The Sys TaskMaster S2600+ shows that cheap PCs don't have to look and feel cheap. Though plain, the small black tower looks okay and is nicely built with three front-mounted USB 2.0 ports and a media card reader. The interior is exceptionally organized, with a clear view of the three available PCI slots, the single AGP slot, and the one RAM socket.
A lever that runs the length of the drive bays is quite cool: Simply sliding it up simultaneously releases the four externally accessible drive bays and the hard-drive cage. That makes it a snap--literally--to replace the DVD-ROM/CD-RW combination drive and 80GB hard drive, or to add an extra 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch drive. Standard screws hold expansion cards in place.
Unfortunately, our test system's configuration begged for upgrades (including more RAM and an AGP graphics card), as it ran awfully slow in our tests. The paltry 256MB of system memory that came with our review unit contributed to its terrible WorldBench 5 score of 60. Relying on its integrated graphics using system memory, the TaskMaster S2600+ coughed up only 12 frames per second in Unreal Tournament 2003 at 1024 by 768 resolution and 32-bit color. Like all budget systems with integrated graphics, this PC could use a graphics card upgrade for better game play.
The quality of the bundled peripherals is a mixed bag. The wireless keyboard and optical mouse are nice. But the screen quality of the 17-inch ViewSonic E70b CRT monitor was a bit dark (regardless of adjustments), and it produced slightly blurry text; in addition, the monitor's rounded face caught glare, making everything harder to see. The black Altec Lansing 120 speakers look sharp but sound wimpy, especially in midrange tones. Sys does throw in a good software bundle that includes Corel WordPerfect Office 11 and McAfee VirusScan.
Despite a few nice features, the Sys TaskMaster S2600+ fails to leave a good overall impression.
Sean Captain
