Oct 14, 2008 - Lenovo keeps thinking small. Recently the company delivered slim ultraportables such as the ThinkPad X200 and IdeaPad U110. Now it's jumping into the mini-notebook scene with the impressive IdeaPad S10. Despite its "mini" status, the S10 manages to house some big-boy features.
Oct 23, 2008 - Toshiba's Satellite A305-S6864 may not have a name that rolls off the tongue. When you combine its handsome looks with its great sound and reasonable $1149 price tag, however, it quickly becomes a tasty-looking budget laptop choice. Even so, one major shortcoming will turn off frequent travelers--but I'll get to that soon enough.
Oct 14, 2008 - Acer's first Aspire One mini-notebook was a Linux-based model that impressed us despite its modest components. Now the Windows XP Home version of Aspire One is here, packed with a larger hard drive and more RAM. Though it isn't superswift, the latest Aspire One is a fine machine at a fantastic price.
Nov 26, 2008 - If you're looking for a speedy ultraportable laptop without breaking the bank, look no further than the Asus U6V-A1. This $1649, Windows Vista Business-based notebook offers up strong performance scores and is a nicely balanced overall system.
Dec 11, 2008 - Welcome back, Samsung. You've been laying low in the U.S. market when it comes to notebooks, but after kicking the tires on the X460, I can honestly say you were missed. I mean, you manage to craft a 14.1-inch thin-and-light all-purpose notebook that's perfectly road-ready and goes toe-to-toe with Lenovo's ThinkPad X300--even though the X300 is an ultraportable-class machine.
Dec 11, 2008 - In recent months, Samsung has been lying low in the U.S. notebook market. But its new X360 is an interesting contender among ultraportable models--sleek enough to take on the Lenovo ThinkPad X300 or even the ThinkPad X200. Though its sex appeal can't match that of the Apple MacBook Air or the HP Voodoo Envy 133, this slim little machine may have enough positives to win you away from Lenovo's competing models--if you have a spare $2500.
Apr 24 - Samsung's NC10 isn't just a netbook--it's a series of interesting choices. It scores a couple points with a good screen, great battery life, and keys sized appropriately for human hands. However, before we rip into this review, you should be aware that a better, more satisfying model--the Samsung N110--is on the scene as well.
Strengths: Light, fast and a great keyboard.
Weaknesses: Hate the touchpad. Wish the little slip bag that came with it had room for power cord and mouse.
Overall Evaluation: I teach online classes and will be out of the country for a few weeks. Since I essentially need only internet and word processing, this fit the bill. The screen size does not bother me for what I am doing and I feel no difference with the keyboard. Do hate the touchpad so I just use an external mouse. The little bag that came with it is attractive for a trip to Starbuck's, but when you need to take the power cord (and a mouse)it is not enough. Oh yeah, pick up this month's Consumer Reports magazine and you will see this is their top pick.
Apr 29 - Yet another notebook trend is on the rise: Laptops that try to straddle the fine line between portable media player and desktop replacement. They sport comparatively large displays (and footprints) with lower price tags than one would assume for the privilege. Take Samsung's R610. This notebook shows promise--but also may be a source of mobile frustration. It's attractive enough on the outside, and the $899 asking price is appealing enough, but unfortunately the underwhelming quality of its 16-inch-diagonal screen makes the R610 a tough sell.
Apr 18 - For a power PC that tilts toward general functionality and away from gaming prowess, look no further than the Xi Mtower PCIe 965 ($3796 as of March 1, 2009). For the price, this system delivers eye-catching general performance, only to disappoint on our gaming tests.
Aug 22, 2008 - Polywell certainly named this power desktop computer correctly. Its 3.2-GHz Core 2 X9770 CPU is Intel's current state-of-the-art Extreme (overclockable) chip, which means that this is an extremely fast desktop. At $4799 (as of August 8, 2008), it's also extremely expensive. Then again, no one ever said state-of-the-art would be cheap; the X9770 CPU alone costs nearly $1500; the equally fresh-from-the-mint MSI nVidia GeForce GTX280 graphics card, about $500; and the 4GB of DDR3 1600 memory goes for nearly as much. But the steep cash outlay that's called for buys you a knock-your-socks-off WorldBench 6 score of 141, as well as a gaming experience of 207 to 266 frames per second. Extremely fast indeed.
Dec 23, 2008 - Micro Express' MicroFlex 92B offers a tantalizing mixture of performance and price. The modest $1599 investment (as of December 3, 2008; $200 extra with an LG Electronics W1942 display) provides plenty of room to transform this power desktop into a full-fledged gaming monster, should you so choose later in its life.
Apr 24 - The CyberPower Gamer Xtreme XT-K occupies the frontier between gaming PCs and power PCs. In view of its low price ($1499, as of April 16, 2009), we expected to see some cracks in the foundation, but this system surprised us by delivering a number of top-notch elements, including stronger graphics performance than we've seen in any other power PC we've tested to date. Our test system incorporated an Intel 2.66-GHz Core i7 920 CPU (possessing the slowest frequency of all the Core i7 chips), along with 3GB of DDR3-1600 RAM, an Asus P6T Deluxe motherboard, and a 1TB Western Digital Caviar Green Power hard drive.
