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Systemax Pursuit 4025 Intel Celeron 15-inch Notebook

Saturday, September 24th, 2005 | Laptop and Notebook Computers, Reviews | No Comments

This laptop will satisfy the most basic needs of the laptop user. It’s specifications allow it to only just manage the most simple of tasks. However, with the range of extras available, and the ability to customize, you will certainly be able to make it fit your needs without ever having to upgrade.

The barebones model of this computer, without any of the optional extras looks like this…

• Celeron M 1.4GHz processor
• 256MB of memory (DDR 333MHz)
• 40GB, 4200RPM hard disk drive
• CDRW/DVD combo drive
• 1280×768 capable XGA screen
• Full size keyboard

This is certainly one of the most basic laptop computers I have seen for a while. Without the extras it has the minimum that is actually possible with a computer nowadays.

The Celron processor can handle basic tasks, but will not give a provide a pleasant working environment for those who use the computer for many tasks.

The hard drive will certainly be fine for this computing level. Even the best hard disk drives only really provide advantages to very heavy use computers, like servers.

256MB or RAM is my biggest concern. This is hardly enough to feed Windows, let alone operate a whole lot of other things too. There is a 60 dollar upgrade which I would recommend. The 1GB seems a little much, especially seeing as the aim is a budget laptop.

Combination CDROM/DVD drives are well entrentched in the budge market, simply because of the very little extra that it costs to have a CD burner as opposed to a normal CDROM. A DVD burner might be a great upgrade to this machine, especially with the way in which it will ease the backing up and storage of extra data.

It is a full sized laptop and at 6.6lbs will give you a bit of a workout on the stairs. Actually the weight is not bad, it is heavy for a laptop, but not for this range. The full size makes it a good alternative to a desktop at home, but gives the ability to move it around.

Many other options are available, but you can check those out for yourself. They include batteries, floppy disk drives, mice and bigger hard drives.

It’s hard to come to a conclusion with a computer with so many options. But what is great is that whatever you want you will be able to find it here. It really is a full package.

For a roundup

Pros

• Many options
• Very well priced
• Full sized

Cons

• Heavy
• Basic model is just too basic

Asus P4P800E Deluxe Intel Socket 478 Motherboard with AGP 8x, firewire and WiFi

Thursday, September 22nd, 2005 | Motherboards, Reviews | 1 Comment

The ASUS P4P800E motherboard provides everything you could need from a motherboard. With this motherboard in place there is little that is lacking in building a powerful computer.

ASUS have a good reputation for their motherboards. Great quality and a whole host of extras contribute to the good name.

The details at a glance…

• Socket 478
• Intel Northbridge and Southbridge
• Supports 400MHz DDR RAM
• On-board 8 channel audio
• AGP 8x
• 4 SATA headers with RAID support
• WiFi (wireless network)

Basically this board has all the things I would ever want from a motherboard.

Personally I don’t go with neverending upgrades to the CPU processor in my computer. For what I do which is mostly multi-tasking lots of programs in Windows, I don’t need the power of the most up to date processors.

A motherboard upgrade offers all of the extras that you need for your computer.

I already had a Pentium 4 2.0GHz at home and wasn’t ready for anything newer. But I found that the motherboards on offer for the now slightly outdated Socket 478 had gained many new features over what I got on the board I first bought.

Full 800MHz bus supporting DDR 400 memory. My original board only supported 333MHz.

SATA gives the option of using much more up to date hard drives that are much bigger and easy setup of RAID arrays makes data protection easy.

Built in audio that has benefitted from a few years of advancement.

Other great extras are WiFi and firewire. Firewire is not used by everyone but is a very worthwhile extra to have, especially for video editing.

This is not the newest motherboard buy certainly offers what I need. There is also a model with similar specs available for Socket 775 which supports newer Pentium chips.

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 200GB 7200RPM SATA hard drive

Wednesday, September 21st, 2005 | Hard Drives, Reviews | No Comments

The increase in speed over old style IDE drives is astonishing. The extra speed given by the SATA interface as well as the performance increase with 7200RPM disk rotation makes everything on the computer run that much faster. Just what I like.

I got a pair of these hard drives a few weeks ago and am very pleased with them. Functionally they work great, giving no hassles so far. I actually have 2 of the predecessors to this drive, the DiamondMax 9.

I installed 2 of these drives on my new ASUS motherboard which I got while attempting to diagnose problems with my computer. Along with the motherboard came the ability to run 2 SATA hard drives in a RAID configuration.

