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Monorail readies top-speed PCs

Monorail will announce a new line of PCs featuring the fastest chips from Intel at aggressive price points.

Monorail will announce today a new line of PCs featuring the fastest chips from Intel at aggressive price points.

Monorail initially gained notoriety for its sleek all-in-one box with an LCD screen integrated directly into the PC unit. Priced at $999, it was one of the first sub-$1,000 PCs to hit the market.

Since phasing out the integrated systems earlier this year, the company has focused on mini-tower and low-cost business computers.

Monorail said it is able to sell ultra-low priced systems because it outsources most services, contracting with FedEx for shipping, SCI for manufacturing, and leaving research and development to companies such as Intel and Microsoft. As its unit shipments grow, Monorail said it actually saves money due to volume discounts.

Monorail will announce systems that feature 350- and 400-MHz Pentium II processors, and don't cost much more than its original low-cost, all-in-one computers.

The Monorail PC 8325, for $1,150, will include a 350-MHz Pentium II, 64MB of memory, a 4.3GB hard drive, a high-end "2X AGP" 3D graphics circuit board with 4MB of memory, a CD-ROM drive, and a 56-kbps modem.

The Monorail PC 8340, for $1,400, will feature a 400-MHz Pentium II processor, 64MB of memory, a 6.4GB hard drive, a 2X AGP graphic board, a CD-ROM drive, and a 56-kbps modem.

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