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The Polywell B150L2-i7 business desktop ($799 as tested) may be small, but it’s powerful enough to display information and video on two 4K UHD displays simultaneously, or help you complete content creation, financial, medical, or retail tasks quickly. The B150L2-i7 is a bit larger and less IT-friendly than the Dell Optiplex 9020 Micro( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window),but it’s also faster and less expensive. A perfect fit if you have a sole proprietorship or a small business, the Polywell B150L2-i7 is our new Editors’ Choice for midrange business desktops.
Design and Features
Measuring just 1.75 by 8 by 8 inches (HWD), the B150L2-i7 isn’t much bigger than a hardcover book. It’s a bit larger than the 2014 Apple Mac mini, the Dell Optiplex 9020 Micro, and the Lenovo ThinkCentre M83 Tiny. But with its black metal case with perforated vents on top, it’s unobtrusive compared with more consumer-oriented small-form-factor (SFF) systems, such as the all-white Acer Revo One (RL85-UR45)($249.99 at Acer)(Opens in a new window).
On the front panel, you’ll find the Polywell logo, a Power button, and two USB 2.0 ports, which are better suited for connecting a mouse and keyboard than speedy external hard drives and solid-state drives (SSDs). In the back are more connectivity options, including surround-sound audio jacks, two Ethernet ports, two HDMI ports (with 4K support), a PS/2 port, six USB ports (two 2.0, four 3.0), leads for the included 802.11ac Wi-Fi antenna, and a jack for the AC adapter that’s used instead of a more convenient internal power supply.
The B150L2-i7’s 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSD are more than enough for business tasks, particularly if you’re using the system in an office where transactions are fast and furious, like a brokerage firm or doctor’s office. The SSD comes free of bloatware, with only Windows 10 and hardware drivers preinstalled. The processor and motherboard aren’t Intel vPro certified, which is sometimes necessary for your IT department’s inventory and systems-management framework. That said, Polywell can work with you to provide drive imaging and 18-month product-cycle support for small- and medium-size projects. Both Dell and Lenovo offer better support for large-scale/enterprise projects, like rollouts of 10,000 or more units.
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Internal expansion room is limited in the B150L2-i7; there’s only free space for one 2.5-inch hard drive or SSD, and both DIMM slots are filled. In contrast, the Dell Optiplex 9020 Micro has a free DIMM slot and is easier to pop open and upgrade without tools, but it has no room for an extra hard drive. The B150L2-i7 comes with a three-year warranty on parts, and five years on labor.
Performance
An Intel Core i7-6700T processor with integrated Intel HD Graphics 530 provides enough power to keep productivity up. Thus equipped, the B150L2-i7 returned a score of 3,511 points on the PCMark 8 Work Conventional test, just ahead of the Dell Optiplex 9020 Micro (3,062) and far ahead of the Lenovo ThinkCentre M83 Tiny (2,621).
See How We Test DesktopsIt was also very quick on the Handbrake (1 minute 6 seconds) and Photoshop (3:09) tests, so it’s powerful enough for content creation. It was faster than the Dell Optiplex 9020 Micro and the Lenovo ThinkCentre M83 Tiny. The B150L2-i7’s performance is almost as good as that of a full-blown workstation like the Lenovo ThinkStation P300 SFF( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) (1:10 on Handbrake, 3:05 on Photoshop).
Gaming-oriented 3D test results were also very strong. The B150L2-i7 scored 8,623 points on the 3DMark Cloud Gate test and 483 points on Fire Strike Extreme, and its frame rates were almost playable on the Heaven (25 frames per second, or fps) and Valley (31fps) tests. The gaming-oriented Maingear Spark did better on the majority of 3D tests, but the B150L2-i7 is certainly fast enough to run 3D displays for a digital Kiosk or trade show booth. It was a better performer on the 3D tests than the Dell Optiplex 9020 Micro and the Lenovo ThinkCentre M83 Tiny by a wide margin. Although it’s not powerful enough to play games at 4K resoluton, it has enough juice to let you use two 4K HDMI monitors simultaneously for video or as an information display, like a menu board that changes throughout the day.
Conclusion
The Polywell B150L2-i7 is ideal for small offices where you’re rolling out one or two desktop PCs at a time. It can quickly complete tasks for a creative, financial, medical, or retail business. It’s also a fine choice for kiosk and trade show duties, as it can drive two HDMI displays and comes in a tiny form factor. Thus, it’s our Editors’ Choice for midrange business desktops. For larger rollouts, however, we still recommend the $939 Dell Optiplex 9020 Micro because of its vPro certifications, more compact case, and its ability to be deployed in larger batches.
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Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/polywell-b150l2-i7
