A Solid Alternative Dallas TX

Posted by : Joe Farace

I confess to a preference for build-to-order computers. You can, as they used to say at Burger King, have it your way. I didn't get to specify the equipment on the Premio Calypso computer I tested (it was as delivered to CU's office), but was impressed with the punch of its 650MHz Intel Pentium III processor and the compact package it came wrapped in.

Immediately upon opening the box, it was obvious that this would be the perfect homework computer for my wife, who is currently taking night classes. The slim (12.5-by-14.25-by-3.5 inches) case is available in black or white and is bundled with a cradle that allows space-saving vertical mounting. The cradle holds the case securely, but discs tend to fall out of the 52X Creative CD-ROM drive when the computer is placed in that position. For some reason, a modem wasn't specified for this system, but since the motherboard has two PCI slots, it's just a matter time before I'll install one.

Setup was a snap. I placed the Calypso in the cradle, attached a 17-inch CTX monitor that was lying around, plugged an Epson Stylus Color 900 into one of the two front-mounted USB ports, and turned it on. After installing the Epson printer driver, Mary was ready to work.

The system came pre-installed with Windows 98 SE, although Windows 2000 is optional. Like all new Windows computers unencumbered by the junk we add to them, the system ran fast--you could actually see the power of all 650MHz.

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