a study in duality: It has the Apple design and mystique that looks and feels pricey, but the system is also a lot less expensive than the 27-inch version. Less expensive in Apple’s case means a starting price of $1,199, and while the competition is cheaper at similar screen sizes, those competitors have to compromise on features like less memory or downgrading to slower Intel Pentium Dual-Core processors. The “baby” iMac still manages to fit true 1080p HD screen resolution, a speedy 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo processor, and wireless everything into an attractive aluminum and glass all in one desktop. It’s the Mac desktop to get if you want to get multimedia work done, and as such earns our nod for Editors’ Choice.

Design
The “less expensive” Apple iMac is a bit smaller than its 27-inch big brother, but that also means that it seems more proportional to the included wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse. The compact wireless keyboard in particular looks like a toy when placed under the 27-inch iMac. The 21.5-inch iMac looks similar to its 20-inch predecessor, but the 16:9 screen makes it a little wider. This wider stance minimizes the “Jay Leno chin” of previous models, but there’s still a bunch of chassis visible below the screen. The back panel is now aluminum like the front (the old back was black polycarbonate plastic), and there are still Apple icons strategically placed to remind you of what you’ve bought.

Features
The system contains the same 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E7600 processor found in the base 27-inch iMac. The system comes with 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM, 500GB hard drive, integrated Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics, and a slot loading DVD burner. The memory, graphics, hard drive, and processor can all be upgraded when you order it from Apple, but the base configuration we look at here is pretty good on its own. The 21.5-inch model’s 1,920 by 1,080 (true 1080p) screen resolution is an improvement over the old 20-inch model’s 1,680 by 1,050 resolution that couldn’t quite show all the pixels in HD movies bought from iTunes. Unfortunately, none of the iMac models can be equipped with a Blu-ray player; you’re limited strictly to downloads and Web videos.

The system is essentially wireless, with the only tether that’s absolutely necessary being the power cord. The keyboard is wireless, the Magic Mouse is wireless, and the system has 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2,1+EDR for everything else. You can of course hook up hard drives to the iMac’s four USB ports or single FireWire 800 port. I’d like to see an eSATA port on a future Mac, but for now FireWire 800 is fast enough. The iMac has a Mini DisplayPort output for extending the desktop or mirroring, but you’ll need to upgrade to the 27-inch model if you want Mini DisplayPort input. You’ll need an adapter to connect the iMac to anything but Apple’s 24-inch LED Cinema Display. One other nit is the new SD card reader: it only accepts SD cards. Single-slot media card readers on Windows systems will usually accept SD, Memory Stick, and xD cards with or without an adapter. Good thing the majority of digital cameras these days use SD.

Like other Macs, the iMac comes with Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), iLife ’09, and a few other programs like Photo Booth and Front Row. Apple should be applauded for limiting the software to useful programs and avoiding all the bloatware and trial software that seems to infest some Windows PCs. You can run Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 on the iMac in Boot Camp, but of course, you’ll have to buy Microsoft’s OS separately. Windows 7 isn’t officially supported at this time, but we were able to install Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit without any trouble.

Performance

The 21.5-inch iMac is a power miser: it uses only 70W while idling with the screen on, and 91W while under load on our CineBench R10 test. This is very good, considering its 27-inch big brother idled at 120W and ran at 150W, and matches the energy use of the Lenovo A600 (3011-4BU). It’s a little more than leading energy-saving SFF desktops like the Lenovo ThinkCentre M58p ECO (40W idle, 76W load), but then again the iMacs and A600 have built in screens using power.. This is in addition to Apple’s recycling programs, EPEAT Gold certification, Energy Star 5.0 certification, RoHS compliance, and reduction in packaging. All this earns the iMac our Green Tech Approved award.

The iMac is a better performer on the benchmark tests than its predecessor the iMac (Nvidia GeForce 9400M), thanks to a faster processor. It completed the PhotoShop CS4 test in just under two minutes (1:58), while the older iMac took 2:23. The new iMac was a good performer in Windows 7 as well: it took a sprightly 49 seconds for the Windows Media Encoder test and 1:32 for CS4. In fact the iMac’s CS4 score was better than the quad-core powered Gateway One ZX6810-01 (1:39), a notable achievement. I could certainly see artists on deadline switching their iMacs from the Mac OS to Windows in order to save a few minutes here and there to meet a deadline. The iMac’s 3D performance wasn’t groundbreaking, but it was at least able to complete our 3DMark Vantage and 3D game tests at 1,280 by 1,024 resolution. That said, the iMac’s performance at Crysis (10 frames per second) and World in Conflict (12 fps) were essentially unplayable. Older games should work fine on the integrated Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics, but if 3D games are important to you then consider one of the upgraded iMacs with ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics.

Compared with rivals, the Apple iMac 21.5-inch comes across as a bang for the buck win. It’s cheaper than the Gateway One ZX6810-01, yet performs similarly in day-to-day and multimedia performance. It’s certainly faster overall than other all-in one desktops like the Averatec D1200, HP TouchSmart 600-1055, and Lenovo IdeaCentre A600 (3011-4BU). The iMac 21.5-inch doesn’t have the HDMI-in capability of the HP TouchSmart, nor does it have Blu-ray capability, but that’s not a deal breaker at the sub $1,200 price point. The TouchSmart 600-1055 is really in a higher price category at $1,599 list. Plus the iMac certainly isn’t encumbered by the bloatware that all these Windows PCs have.

At $1,199, the Apple iMac fits neatly in the mid-price slot between the two other Editors’ Choice all-in-one desktops: the $1,599 HP TouchSmart 600-1055 and the $549 Lenovo C300 (3012-2DU). The HP TouchSmart 600 is more HDTV-consumption oriented, and the Lenovo C300 is an inexpensive nettop better suited to viewing Web sites, photos, and videos rather than actually doing multimedia projects. The Apple iMac 21.5-inch (Core 2 Duo) is perfect as an all in one PC for those that want to get some work done, whether for business or pleasure. If you want a $1,200 system with a decent screen resolution that also has multimedia processing power to spare, get the iMac 21.5-inch.