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Gateway Intel Core2 Duo 1.8 GHz Desktop Computer

Monday, December 17th, 2007 | Desktop Computers, Reviews | 2 Comments

A powerful Core2 Duo processor, 320 GB hard drive and 1 GB of memory give this cheap desktop computer enough power for even the most demanding office uses.

Core2 Duo is not really a hot topic anymore, but the advantages are still there, and the maturity of the Core2 Duo line of processors means that lower speed versions are now available for greatly reduced prices.

In a nutshell, dual core processors like the Intel Core2 Duo offer two little “brains” inside the CPU allowing work load to be spread amongst the two cores, allowing much more efficient processing of information, and therefore, better performance.

Here are some of the other notable features:

• 1.8 GHz Intel Core2 Duo processor
• 1 GB of system memory
• 320 GB hard drive
• PCIe x16 expansion slot
• PCIe x1 expansion slot
• Two PCI expansion slots
• Six USB slots
• On-board audio
• Memory card port
• DVD burner
• Windows Vista Home Premium included

Windows Vista is included in this package, which means that you will not have to install your own operating system unless you really want to. A retail version of Vista can cost a few hundred bucks, so this is a good saving.

Lots of memory is a necessity when running any version of Windows Vista and this Gateway desktop computer comes with 1 GB of DDR2 memory, which is the recommended amount for Vista. It won’t just benefit Vista though. More memory allows more programs to remain within system memory, speeding up system responsiveness and allowing programs to run faster, and allowing more programs to be run at the same time.

There is a host of the usual suspects for system expansion. There are six USB ports, there is a DVD burner, which is a nice extra and one that more system makers should go for as the difference in price between a DVD burner and a normal CD drive is getting so small that is just wastes consumers time having to upgrade, when it should just be standard. There is a flash media reader that will read a range of flash-based media cards. It can read: CompactFlash, MicroDrive, MemoryStick, MemoryStick Pro, xD, SmartMedia, MultiMedia and SecureDigital memory cards. There are also two USB ports in the same media drive. The drive is located on the front panel at the top.

Storage is great, with 320 GB being able to hold around 30 DVD movies assuming movies are about 8 GB each and that you still need a bit of space for other stuff on the computer.

Expansion options are also a great plus. PCIe x16 allows upgrading to the latest and fastest graphics cards, some of which can cost more than this desktop computer does. There is a further PCIe x1 slot for system expansion, as well as two PCI slots for any cards that need to be transfered from older computers.

There is nothing lacking in this cheap desktop computer. Some possible upgrades might include a RAID array for storage, but otherwise all other needs are taken care of. A well-rounded package with enough expansion options for any extras. Add a 17 or 19 inch monitor and it becomes a great all round package.

Systemax Core2 Quad Gaming Computer

Wednesday, December 5th, 2007 | Desktop Computers, gaming | No Comments

A performance specced, but well-priced desktop computer for the home office that can handle occasional gaming stints.

Quad core is not particularly new, but is still the latest selling point for CPU manufacturers. The quad core experience gives you extra computing power by expanding the number of processing cores to handle more tasks, which is a departure from the style of just increasing the clock speed to get more performance.

With a decent motherboard, and most of the obligatory extras there is very little need for upgrading of this Systemax computer. Here is a rundown of the specifications:

• Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 CPU
• Windows XP Home
• SLI capabilities
• 2 GB 800 MHz DDR2
• 250 GB SATA II hard drive
• Gigabit LAN
• GeForce 8600 GT 512 MB PCIe Video Card
• RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5
• Eight USB ports
• Firewire
• PCI and PCIe expansion slots (two each)
• Built-in audio

Quad core processors are all good, and although there is a difference between them, it will probably not be noticeable. Two gigs of RAM is a definite plus, and is about the most memory which will help the system to perform better. Gives a boost to Vista too (although only Windows XP Home is included in the package).

The graphics card will suit non-pro gamers. Even with newer games, performance will be pretty top-notch and as long as the highest quality settings are not chosen should return high frames per second.

Storage is fine, with 250 GB at your disposal. This is the one area where an upgrade might be necessary. With all those RAID features available an extra drive could get: a RAID 0 for nice boost in performance or a RAID 1 for data protection, RAID 5 requires at least 3 drives and RAID 0+1 requires 4, so take your pick.

Other features include USB, firewire, optical output and gigabit Ethernet. Just what the doctor ordered.

