Chip Chick » Desktops

AMD Vision Looks to Make Computer Purchases More Transparent for Consumers

Ali — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:27:50 +0000

This past week we got a hands on demo of the new AMD Vision concept. Basically, AMD will be cutting out all of the complicated noise involved in choosing a processor by telling people exactly what they want to know when they buy a computer. Earlier in the year, Intel had hinted about making this leap too, but it seems AMD has beaten them to the punch.This new marketing system will be broken down by AMD Vision, AMD Vision Premium, and AMD Ultimate. Consumers will be able to go to the AMD Visions website, select some options of what they intend to use their computer for, and AMD will then tell you which ‘AMD Vision’ is perfect for you. Of course for more technical users, the specs and details of the chipset etc will still be available. However for the average consumer that just wants to know if it plays games, can handle Blu-ray, or edit video – choosing the right system for their budget, will now be much clearer. This will be a much simpler way of purchasing a computer and I think that this is a welcome innovation to the average consumer who just wants something fast and doesn’t get GHz vs Mhz. Now we just have to wait and see if HP, Dell, and every other desktop manufacturer that offers AMD chips will adopt this new Vision of AMD.

Hands on with the Dell Zino HD

Chip Chick — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:43:08 +0000

Tonight we got a hands on with the Dell Zino HD. The new PC is a little bigger than the Mac Mini, and no doubt takes some design cues from Mini. However the Zino HD throws in HDMI out for a 1080p connection to your home theater. It’s also available with a selection of custom “lids” (AKA faceplates). The Zino’s HD specs are still under wraps and will be revealed on thursday. But in the meanwhile we can tell you that the system will be powered by AMD, and that the pricing will be extremely competitive/affordable.

Update: The pricing for the Dell Zino HD is now available for purchase.

Decorative Wooden CPU Stand Transforms Your PC into an Antique

Chip Chick — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:46:03 +0000

Have you ever wished you could make your PC blend in better with your furnishings, specifically the antique kind?Well one way to do that would be to mod your computer case – Steampunk style. But not everyone has the skills nor patience to be a modder. Instead you can pick up this wooden stand and keyboard holder. This set isn’t just made out of wood, but it features an intricately carved medallion which adds a certain style and grace to your computer system that is hard to accomplish with modern day electronics alone. You can pick up the wooden CPU Stand & Keyboard Holder for $200 each at Neiman Marcus, where it’s an exclusive.

New Compaq PCs Offer Value for the Money and Still Manage to Look Nice

Chip Chick — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:17:27 +0000

HP’s Compaq PCs have been doing very well overseas in countries like India where affordable pricing and value is essential. Now HP is further expanding the Compaq brand to the U.S. where they’re hoping that these PCs will appeal to first time computer buyers, families with young kids and small businesses. Fortunately, despite the low price tags, this new Presario line is looking pretty slick. Check out the gallery for more details.

HP TouchSmart 300 and HP TouchSmart 600 Do Twitter and Hulu Out of the Box

Chip Chick — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:00:39 +0000

HP has released two new TouchSmart All-in-one PCs and these latest models come preloaded with an impressive, and very much improved upon set of built-for-touch applications. The TouchSmart 300 sports a stunning 20″ widescreen, and the TouchSmart 600 has an equally stunning 23″ widescreen. Aside from having one of the best displays on the market with super bright and vivid colors, the TouchSmart 600 in particular is going to be lusted after by gamers. That is because the TouchSmart 600 has HDMI and Composite Video inputs that let you connect a Xbox, PS2 or Wii in to it so that you can use it as a display for your video game console. This is an incredibly unique and very useful feature for an All-in-one PC.

The systems also come with Netflix, Twitter, Hulu Desktop, HP Music Store by Rhapsody, Canvas photo collage software, and a great recipe app that will read recipes out loud to you while you cook and it will also automatically scrape recipes in to your when you browse new recipes on your favorite web sites. The displays also take full advantage of Windows 7 Multi-Touch capabilities, allowing you to scroll, drag, flick, pinch, pan, zoom, and rotate at your fingertips. Other notable features include Blu-ray, up to 8Gb of ram and optional SSD drives.

