Compact PCs are normally known for his or her slim, trendy cases--and not their performance. The Giada DN2301 looks built to be one of the handful of exceptions to your rule. Outfitted with a fairly strong (for the category) laptop processor, this $675 Computer (cost as of January 26, 2011) makes a few aesthetic sacrifices to boost the general bundle.
The design we reviewed packs a good punch, armed with the Intel Core i5-430UM processor and an Nvidia Ion chipset. Despite the fact that that nevertheless isn't a proper desktop CPU, it is a considerable phase up in the Atom processors we're utilised to viewing inside the compact-PC category. The DN2301 delivers only 2GB of RAM (upgradable to 8GB), nonetheless it also features a 500GB harddrive. Built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi is anticipated, however the system's Bluetooth connectivity can be a great contact.
The DN2301 just isn't quite modest or perhaps creatively developed. The black chassis--complete with a silver Giada logo stamped across the top--has rounded edges and an antenna, and it looks more like a router than a pc. To its credit, however, the rounded edges do aid it get noticed from other boxy nettops. The DN2301 actions nine inches extensive by 6.eight inches deep by two.1 inches large, and weighs about three.6 pounds. The front in the Laptop is nice and basic, delivering a slim slot-loading DVD burner, the power button, and a flap that handles the important ports (microphone/headphone jacks, a multiformat card reader, along with a USB three.0 port).
The again in the DN2301 offers a number of connectivity alternatives. You will find 4 USB ports, an HDMI-out port, an eSATA port, an ethernet port, DVI-out, S/PDIF-out, a Kensington lock slot, plus a 5.one audio output. That's not a lousy loadout for a machine this modest, and state-of-the-art connectivity alternatives such as USB 3.0 and eSATA are always appreciated.
What the Giada DN2301 lacks in sexiness, it tends to make up for in performance--sort of. Within our WorldBench 6 benchmark exams, the DN2301 received an overall score of 76, rather good to the classification. By comparison, the ViewSonic VOT530 Pc Mini attained a score of ninety, although the Dell Inspiron Zino Hi-def 410 (our present chart-topper) reached a score of 78. The two of these compact PCs are a lot more costly compared to DN2301 ($750 and $825, respectively).
Within our Unreal Tournament three checks, the DN2301 didn't do very also. At the leading settings--high good quality and a resolution of 2560 by 1600 pixels--the DN2301 managed just 8.four frames for each 2nd, a almost unplayable consequence. It wasn't till we dropped the screen resolution to 1024 by 768 pixels that we obtained an acceptable frame fee of 33 fps. Keep in mind, though, that none from the devices within the compact-PC chart fared considerably better; should you be seeking to receive a little bit of gaming performed without having paying excessive, search a little larger up the desktop meals chain and take a look at our finances desktop and mainstream desktop charts.
Eventually the Giada DN2301 falls into the same entice as nearly all of its compact Computer brethren: It's small, appealing, and acceptably rapid for company or general-computing functions, but unless you are in desperate need to have of desk area or else you have a very particular use circumstance, it is not terribly useful for much else. Though it can be relying on its small kind aspect to get while in the door, preserve your alternatives in head. For just $75 far more, you can have significantly greater performance inside the ViewSonic VOT530. And when you might be strictly in the market for any little multimedia machine, Dell's Inspiron Zino Hd 410 sports a Blu-ray player along with a bigger hard drive.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Dell Vostro 3300: A Sleek and Compact Small-Business Laptop
Dell's Vostro 3300 inherits its svelte layout and thin esthetic in the authentic Dell Adamo layout, however the 3300 is not fairly as skinny or light because the Adamo. Even so, Dell's new small-business notebook offers mix of hardware and assist alternatives well tuned to its goal marketplace. With Dell's current discounts, the Vostro 3300 commences at $599 (as of 6/18/10). The value of the configuration we tested is $913.
At just a little above four kilos with all the bulkier 8-cell battery (five.2 pounds with all the energy brick), the Vostro 3300 will not likely strain your shoulder while you lug it along on your own day-to-day travels. That fat features a tray-loading DVD recordable drive, so you're not sacrificing optical storage just for thinness. The thirteen.3-inch, LED-backlit display screen gives a matte finish, something we would want to see a lot more of, because the glossy screens that appear so typical these days can be annoying to work with in most normal lights conditions.