There are no special rebates required with this computer, which I prefer and at a whiff under $1000 gives a fair amount of computer for the money.

MSI K9MM-V Socket AM2 Barebone Computer with AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2GHz

Friday, November 23rd, 2007 | Desktop Computers, barebones | 3 Comments

A barebone computer kit taking advantage of the best of AMD’s previous technology, this Athlon 64 based computer offers enough punch for a decent day-to-day computer.

AMD has a lost a bit of its star status as the competitive underdog with its delayed release of quad-core CPUs and delays in a lot of their newer products. The last generation of chips are nothing to be laughed at and still offer enough for home computing applications.

The Athlon 64 managed to pose a serious challenge to the Pentium 4 a few years back, and when the Pentiums were becoming hot enough to warm a family during cold winter nights, the AMD processors were still taking things in their stride.

The 2.2 GHz model represents the mid-range of the old AMD Athlon 64s. And good prices are available because stock needs to move and make way for new models.

Here are some of the main features:

• Mid-tower case
• AMD Athlon 64 2.2 GHz
• MicroATX motherboard
• 100Mbps Ethernet
• AGP 8x expansion slot
• SATA with RAID 0 and RAID 1
• 200 GB IDE hard drive
• 20x DVD writer
• 1 GB PC4200 DDR2
• USB 2.0

My preference is for functional computers that are meant to do a task, despite what the latest technology might be. The fastest computer I run is an Intel Pentium 4 2.2GHz, which is more than adequate. It’s for that reason that I find this deal so appealing.

Firstly, a processor that more than meets the needs of Internet browsing, listening to audio and typing documents, with enough to do other things from time to time.

Secondly, its smaller than a full-size computer. MicroATX is a little smaller than ATX, which I like, don’t need a huge PC if it’s not necessary. The case is also plain looking, but not ugly, serves its purpose.

A gigabyte of memory is fantastic for running multiple applications. Although the processing power might be too little for Windows Vista, it will work wonders on an XP system and allow many applications to run at the same time.

One gripe is the specification of an IDE hard drive, if a computer has SATA, use it. With that said, this is an older model and gets the price advantage. To use SATA and the RAID functions you will have to buy two more hard drives.

Overall the deal is great. Good system with the right extras in the right places, there is also a DVD burner to top things off. A well-rounded system with a tried and test processor and a little extra memory to boot.

Systemax Venture Intel Core2 Duo 2.2GHz and 2GB DDR2

Sunday, November 18th, 2007 | Desktop Computers, News, barebones | No Comments

The Systemax Venture Intel Core2 Duo based computer provides a balance of power and value, with relatively new technology it manages to keep pace with latest developments, while steering clear of ridiculous pricing.

I am always aware of how much new stuff costs, with the rapid drop in prices within a few months of the launch of something new I can always wait. Based on an Intel Core2 Duo processor and with an Intel 945GC + ICH7R chipset, the combination works well, and give a nice overall set of features. They are some of them:

• 2.2GHz Intel Core2 Duo
• 2GB DDR2 RAM
• 500GB SATA II hard drive
• DVD burner

The bits and pieces of this barebones desktop computer look tempting, but lack a little in the up-to-date department. Let’s have a look.

The processor is one of the original, slower Core2 processors, with only a 800MHz FSB, it lacks the speed of the newer 6000 series processors that support 1066/1333MHz FSB. This is not bad in itself, but does mean that any upgrade in processor will mean an upgrade to the motherboard.

The motherboard, based on the Intel 945GC Northbridge chipset is really designed for the older Pentium 4. It only offers up to a 800MHz FSB and will hold back many of the faster chips available today. The other features of the motherboard are quite admirable for a low to mid-range motherboard.

There is a PCIe x16 slot available for a graphics card, good. There are some PCI slots for older cards, good. The SATA ports support RAID, so performance can be increased, or data safety can be increased, both good. The usual array of features are built-in. A network port a few USB ports, and one of the fancy little extras is a panel for memory cards on the front of the box itself.

For the price it does meet some needs. It is great for a computer for right now, but is a little limiting with future upgrade potential, but will remain quite viable for a few years still.

XFX nForce 680i Barebone with Pentium D, SLI and 2GB DDR2

Friday, November 9th, 2007 | Desktop Computers, barebones, gaming | 2 Comments

A stock clearance computer with a lot of decent parts, manages to provide a good spread of parts that by themselves can deliver well, but more importantly provide a good place to upgrade from.