HP TouchSmart 9100 Business PC Aims to Transform the Retail Shopping Experience

Chip Chick — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:34:48 +0000

There is a good chance that you’ll be seeing the HP TouchSmart 9100 Business PC in a hotel lobby, or in a retail store sometime soon. This 23″ TouchSmart has been specifically designed to work in business environments where customers and visitors can use it to engage in applications. For example, the HP TouchSmart 9100 running Priscilla of Boston Application will roll out to several of Priscilla of Boston retail stores. The TouchSmart combined with the app will let shoppers interactively browse through dresses and outfits, without having to keep running to the fitting room to try on each new style or color. As a matter of fact, the system will actually end up in many of the actual fitting rooms at Priscilla of Boston.

HP Elite 7000 Business Desktop PC Wants to Edit Video With You

Chip Chick — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:14:53 +0000

The new HP Elite 7000 Business Desktop is a business PC with multimedia chops. The Elite PC has been redesigned with a high-gloss black finish exterior. Under the hood you can expect the latest and most powerful Intel Processors, along with 8GB of memory, hard drives up to 1TB, and optional SSD drives. This is a workhorse PC designed for businesses that will do great for video editing. Pricing begins at $789.

HP Pavilion MS200 Review

Chip Chick — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:42:57 +0000

The new MS200 is a new all-in-one PC from HP that promises good value in a slim form-factor. The HP MS200 essentially fills in the gap between high performance all-in-ones like HP’s TouchSmart series, and low cost nettops. Even though it’s a bit more expensive than a nettop, the MS200 is the right PC for someone on a budget, but willing to spend a little more to get extra performance then what you get with the average nettop, particularly when it comes to video game performance. For $599, the MS200 comes with a discrete graphics card that helps make video playback smoother, and also affords users the luxury of playing computer games. Under the hood the MS200 runs on an AMD 1.5GHz Athlon dual-core processor with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics card, a 320GB hard drive, 6 USB ports, a web cam, a memory card reader, and a DVD burner with LightScribe.

Design:
The MS200 sports a pleasing minimalist black All-in-one design with a metal base that isn’t quite as slick as HP’s TouchSmart PCs but it’s good looking enough fit in well in most decors. The right side of the MS200 sports three buttons – a CD eject button, and brightness increase and decrease buttons. The left side houses a memory card reader, two usb ports, and headphone and mic jacks. The remaining ports (USB and lan) reside on the backside. Because of its clean-cut looks, in some ways the MS200’s seems more like a business machine. That said, while it isn’t HP’s most beautiful PC, it is slick enough to fit in just as well in your living room as it would in your office.

Performance:
Performing day to day tasks, the MS200, running Windows 7 Premium operates snappily. The system garnered a score of 2782 PCmarks in PCMark05 and 1057 3DMarks in 3DMark06. That means that while not the fastest performer on the block, the MS200 is a lot faster than your average nettop and much more capable of playing video games than your average nettop. This isn’t a system for serious gamers but it is appropriate for the casual gamer since the ATI Radeon HD 3200 will let them play those games, while a traditional nettop would not. The system also plays back 1080p files very smoothly and performs well with multimedia tasks. However, the display can’t take advantage of the 1080p resolution.

Display:
Speaking of the display, unlike HP’s TouchSmart series, the MS200 does not sport a touch sensitive screen. Also, its 1366×768 resolution is disappointing for a 18.5 inch screen. Furthermore, its matte display was a bit of a shock to us. If you prefer a matte display then you’re actually in luck since it is very difficult to find all-in-one computers with matte displays. However, we prefer the glossy displays that have become the standard nowadays, and HP tends to make great glossy displays with rich colors, so we were a little disappointed by the matte. We would at-least like to have the option of choosing between the two. Fortunately, the display’s colors are pretty rich, viewing angles are acceptable and the brightness levels are good.

Ports:
You get 6 USB ports on the back and side of the system, along with a lan port for an ethernet cable. And if you decide to use the bundled wired keyboard and mouse, you’ll already be taking up two of those usb ports. Missing is eSata, Firewire, HDMI out, or anything that a power user would look out for.