With 2 drives setup in RAID 1, which mirrors the contents of one drive on the other, I am fairly sure that I can avoid the devastating loss of data which occured with my last hard drive crash.

The drives themselves are very quiet, they don’t make too much sound while operating except for the occassional low level grinding sound. One other strange noise made by the disks is when the power is turned on or off. I can’t explain the noise but it sounds like a quick burst of that slight grinding sound.

Reviews and reports on these drives are good. They were my second choice over a Western Digital drive, but I am more than happy.

Advantages of this drive include

• Fast rotation, common nowadays
• SATA for fast speeds
• Those great, thin SATA cables
• Ability to use the traditional power plug, instead of SATA power
• Quiet operation

In conclusion, I have had no regrets with this drive, and I don’t expect to need to upgrade any time soon.

D-Link DWL-650 11Mbps 802.11b Wireless LAN PCMCIA Card

Monday, September 19th, 2005 | Networking (LAN), Reviews | No Comments

There was a time when I wouldn’t seriously consider wireless networking, execpt if I had money to burn. This value for money deal will let you join the wireless lifestyle for next to nothing.

D-Link make many wireless networking oriented products, both for desktops and for laptops. This version is not their newest model, but the deals that can be had on these slightly outdated cards make it worth it.

The advantages of wireless networking include:

• Being able to freely move yourself and laptop while on the internet
• Free yourself of cables which become a huge bother
• Take advantage of the wireless networking offered in so many public places
• Be able to get online almost anywhere, on your own computer

This card receives many good reviews from happy customers who installed it without problems. Just a matter of plugging in the card, loading the drivers from the CD and off you go.

The recertified models seem to have problems with drivers sometimes. Make sure you still have access to the internet either from your laptop or elsewhere. Go to the D-Link drivers page on their website and get the latest ones. The drivers page is at http://www.dlink.com/products/support.asp?pid=9&sec=0#drivers.

Basically there is nothing to lose here. For around 5 bucks for the recertified model, just try it, you may even like it.

Sony VAIO VGC-RB42G Intel Pentium 4 3GHz with 1GB DDR and DVD writer

Saturday, September 17th, 2005 | Desktop Computers, Reviews | No Comments

A powerful desktop computer with every feature you could need from a multimedia PC, from a well-known company with an excellent reputation.

SONY have been in the desktop and laptop computer biz for a while now and this computer is another one in it’s line of good deals.

For a limited time it’s going at a super low price which is what alerted me to it in the first place.

Features at a glance:

• Intel Pentium 4 630 3GHz with Hyper-Threading
• 1GB of DDR memory
• Dual layer DVD writer + sperate CDROM
• Integrated Audio and Graphics
• 250GB SATA hard disk drive

The processor is a 600 series Pentium 4, in the socket 775 format. The 600 series failed to provide much performance improvement over the 500 series, despite giving it 2MB of cache as opposed to the 1MB of the 500 series. However they still manage to deliver in terms of performance.

These processors run very hot. This plays against them as you then need lots of fans inside your computer to keep it cool, which leads to more noise. Not the end of the world, but a tad annoying for a quiet home office.

The 1GB of memory is a definite plus. It will allow easy use of many programs at the same time. If you like to open many programs at the same time this will increase the performance you see within each program. The 1GB is two sticks of 512MB RAM which occupy 2 of the 4 slots available in the computer.

SATA hard disk drive is another plus. SATA offers faster transfer of information from the hard drive than the older ATA. For those who are fussy about the internal look of the computer, the very small SATA cables take away from the clutter.

250GB will be enough hard drive space for even those who like to save lots of movies onto their computer.

The DVD drive supports every kind of DVD you can find, +R, +RW, -R and -RW all with dual layer capabilities. There is also a CDROM if you need the extra drive.

Multimedia ports add a certain amount of ease to the computer. With the ever increasing number of different memory cards that are available, it can become a pain to have a reader for every one. The SONY incorporates a bay, where a CDROM might go, that has a spot for any memory card you might have. It also has the USB ports on the same panel.

Integrated audio and graphics are standard features, but there is a TV tuner card which will allow you to get a TV input into the computer and also gives you better graphics.

LAN support is built in and it comes with mouse, keyboard and two small speakers.

Overall I like this computer. The price certainly makes it that much more appealing too. It’s ideal for home users, desktop applications like word processors and using the internet will do nicely. It can even handle video well. It will not however do for gamers, but with a 3D graphics card you have the perfect platform for a gaming PC.

