MPC ClientPro 345 (06/19/2003)

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1. Manufacturer's description
2. Product summary
3. Editors' review
4. Users' opinions
5. Keywords

Manufacturer description

The ClientPro 345 is an ultra-manageable business desktop, scalable from basic to high-end tasking. Imagine what you can do with the ClientPro 345 - the business desktop customizable for virtually every user in your organization. The ClientPro 345 can be outfitted for basic business applications or high-end, multimedia tasking - and everything in between. Choose from the no-nonsense Intel Celeron processor to the ultra-powerful Intel Pentium 4 Processor with HT Technology, and scale from the DDR333 SDRAM to DDR400 SDRAM. MPC has also incorporated Intel 's latest 865G and ICH5 chipset architecture, high-speed USB 2.0, up to Dual Channel DDR400 SDRAM memory, 800MHz front side bus and integrated Gigabit Ethernet, plus two additional high-speed USB ports. All told, the ClientPro 345 provides exceptional performance, flexibility, and longevity for the growing business - and the multifaceted workgroup.

Product summary

Editors' review

• Editors' Choice: No
• Reviewed on: 02/19/2004

Although it arrives under the guise of a corporate workstation, the $1,299 MPC ClientPro 345 seems better suited to small businesses or even home offices. It's no speed king, but with a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive and four front-mounted USB ports, this business desktop comes well equipped for watching movies, burning CDs, listening to music, and connecting a variety of peripherals. Even the bundled speakers are halfway decent. Adding more storage space would be a smart upgrade, and the 15-inch LCD is only average. Though this may be more PC than many business users require, the added features make for a flexible system, which, for certain office environments, could be the perfect solution. Eschewing both business beige and staid black, the MPC ClientPro 345 pleases the eye with its charcoal-gray exterior. All of the components match, though the speakers have a slightly greenish tinge. The case of our ClientPro 345 test system was about the size of two stacked pizza boxes and was designed to sit flat. You could rest it on its side, but MPC doesn't supply a stand to keep it from tipping over. At 16.5 inches deep, the case requires quite a bit more desk space than ultracompact systems such as the HP Compaq Business Desktop d530 do.

Though your upgrade choices are limited, the easy-to-access, clean interior makes working inside the case a pleasure.	Four USB ports and a pair of audio jacks provide maximum front-panel accessibility.

In return, you get one of the most expandable business machines we've seen yet. The MPC ClientPro 345 boasts a whopping eight USB 2.0 ports--four in front, four in back. The insides are equally generous, starting with three PCI slots and an AGP slot. Unfortunately, they accommodate only half-height cards, which aren't particularly easy to come by. (If you can imagine a day where you'd like to add a full-size graphics or sound card, MPC also offers a larger, more traditional minitower chassis that can accommodate full-size cards.) Our ClientPro 345 review unit had a total of four RAM sockets, two of them occupied.

It's easy enough to gain access to the ClientPro's innards--a single captured thumbscrew keeps the lid on. And you don't need a screwdriver to remove any of the drives; just flip a lever, and they slide right out. Even a novice user could replace a bum drive in about two minutes.

It's not every day you see a business desktop with a DVD/CD-RW combo drive.

As the middle tier of the business ClientPro desktop line, MPC's ClientPro 345 doesn't have a single standout feature, but it's a well-rounded system for everyday business use. Our test system, outfitted with a 2.6GHz Pentium 4 processor, 256MB of 400MHz DDR SDRAM, and integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2 chip, doesn't provide pack-leading performance, but you can spec out a more powerful system on MPC's Web site. You can choose a Pentium 4 processor up to 3.2GHz in speed, for example, though Intel's newest Prescott chips aren't an option as of this writing. For this system, we suggest spending $29 to upgrade the included 40GB hard drive to an 80GB model, especially for SOHO use where server space isn't an option for storing your data. You might also consider a $59 low-profile 64MB Nvidia GeForce2 MX400 AGP card upgrade, which, while decidedly outdated, is a worthwhile investment if you're planning any graphics-related work or light after-hours gaming.

At the other end of the equation, we were initially disappointed by MPC's F1525 15-inch LCD monitor, which displayed noticeably soft text and graphics. However, a press of the Autoconfig button improved the picture considerably. It's still not the sharpest LCD we've seen, but it's suitable for day-to-day business use.