Keyboard and Mouse:
The bundled keyboard and mouse are unfortunately wired. The mouse isn’t ergonomic, but it is optical and works pretty responsively. The keyboard also sports a notebook-like keypad that is comfortable to type on. Overall the keyboard’s design is minimalist and the only dedicated multimedia keys on it are for mute, and volume up and down.

Software:
Out of the box, the system comes with some bloatware, but not too much. It also comes with a trial of Norton Internet Security. Full versions of Cyberlink DVD Suite Deluxe, Microsoft Works, LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling software, HP MediaSmart multimedia software and HP web cam are also included. HP’s web cam software features some great special effects. Especially cool is its Avatars feature which “transforms” you in to another character on the other side of the video chat. So for example, you can look like a talking dog instead of yourself. This is perfect for mornings when you don’t want anyone to see you without your makeup.

Audio:
The built-in speakers on the MS200 produce a clean sound and they can get adequately loud, but they are no replacement for a dedicated speaker system.

Conclusion:
The HP MS200 is a solid machine that offers good performance, multimedia capabilities and overall value for the money. Our biggest gripe with the MS200 is its matte display with its low resolution. However, we think that its $599 price tag is just right and it will make the HP Pavilion MS200 appeal to many families, and even some small businesses. In particular we can see it being a great family computer, as well as a first computer for younger children or anyone who doesn’t demand too much performance but would like to be able to play video games. Although not targeted at the education sector, we also imagine that this would be a great classroom/lab PC.

The good:
Much better performance than most nettops, dedicated video card for serious gaming, clean design, good price tag

The bad:
Matte display seems like old tech, display resolution is low, lacks highspeed ports like eSata or Firewire

MSI All-in-One PC AE2200 Now with Touchscreen

Ali — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:51:20 +0000

It seems every hour there is another laptop or All-in-one being announced this week. Oh, the gagdety goodness…. Anyway, the new Wind Top All-in-One PC AE2200 from MSI has gotten tweaked and in a big way. It now features a built-in TV tuner, a touchscreen and HDMI connectivity as well as an Intel Pentium Dual Core E5400 processor. To complete the AIO there is also a 500GB hard drive, DVD Rewriter, and 1080P Full-HD LCD display. This is an ideal unit to playback movies and TV aside from using as a computer. The uses are endless, and maybe next time they will even include a Blu-ray player to take advantage of that 1080P display. The MSI All-In-One PC AE2200’s pricing starts at $799.

HP MS200 All-in-one PC Gives Nettops a Run for Their Money

Chip Chick — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:05:51 +0000

Nettops are starting to pop up all over the place, almost as much as netbooks are. But there is still a need for more affordable all-in-one PCs that manage to be more powerful than a nettop, yet significantly more affordable than highend all-in-ones. The new HP MS200 satisfies that criteria. The compact all-in-one system features an 18.5″ 16:9 widescreen display with a minimalist black chassis and matching keyboard and mouse. Under the hood, the MS200 is running an AMD x2 Athlon Dual core processor and the system comes with HP MediaSmart that provides users with a convenient multimedia experience. But the best part is that pricing for the MS200 begins at just $599.

MSI Releases Affordable All-in-One AE2010 PC with Touchscreen

Chip Chick — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:07:44 +0000

MSI originally showed off the Wind Top AE2010 at CeBIT, and now it’s finally here. This new All-in-one-pc sports a 20 inch touch screen powered by an AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core processor and an onboard ATI Radeon 3200 graphics card with DDR3 128MB VRAM. It also has VGA output and input so that you can utilize the All-in-One PC as a monitor or transfer video data to another television or computer screen. Other features are pretty standard fair, you get 6 usb ports, a card reader, a 320gb hard drive, 1.3 mp camera, 4gb of ram, a color matched multimedia keyboard and mouse, and a DVD writer. The AE2010 starts at $649.99, making it one of the more affordable all-in-one pcs out there.