Our examination unit included a dual-core Intel Core i5-520M CPU working at two.4GHz, although it could push as higher as two.93GHz when jogging in turbo mode (with a single CPU core energetic). And nVidia's discrete GeForce 310M graphics processor is really a welcome addition. The 310M gives minimal 3D functionality and is not properly suited for gaming, but it will offload other graphics chores in the CPU, like Windows Aero and DVD playback. It is may possibly also confirm valuable with all the emerging generation of GPU-accelerated programs. Alas, the Vostro isn't going to take advantage of nVidia's Optimus automated GPU-switching technology.
Efficiency is about what you'd anticipate, submitting a score of 112 on WorldBench 6--slightly previously mentioned average, but not exceptional for this course of laptop computer. It is possible to operate some game titles within the Vostro, but I advise you steer absent from leading-edge titles, and stick to DirectX 9 mode in whichever game you run. Even then, you are going to need to dial down the game's graphics characteristics to acquire great performance.
The screen offers very good color rendition and, even with the lack of glossy complete, is more than bright enough for everyday use. DVD upscaling was fine with the DVDs we examined, like HBO's Band of Brothers DVD set and Serenity. We also checked out several 1080p WMV Hi-def files, and, as expected, these looked pretty very good as well.
I can't say significantly great concerning the audio, nonetheless. The Vostro seems to get only a single speaker, around the left aspect of the unit, and its tonal harmony is far from exact. It is way far better to only bite the bullet and use a great set of headphones or in-ear telephones for listening to audio or videos.
The port selection is nice, with 3 USB 2.0 ports--two within the right and a single around the left. One of the right-side ports is really a combo USB/eSATA port. The 3300 lacks FireWire capability, but that's progressively much less essential. A 5-in-1 flash memory card reader is developed to the front, next to your audio input and output jacks.
Network connectivity was trouble-free within our network surroundings, which is created close to a Netgear WNDR 3700 wireless router. The Vostro also happens equipped with a now-familiar gigabit ethernet port. Our examination unit lacked wireless broadband capability, but Dell does provide a wireless 3G card as a choice.
The Vostro 3300's overall performance also appeared great subjectively. We opened the most up-to-date version of Google's Chrome browser with 31 energetic tabs (such as quite a few flash-heavy web sites) and ran Windows Are living Author concurrently. Typing nonetheless appeared responsive, and searching functionality was snappy. Documentation is sparse, restricted to on-line assist which is not specially strong.
Overall, the Vostro 3300 hits a strong mixture of attributes within a sleek, compact bundle. Dell has managed to produce an ultrathin small-business notebook that's merely a minor alluring, but additionally just dull adequate not to attract too much attention.
At just a little above four kilos with all the bulkier 8-cell battery (five.2 pounds with all the energy brick), the Vostro 3300 will not likely strain your shoulder while you lug it along on your own day-to-day travels. That fat features a tray-loading DVD recordable drive, so you're not sacrificing optical storage just for thinness. The thirteen.3-inch, LED-backlit display screen gives a matte finish, something we would want to see a lot more of, because the glossy screens that appear so typical these days can be annoying to work with in most normal lights conditions.
Our examination unit included a dual-core Intel Core i5-520M CPU working at two.4GHz, although it could push as higher as two.93GHz when jogging in turbo mode (with a single CPU core energetic). And nVidia's discrete GeForce 310M graphics processor is really a welcome addition. The 310M gives minimal 3D functionality and is not properly suited for gaming, but it will offload other graphics chores in the CPU, like Windows Aero and DVD playback. It is may possibly also confirm valuable with all the emerging generation of GPU-accelerated programs. Alas, the Vostro isn't going to take advantage of nVidia's Optimus automated GPU-switching technology.
Efficiency is about what you'd anticipate, submitting a score of 112 on WorldBench 6--slightly previously mentioned average, but not exceptional for this course of laptop computer. It is possible to operate some game titles within the Vostro, but I advise you steer absent from leading-edge titles, and stick to DirectX 9 mode in whichever game you run. Even then, you are going to need to dial down the game's graphics characteristics to acquire great performance.
