Filed under: Desktops

As you very well know, Lenovo’s entirely more associated with rock solid laptops than desktops of any stature, but that’s not stopping the outfit from dishing out a new tower today for under four bills. The H210 sports a glossy black finish, Lenovo’s VeriFace facial recognition technology (which bites, by the way) and a feature dubbed File Management to “save critical data on a special system partition in the event of system failure.” As for specs, you’ll find your choice of Intel’s dual-core E2200 or the Core 2 Duo E7200, between 2GB and 4GB of RAM, 500GB / 640GB hard drive, a dual-layer DVD writer, Intel’s GMA3100 graphics set and a bunch of software you’ll probably find more annoying than useful. It’s available now for those somehow enthused starting at $399.

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Filed under: Desktops, Displays, Media PCs

Acer believes you’re seeking a PC with a Blu-ray drive and formidable storage space so you can watch hours and hours of high definition video. That’s why it’s introducing the AX3200 desktop (suggested retail: $679.99) and the P244W 24-inch 1080p LCD display ($399) — to fill that consumer electronics-shaped hole that you didn’t even know existed within you. The compact desktop sports an AMD Phenom X3 8450 triple-core processor, 4GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive, and NVIDIA’s GeForce 8200 integrated graphics chip. The graphics solution won’t rev up the frames in modern computer games — especially not at the P244W’s 1920 x 1080 resolution — but it’ll do fine for watching movies, and there are tons of great Blu-ray releases out there by now, right? Right?

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Filed under: Desktops

Really, eMachines? You’re honestly going to give your newest cheap-o PC this kind of tagline? Truth be told, we’re not exactly sure what a standard sized dictionary even looks like (there’s this thing called the internet…), but apparently, it’s exactly the same size as the EL1200 desktop. Not sassy enough to be called a nettop, this here mini-tower is 40% smaller and 55% lighter than the company’s second tiniest rig, and while it won’t handle the likes of Crysis, it shouldn’t have too many issues surfing the web and opening Word documents. As for specs, we’ve got a 1.5GHz AMD Athlon 2650e 64-bit CPU, NVIDIA’s GeForce 6150SE integrated graphics, 1GB of DDR2, 160GB hard drive, a dual-layer DVD burner, 14-in-1 multicard reader, seven USB 2.0 ports and a $298 (MSRP) price tag. That system we just rattled off is available now at Wally World, while a slightly more stacked edition can be had at Best Buy for $349.

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Filed under: Desktops

Let’s not beat around the bush: AMD’s oft-delayed Barcelona quad-core processor was a flop. It arrived late and buggy, an undesirable reception that helped to drive the company’s $1.2 billion Q2 loss this year. AMD can’t afford another flub like that and is hoping that processor’s successor, Shanghai, finds more success in the server market. It’s a 45nm quad-core chip with three times the cache (6MB) and HyperTransport 3, apparently equating to a 20 percent boost in speed and even thriftier power consumption. AMD is saying the chip is already under production and will be available for sale before the year is out, actually beating expectations for once. That should be shortly followed by the release of 45nm Deneb processors for desktops, then six-core Istanbul chips sometime late 2009. Meanwhile, Intel’s six-core, 45nm server chips are now shipping.

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Filed under: Desktops, Media PCs

After spending a bit of time with Sony’s new all-in-one desktop lineup at CEDIA 2008, it was easy to recognize that some serious thought went into the design. CNET was able to corral one of the lower-end JS units, the VAIO VGC-JS190J to be specific, and took the time to determine whether the innards were as delightful as the exterior. Overall, critics found that it was the “best deal” going on an all-in-one desktop with an inbuilt Blu-ray drive, and amazingly, they found it “relatively free of software clutter.” Furthermore, they yearned for more screen space than just 20-inches when watching those BD flicks, but outside of that, they found that “no other all-in-one, including Apple’s iMac, could do as much, as fast, for the same price.” Sounds like a winner, no?

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Filed under: Desktops, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Media PCs

We were already warned that Sony was gearing up to push the Blu-ray / HD recording abilities of its VAIO machines, and here’s all the proof you need that it plans on keeping its word. Here at CEDIA, the outfit has unveiled a trio of new all-in-one desktop PCs — not quite ready for an HTPC label, but definitely catering to the hordes of high-def junkies out there. The VAIO JS, LV and RT desktop models all boast at least an optional integrated BD optical drive, and surprisingly, each model is incredibly distinct. For instance, the budget-minded JS boasts a 20.1-inch XBRITE-ECO LCD alongside an integrated webcam and microphone for $1,000, while the LV includes a 24-inch WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) screen, optional BD writer and built-in DVR functionality with up to 1TB of storage; furthermore, it offers an HDMI input for connecting your set-top-box or PS3. The $3,300 (and up) RT comes with a 25.5-inch Full HD LCD aimed at video editors, and there’s also integrated digital TV tuners, HDMI in / out, up to 8GB of RAM and one of Intel’s Core 2 Quad CPUs. The trifecta should arrive in mid-October for those interested, and there’s one more luscious angle after the break.

