MaximumPC 2004 12

60 MA XIMUMPC DECEMBER 2004

Media Centers

Toshiba Qosmio

iBuyPower Media-XP

Benchmarks

How do you measure Media Center success? One number at a time.

VERDICT 7 $2,600

http://www.toshiba.com

Simple and subtle, with a

decent amount of power under

the hood, iBuyPower’s Media

Center PC is the most tradi-

tional-looking PC of the batch

reviewed here.

The Media-XP uses

Silverstone’s classy-looking

LC03 case enclosure, which

appears to have been custom-

made to house Media Centers.

Flip-down doors cover the

drives and give the case an

elegant living room aesthetic,

and the only light emitted is

from a low-level blue LED

behind the power button.

Unfortunately, the Silverstone

case does not

excel at reduc-

ing noise. While

running, it

sounds like a small

jet—largely a byproduct

of the GeForce 5900’s obnox-

ious fan—making it a poor

choice for the bedroom or

living room. Furthermore, we

cut the hell out of one of our

fingers sliding off the top of

the case—ouch.

A 3.2GHz Pentium 4 CPU and

GeForce FX 5900 provide the

muscle; the result is a system

that’s decent for gaming;

iBuyPower’s rig placed in the

middle of the pack in our

benchmark tests. Stability was

acceptable— we only experi-

enced three crashes over the

course of recording TV shows

and movies.

iBuyPower has made its

name building inexpensive

PCs that offer solid perfor-

mance but lack the bells

and whistles of more high-

end, boutique shops like

Alienware. The Media-XP

is no exception to this rule;

while it does feature an inte-

grated 8-in-1 media reader,

there are no other extras. As

a result, the rig puts forth a

lot of power and won’t empty

your checking account.

If you can handle the noise

level, the Media-XP would

make for a fine office enter-

tainment system.

VERDICT 7 $1,500

http://www.ibuypower.com

excel at reduc-

ing noise. While

sounds like a small

jet—largely a byproduct

of the GeForce 5900’s obnox-

ious fan—making it a poor middle of the pack in our

end, boutique shops like

Alienware. The Media-XP

is no exception to this rule;

while it does feature an inte-

grated 8-in-1 media reader,

there are no other extras. As

a result, the rig puts forth a

sounds like a small

jet—largely a byproduct

The Qosmio’s versatility and

portability make it a dream

for anyone who is constantly

on the go. When it’s sitting

on your desk, it functions as

a standard Media Center PC,

with the added perk that when

you travel, you can take your

entire library of recorded TV

shows and movies with you.

A traditional Media Center

remote control allows you to

control the OS from a distance.

We have a small concern

with the use of a proprietary

D-port video-out connector

between laptop and televi-

sion. Traditional desktop

Media Center PCs connect to

cable boxes and/or satellite

receivers via standard RCA

or S-video cables, which are

more easily replaced than the

D-port cable.

The Qosmio’s 1.7GHz

Pentium M CPU makes it

relatively speedy for basic

tasks, but—and this should

come as no surprise—this is

no gaming rig. It placed last

in testing. Of greater concern

is the 80GB drive. At 1GB per

one-hour show, this will limit

your recording capabilites.

Pairing the Qosmio with a

larger external drive would be

a good solution. The laptop

supports 802.11b and g wire-

less, as well as Bluetooth.

Weighing in at a little less

than 10 pounds, the Qosmio

compensates for its awkward

name with a sleek, sophisti-

cated look and an awesome

15-inch widescreen display

that is one of the best and

brightest screens we’ve ever

seen on a laptop. We were

similarly surprised at the rich-

sounding audio generated by

the built-in Harman Kardon

speakers, although we were

disappointed with the rela-

tively quiet maximum volume

setting. Battery life is decent

at a little over two hours

when playing movies.

One of the most

interesting fea-

tures is the

instant-on capabil-

ity, which allows you

to watch DVDs, live TV via the

TV tuner (without the Media

Center PVR functionality), and

listen to audio CDs. The quality

of DVD playback in this mode

is inferior to normal Windows-

based playback, but it’s nice

to not have to wait for your TV

to turn on. A separate remote

allows you to control this non-

Windows functionality, which

we found slightly baffling. Why

not integrate the two?

Road warriors will love

Toshiba’s novel

take on the Media Center, but

we’d prefer a straightforward

and more powerful PC for our

living room.

If you carry your laptop

around, you’re not going to

be able to record much TV.

Benchmarks Alienware HP Niveus Toshiba iBuyPower

DOOM 3 (FPS) 17 7.3 16 3 7.3

HALO (FPS) 41 12.6 21 6 15

BOOT TIME (SEC) 48 20 44 26 34

WAKE UP FROM STANDBY (SEC) 4 10 8 6 8

Best score are bolded.