The screen offers very good color rendition and, even with the lack of glossy complete, is more than bright enough for everyday use. DVD upscaling was fine with the DVDs we examined, like HBO's Band of Brothers DVD set and Serenity. We also checked out several 1080p WMV Hi-def files, and, as expected, these looked pretty very good as well.
I can't say significantly great concerning the audio, nonetheless. The Vostro seems to get only a single speaker, around the left aspect of the unit, and its tonal harmony is far from exact. It is way far better to only bite the bullet and use a great set of headphones or in-ear telephones for listening to audio or videos.
The port selection is nice, with 3 USB 2.0 ports--two within the right and a single around the left. One of the right-side ports is really a combo USB/eSATA port. The 3300 lacks FireWire capability, but that's progressively much less essential. A 5-in-1 flash memory card reader is developed to the front, next to your audio input and output jacks.
Network connectivity was trouble-free within our network surroundings, which is created close to a Netgear WNDR 3700 wireless router. The Vostro also happens equipped with a now-familiar gigabit ethernet port. Our examination unit lacked wireless broadband capability, but Dell does provide a wireless 3G card as a choice.
The Vostro 3300's overall performance also appeared great subjectively. We opened the most up-to-date version of Google's Chrome browser with 31 energetic tabs (such as quite a few flash-heavy web sites) and ran Windows Are living Author concurrently. Typing nonetheless appeared responsive, and searching functionality was snappy. Documentation is sparse, restricted to on-line assist which is not specially strong.
Overall, the Vostro 3300 hits a strong mixture of attributes within a sleek, compact bundle. Dell has managed to produce an ultrathin small-business notebook that's merely a minor alluring, but additionally just dull adequate not to attract too much attention.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
MSI X460DX: A Well-Rounded Laptop for Mobile Power Users
The MSI X460DX is actually a slim yet potent laptop, and it carries a good price tag tag. With two USB 3.0 ports, a second-generation Intel Core i5 processor, as well as a discrete graphics card beneath its hood, the X460DX will without doubt tempt any mobile energy person.
Our evaluation model, priced at $830 (as of September 27, 2011), came full of a Core i5-2410M processor, 6GB of RAM, a 500GB Seagate hard disk drive (spinning at 7200 rpm), and an Nvidia GeForce GT 540M discrete graphics card with Optimus auto-switching technological innovation. The X460DX also characteristics built-in 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, stereo speakers, plus a webcam. Our critique design ran the 64-bit model of Windows 7 Residence Top quality.
The MSI X460DX managed a good WorldBench 6 benchmark score of 120. Despite the fact that that just isn't the top WorldBench 6 score we have seen, specifically inside the X460DX's group of all-purpose laptops, it is just a rather higher mark considering the price and excess weight of the machine. The Dell Latitude E6420 ATG, for example, attained a WorldBench six score of 136, however it also costs about $3000. And the $1500 Dell XPS 15z arrived at a mark of 134--but at five.six kilos, it really is more than a pound heavier compared to the 4.3-pound X460DX.
Utilizing its discrete GeForce GT 540M graphics card, the X460DX attained alright scores within our graphics exams. In our Dust 2 tests, the X460DX managed a respectable although not amazing frame charge of 40.1 frames for each second (substantial good quality configurations, 1024-by-768-pixel resolution). Yes, it isn't even near to a gamer's dream transportable (for that, look at the $2400 Maingear EX-L fifteen gaming notebook, which ran at 121 fps in the same check), but the X460DX is good for high-def video clip streaming and nongaming graphical jobs. Furthermore, the X460DX's battery lasts for a sensible period of time, about six hours--unlike the EX-L fifteen, which lasts much less than three hrs.
The X460DX's black, brushed-aluminum cover is desirable, but regrettably it attracts lots of fingerprints. The brushed-aluminum appear carries more than for the wristrest, however the rest of the interior sports shiny plastic with faux-chrome accents. Aside from the power button, two buttons--one for quickly switching amongst battery options, and one particular for configuring the Operate keys--sit over the keyboard. The chassis feels quite strong general, despite the fact that the laptop is slim and light at just 1 inch thick and 4.three lbs.