Proof positive that the MPC ClientPro 345 is a little bit corporate and a little bit rock and roll, the system comes with a speedy DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive and a pair of Kinyo PS270 external speakers. InterVideo WinDVD 4.0 handles movie playback, while Nero Express 6.0 manages CD-burning chores. We fired up our Blues Brothers DVD and enjoyed flawless playback and surprisingly loud, clean audio. The speakers sounded a bit flat overall, but they're more than acceptable for business audio and background music.

In addition to Nero and WinDVD, MPC provides Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003 with PowerPoint and a 90-day trial version of Norton AntiVirus. While we'd obviously prefer a one-year subscription to the latter, we think the combined software bundle is ideal for a system of this type, as larger corporations will likely add their own software suites. Application performance
Microsoft's Windows XP operating system is a memory hog, and although 128MB is the minimum required to run it, a PC really needs 256MB to maintain decent performance. Because the MPC ClientPro 345 has an onboard graphics chip that shares the unit's 256MB of memory, overall performance takes a hit. While you should be able to perform most tasks, this 2.6GHz Pentium 4 system's performance was not spectacular, which was what we expected. The MPC's scores placed it smack in the middle of our comparison systems. The Sony VAIO PCV-RS320 has an almost identical configuration, with the exception of 512MB of RAM. The SysMark 2002 tests require only 128MB, so while the results do not show a dramatic difference because neither system is taxed to its capacity, the Sony outperformed the MPC by more than 5 percent.


To measure application performance, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's SysMark 2002, an industry-standard benchmark. Using off-the-shelf applications, SysMark measures a desktop's performance using office-productivity applications (such as Microsoft Office and McAfee VirusScan) and Internet-content-creation applications (such as Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Dreamweaver).

3D graphics and gaming performance
The MPC ClientPro 345 is a business system that, in the case of our test system's configuration, uses an integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2 chip on the Intel 865G chipset. Though it is an adequate corporate desktop, our test system, with its low-end graphics and shared graphics memory, isn't at all intended to crunch 3D graphics, and its performance results show exactly that. If your desire is to play games and own this system, your first upgrade should be to a dedicated graphics card. Though our test system has an open AGP slot for an advanced graphics card, you'll need to choose MPC's other case offering, the minitower chassis, because the small desktop case of our ClientPro 345 test system can't house the larger card.


To measure 3D gaming performance, CNET Labs uses Epic Games' Unreal Tournament 2003, widely used as an industry-standard benchmark. We use Unreal to measure a desktop's performance with the DirectX 8.0 (DX8) interface at a 32-bit color depth at a resolution of 1,024x768. For higher-end systems that support higher resolutions, we run an additional test at 1,600x1,200. Antialiasing and anisotropic filtering are disabled during our 1,024x768 tests and are set to 4X and 8X respectively during our 1,600x1,200 tests. At this color depth and these resolutions, Unreal is an excellent way to compare the performance of low-end to high-end graphics subsystems. We report the results of Unreal's Flyby-Antalus test in frames per second (fps).

Find out more about how we test desktop systems.

System configurations:

Dell OptiPlex SX270
Windows XP Professional; 2.4GHz Intel P4; Intel 865G chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; integrated Intel 865G 64MB (shared memory); Hitachi DK23EB-40 40GB 5,400rpm

Gateway E-4100
Windows XP Professional; 2.4GHz Intel P4; Intel 865G chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; integrated Intel 865G 64MB (shared memory); Maxtor 6E040L0 40GB 7,200rpm

HP Compaq Business Desktop d530
Windows XP Professional; 2.8GHz Intel P4; Intel 865G chipset; 256MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; integrated Intel 865G 64MB (shared memory); Seagate ST340014A 40GB 7,200rpm

MPC ClientPro 345
Windows XP Professional; 2.6GHz Intel P4; Intel 865G chipset; 256MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; integrated Intel 865G 64MB (shared memory); Seagate ST340014A 40GB 7,200rpm

Sony VAIO PCV-RS320
Windows XP Home; 2.6GHz Intel P4; Intel 865G chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; integrated Intel 865G 64MB (shared memory); Seagate ST3120022A 120GB 7,200rpm For a business-class system in this price range, the MPC ClientPro 345 has a support policy that's extremely generous but lacking in one key area: online support. MPC provides an ample three-year warranty on parts and labor, with onsite service included for the duration. Phone support is toll-free and 24/7, but it also expires after three years. Where MPC comes up short is in the area of online support. There's no real-time help, no FAQ page, and no easy way to e-mail tech support (the option is hidden on the Contacts page). MPC does not provide setup or system documentation, either, save for a brief guide to using the recovery and driver CDs.

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