Pros

• Fast processor
• Plenty of memory
• DVD writer
• Multimedia port
• Many built in features
• PCI express slot for graphics card upgrades

Cons

• No free PCI slots (only 2 PCIe)
• Processor that can run very hot

Chaintech VNF4 Socket 939 Motherboard with Chaintech GeForce 6600 Video Card and AMD Athlon 64 3000+ processor

Saturday, September 10th, 2005 | Motherboards, Reviews | No Comments

All of my favorite parts all rolled into one package. This would be my personal choice for my next computer upgrade.

I have reviewed all of these parts seperately before, so here is a rundown of what I do and don’t like.

The price is great on their own these parts represent some of the best value in terms of performance for their price

The AMD processor is high class. It has much room for overclocking and runs very cool compared to many new processors, even just using the standard fan that comes with it. The Venice core, which is still in use today was a leap forward in terms of getting processors cooler. As the slowest in it’s range this processor has the best value for money, and if you’re inclined is great for overclocking. You can see the full review at http://computer-reviews.net/amd-athlon-64-3000-socket-939-with-venice-core.

The graphics card is based on the great GeForce chipset which provides good graphics performance, good enough for nearly all modern games. You can see a full review of it at http://computer-reviews.net/chaintech-geforce-6600-video-card-with-256mb-ddr-for-pci-express.

The motherboard is a Chaintech motherboard. Recently they have been releasing more products aimed at the value conscious buyer who also wants to get a little bit of a kick from what they buy. It has all the necessary features and can overclock well with the AMD processor. The original review is at http://computer-reviews.net/chaintech-vnf4-vforce4-socket-939-motherboard.

This really is an extremely smart matching of products. Match it up with a Thermaltake Tsunami Case and some good memory and you will have a barebones system others will drool over.

Chaintech VNF4 vForce4 Socket 939 Motherboard

Friday, September 9th, 2005 | Motherboards, Reviews | No Comments

This motherboard provides a good low priced motherboard for the Socket 939 format. It has taken a little time, but the price for this socket type has finally come to a decent level.

It comes with a good range of extras to provide for most of your general needs. These include

• Socket 939, for AMD Athlon 64 and Athlon 64 FX
• nVidia nForce4 Ultra
• 4 DDR memory slots (2 dual-channel pairs)
• Built-in audio
• LAN
• USB 2.0
• 2 PCI Express slots, 1 PCIe 16x slot
• IDE up to ATA133
• Serial ATA (up to SATA II-300)
• 4 fan connectors

At around a hundred bucks and less with the rebate that is offered, this board easily makes it as one of the best boards in it’s price range.

With all the included features, the only extra you would need is a video card. It also misses Firewire, which could be missed by some, but not all people. I don’t have anything that uses it, and USB has much more widespread use.

Reports on this boards have it performing well. Most installation of a motherboard and the drivers that come with it is fairly intuitive. But for those who are not so familiar with the process, their instructions leave a little to be desired, so be prepared to seek help online if things don’t go smoothly.

A computer built around this would do well in both the office and home environments. It has enough power for any application and can handle well in games too, as long as it’s combined with a good video card. PCI express allows the use of the latest video cards, but it does not have support for SLI (2 video cards connected to each other to increase performance).

In it’s standard form, the motherboard will do what you want it to do, and do it well. For those who like to overclock, it has the ability, you can see for yourself how far it will go. The board has the capability to go at least 35% over it’s standard 200MHz to about 270MHz.

So overall a fantastic deal in this range…

Pros

• Good price
• Fully featured
• Socket 939
• Dual channel memory

Cons

• No firewire
• Poor instructions

Chaintech GeForce 6600 video card with 256MB DDR for PCI Express

Friday, September 9th, 2005 | Reviews, Video Cards | No Comments

Chaintech are certainly making a name for themselves with good value, but high quality products. This card makes a great upgrade for people looking for excellent performance in games as well as generally.

This card is based around the nVidia GeForce 6600 chipset. This chipset has become known for it’s performance in 3D graphics. For a time it took the lead over it’s main competitor, ATi, in the video card race.

Here is a quick rundown of it’s main features…

• GeForce 6600 chipset
• 256MB memory
• PCI Express
• DVI, HDTV and VGA outputs

Video cards give a noticable boost to the graphics performance of any computer.

The video cards by themselves have what is called a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) which is much like the CPU of your computer, but dedicated to graphics. When using the video capabilities of your motherboard, your main memory is used. A graphics card has it’s own built onto it, so it no longer has to share with the rest of the computer.