The awe of SLI graphics has mostly died down. The benefits are still there, but hardly provide performance that can’t be achieved by a new graphics card. Not a complete computer, this set will require the addition of a CPU cooler to allow it to be used, and keyboard, mouse and monitor.

The basic kit includes the following:

• Ultra black case
• XFX nForce 680i SLI Socket 775 ATX motherboard
• Pentium D 925 3.0GHz Dual-core processor
• 2 x XFX GeForce 7300 GT 512MB PCIe video cards
• Maxtor 200GB hard drive
• Ultra 400W power supply
• 2 x Crucial 1GB PC5400 DDR2 memory modules

The Ultra black case is nothing special, it will hold your parts and just sit there like most cases should. The clear side will give a little thrill to those who really want to show off their computer’s internals, and lights can be added for a little extra glitz.

The motherboard is well featured with a firewire port, USB ports, 5.1 audio, Ethernet, 2 PCI slots, 2 PCIe x1 slots and SLI capable PCIe slots. Good all round. There are also RAID 0, 1, 0+1 and 5 capabilities that are built onto the motherboard, but the hard drive will need to be upgraded.

The Intel Pentium D processor is one of the first run of dual-core processors from Intel. They are fast and offer speed benefits over their single-core counterparts. But there are some things to note. These processors use a lot of power, up to 135W, which is ultra high compared to the 65W for the Dual Core2 series that is newer, clocked lower and processes faster overall. It is still quick and considering the price, still worth it.

SLI graphics cards bring good performance, especially in SLI mode. Newer graphics cards, namely the 8000 series GeForce cards are more than capable of outperforming these two, but the newer cards are still expensive. These two are GT versions, so they are the fastest of their generation, which works to their favor.

A 200GB IDE hard drive and 400W Ultra power supply round out the package.

The package if fine, and good if you are on a budget. However, considering that top-notch gaming is the realm of the newest components, great deals are always going to set you behind the times. This is fine, but be aware that as games increase in their need for powerful graphics cards and processors, this system will fall behind fairly quickly.

Gateway GT5220 Refurbished AMD Athlon 64 X2 Desktop Computer

Saturday, June 16th, 2007 | Desktop Computers | 1 Comment

At $400 this really is quite a cheap computer, adding in a monitor would still not push the price far above the $500 mark. But will it perform for such a low price.

The AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ is about the cheapest in the X2 series from AMD. This is not a bad thing and still gives a fair amount of performance. It is based on the newer AM2 socket type, which means that you would not be stuck if you wanted to upgrade to a faster CPU at some stage.

The standard set of features is good, having all the necessary extras. A PCIe slot means you will be able to upgrade to a super-fast graphics card, or even a little faster if you wanted to. But I wouldn’t do that unless you are into games or run huge, or multiple monitors.

There is a DVD burner, which is always a plus. Other extras include a card reader that is built into one of the drive bays, a great convenience if you are taking photos and using memory cards a lot. All the other ports are at the front too, making them very accessible, these include 2 USB ports, a firewire port, microphone input and sound output.

The standard hard drive is 250GB and uses an IDE connection. This is fine, but SATA would be the best choice, but that only really applies if you are upgrading to a really fast hard drive.

The choice of Windows XP Media center Edition keeps the cost of the computer down. It doesn’t offer all the features of the professional edition, but should do for home use. Vista is all the rage, but this computer should handle it as it has 1GB or memory, which is about the least I recommend for Vista.

The price is right and the features are good, the case is very user friendly and gives easy access to all the ports you need. It is not the most powerful machine around, but will handle all office applications and general use applications. A good buy, especially considering the price.

Systemax Tigershark Intel Pentium D Dual Core Based Nvidia SLI ready Gaming Computer

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006 | Desktop Computers, Reviews | No Comments

Systemax have become a large producer of computer systems, proudly boasted as being assembled and supported in the USA, they have a good choice of computer components to round out their systems.

The TigerShark is a computer system based on the Intel Pentium D Dual Core processor, and ready for SLI gaming.

The case is fairly functional with the see through side panel that so many people associate with gaming computers. The front panels open up to reveal the optical drives and the USB ports are at the side of the front panel.

By packaging the standard model with the Pentium 805, they have managed to keep the price down. The 805 however is only cool for those who like to overclock as the standard speeds are not that impressive, especially seeing how much this computer system costs. You can upgrade to faster options if you want, which will only cost you a little more, and are probably worth it.

