Multimedia PC Easy for Neophytes

But power users beware...

By Jim Bray

Packard Bell appears to have its sights aimed at the new PC buyer with its line of Multimedia PC's.

I lived with the Multimedia R510 for a couple of months, a Pentium 200 MHz "MMX" computer with 32 Meg of RAM, a 4 gigabyte hard drive, "56 Kbps capable" modem, and – as a piece de resistance- a DVD drive in place of the more conventional CD-ROM drive.

Naturally, you also get Windows 95 (yes, with Internet Explorer installed) and a cornucopia of extras - from a full duplex speakerphone and fax system to Microsoft's Intellimouse pointing device. Audio chores are handled by a 16-bit SRS (a "3D" sound process) Sound Blaster compatible system.

Packard Bell also threw in the optional 2024S 15" monitor with multimedia speakers that mount onto its sides. This was easily the weakest link in the system, at least for a video snob like myself. I used it only long enough to get a feel for it before hooking my regular monitor into the Packard Bell.

Setup of the R510 is very easy, with colour-coded connectors and a big printout that shows you which plugs go where. Packard Bell has bent over backwards to make the unit easy to use, right down to including a series of buttons on the top edge of the keyboard that let you answer the phone, check faxes or answering machine messages, adjust the unit's volume, enable/disable the 3D sound, play CD's, etc. etc. etc.

It's a really nice touch, and a new user might appreciate it. I appreciated it until I realized that all this stuff uses up system resources - so I dumped it, rendering the buttons useless but speeding up the R510 substantially.

It's this sort of compromise that drove me crazy. For every nice feature there was another one I thought compromised performance. For instance, the sound card drove the Packard Bell speakers extremely well, but since the speakers mount on the "PB" monitor I had to use my own Altec Lansings when I switched to my monitor, and the R510 didn't drive them well at all.

And, while "PB" says it will output video at up to 1280 x 1024 dpi (it drove my monitor fine at up to 1024 x 768 "HiColour"), I had to dumb things down to 800 x 600 with Packard Bell's monitor or the flickering would give me a headache.

Back on the upside, Packard Bell includes a terrific selection of software, including MS Encarta Encyclopedia, MS Works 4, MS Word 97, Money 97, Quicken SE, MGI Photosuite SE, and a pile of utilities and online tutorials that are really quite good - especially for the neophyte.

The DVD drive was a delight, despite the dearth of titles. I hooked the R510 into my TV and it worked beautifully for playing my DVD videos. I'd recommend a DVD drive for anyone purchasing a new computer - not just for videos but because they play CD-ROM's as well, so you get the best of both worlds. And you can get a very satisfying experience watching a DVD movie on your computer monitor (even Packard Bell's worked fine), as long as you don't mind peering at a little screen.

Power users, or small businesses, will probably find Packard Bell’s R510 system lacking in performance and upgradeability, but I don’t think that’s the market for which it's intended.

On the other hand, home users wanting a fully-featured multimedia system will probably find the R510 okay, and as easy to use as a PC can be. Personally, I'd rather see less software bundled in return for fewer performance compromises.

Packard Bell R510 Multimedia PC

SPECIFICATIONS:

Intel Pentium 200 MHz, 4.3 GB hard disk, 32 MB EDO RAM,

DVD Drive with MPEG 2 video and AC-3 audio.

64 bit 3D graphics/Video Accelerator with 2 MB EDO RAM

56 Kbps capable fax/modem, stereo 3D 16 bit sound system.

5 expansion slots (2 PCI, I Shared PCI/ISA, 2 ISA), 5 device bays

2 PCI IDE interfaces

Zero Insertion Force socket for upgrade to faster Overdrive processor

Upgradeable Flash BIOS

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