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Follow UsThe ThinkCentre series from IBM has several desktop computers for the home and office user. Out of these the M50 is available in several different configurations depending on the CPU and memory that is required. Our particular model, the 8187F4A, came with a P4 3.0 GHz hyperthreading enabled processor and 512 MB DDR-333 memory on an Intel D865G chipset. For storage, there is a 40 GB hard drive, and a 16x DVD-ROM drive. Video is provided through the on-board Intel Extreme Graphics 2 controller, but the motherboard has an AGP slot that can be used to put in a better video card.
IBM has a reputation for building solid, easy-to-use products, and the M50 is an example of this. The computer is available in tower or desktop form factor, and the cabinet can be taken off by simply pressing two buttons on its sides instead of fiddling around with screws. Both the keyboard and mouse are of good quality.
Performance will largely depend on the configuration that you choose. Content Creation Winstone and Business Winstone gave results of 94.3 and 56.8 respectively, which are pretty good and comparable to some of the fastest machines available.
However, because of the on-board graphics we got a modest 2135 in 3DMark2001 and 52 fps in Q3A at 1024*768*32, thus making it unsuitable for gaming. But then if you plan to use it for graphics and gaming, then you’ll add the extra graphics card.
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A good choice for companies, since the hardware is standardized and maintenance is easy. The machine is powerful enough to do most office tasks, including development and other processor intensive tasks. The price of the base model is Rs. 53,500 (as mentioned in the specs box), and an upgrade to a P4 3.0 GHz and 512 MB memory (which we received for testing) would cost an additional Rs. 12,000 and 11,000 respectively.
Anuj Jain