[3] The most inexpensive entry in the PC-4500 line, the PC-4501, features 256 KB of RAM, a non-backlit supertwisted nematic monochrome LCD with a resolution of 640 by 200 pixels—CGA compatible—a 78-key keyboard (missing a numeric keypad), and one 3.5-inch double-density floppy disk drive and came shipped with MS-DOS 2.11.

The middle-of-the-line entry, the PC-4502, features 640 KB of RAM, a backlit display of the same specification, an 88-key keyboard (with numeric keypad), two 3.5-inch double-density floppy drives and came shipped with MS-DOS 3.21 and GW-BASIC 3.2.

[10] Lamont Wood of InfoWorld rated the PC-4501 satisfactory in the categories of performance, ease-of-use, serviceability and value, and good in setting-up, but wrote that its basic features "were no longer enough in the fast-moving market of laptop computers", with the stock PC-4501 especially suffering from the lack of a built-in serial port.

[13] Wood concluded that the PC-4501's low price "just balances the lack of a backlighting option and the added cost of the serial port", rating the computer overall "a satisfactory value".

[13] Jon Pepper of PC Week compared the PC-4501 to Toshiba's T1100 Plus in aesthetic and form factor and praised the layout of its keyboard while noting that its key switches provided too much resistance.

Venditto disliked the power button's lack of tactile feedback and wrote that the display's contrast knob was hard to find, "unobtrusive to the point of becoming lost".

[16] She called the V20 CPU "more than fast enough for standard applications" after testing it against XyWrite and Lotus 1-2-3 and praised the versatility of the BIOS setup utility.

[7] Simone wrote that the PC-4521's LCD had a subpar contrast ratio and that the peak brightness of the backlight failed to prevent the display from becoming washed out in direct sunlight.

He concluded that the computer in its stock configuration, without the optional serial port and monitor output, were the main tradeoffs to its low cost.

[20] Diebold called the display "small but readable" and appreciated the computer's wake-on-ring feature of its modem firmware but found the PC-4521's power-savings abilities among the worst of the magazine's roundup.