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XFX GeForce 6200 / 256MB / 8x AGP

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2005 | Reviews, Video Card Reviews | No Comments

The GeForce 6200 is one of the bottom in the 6000 series of graphics processors from nVidia. True to form this card should perform well in most environments.

For only a hundred dollars, and no rebate to claim, it’s a good deal for those who are looking to put that little extra something into a custom desktop computer.

The card includes support for CineFX 3.0 Engine, Ultra Shadow II technology and other enhancements to bring the gaming experience to life.

But his card is not just aimed at those looking to play games, in fact if the newest and most powerful games are your aim, this card may be a little on the weak side.

For enhancing graphics and saving yourself some of that precious memory if you are using an onboard video card this card does well. It will give you a great sharp image at a price that will not break the bank.

It comes with support for AGP 8x so it will support high speeds, but alos be compatible with slightly older motherboards as well. It comes with a TV output, DVI digital output for digital flat panel monitors and a standard VGA port, as found on nearly all monitors.

I would recommend this card to those who are looking for a graphics card for a large screen, 19inch or bigger, and who don’t want to sacrifice on image quality, size, resolution or refresh rate.

Chaintech 7NJL6 AMD Athlon XP 2900+ Desktop Computer

Sunday, May 1st, 2005 | Desktop Computer Reviews, Reviews | No Comments

At first sights this looks like a very cool computer, perhaps even a cheap high powered gaming computer. But lets take a closer look at this system.

Overall it’s good package. Combining some very good parts in a system which can handle a fair amount of power and work fast.

The motherboard is a Chaintech 7NJL6 nVidia Socket A ATX. It comes with things like built in audio. It supports up to a 400MHz front side bus, allowing fast transfer of information, and in turn speeding up how fast things load on your computer.

The processor is alright. The 2.08GHz AMD Athlon XP 2900+ is decent, providing enough power for average use.

The hard drive is a 5400RPM, 120GB Maxtor. These drives have a long life and perform well. This one does not come in the higher speed 7200RPM which is becoming increasingly popular. The interface is ATA-133, which provides good transfer speeds.

It also comes with a Video Card. It is also a Chaintech product, the Chaintech GeForce MX4000. A 64MB card based on on an nVidia video card processor.

The CD-ROM is a no name brand. The fan should provide enough cooling power for your processor. And the 512MB of DDR400/PC3200 memory should quench your needs for basic typing of documents, surfing the internet and playing digital media on your computer.

But here comes the bad news.

The case is a Diablotek. It is very good looking and will impress. However, the power supply that comes with the case when it’s sold seperately is terrible. It really is a piece of junk. There have been reports of the power supply running too hot, even blowing after a few days of use. Stuck buttons and shorted lights are amongst the other complaints. And finally the heat from the power supply means that, in standard setup, it’s too hot inside for an Intel Pentium 4 3.4GHz.

So, besides the power supply issue, which is a very serious one, and you will probably have to replace it. It is a good package of bits and pieces, just disappointing that it couldn’t come with a little more reliable case and power supply.

Diablotek nVidia GeForce 6600 256MB AGP 8x Video Card

Sunday, May 1st, 2005 | Reviews, Video Card Reviews | No Comments

This card is a slightly lesser know brand, but based on the popular nVidia GeForce 6600 video card processor.

Reports have it that this card works extremely well for even the newest games and can handle the demands placed by games like DOOM 3 and Half Life 2.

So what’s to it?

As mentioned before, it is based on the nVidia GeForce 6600 video card processor. Video cards come with what amounts to a CPU processor, but which is made and designed especially for use in video cards. This chip is used to perform the highly intensive operations and calculations that are perfomed when bringing 3D graphics to life.

2D graphics have very little demand on the power of the video card. 3D graphics add much more to these demands. As they also calculate things like the shadows of things, and put every increasingly detailed surfaces on things on the screen so the amount of power required increases.

The large amount of memory, which on this graphics card is 256MB helps with storing this vast increasing amount of information that is being past and calculated.

Overall this card is exceptional value for money. It’s under 200 bucks, and you don’t even need to send in a rebate to claim any of that back.

People who have installed this card have used it in PCs that are equipped with at least 512MB of DDR400/PC3200 RAM memory and are usually combined with an Athlon XP 3000+.