Around the X460DX you'll find a pleasant variety of ports, including two USB three.0 ports around the left edge. Alongside are HDMI- and VGA-out, an ethernet port, one particular USB 2.0 port, and headphone/microphone jacks. Multimedia ports contain a two-in-one card reader, as well as a DVD burner. The ports are completely positioned on the left and right sides in the computer--the X460DX has nothing at all in the front apart from for numerous blue standing lights.
The input products are pretty basic: usable, but practically nothing special. The matte-black Chiclet-style keyboard delivers excellent suggestions, however the keys are occasionally somewhat stiff. The nonbacklit keyboard also has some navigation keys, such as Page Up/Down, House, and Finish. The touchpad, that's black and features a circular texture, is ever-so-slightly laggy--the pointer requires a second to maneuver after you've slid your finger--and cursor movement is just not easy. However, the touchpad does support multitouch gestures, these as two-finger scrolling and pinch-to-zoom. The big, faux-chrome rocker bar below the touchpad gives great feedback.
The X460DX's glossy, 14-inch LCD display is massive and bright, and it's got a native resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels. The exhibit is appealing, with daring shades, crisp particulars, and number of reflections, even in brilliant daylight.
Multimedia playback is what you'd expect on the notebook using a discrete graphics card. High definition video clip streaming is easy, however artifacting, this kind of as blocky designs, from time to time appears in darker scenes. The speakers will also be as expected for the notebook of this size--not loud ample, a little skinny, and inclined to tinny voices. This can be surely a notebook for headphones.
The MSI X460DX might not hold the title of "lightest" or "most powerful" or "longest battery life," however it is surely properly rounded. It's mild enough to hold about daily, highly effective enough to finish everything however the most resource-intensive jobs, and long-lived adequate to final through a flight across the country. Additionally, its style is forward-thinking with two USB 3.0 ports, and it charges well below $1000.
Our evaluation model, priced at $830 (as of September 27, 2011), came full of a Core i5-2410M processor, 6GB of RAM, a 500GB Seagate hard disk drive (spinning at 7200 rpm), and an Nvidia GeForce GT 540M discrete graphics card with Optimus auto-switching technological innovation. The X460DX also characteristics built-in 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, stereo speakers, plus a webcam. Our critique design ran the 64-bit model of Windows 7 Residence Top quality.
The MSI X460DX managed a good WorldBench 6 benchmark score of 120. Despite the fact that that just isn't the top WorldBench 6 score we have seen, specifically inside the X460DX's group of all-purpose laptops, it is just a rather higher mark considering the price and excess weight of the machine. The Dell Latitude E6420 ATG, for example, attained a WorldBench six score of 136, however it also costs about $3000. And the $1500 Dell XPS 15z arrived at a mark of 134--but at five.six kilos, it really is more than a pound heavier compared to the 4.3-pound X460DX.
Utilizing its discrete GeForce GT 540M graphics card, the X460DX attained alright scores within our graphics exams. In our Dust 2 tests, the X460DX managed a respectable although not amazing frame charge of 40.1 frames for each second (substantial good quality configurations, 1024-by-768-pixel resolution). Yes, it isn't even near to a gamer's dream transportable (for that, look at the $2400 Maingear EX-L fifteen gaming notebook, which ran at 121 fps in the same check), but the X460DX is good for high-def video clip streaming and nongaming graphical jobs. Furthermore, the X460DX's battery lasts for a sensible period of time, about six hours--unlike the EX-L fifteen, which lasts much less than three hrs.
The X460DX's black, brushed-aluminum cover is desirable, but regrettably it attracts lots of fingerprints. The brushed-aluminum appear carries more than for the wristrest, however the rest of the interior sports shiny plastic with faux-chrome accents. Aside from the power button, two buttons--one for quickly switching amongst battery options, and one particular for configuring the Operate keys--sit over the keyboard. The chassis feels quite strong general, despite the fact that the laptop is slim and light at just 1 inch thick and 4.three lbs.