Apr 24 - The iBuyPower Gamer Paladin F860 has a peculiar moniker. Paladin? Its general performance indicates that this system is closer to a stable hand than to an itinerant warrior (and given its size, the roaming it does is unlikely to be far, far from home).
May 6 - AVADirect's Core i7 SLI/CrossFireX DDR3 Gaming System fails in the naming department, but I'll assume that the company's PC builders were too busy squeezing every last drop of performance out of this impressive machine to come up with a clever label. AVADirect's system isn't the fastest gaming PC we've tested, but it sure comes close. Factor in its $1840 price tag (as of 5/4/09)--nearly half the cost of the most inexpensive computers on our Top 5 Gaming PCs list--and it's hard to resist this system's allure.
Feb 24 - Gateway has put all the bells and whistles on its FX6800-01e desktop--it's either a killer value PC or an inexpensive power PC, take your pick. No matter what you call it, this system offers compelling performance for its price. Though it isn't the all-out best value PC for its $1250 price tag, the FX6800-01e did deliver near tip-top results, even in the current-generation games we threw at it.
Jan 8 - True to its style of building tricked-out systems, Maingear has launched its first foray into AMD's Phenom II architecture: a souped-up, overclocked machine dubbed the Dash. Since the capacity for overclocking is a large component of AMD's Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition processor, we were quite curious to see how an overpowered system would fare against PCs based on Intel's Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, and Core i7 processors. The Dash holds its own against most tested value PCs (rightly so, as its $1499 price is at the top end of the category), but struggles against most of the desktops in our Top 10 Power PCs chart, some of which cost only a few hundred dollars more.
Jan 8 - The $1499 (without monitor) Dell XPS 625 is at the high end of our sub-$1500 value PC category in both performance and price. But if you're willing to consider systems priced just a few hundred dollars more, which throws Intel Core 2 Quad-based systems into the mix, Dell's machine loses its mojo.
Feb 24 - The $1399 (as of 2/2/09) Polywell MiniBox 780G-940 is a bit different from the standard Dragon-platform PCs of the Phenom II variety. Its 3.0-GHz X4 940 processor resides on an Asus motherboard with a 780G chip set, but among that AMD-heavy mix of parts sits an outsider: one of nVidia's latest graphics cards, the GeForce GTX285. Unfortunately, the parts combined don't deliver performance to rival any of the other Phenom II PCs we've tested at the time of this writing.
Nov 20, 2008 - Falcon Northwest's Mach V gaming desktop is a firecracker inside a beautiful aluminum chassis. While the Silverstone Temjin TJ03 full tower case itself is nothing new, the Mach V's internal setup represents the fastest PC we have ever tested on nearly every benchmark we could toss at this overclocked monstrosity.
Dec 23, 2008 - Micro Express' MicroFlex 92B offers a tantalizing mixture of performance and price. The modest $1599 investment (as of December 3, 2008; $200 extra with an LG Electronics W1942 display) provides plenty of room to transform this power desktop into a full-fledged gaming monster, should you so choose later in its life.
HP Pavilion D4000e ReviewJul 27, 2005 - The HP Pavilion D4000e is a reasonable choice for any business or individual seeking an economical power system rather than a top-notch gaming or graphics platform.
HP Pavilion a1510n ReviewOct 19, 2006 - The Pavilion a1510n puts together an appealing mix of performance, cost, and features for anyone seeking an affordable, basic PC.
Compact Case Is Designed for Smaller Work Areas
This compact computer is smaller than the standard and midsize tower PCs that fit under your desk, making it ideal for limited work areas. Small case designs vary, too. However, such PCs tend to be underpowered (especially on gaming), and mini cases also have few available expansion slots and drive bays. Generally you'll have to expand the system via USB, FireWire, or eSATA peripherals, so make sure your compact system has a large number (and assortment) of ports.
Compact Case Is Designed for Smaller Work Areas
This compact computer is smaller than the standard and midsize tower PCs that fit under your desk, making it ideal for limited work areas. Small case designs vary, too. However, such PCs tend to be underpowered (especially on gaming), and mini cases also have few available expansion slots and drive bays. Generally you'll have to expand the system via USB, FireWire, or eSATA peripherals, so make sure your compact system has a large number (and assortment) of ports.
Strengths: extremely quietfast speed
Weaknesses: i must agree with the other reviewer, for some reason I prefer XP over vista but so far I've had no problems with vista.
Overall Evaluation: This has been a great buy for me. It is a huge improvement over the last desktop I had, which happened to crash. The HP a6400f is extremely fast and can handle a lot of programs that are running simultaneously without choking up. The best thing about it is it's sound...you can barely hear it! Even if you put a CD in you hardly notice the computer is doing something. I would recommend you shop around and find a better deal on this product, I bought mine for around $420 with shipping included. Ok i love you
Strengths: Quad-core, 4GB RAM, all necessary multi-media components & BluRay!
