New vpr Matrix PC Features 3.06 GHz Processor; vpr Matrix FT9100PE Desktop PC Designed for Demanding Digital Media and Gaming Applications

Business Wire, Nov 14, 2002

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 2002

Best Buy continues to sharpen its vpr Matrix line of computers for the digital entertainment lifestyle with the new 9100PE desktop PC. The high-end consumer model features the newly released 3.06 GHz Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 processor for enhanced computing power. The 9100PE will sell for $1,899 and be available at BestBuy.com or by special order at any Best Buy location starting today. The monitor is sold separately at $299.99.

The 9100PE PC is for consumers seeking to integrate a variety of digital products and multimedia entertainment applications with their PC. The system features high-end components and an aggressive configuration to handle demanding applications such as editing digital photography and video, viewing or creating DVD movies, listening to large audio files or playing data-intensive 3D games.

"With computers increasingly serving as the technology nucleus for a digital entertainment lifestyle, we're offering a product line that makes the experience fun, easy and memorable," said Steven Lee, vice president of strategic development, Best Buy. "For those who are into intensive applications like gaming and digital video editing, the 9100PE PC won't disappoint."

Like other models in the vpr Matrix line, the 9100PE features the same strikingly angular design by Porsche Design GmbH, the Austrian firm founded by F.A. Porsche, grandson of the legendary engineer. It also uses top quality components from established and trusted industry leaders like Western Digital and nVidia, and on-board RAID capabilities that can provide either fast data access or instant, worry-free backups when additional hard drives are added. The 9100PE desktop is the fourth offering this year in the 220 Porsche-designed desktop series.

When enabled, the Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 processor 3.06 GHz uses a technology previously found on servers called Hyper-Threading Technology. The technology is now available for consumer desktops, and it allows the processor to essentially act as two virtual processors. It provides more efficient multitasking to run demanding applications at the same time. vpr Matrix customers desiring this feature will need to download Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Service Pack 1 from www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/pro/downloads/servicepacks/sp1/default.asp and then enable the Hyper-Threading Technology on their systems.

Additional standard features of the vpr Matrix 9100PE desktop include:

-- 533MHz front side bus

-- 512MB of DDR 333MHz memory

-- Dual RAID-striped 100GB 7200RPM ATA/100 server grade hard drives (200GB total storage)

-- Six USB 2.0 / 2 IEEE 1394 (FireWire(R)) ports

-- Three open PCI slots

-- Integrated 10/100 network capability

-- DVD-RW/CD-RW combo drive

-- 16X DVD-ROM drive

-- Diskette drive

-- 128MB nVidia GeForce4 Ti4200 graphics card

-- Sound Blaster(R) Live! 5.1 audio card

-- Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition

-- Microsoft Works(R) 6.0, CyberLink PowerDVD MPEG2 software, InstantWrite(R) DVD authoring software

For more information, visit www.vprmatrix.com.

About Best Buy stores

Best Buy stores, owned and operated by Minneapolis-based Best Buy Co., Inc., is one of the nation's leading retailers of technology and entertainment products and services. Best Buy was founded in St. Paul, Minn. in 1966. Best Buy Stores reach an estimated 300 million consumers per year through more than 500 retail stores in 48 states and online at BestBuy.com. For more information about Best Buy, visit the virtual pressroom at http://onlinepressroom.net/bestbuy.