Benefits include more memory, so Windows can run more programs more efficiently, with smoother graphics. Mostly noticable in games. 3D performance is boosted with the high quality of it’s GPU, allowing smooth gameplay.

The downside of all this new technology is an increased need for power from the computer’s power supply. If you are running an older computer you might need to upgrade the power supply. Recommended is 300W but 400W might be a safer bet. The card needs a 4 pin power connector.

The other good benefit is the outputs it provides. VGA is the standard that was used with old monitors for years. DVI is often used for LCD monitors. HDTV allows you to use it with your HDTV. This is useful if you plan to use it in your living room for your television.

Here is a roundup of the ups and downs of this card.

Ups

• High performance
• Low priced
• Lots of outputs
• PCI Express connection, for best performance

Downs

• Needs additional power
• Only for more recent computers

Premium 2525 Black ATX Mid-Tower Case with Ultra X-Connect 400W power supply

Friday, September 9th, 2005 | Computer Cases, Reviews | No Comments

This deal is a combination of a decent case with a more than respectable power supply. With the rebates available, it comes to a price which is hard to beat.

The standard sized ATX tower case provides enough room for expansion in terms of slots drive bays.

It is constructed from steal, which is the best bet for a case that comes in this price range. Steel is heavier, but a little more sturdy than an aluminum case. With cheaper aluminum cases the aluminum is very thin to save on cost, which makes it flimsy.

At a glance these are the features of this case…

• 4 DVD drive sized bays
• 2 floppy drive sized bays
• 4 internal bays for hard drives (2 when allowing for spacing)
• 2 USB Ports
• 1 Firewire port
• 2 Audio ports

The external ports are located at the front of the case, very close to the top of the front panel. This is a convenient position for easy access if the case is stored low, like next to your work table.

My favorite thing about this case is that it can use two 12 inch fans.

Why is that such a good thing?

Cases need lots of cooling to keep the hot parts inside from getting too hot. This is achieved by pushing air through the case by using fans. The trouble is that fans make noise, and with anywhere up to 4 8 inch fans or more, your computer can sound more like a jet.

One 12 inch fan moves as much air as two 8 inch fans, but make around the same amount of noise. So two 12 inch can take the place of four 8 inch, but cut the noise in half.

I have reviewed the Ultra power supply before. It looks cool, operates fine and the removable cables are a godsend. The original review can be found at .

Mercury KVT600X-L Via Socket A Motherboard and AMD Athlon XP 3000+

Wednesday, September 7th, 2005 | Motherboards, Reviews | No Comments

The Mercury KVT600X-L Via Socket A Motherboard and AMD Athlon XP 3000+ processor set make a great start to a low priced computer.

The fully-featured motherboard and the ever popular classic the AMD Athlon XP 3000+ make a good pair, and a good start for that low cost system.

The motherboard comes with all the features that can be expected from most motherboards today.

• 2 Memory slots (400MHz DDR)
• Socket A processor socket
• AGP 8x graphics slot
• 5 PCI slots
• SATA and IDE drive support
• USB 2.0
• Sound card built in

Mercury is a new name for me in the computer motherboard industry. There are many out there so it is possible that I missed this one. A low cost motherboard offers many of the same features as more expensive name brand models, but without the attention to detail.

USB 2.0 allows you to attach it to cameras and things like portable memory sticks. Almost essential for today.

The socket A processor interface is dated. There are no longer any processors made for this socket. However this is standard for a value system, so a future upgrade would probably require a motherboard upgrade too.

AGP 8x graphics slot allows you to put a high speed graphics card in for performance in games, and in general use. PCIe is the newer kind, but it has actually not made significant improvements on AGP 8x, yet. The graphics card makes the biggest difference to the graphics of the computer. It frees up memory and takes the workload of graphics away from the processor to increase performance.

5 PCI slots ensure that upgrades will be easy in the future. The PCI interface is the standard for cards that get added to the computer.

SATA is a nice surprise too. SATA is the successor of the IDE interface for hard disks and optical drives. It allows much faster speeds and allows you more options in choosing a hard drive. It does not however offer the RAID capabilities that often come with that interface.

The AMD Athlon XP 3000+ is a classic processor. This chip came out a few years back. It is still a great processor and at the time it was released it was a great deal considering how much performance you could get, as well as it’s good value.

Built in sound rounds off the package.

So in summary…

Good points

• Good features
• Excellent price
• A great combination with the Athlon 3000+
• Great start for a home computer

Bad points

• Outdated socket A
• Less overclocking potential than name-brand models