New micros include CD-ROM drives and gigabyte of software.

Two computer systems featuring built-in CD-ROM drives and special bundles of more than 1 gigabyte of software and CD-ROM products are now available, and are suitable for educational institutions desiring affordable multimedia workstations.

The HeadStart LX-CD comes standard with a 680MB CD-ROM drive with stereo sound; a 40MB hard disk; one 1.44MBn2OK, autodetect, 3.5" disk drive; a VGA card; stereo headphones; and a mouse.

The smah-footprint LX-CD features an Intel 8088-1 micr-oprocessor switchable 10-MHz or 4.77-MHz speeds, 768K of RAM, 256K of video RAM, five expansion slots and a 101-key, PS/2-style keyboard. Built-in interfaces include a serial port, a parallel port, a bus mouse connector, stereo RCA jacks and a stereo jack for the headphones.

The CD-ROM products supplied standard with the LX-CD machine are: the New Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia; Microsoft Bookshelf HeadStart CD-ROM Library D which comprises 30 games and Hotline Two, a phone-management program with autodialer and a national phonebook; PC Globe, a computerized atlas; CD Guide Optical Edition, a review guide for audio CDs; and an Audio Music Disk Sampler.

Applications supplied on the hard disk of the LX-CD computer include MS-DOS Version 3.3H (allows disk partitions greater than 32MB); GWBASIC; HOT Pop-Ups, a set of resident utilities; HeadStart Office Manager, an integrated program with a word processor, spreadsheet, database and spelling checker, PublishIt, for desktop publishing; and Splash!, a VGA graphics program. Tutorials, hard-disk utilities and a backup program are also provided.

The combined retail cost of all of the system's products and features could exceed $4,000, making the LX-CD's under-$2,000 suggested retail price worthy of consideration.

HeadStart III-CD is the other offering. This 286-based machine is 12 MHz or 8 MHz switchable, has 1MB of RAM (expandable to 3MB) plus 256K of video RAM, sports a 40MB hard disk with 28 ms. access time, and offers six 8/16-bit expansion slots. In addition to having all of the other hardware features of the LX-CD, the III-CD has a built-in modem, an additional serial port and a game port.

AH software and CD-ROM titles bundled with the LX-CD are also standard in the HeadStart III-CD package. However, the III-CD comes, too, with Microsoft's Small Business Consultant and Stat Pack CD-ROMs plus the following software programs: Above Disc-EMS Emulator; Framework II; and Perspective 3-D Graphics. Suggested retail cost of the HeadStart III-CD is less than $3,000.

Both systems include the HeadStart Operating Environment, an operating system utilizing menus in advanced and beginner modes, and have 18-month warranties. HeadStart Technologies Co., Great Neck, NY, (516) 482-4255. Write No. 824 on Inquiry Card