The Asus P5ND2-SLI nForce motherboard is a good choice and cannot be changed anyway. You have the choice between the 7900GT and GTX from BFG for the graphics card and you can opt for two cards for SLI.

Hard drive options are numerous, but keeping with speed, many of them offer the Raptor series from Western Digital. There are also options for RAID arrays, bigger drives, and apart from the main setup, room for extra drives so you can have a fast operating sytem drive and a big, second drive for all those DVDs and home movies on you computer.

The rest of the computer components are quite standard and many of them you might want to choose something besides the standard options. If you do order something else, you will have to do the installation yourself, so if you really don’t like to put in computer components by yourself, go for the standard ones.

Finally, if you really want a fast computer, but are don’t want to get down and dirty building your own system, this one will do nicely. Those who want ultimate customization will likely need to choose parts individually.

What is a silent computer?

Friday, September 22nd, 2006 | Desktop Computers, News | No Comments

The folks over at Silent PC Review have taken a close look at what actually constitutes a noiseless PC. Notably there was a time when computer manufacturers referred to their computers as noise free, but were actually not.

The take a close look at the difference between a computer that makes enough noise for us to hear, and one which is quiet enough for us to not notice. Noise issues like the regularity of sound are taken into account. For example a irregular sound that goes up and down is much more annoying and noticeable than perhaps a “louder” sound that stays constant, allowing us to block it out.

An apt article from a site dedicated to quiet computers.

Read it here: What is a Silent computer

Your own 4GHz Dual Core computer for only $720

Wednesday, June 14th, 2006 | Desktop Computers, News | No Comments

With the recent interest in the Dual Core D805 from Intel and its ability to be overclocked very far due to its lower front bus speed, Tomshardware have put together a “gaming computer” using this processor at it’s core.

Setting up a case with a water cooling solution and installing appropriate parts, they show that you really can make a very good computer from this budget chip. Although there is some argument as to whether they made the best choices on the parts, the point is that it is fairly simple to achieve these high speeds for a very low price.

The dual core D805 is in essence the same chip as its bigger brothers. In order to keep costs down, manufacturers make an entire series using exactly the same chips and then change the multipliers in order to get the different models in the range, with appropriate pricing to match.

Water cooling is essential if you want to hit 4GHz with the processor. Unfortunately heat increases very quickly as clock speeds are increased and can become a worry when overclocking so far beyond specifications. However, as noted in their forums, there isn’t really too much of a worry. If you compare it to the others in the range, it is not really being pushed so far as the silicone used is exectly the same. Heat still needs to be kept down though.

Nearly any old case will do, get a decent LGA775 motherboard which allows good overclocking and you’re set.

Every now and again these little gems pop up, there are people who jump no the bandwagon and those who think its just silly and express all sorts of doubts. Well, if you are thinking of upgrading and you do fancy putting together your own computer that will probably beat any pre-built computer hands down, then this might be your best bet.

LINK

Systemax Vitality DH950 Intel VIIV Pentium D 950 3.4GHz Desktop Computer System

Friday, June 9th, 2006 | Desktop Computers, Reviews | No Comments

This systemax computer is aimed at being a media center computer. It has all the stuff it needs, but are they adequate and do they warrant the price tag on this system.

The main feature that stands out for this computer is that it is Intel VIIV certified. What this means is that the whole system contains Intel parts, which match up to a certain level of performance, and that it has Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition installed as the operating system. It doesn’t really guarantee that you get anything better, just that it meets those minimum system levels.

The main complaint I have with this system is one that I have with many of the media center computers out there, and that is that they all still look like computers. They just don’t mix with the look of other entertainment center equipment, making it hard to match and fit in well.

With an Intel Pentium D 950 3.4GHz processor, 1GB or RAM, a 400GB hard drive and a DVD burner, you will get more than enough power for an entertainment computer. The standard video inputs and outputs, 6 USB ports, firewire at the back, card reader at the front and network connection at the back ensure that you have everything you will need.

The remote control, wireless mouse and keyboard are fantastic. Being able to use the keyboard and mouse away from the computer make the experience of using this computer as part of a home entertainment that much more pleasurable. They really do add to the ease of using the sytem.

Finally, I can’t imagine any really good reason for the inclusion of the speakers. They would certainly be good for a personal computer, but if this is a media PC, there would certainly be a hifi around, wouldn’t there.

You do get good parts and good options, however it is a little expensive and there are probably more budget versions, perhaps without the VIIV markings, and without the extra speakers that would be more suitable.