Around the X460DX you'll find a pleasant variety of ports, including two USB three.0 ports around the left edge. Alongside are HDMI- and VGA-out, an ethernet port, one particular USB 2.0 port, and headphone/microphone jacks. Multimedia ports contain a two-in-one card reader, as well as a DVD burner. The ports are completely positioned on the left and right sides in the computer--the X460DX has nothing at all in the front apart from for numerous blue standing lights.
The input products are pretty basic: usable, but practically nothing special. The matte-black Chiclet-style keyboard delivers excellent suggestions, however the keys are occasionally somewhat stiff. The nonbacklit keyboard also has some navigation keys, such as Page Up/Down, House, and Finish. The touchpad, that's black and features a circular texture, is ever-so-slightly laggy--the pointer requires a second to maneuver after you've slid your finger--and cursor movement is just not easy. However, the touchpad does support multitouch gestures, these as two-finger scrolling and pinch-to-zoom. The big, faux-chrome rocker bar below the touchpad gives great feedback.
The X460DX's glossy, 14-inch LCD display is massive and bright, and it's got a native resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels. The exhibit is appealing, with daring shades, crisp particulars, and number of reflections, even in brilliant daylight.
Multimedia playback is what you'd expect on the notebook using a discrete graphics card. High definition video clip streaming is easy, however artifacting, this kind of as blocky designs, from time to time appears in darker scenes. The speakers will also be as expected for the notebook of this size--not loud ample, a little skinny, and inclined to tinny voices. This can be surely a notebook for headphones.
The MSI X460DX might not hold the title of "lightest" or "most powerful" or "longest battery life," however it is surely properly rounded. It's mild enough to hold about daily, highly effective enough to finish everything however the most resource-intensive jobs, and long-lived adequate to final through a flight across the country. Additionally, its style is forward-thinking with two USB 3.0 ports, and it charges well below $1000.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Sony VAIO VPC L218FX: An All-in-One Desktop That’s Made of Gold
Sony's most up-to-date 24-inch all-in-one desktop can be a beauty--of course, 1 would anticipate practically nothing significantly less from a technique that is virtually plated in gold. We jest. The Sony VAIO VPC L218FX includes a robust loadout for a big-screen all-in-one desktop; nonetheless, at a steep $2049 (as of May possibly five, 2011) this Computer feels as if Sony obtained its areas and pieces from your SkyMall catalog. Even though we are huge fans of this all-in-one, we have to note that opponents supply a pretty similar set of functions, speeds, and capacities for a reduced cost.
Tucked inside this elegantly intended all-in-one pc is one of Intel's newest Sandy Bridge chips, the 2GHz Core i7-2630QM processor, which attributes 4 bodily cores that may leap to a virtual eight many thanks to Intel's Hyper-Threading engineering. Automatic overclocking, or else generally known as Turbo Increase, can bulk the CPU as much as a mighty two.9GHz of electricity really should an application or game need that considerably juice. Those assets, merged with the 8GB of DDR3-677 memory that Sony stuffed to the L218FX, created favorable results on our basic efficiency benchmarks.
We were happy to view the L218FX provide a score of 116 on our WorldBench six suite of assessments. Still, that consequence is about 12 to 13 percent driving the category-leading efficiency of rivals this kind of as the HP TouchSmart 610 Quad. On leading of that, the HP 610 Quad that we examined is $200 a lot less than Sony's program, and has features that around match.
Adhering to the custom of most all-in-one PCs we exam, the L218FX is not great at enjoying current-generation game titles at its default 1920-by-1080-pixel resolution. We needed to dial again our Unreal Tournament 3 test to a resolution of 1680 by 1050 (higher top quality) to achieve a playable body charge. But when it really is any consolation, on that gaming benchmark the L218FX delivered one of the greatest results of any all-in-one we've experimented with, producing 67 frames per 2nd. The image top quality may possibly experience a little as a result of downsampling, but you are going to take pleasure in great gaming in any other case.
