Polywell PolyStation 940X4

Polywell Computers

4.5 stars out of 5
Polywell wins bragging rights for the fastest Intel Xeon-based system tested in this roundup. Indeed, this speedy system rated second overall with all factors considered, and second in terms of AutoCAD performance.

Housed in an ultralightweight aluminum case, the PolyStation 940X4 is a compact minitower system that gets high marks for expandability. The case measures 16.5" × 7.85" × 18.9" (h×w×d) and provides ten drive bays, along with an Enermax

Polywell’s fast PolyStation 940X4 offers great expandability options.

The tested PolyStation 940X4 system came with 2GB of DDR PC2100 and 266MHz RAM; the system supports 8GB of RAM. The system is based on dual 3.06GHz Intel Xeon microprocessors supported by the Intel E7505 chipset.

The AGP 8X slot on the Tyan motherboard was filled with a PNY NVIDIA Quadro FX 3000 graphics card with 256MB of RAM. Also included was a 3.5" floppy drive/7-in-1 media card reader combo—a useful addition starting to appear in new systems. A Polywell-branded wireless keyboard and mouse combination is notable for the small size of the mouse.

This system generated a fair amount of heat during the course of running the benchmark tests. This was notable both in radiant heat emanating from the system and in the elevation of the temperature in the room where I tested.

On the Cadalyst C2001 test, the PolyStation 940X4 achieved a C2001 total index score of 112, the second fastest in this roundup. The 3ds max benchmarks fell slightly off the leading pace, but the SPEC ViewPerf proe-01 test results were the speediest of any system in this roundup.

At a price of $5,450 as equipped for our benchmarks, the system’s price falls in the midrange for this roundup. The warranty coverage is a comfortable 60 months for parts, 36 months for labor, and 12 months of onsite support.