Weaknesses: Intel chipset (G33).
Overall Evaluation: This is a nice, fast system. Got it for less than $800 on eBay with live.com cashback discount ($200 off). You can't really go wrong, but if youi're not into Vista, be sure to do your homework regarding downgrading to XP, and get all the necessary drivers beforehand (and create your restore disks first!).
Core 2 CPU: One of Intel's Latest and Greatest Is Inside
This system is built around one of Intel's latest, greatest processors. The Core 2 Duo consists of two separate CPUs on a single die, sharing the same second-level cache. If this machine has a Core 2 Quad, that's two Duos married on the same die for a total of four cores. Meanwhile, Extreme Edition Core 2 processors, aimed at enthusiasts and gamers, are unlocked for overclocking, a process in which you increase the clock multiplier (9X, 10X, and so on) without increasing the computer's frontside bus speed (1066 MHz, 1333 MHz, or the like).
Most consumer applications can't take advantage of more than two cores, so spend the extra money on four cores only if you'll be using an application that you're certain can utilize them. Intel has strayed from the Celeron designation for its budget CPUs, so be sure to check a given processor's cache size and price (more of each roughly indicates faster performance) before buying.
Strengths: Fast, easy to use, 4gb ram, stylish
Weaknesses: n/a
Overall Evaluation: This is one great PC, whether it be for home, home office, office, or gamers. This computer is fast with its Quad Core, 4GB Ram, and 640GB hard drive. You certainly need at least 2gb when running Windows Vista, & 4gb is certainly better. We highly recommend this computer.
Apr 18 - This $3799 (as of March 1, 2009) gaming PC is a warship of a desktop rig, with connections for a extensive range of cables. Though the Black Pearl varies in performance from average to great depending on the game you're playing, it is a solid PC for the price.
This compact computer is smaller than the standard and midsize tower PCs that fit under your desk, making it ideal for limited work areas. Small case designs vary, too. However, such PCs tend to be underpowered (especially on gaming), and mini cases also have few available expansion slots and drive bays. Generally you'll have to expand the system via USB, FireWire, or eSATA peripherals, so make sure your compact system has a large number (and assortment) of ports.
This compact computer is smaller than the standard and midsize tower PCs that fit under your desk, making it ideal for limited work areas. Small case designs vary, too. However, such PCs tend to be underpowered (especially on gaming), and mini cases also have few available expansion slots and drive bays. Generally you'll have to expand the system via USB, FireWire, or eSATA peripherals, so make sure your compact system has a large number (and assortment) of ports.
This compact computer is smaller than the standard and midsize tower PCs that fit under your desk, making it ideal for limited work areas. Small case designs vary, too. However, such PCs tend to be underpowered (especially on gaming), and mini cases also have few available expansion slots and drive bays. Generally you'll have to expand the system via USB, FireWire, or eSATA peripherals, so make sure your compact system has a large number (and assortment) of ports.
This compact computer is smaller than the standard and midsize tower PCs that fit under your desk, making it ideal for limited work areas. Small case designs vary, too. However, such PCs tend to be underpowered (especially on gaming), and mini cases also have few available expansion slots and drive bays. Generally you'll have to expand the system via USB, FireWire, or eSATA peripherals, so make sure your compact system has a large number (and assortment) of ports.
This compact computer is smaller than the standard and midsize tower PCs that fit under your desk, making it ideal for limited work areas. Small case designs vary, too. However, such PCs tend to be underpowered (especially on gaming), and mini cases also have few available expansion slots and drive bays. Generally you'll have to expand the system via USB, FireWire, or eSATA peripherals, so make sure your compact system has a large number (and assortment) of ports.
his compact computer is smaller than the standard and midsize tower PCs that fit under your desk, making it ideal for limited work areas. Small case designs vary, too. However, such PCs tend to be underpowered (especially on gaming), and mini cases also have few available expansion slots and drive bays. Generally you'll have to expand the system via USB, FireWire, or eSATA peripherals, so make sure your compact system has a large number (and assortment) of ports.
This compact computer is smaller than the standard and midsize tower PCs that fit under your desk, making it ideal for limited work areas. Small case designs vary, too. However, such PCs tend to be underpowered (especially on gaming), and mini cases also have few available expansion slots and drive bays. Generally you'll have to expand the system via USB, FireWire, or eSATA peripherals, so make sure your compact system has a large number (and assortment) of ports.
This compact computer is smaller than the standard and midsize tower PCs that fit under your desk, making it ideal for limited work areas. Small case designs vary, too. However, such PCs tend to be underpowered (especially on gaming), and mini cases also have few available expansion slots and drive bays. Generally you'll have to expand the system via USB, FireWire, or eSATA peripherals, so make sure your compact system has a large number (and assortment) of ports.