Of course, an all-in-one desktop is not only about raw numbers--it's also concerning the user experience. And in that regard, Sony has planted some uncommon capabilities in the L218FX. Our favourite? A thick black bezel measuring about one.5 inches in width surrounds the 24-inch show. No, that doesn't audio awesome, until you recognize which the border by itself can be a navigational factor: Depending on exactly where you contact the black strip, you are able to kick off applications and execute numerous system capabilities.
Our principal critique of this novel usage of house is always that you'll need a sharp memory to generate the very best usage of the attribute. The L218FX provides absolutely nothing to tell you what may well occur when you touch any portion of the bezel--you just sort of have to know.
The good quality in the display is powerful: We liked the saturation and contrast which the L218FX delivers, which can make for detailed movie-watching in conjunction with the computer's built-in Blu-ray combo generate. The multitouch panel is really a tiny inclined to glare due to its glossy surface area, one thing to keep in mind when you are positioning this Pc in a very residence workplace or living place. Our only gripe is the display's white level could stand to become brighter; the search wasn't adequate to influence our perception of detail in scenes, but it is a minor quibble depending on our common use of the system.
As for the all-in-one's built-in sound, two phrases can come to head: Cherished it. We appreciated the general consistency from the audio among its higher and very low ends--the top sounds just nearly as good as the bottom, along with the latter even incorporates a bit of a bass kick which is typically missing in all-in-one desktop speaker setups. Better yet, the L218FX's gorgeous acoustics envelop you, as though you were proper inside the center of an acoustic shell. It is typically difficult for an all-in-one to offer satisfying sound good quality total, however the L218FX will not disappoint within the slightest.
The L218FX arrives filled with connections for an all-in-one desktop. A multiformat card reader joins two USB 3.0 ports within the side, together having a mini-FireWire 400 port and headphone and microphone jacks. The rear with the L218FX supplies 3 USB ports, a coaxial-cable input for your integrated Tv tuner, gigabit ethernet (furthermore to built-in Wireless-N help), separate HDMI input and output ports, and composite-video input. The swath of rear connections permits the L218FX to remodel right into a full-fledged television, to be an easy screen for any linked machine (this kind of as a set-top box or even a gaming console), or to serve as anything in between. It ships with a wireless mouse and keyboard.
The Sony VAIO VPC L218FX provides a excellent mix of features, presented that you simply have use for them all (as well as the PC's 2TB of storage capability, for that make a difference). In case you can belly a drop to 1TB of house, the HP TouchSmart 610 Quad (at $200 more affordable) is really a lot a lot more compelling provided that furthermore, it delivers sturdy picture top quality, Blu-ray help, plus a host of connections on the aspect. The L218FX is a good system, do not get us wrong--we just wish it ended up cost-effective, way too.
Tucked inside this elegantly intended all-in-one pc is one of Intel's newest Sandy Bridge chips, the 2GHz Core i7-2630QM processor, which attributes 4 bodily cores that may leap to a virtual eight many thanks to Intel's Hyper-Threading engineering. Automatic overclocking, or else generally known as Turbo Increase, can bulk the CPU as much as a mighty two.9GHz of electricity really should an application or game need that considerably juice. Those assets, merged with the 8GB of DDR3-677 memory that Sony stuffed to the L218FX, created favorable results on our basic efficiency benchmarks.
We were happy to view the L218FX provide a score of 116 on our WorldBench six suite of assessments. Still, that consequence is about 12 to 13 percent driving the category-leading efficiency of rivals this kind of as the HP TouchSmart 610 Quad. On leading of that, the HP 610 Quad that we examined is $200 a lot less than Sony's program, and has features that around match.
Adhering to the custom of most all-in-one PCs we exam, the L218FX is not great at enjoying current-generation game titles at its default 1920-by-1080-pixel resolution. We needed to dial again our Unreal Tournament 3 test to a resolution of 1680 by 1050 (higher top quality) to achieve a playable body charge. But when it really is any consolation, on that gaming benchmark the L218FX delivered one of the greatest results of any all-in-one we've experimented with, producing 67 frames per 2nd. The image top quality may possibly experience a little as a result of downsampling, but you are going to take pleasure in great gaming in any other case.