Computer Choppers Covers 24″ iMac in Platinum

Chip Chick — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:19:22 +0000

Despite the ongoing recession, many companies seem to refuse to acknowledge the fact that most people can’t afford blinged out gadgets anymore. The latest perpetrator is Computer Choppers which is offering up a 24″ plated in polished platinum iMac with a custom cut Apple Logo inlayed in the back of its housing. Even the keyboard and mouse have been plated in platinum to match. You’ll have to call for pricing if you are interested.

Intel’s Progress Thru Processors Facebook App Helps Out Worthy Causes

Chip Chick — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:00:44 +0000

Often we want to help out with worthy causes but time is a factor that holds us back. With Intel’s Progress Thru Processors application, you can help contribute to life changing-research projects by just sitting there, or not even sitting there. The Progress Thru Processors app, which is available via Facebook, utilizes your computer’s spare processor power to work on Rosetta@home, ClimatePrediction.net, and Africa@home. Rosetta@home helps further AIDS, malaria, cancer, and Alzheimer’s research, while ClimatePredition.net helps combat global warning and Africa@home helps control the spread of malaria by providing computer resources to African institutions. Overall, this is a super simple way to help out several worthy causes, and you don’t have to worry about your computer’s performance taking a hit as a result of participating – the app will only activate when your PC’s performance is not being fully utilized. And whether you’re a Mac or a PC, both kinds of computer users can participate. (Via Intel Press Room)

Pink Tower Cases for Your Next Girly Dream Machine

Chip Chick — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:46:17 +0000

There are plenty of us women out there who actually enjoy building our own rigs. Unfortunately, so many build-it yourself towers are super masculine looking. Luckily, we’ve discovered two pink, but not over the top girly towers for your next dream machine. The first is the black and pink GMC R3 Corona ATX Pink Mid-Tower Case which sports a neat blue ring light on its front panel for that extra cool factor. It also features an unusual vertical 3.5″ drive bay, and it sports a plethora of connectors including 2 USB ports on the front of its chassis. The R3 Corona ATX Pink Mid-Tower Case retails for just $79.99. For a mere $20 less, you can alternatively pick up the all pink GMC R2 Toast ATX Pink Mid-Tower Case which also sports a vertical loading optical drive.

Averatec’s New 22″ D1005 All-In-One is Just $799

Chip Chick — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:03:11 +0000

Averatec doesn’t stop pumping out affordable all-in-one computers, and we certainly aren’t going to complain. The latest is the 22 inch D1005 which lacks in a 2.5GHz Intel E5200 processor, 320GB hard drive, 3GB of memory, Microsoft Vista Home Premium and a full-size USB keyboard and mouse. Like their other all-in-ones, the black design is both slick and very slim. The MSRP for D1005 is just $799. That make sit perhaps the cheapest 22″ all-in-one on the market, and perfect for small businesses and poor students that want to save space eon their desk but don’t want to sacrifice having a big screen. The D1005 is already available to purchase at Buy.com for $749.
Processor: Intel C2D E5200, 2.5GHz
Screen: 22″ WXGA
Memory: 3GB DDR2 (expandable to 4GB)
Hard Drive: 320GB SATA
Optical Drive: DVD Super-Multi (Slot loading)
Wireless LAN: Intel 802.11n
Video Graphics: Intel X4500HD
Wired LAN: Built-in 10/100/1000 Mb/s LAN
Keyboard & Mouse: Full-size wired USB
Webcam: 2.0 megapixel
Dimensions: 20.9″(W) x 8.8″(D) x 18.5″(H)
OS: Vista Home Premium

eMachines EZ1601 All-in-One PC is Affordable and Sleek

Ali — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:53:25 +0000

eMachines throws its hat into the ring with a stylish yet affordable new all-in-one-pc. For just $399.99, the eMachines EZ1601-01 offers a sleek and stylish addition to any home. It looks as if it has borrowed some design elements from the HP Touchsmart. The computer is available in Diamond Black and is accented with green LED lighting and silver trim, perhaps trying to resemble a digital photo frame as much as possible? Some of the specs include your standard Intel Atom Processor N270 1.6GHz, 1GB DDR2 ram, a DVD burner, 802.11b/g Wireless, a 160GB hard drive, and an integrated 18.5-inch widescreen LCD with a 16:9 aspect radio. The eMachines EZ1601 is available today for purchase.

