Lenovo 3000 J100 (Pentium 4 630 3.0GHz; 512MB RAM)

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Lenovo's new 3000 small-business desktops mix low prices, a variety of different configurations and sleek styling. Featuring low-end Intel- and AMD-based configs, Lenovo isn't billing its new 3000-series PCs as Photoshop-blasting, 3D-modeling dynamos. Instead, it's aiming these systems at those who need a basic work computer and don't want to spend a lot of money and effort to acquire and maintain one.

The Lenovo 3000 J100 and J105 systems are the first Lenovo-branded systems to hit the United States, a move made easier after the company's purchase of IBM's computer business last year. The Intel-based J100 models start at US$499 (S$810.68) and use the SiS 661 chipset, which gives you the flexibility to use a Celeron D, a Pentium 4, or a Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading CPU. The J105 models start at US$349 (S$566.99) and feature AMD Sempron and Athlon 64 chips.

Upside: At first glance, it appears that Lenovo is offering low-end, fixed-configuration systems that boast an attractive design and affordable prices. Lenovo is able to hit extremely low price points by offering fixed configurations that feature single-core, budget-level CPUs; it offers only the lower-end models from Intel's and AMD's lineups. Lenovo also keeps the hard drive and memory sizes low, providing only 512MB of SDRAM and 80GB Serial ATA drives. If you know all you need is an email client and the occasional productivity application, there's no real reason to ask for more.

That's not to say that these are totally stripped-down configurations. Some come with DVD/CDRW drives, and Lenovo expects to expand the range to include 1GB of memory and double-layer DVD burners soon. Certain businesses may also appreciate the Lenovo Cares tools, a pared-down version of Lenovo's ThinkPad ThinkVantage support that includes a system recovery tool, an autoupdater, and other business maintenance and service features.

We like the design of the tower case (you'll eventually be able to get the Lenovo 3000 in a horizontal desktop case). Its clean lines look crisply professional, but the orange/yellow buttons help it avoid the stuffed-shirt appearance that plagues most corporate desktops. Lenovo visually links the 3000-series systems to its more full-featured ThinkCentre desktops, maintaining the distinctive design in which the upper portion of the front bezel extends slightly past the top of the case.

Downside: We wish Lenovo could share more about the rollout of the higher-end components. For US$599 (S$973.14), you get a J100 with only a Pentium 4 530 with 512MB, an 80GB hard drive, and a DVD/CD-RW combo drive with Windows XP Home and an AGP-only mainboard. True, other brands offer no comparative Lenovo Care package, but a few applications that you may or may not use don't make up for such a large difference in computing power. That's a major discrepancy, especially considering that SOHO computers often double as home PCs, making Lenovo's stripped-down approach feel too cheap.

Outlook: : We imagine that some customers might not mind the gap in value between the Lenovo 3000 systems and the other brands. If you're not computer savvy the Lenovo Cares package especially might sway you. Still, for our money, value is the most important consideration for systems below US$1,000 (S$1,624.60) and Lenovo's 3000 series looks like it has some catching up to do.