Of course, an all-in-one desktop is not only about raw numbers--it's also concerning the user experience. And in that regard, Sony has planted some uncommon capabilities in the L218FX. Our favourite? A thick black bezel measuring about one.5 inches in width surrounds the 24-inch show. No, that doesn't audio awesome, until you recognize which the border by itself can be a navigational factor: Depending on exactly where you contact the black strip, you are able to kick off applications and execute numerous system capabilities.
Our principal critique of this novel usage of house is always that you'll need a sharp memory to generate the very best usage of the attribute. The L218FX provides absolutely nothing to tell you what may well occur when you touch any portion of the bezel--you just sort of have to know.
The good quality in the display is powerful: We liked the saturation and contrast which the L218FX delivers, which can make for detailed movie-watching in conjunction with the computer's built-in Blu-ray combo generate. The multitouch panel is really a tiny inclined to glare due to its glossy surface area, one thing to keep in mind when you are positioning this Pc in a very residence workplace or living place. Our only gripe is the display's white level could stand to become brighter; the search wasn't adequate to influence our perception of detail in scenes, but it is a minor quibble depending on our common use of the system.
As for the all-in-one's built-in sound, two phrases can come to head: Cherished it. We appreciated the general consistency from the audio among its higher and very low ends--the top sounds just nearly as good as the bottom, along with the latter even incorporates a bit of a bass kick which is typically missing in all-in-one desktop speaker setups. Better yet, the L218FX's gorgeous acoustics envelop you, as though you were proper inside the center of an acoustic shell. It is typically difficult for an all-in-one to offer satisfying sound good quality total, however the L218FX will not disappoint within the slightest.
The L218FX arrives filled with connections for an all-in-one desktop. A multiformat card reader joins two USB 3.0 ports within the side, together having a mini-FireWire 400 port and headphone and microphone jacks. The rear with the L218FX supplies 3 USB ports, a coaxial-cable input for your integrated Tv tuner, gigabit ethernet (furthermore to built-in Wireless-N help), separate HDMI input and output ports, and composite-video input. The swath of rear connections permits the L218FX to remodel right into a full-fledged television, to be an easy screen for any linked machine (this kind of as a set-top box or even a gaming console), or to serve as anything in between. It ships with a wireless mouse and keyboard.
The Sony VAIO VPC L218FX provides a excellent mix of features, presented that you simply have use for them all (as well as the PC's 2TB of storage capability, for that make a difference). In case you can belly a drop to 1TB of house, the HP TouchSmart 610 Quad (at $200 more affordable) is really a lot a lot more compelling provided that furthermore, it delivers sturdy picture top quality, Blu-ray help, plus a host of connections on the aspect. The L218FX is a good system, do not get us wrong--we just wish it ended up cost-effective, way too.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Acer Aspire AX1920-UR20P: Big on Storage, Small on Price
Acer's Aspire AX1920-UR20P just isn't a lot to seem at, nevertheless it performs well and carries a discount price. Our critique model ($499 as of July 25, 2011) came configured using a dual-core Intel Pentium E6700 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 1TB difficult drive--double the storage room which the category-leading Micro Express MicroFlex 23B gives for $600.
The Aspire AX1920 earned a score of 113 on PCWorld's WorldBench 6 benchmark suite, a marginally below-average mark for a price range desktop Personal computer, but 9 factors better compared to the 104 carded by final year's $450 Acer Aspire X3400. The Aspire AX1920 relies on an built-in Intel G41 express chipset, as opposed to on the discrete graphics card, as well as the shortcomings of that arrangement present up within the results of our Unreal Tournament three graphics tests, wherever the Personal computer managed an unplayable frame fee of four.four frames per 2nd (at good quality configurations and 1920-by-1200-pixel resolution). Even using the settings dialed down to medium quality and a resolution of 1024 by 768 pixels, Unreal Tournament three remained unplayable, at thirteen.seven fps.
The Aspire AX1920 occupies a matte black chassis, having a plastic textured front along with a blue, ice-cube-like electricity button within the best right corner. The case's dimensions are about 10.five inches tall by 14.5 inches deep by four inches broad. The matte black aluminum sides characteristic square air holes along with the Acer brand.