Acme Comrade Computers are Ready for War

Chip Chick — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:51:54 +0000

We thought the Panasonic toughbooks were heavy duty – the Acme Comrade computers take it to a whole new level. Just as fugly as the toughbooks, the Comrades are a little monstrous, but they are meant to be. These lappies are menat to be marketed to those in combat and in the trenches of war. The Comrade 300, 400 and 500 all offer the comforts of home computing, just in the battlefield. There are PCI expansion slots, 5.25″ shock mounted open drive bays, and a slot-loading DVD-RW is also included for additional media storage. The optional 1920×1200 high resolution LCD display comes standard with a protected antiglare tempered glass or an optional touch screen. For special sunlight readable display, a transflective LCD is also available. Every Comrade comes equipped with dual system cooling side fans and easy access to its expansion ports for immediate system upgrade or maintenance. In addition each one of the Comrades runs Windows XP Pro – these guys do carry guns after all. Pricing is not publicly available, but if you are in the need for one of these heavy cement block computers you can email them to inquire.

Go Computer is the Computer for Senior Citizens

Ali — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:09:18 +0000

Well I guess it is to be expected. We have computers aimed at kids – so why not Senior Citizens. The Go Computer is a desktop computer specifically made for Seniors. The computer has been designed by MyGait who has over eight years of consulting in senior retirement homes. The Go Computer takes about five minutes to setup and also offers 24 hour customer support for any trouble you may run into. I can already hear the grandchildren sighing in relief. The whole computer is based upon this ‘Go’ Operating system that makes browsing the web, answering email, and very simple computer functions easy. The computer is comprised of a 19” anti-glare screen, keyboard with large visible keys, trackball mouse that can zoom up to 200% to see items on the screen. It is a bit pricey at $799 and that doesn’t even include the cost of the 24 hour customer service of $19.99 a month. There are no details of what is exactly under the hood but I can’t imagine its impressive at all. This is a great starter computer for those Seniors who really have no concept (even though I do find it a bit patronizing) of what a computer is but I know that isn’t the case for my Grandparents.

New Averatec D1200 25.5-inch PC/TV Combo with HD Tuner

Ali — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:28:24 +0000

Well as everyone drools over the latest announcements from Apple, another company starting with the letter ‘A’ has quietly made its own little announcement. The new Averatec 25.5-inch PC/TV Combo all-in-one (AIO) computer, is their largest All-in-one available for just $999. It features a 1080p resolution with built-in hybrid digital/analog TV tuner – perfect if you are thinking of replacing your TV with a PC in time for the digital transition. Keeping with the same style and polish as the other Averatec models, the D1200 is also sleek and very appealing in a high gloss black finish. Besides the TV functionality it also features an Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo E5200 (2.5GHz), 8x super-multi DVD optical drive, built-in 2.0-megapixel webcam, WLAN wireless 802.11N compliant networking and wired gigabit 10/100/1000 Mb/s network connectivity. Just think of it – if you can’t pick up a signal you can just switch on over to Hulu Desktop without getting off your butt. The D1200 will be available at Best Buy and Tiger Direct.

MAINGEAR Re-launches the F131 Gaming PC

Chip Chick — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:06:29 +0000

For those out there who are interested in playing some hardcore computer games and not just reading books on a Kindle. MAINGEAR has decided to re-launch the F131 which can be fully tricked out with 3 ATI 4890 graphics cards in CrossFireX! It also features up to “8TB of hard drive space with modular, hot-swappable SATA connectors for easy upgradeability, advanced liquid cooling with the Domino ALC from CoolIT Systems, acoustic dampening technology for whisper quiet operation, and MAINGEAR’s M.A.R.C. custom laser etching technology.” Customers can even customize their rig with their very own image by uploading it to the MAINGEAR site and MAINGEAR will customize your system. If you do a premuim build, expect to pay close to $3000. If you want something more moderate than you’ll spend around $1299. Either way you are bound to have one kick-butt gaming machine.