Continue reading Sony busts out VAIO JS, LV and RT all-in-one desktops, includes Blu-ray

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Filed under: Desktops

Wait a second — are absurdly large, overdecorated gaming desktops making a comeback? With Acer’s Aspire Predator and ASUS’ ARES CG6155 lighting up eyes everywhere, we’re beginning to think yes — particularly when you take one glance at Packard Bell’s elephantine ipower X2.0. Revealed at the Electronic Sports World Cup in Paris, this beast features a tremendously large, high-gloss chassis, a liquid cooling system, a dedicated lock to keep PCB snatchers at bay and a nice array of components including Intel’s Core 2 Quad / Extreme processor, a Blu-ray optical drive, hybrid TV tuner, up to 3TB of storage, a NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2, a 21-in-1 card reader and a gaming keyboard / mouse. Somehow, Packard Bell is managing to offer this thing up for anywhere between £999 ($1,979) and £infinity, but don’t count on securing one ’til Christmas. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via Trusted Reviews]

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Filed under: Desktops

So, we hear you’re edging ever closer to pulling the trigger on a shiny new XPS 420, huh? Lucky you, as it looks like Dell just opened up your options. While the only processor choices on the XPS 630 are the E8500 and the absurdly expensive QX6850 (it’s an $850 addition), the XPS 420 now has a half dozen CPUs to pick from. Most notably, users can now get their rig equipped with a Core 2 Quad Q9300 / Q9450, both of which provide much more oomph than the baseline chips while not forcing you to refinance your home and pick the QX9650. So, when can the aforesaid 630 expect similar selections?

[Thanks, Evan]

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Filed under: Desktops

Remember those AMD Business Class desktops we told you about, oh, just hours ago? Looks like the first of the family are starting to roll out, beginning with the HP Compaq dc5850 and dx2450 Business Desktop PCs. Both rigs support “next-generation AMD Business Class processors” (that’s the Athlon X2, Phenom X3 and Phenom X4) along with the usual complement of slots / ports, and while the former gets integrated ATI Radeon 3100 graphics, AMD’s Cool’n'Quiet 2.0 technology, up to 8GB of RAM, an optional dual-drive RAID setup and a dual-layer DVD writer, the latter boasts NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE graphics, room for 4GB of RAM and up to 500GB of SATA HDD space. Best of all, both machines come in pretty easy on the wallet, with the dc5850 hitting in early May for $599 and the dx2450 available now for $369.

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Filed under: Desktops

Under most circumstances, we too would take one glance at the monolith pictured above and scream in horror. But of course, we’re entirely sure you’re familiar with the wacky machines emerging from NextComputing. The ultra-tough Vigor Evo HD is hailed as the company’s “highest performance rugged workstation,” and besides offering up a floating chassis which absorbs all sorts of bumps and shocks, it also comes with a 17-inch LCD plastered right on the side. Said panel is covered with a hard-coated protective screen, and sitting just beneath that is your choice of AMD / Intel processors, up to four PCIe or PCI-X 64-bit slots, a dual-layer DVD writer, up to 3TB of internal HDD space and most everything else you’d find in a pre-fab desktop. Of course, it loses the vast majority of its intimidation factor when equipped with the optional wheels / telescoping handle package, but we won’t tell anyone if you’re not man / woman enough to lug it over your shoulder.

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Filed under: Desktops

You all laugh at us for religiously trawling the FCC site during our rare free moments, and yet every once in awhile those countless hours of tedium pay off big time: meet Dell’s unannounced all-in-one XPS One. What we’re seeing here is a 22-inch WSXGA (1,680 x 1,050) display flanked by stereo speakers (with media buttons running up one side), topped off by a webcam, and featuring a slot-loading Blu-ray burner along the right bezel. On the inside we’ve got a number of processor options from Intel (the FCC test unit had a 2.66GHz E6750 Core 2 Duo), integrated or ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 graphics, up to 4GB of RAM, four-flavor WiFi plus Bluetooth, and the usual slew of connectors including S/PDIF and a proprietary port for an optional breakout TV dongle. Input comes via the included wireless mouse and keyboard, and Dell’s also loaded up a memory card reader, making for quite the capable multimedia PC. We’d expect this desktop to be priced well above the recent Gateway model with which it shares a moniker — which isn’t such a big deal, really, as $2,000+ price tags have never really stopped XPS customers before. For all the angles, make sure to hit up the gallery below…

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Desktops

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Desktops, HDTV, Media PCs

Just last month, we heard rumblings that HP may begin offering up two-faced optical drives in its desktops, and sure enough, a variety of select Pavilions are now being served up with HD DVD and / or Blu-ray compatibility. The d4995t, m9000t and m9000z all give users the option of purchasing a vanilla dual-layer DVD burner, an HD DVD / Blu-ray combo player (that also burns DVDs), or a drive that burns Blu-ray / DVD and reads HD DVD. Additionally, a number of lesser-spec’d rigs also provide users the option of picking up an HD combo drive of some sort, and you can even snap up ATI’s TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner on the d4995t and m9000t (among others).

[Thanks, Ryan]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!