The majority of the ports can be found within the again in the circumstance. On the front, however, driving slightly door around the bottom, are two USB ports, a multiformat card reader, headphone and microphone jacks, along with a tray-loading DVD SuperMulti RW generate.
About the again in the device, you obtain two a lot more USB ports, a gigabit ethernet port, a VGA-out, a microphone jack, audio-in/audio-out jacks, a mouse PS/2 port, as well as a keyboard PS/2 port (though unaccountably the AX1920's mouse and keyboard are USB wired.
The keyboard has island-style keys that happen to be raised to float in opposition to a shiny black background. Although fascinating and form of desirable, this design is really a dust magnet. The keys themselves are smallish and tough to press, however the keyboard is moderately comfy general. Dedicated buttons across the top from the keyboard cover snooze, search, World wide web, electronic mail, play/pause, quit, fast-forward, rewind, volume down, volume up, and mute. The three-button optical mouse is small, easy to use, and responsive.
Inside of the AX1920's case, there is not a good deal of room for tinkering, but opening the situation is straightforward: Release two thumbscrews and you might be in. It is neatly organized, however you get just one open PCIe x1 slot and 1 open up PCIe x16 slot for enlargement.
The Acer Aspire AX1920-UR20P will not win any style competitions, nevertheless it performs very well to get a budget Computer. It's some drawbacks--wired USB peripherals, built-in graphics, no Wi-Fi, plus a instead loud fan--but if you're looking for a sub-$500 Laptop that may handle fundamental jobs, the AX1920 can be a rather excellent option. And on best of that, it's got a terabyte of hard-drive space.
The Aspire AX1920 earned a score of 113 on PCWorld's WorldBench 6 benchmark suite, a marginally below-average mark for a price range desktop Personal computer, but 9 factors better compared to the 104 carded by final year's $450 Acer Aspire X3400. The Aspire AX1920 relies on an built-in Intel G41 express chipset, as opposed to on the discrete graphics card, as well as the shortcomings of that arrangement present up within the results of our Unreal Tournament three graphics tests, wherever the Personal computer managed an unplayable frame fee of four.four frames per 2nd (at good quality configurations and 1920-by-1200-pixel resolution). Even using the settings dialed down to medium quality and a resolution of 1024 by 768 pixels, Unreal Tournament three remained unplayable, at thirteen.seven fps.
The Aspire AX1920 occupies a matte black chassis, having a plastic textured front along with a blue, ice-cube-like electricity button within the best right corner. The case's dimensions are about 10.five inches tall by 14.5 inches deep by four inches broad. The matte black aluminum sides characteristic square air holes along with the Acer brand.
The majority of the ports can be found within the again in the circumstance. On the front, however, driving slightly door around the bottom, are two USB ports, a multiformat card reader, headphone and microphone jacks, along with a tray-loading DVD SuperMulti RW generate.
About the again in the device, you obtain two a lot more USB ports, a gigabit ethernet port, a VGA-out, a microphone jack, audio-in/audio-out jacks, a mouse PS/2 port, as well as a keyboard PS/2 port (though unaccountably the AX1920's mouse and keyboard are USB wired.
The keyboard has island-style keys that happen to be raised to float in opposition to a shiny black background. Although fascinating and form of desirable, this design is really a dust magnet. The keys themselves are smallish and tough to press, however the keyboard is moderately comfy general. Dedicated buttons across the top from the keyboard cover snooze, search, World wide web, electronic mail, play/pause, quit, fast-forward, rewind, volume down, volume up, and mute. The three-button optical mouse is small, easy to use, and responsive.
Inside of the AX1920's case, there is not a good deal of room for tinkering, but opening the situation is straightforward: Release two thumbscrews and you might be in. It is neatly organized, however you get just one open PCIe x1 slot and 1 open up PCIe x16 slot for enlargement.
The Acer Aspire AX1920-UR20P will not win any style competitions, nevertheless it performs very well to get a budget Computer. It's some drawbacks--wired USB peripherals, built-in graphics, no Wi-Fi, plus a instead loud fan--but if you're looking for a sub-$500 Laptop that may handle fundamental jobs, the AX1920 can be a rather excellent option. And on best of that, it's got a terabyte of hard-drive space.
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