Survey

More Power, Lower Prices

Jason Krause

New systems with the latest x86 processors from Intel and AMD have arrived. And based on a survey of leading PC vendors, you can expect to pay about $2900 for a fully configured 233-MHz Pentium II (PII), and about $300 to $400 less than that for a similarly configured system based on AMD's 233-MHz K6 processor. (For more information on these new CPUs' performance, see last month's Bits.)

In this survey, BYTE focused on 233-MHz systems to better gauge how K6 prices stack up against PII prices. The PII is also available in 266-MHz and, soon, 300-MHz versions, but the K6 currently maxes out at 233 MHz. Keeping in mind that system prices quoted here can go higher or lower depending on configuration and are subject to change at a moment's notice, here's a snapshot of what you will get and how much i t will cost.

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Pentium II Systems


AST Bravo LC 6233

233-MHz PII with 512-KB L2 cache; up to 128 MB of EDO memory; 
2-GB EIDE hard drive; 16X CD-ROM drive; S3 Virge DX graphics (2 MB). 
Estimated street price: $2500. 
Phone:    800-876-4278
Internet: 
http://www.ast.com


Acer 9606 Minitower

233-MHz PII; 32 MB of RAM. 
Estimated street price: $2949 with 17-inch monitor, $2449 without monitor. 
Phone:    800-551-ACER
Internet: 
http://www.acer.com


Dell Dimension XPS H233

233-MHz PII; 64 MB of EDO ECC memory; 512-KB L2 cache; 4.3
-GB hard drive; 
17-inch Philips monitor; Matrox Millennium (4 MB); NEC 16X CD-ROM drive; 
Yamaha Wavetable Sound; Altec Lansing ACS 290 speakers; U.S. 
Robotics 33.6 Modem w/Voice; USB. 
Price:   $3079. 
Phone:    800-BUY-DELL
Internet: 
http://www.dell.com


Digital Celebris GL-2

233-MHz PII; 32 MB of RAM, 512-KB L2 cache; 3.2-GB EIDE hard disk, 
16X CD-ROM drive, Matrox MGA Millennium graphics (2-MB WRAM), 
10/100Base-TX auto Ethernet.
Price: $3313. 
Phone:    800-344-4825
Internet: 
http://www.digital.com


Gateway 2000

233-MHz PII; 64 MB of RAM; 3.2-GB Fast ATA hard drive; Virge GX video
(4 MB); 1
2X or 16X CD-ROM; Ensoniq Wavetable PCI Audio; Altec Lansing 
ACS 41 speakers; X2 Telepath 56-Kbps modem.
Price: $2889. 
Phone:    (800-846-2000 
Internet: 
http://www.gw2k.com


Intergraph TD-225

233-MHz PII (dual-CPU capability); minitower; 64 MB of RAM; 512-KB 
cache; 1.7-GB hard drive; Matrox Millennium graphics (2-MB video RAM); 
Ensoniq wave-table sound card plus multimedia keyboard; 10Base-TX 
Ethernet card; 12X CD-ROM; floppy drive; 17-inch monitor.
Price: $3379. 
Phone:    800-763-0242
Internet: 
http://www.intergraph.com


Polywell P7/233G

233-MHz PII; minitower; 32 MB of EDO RAM; 512-KB L2
 cache; Diamond 3D 
S3-Virge 2000 (with 4 MB); Maxtor 5.1-GB Ultra-IDE, 5400-rpm hard disk; 
1.44-MB floppy drive; keyboard, mouse; 12X EIDE CD-ROM drive; Crystal 
16-bit sound; 17-inch monitor; Intel 100Pro 10/100MB EtherExpress PCI 
adapter card.
Price: $3337. 
Phone:    800-999-1278 
Internet: 
http://www.polywell.com


K6 Systems


CyberMax PowerMax A22 

233-MHz K6; 512-KB pipeline burst L2 cache; 32 MB of RAM; 4-GB hard 
drive; Matrox MGA Millennium (4-MB WRAM); 16X Max CD-ROM drive; 
17-inch monitor; Ensoniq 32-bit audio; Altec Lansing ACS 540 speakers 
and ACS 5250 subwoofer; 33.6-Kbps modem; keyboard with microphone.
Price: $2349. 
Phone:    800-433-9868 
Internet: 
http://www.cybmax.com


CyberMax PowerMax A51 

Same as PowerMax A22 except 64 MB of EDO RAM; Matrox graphics (8 MB); 
ACS 400 and ACS 250 subwoofer.
Price: $2749.

Mitsuba

233-MHz K6; 32 MB of RAM; 512-KB synchronous pipeline L2 cache; 
2.1-GB Quantum Fireball ST Ultra DMA hard drive; Trident 64-bit, 
graphics accelerator; 12X Toshiba CD-ROM drive; Intel 
EtherExpress Pro 10/100 adapter; Hyundai 17-inch monitor; mouse, keyboard.
Price: $2129. 
Phone:    909-392-2000 
Internet: 
http://www.mitsuba.com


Polywell K6233Mx

Same configuration as P7/233G but with 233-MHz K6 processor.
Price: $3021.