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| Systemax Medallion XV |
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PCT Reviews April 2008 • Vol.6 Issue 4 Page(s) 55 in print issue |
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Systemax Medallion XV An American Laptop |
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BOTTOM LINE: $859.99 • www.systemaxpc.com You’ll get respectable features at an affordable price with the Medallion XV notebook.  Priding itself on being the “Great American PC Maker,” Systemax does not export system assembly or technical support for its computers to another country. So what exactly does an American-made PC look like? To find out, I took a closer look at one of Systemax’s affordable notebooks, the Medallion XV. One of the first things I noticed when opening the Medallion XV was that it has a full number pad. This is unique—other notebooks in the same size and class do not often have a number pad. Perhaps due to the space needed for the number pad and the position of the directional arrows on the Medallion XV’s keyboard, the right SHIFT key is only a single key in width, compared to the double-wide SHIFT key many of us are accustomed to using on our desktops and some laptops. The smaller SHIFT key may throw some people off at first, but others will find that a full-sized number keypad is invaluable, especially for anyone who has to perform a lot of data entry. This laptop also comes with a number of multimedia features. You’ll find a 4-in-1 card reader on the front of the notebook that supports SD, MMC, MS (Memory Stick), and MS PRO memory cards. Next to the card reader, there are three audio ports for headphones, line in, and microphone. While listening to music or watching a movie, you can control the system’s volume using the FN-F7 and FN-F8 keys. To connect multimedia devices such as a camcorder for high transfer speeds, this laptop has a FireWire port located on the right side. Once you’ve uploaded video or other data, you can burn it to a disc using the Medallion XV’s DVD SuperMulti Optical Drive that can burn both CDs and DVDs. Finally, for Web conferencing, distance learning, or staying connected to family while on the road, there’s a 1.3MP Web cam located just above the monitor.
Near the base of the display, you’ll find a Power button along with four shortcut keys to email, Internet browsing, WLAN and Bluetooth On/Off, and a Web cam or Search button. For quick adjustments at the airport or on the plane, the WLAN and Bluetooth On/Off button can disable wireless communications for both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. On the inside, you’ll find an Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 processor running at 1.5GHz, 1GB of DDR2-667MHz RAM, a 60GB hard drive, and an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100. This 15.4-inch notebook also has a WXGA (Wide Extended Graphics Array) display. The model I tested shipped with Windows Vista Home Premium, but configurations with Windows XP Professional or Home Edition installed are also available. The notebook comes with a standard one-year warranty on parts and labor. In all, if you’re looking for an affordable business notebook that can help you be more productive while traveling, the Medallion XV is worth a look.  by Jennifer Johnson
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