BIOS: Technology Means Business

Lenovo’s 3000 J-Series desktops are the first Lenovo-branded systems to hit the UK. The 3000 J100 (from £280) and J105 (from £260, reviewed here) desktop PCs are designed for small-business customers and consumers who want a reliable, easy-to-use PC. They sport a basic but compelling black-and-grey front bezel with outstanding integrated carrying handle, custom designed side-access air ventilation and several optional accessories, such as the ThinkVision USB SoundBar and ThinkPlus Preferred Pro USB Fingerprint Keyboard.

In addition, for the first time, Lenovo is offering worldwide customers a choice of Intel or AMD configurations. Our test unit was supplied with an AMD Sempron Sempron 3400+ (2GHz) processor and SiS 661 chipset, but if you need more processing power you could opt for either a Pentium 4 or Athlon processor, or even a Celeron D processor if your needs are limited.

The Lenovo J105 features an AMD Socket 754 motherboard and comes equipped with Serial ATA drive support, six USB 2.0 ports (two at front) and front-side audio. However, J105 is only available in a midi-tower system (180x458x374mm, 8.3kg), unlike the company’s Intel-based J100 series, which can also be bought in a small-form-factor desktop chassis. To make up for this shortcoming there’s plenty of room inside the chassis to add a second HDD (on-board SATA RAID controller) or a better audio solution - but bear in mind juice comes in the way of a relatively restrictive 250-Watt PSU.

The 3000 J-Series desktops are engineered specifically for small business professionals. And it shows! The build quality is reassuringly solid and there are no distracting LEDs or flip-open drive bay covers. In fact, it’s clear to see that the desktop line was designed by the same engineers that brought us IBM’s ThinkCentre desktops. With the J Series desktops, Lenovo clearly wants you to worry about your business and not your computer - and quite rightly so!

For instance, side-access air vents maximise airflow to key system components to ensure long lasting high performance, and two front-accessible high-speed USB 2.0 ports allow you to easily connect consumer devices such as digital cameras, digital camcorders, USB storage devices, and MP3 players. For additional convenience, front-mounted audio ports allow quick access for headphones or line-in devices.

The company has been able to meet 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. The AMD-based J105 system reviewed here comes with 256MB or 512MB of 400MHz PC3200 DDR SDRAM (expandable to 2GB), while the Intel-based J100 systems feature 512MB or 1GB as standard (expandable to 2GB). SATA HDDs are available in 80GB or 160GB capacities, and there are DVD/CD-RW drives or dual-layer DVD burners on offer. Our review model had a 160GB HDD and dual-layer DVD burner.

You should note that graphics are catered for by an integrated S3 Graphics UniChrome Pro IGP graphics chipset, which isn’t able to run the advanced graphics effects like transparent windows - and it may struggle with Microsoft’s next-generation OS, Windows Vista. You can upgrade, but the expansion slot is only an AGP 8x PCI Express variant rather than a 16x slot. There are also another three PCI slots for expansion. Lenovo opts for Windows XP Home Edition instead of the more versatile Windows XP Professional to further keep costs down.

The robust PC isn’t exactly equipped with cutting-edge technology, but it does come loaded with an excellent range of support tools. ‘Lenovo Care’ (think IBM’s ThinkVantage) combines innovative tools, support and services resources to help you spend less time worrying about computer problems, such as the portal which organises your top tasks, most frequently used applications and help and support tools with the press of a button.

There’s one-click access to your top tasks such as managing multimedia software, starting a data backup, launching Lenovo PC Support or viewing critical system information, and you can also customise Quick Links to suit your personal preferences. The Resource Center provides support for tasks such as one-button system recovery, automatic updates from Lenovo and easy network connectivity and management, while the Message Center allows you to learn about system and support features you might not discover on your own.

The Lenovo Care environment provides a System Rejuvenation recovery option that lets you restore to a previous backup without losing your personal settings for printers, browsers and applications, and you can self-diagnose and quickly recover your system to a previous working state - even if the O/S won’t boot. By pressing a single key combination you can enter an environment that will allow you to easily get your system back up and performing like it was prior to the attack or system failure. This restore environment also includes a browser to access Lenovo and other support sites via the Internet (you must have Internet access, not included).

Getting the latest software updates is important, but it can be a real chore. Similar to the company’s laptops, you can configure the system to automatically download and install critical updates on your defined schedule, so that you always have the latest drivers and software updates. Other productivity software includes Roxio’s DigitalMedia LE and InterVideo’s WinDVD Creator for CD and DVD viewing and creation (DVD multiburners are available on select models). In addition, Diskeeper defragmentation software automatically keeps the hard disk drive running at peak performance, and a 90-day trial of Norton’s Internet Security helps to keep the computer safe from viruses and spyware.

Also noteworthy is a Presentation Director, is a display configuration utility that enables you to create, manage, and use various display and projection schemes when making presentations. Using these schemes, you can quickly and easily configure the desktop to display a presentation on an external projector, monitor, or television with appropriate resolution and colour settings, avoid interruptions by disabling the screen saver and power management timers and hiding your desktop and Instant Messaging windows, and use multiple monitors to extend the size of your desktop.

Lenovo’s 3000-Series PCs aren’t multimedia powerhouses for blazing Adobe’s Photoshop and Premiere, but they’re a well built and well supported platform for those who need a basic work computer and don’t want to spend a lot of money and effort to acquire and maintain one. If all you need to do is run Word, Excel, browse the Web, send e-mails and run any custom business software, the 3000 J105 is an excellent value choice - but remember to budget for a monitor! [7.5]

[Best Desktop PC Pricing UK]
[Best Desktop PC Pricing US]

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