With that said, there is no reason why this can’t be used to add that extra power to any system. And with it using AGP 8x, it is quite likely that if your system is around 3 years old, that it can still manage to support this card.

My only concern lies with the fact that this product is not from a well known manufacturer. It has been labelled as being from “Diablotek” Fortunately, if you have a good supplier, this should not pose any difficulties if you need to make an exchange.

AMD Duron 1.8GHz / 266MHz FSB / Socket A / 192KB Cache

Sunday, May 1st, 2005 | CPU Processor Reviews, Reviews | No Comments

It has a 266MHz front side bus, which is the speed at which the CPU itself will execute tasks. It will work in a Socket A motherboard which is the kind of connector it uses to connect itself to the motherboard.

At 20 bucks with the rebate that is offered, this processor is just great for that extra very cheap desktop computer or low cost desktop computer for your kids, or even as a gift.

On the durability front, AMD does a great job. AMD have not been around as long as their rival Intel, who have a long history and good reputation. The Duron is a quality product, and will offer high speed of execution making your programs run and load faster.

It can be overclocked, which means that it can run faster than it is set to. It comes in a 1.8GHz setting, but one buyer has managed to get it to as high as 2.5GHz with reports that it is fine. This can be a great way to get that little extra performance from a strong performing, but slower chip. Note: overclocking voids warranties, and you need to make sure your system stays at the recommended temperatures or you could damage it’s components.

You will need to buy a cpu heat sink if you do not have one already.

In conclusion, you must get one of these if you are looking to build a cheap desktop computer or even a very cheap one. It’s value is hard to beat. If you like to compare computer processors, this one has value that is hard to beat. I recommend it.

Wintergreen AMD Sempron 2400+ (1.66GHz)

Sunday, May 1st, 2005 | Desktop Computer Reviews, Reviews | No Comments

This AMD based Computer offers a fair amount of value for the money you pay, especially with the rebates that are offered. The specification is good, but will leave something to be desired from those looking for a high powered computer. This cheap desktop computer does well as a day to day work machine, but does not manage well out of the range of surfing the net and typing documents.

Now, a breakdown of the system and it’s components.

It’s an ATX tower case, with 4 CD-ROM size expansion bays and two floppy drive sized ones. There is a free AGP slot inside as well as 3 PCI slots if you plan to expand.

Audio is built in, handled by the motherboard, and it has both LAN support and USB support.

The processor is a respectable AMD Sempron 2400+/1.66 GHz. These processors are now the low end of the AMD scale, rivalling the Intel Celeron chips on pricing, but outdoing them in terms of performance.

The bus speed on this computer is 667MHz, which means that the RAM can run up to 333MHz, and the internal clock of the chip will be running at 166MHz.

There have been reports of the computer shipping with the wrong memory, but don’t expect to get more than the 256MB of DDR333/PC2700 that comes with it. There seems to have been a typing error on advertising before saying that DDR400/PC3200 RAM memory was included.

The hard drive is a 40GB, 7200RPM drive. This is on the small side, but still enough for a whole lot of information. The optical drive is a CDRW. It is as fast as they get, but has no support for reading or writing DVDs. There is an included floppy drive.

Graphics are handled by a video card built into the motherboard. Respectable, but not good at high performance things like new games.

The included power supply is said to be a 450W power supply, which is quite surprising. Sometimes computers in this range can have power supplies that are under 300watts. Good spec.

It also comes with a mouse and a keyboard. Unfortunately reports have it that the keyboard bends, even under the pressure of pushing the buttons, and one consumer has reported that the mouse is about the worst he has ever used.

There are a mixed batch of reports from consumers on this computer. Good reports are always worth reading, as they help to pinpoint the good parts of the system. Most things go right most of the time, but it’s how things go when they are not alright that really sets one computer and computer company apart from another.

The WintergreenSys company lets down in this department. There have been more than a few reports of computers that are shipped without being assembled properly. Screws missing, and memory not installed properly. Extras that are supposed to come with the computer being left out of the package. Also little problems like power switches not working, and computers randomly restarting are not uncommon. It’s the most negative reports I have seen since I’ve been doing review of desktop computers.

So if you are looking for a system that will start and work from the word ‘go’ I think you need to look elsewhere. You might need to open the computer and put parts back in properly to get this thing working. It’s a good deal, but very poor is you do find something amis.