Desktop PC Reviews

BY: J.R., DesktopReview.com Editor

While the news hasn’t been too hot for AMD this week, they aren’t letting it stop them from doing business.  Today, they’re refreshing their Dragon platform, which consists of an AMD processor, 700 series chipset and an ATI graphics card.  The core of this update centers around a new high-end processor, the Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition.  At 3.2GHz, can AMD carve themselves out a niche in enthusiast and overclocker segments, or is Intel just too powerful to beat?  Read on for our full review.

Specifications

• Manufacturing process: 45nm
• Cache: 2MB L2 + 6MB L3
• Power: 125W TDP

The Phenom II X4 955 is clocked at 3.2GHz with an unlocked multiplier and will cost $245, while the PII X4 945 will be clocked at 3.0GHz without the unlocked multiplier and cost $225.  The former king of the hill, the Phenom II X4 940 will continue to be sold for the time being but is already down to $190 at several online retailers.

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BY: J.R., DesktopReview.com Editor

Intel released their latest microarchitecture, the Nehalem-based Core i7 platform, in November of last year.  It’s taken until now, however, for some manufacturers to jump into the game and this time it’s HP, with their new Pavilion Elite m9600t.  Competitors like Dell and Gateway both released their own i7 systems last fall; is HP too late or right on time?  Read on for our full review.

Specifications

• Processor: Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.66GHz
• Memory: 6GB DDR3 RAM @ 1066 MHz
• Hard drive: 750GB SATA @ 7200RPM
• Optical drive: Blu-ray readable / DVD+/-RW
• Sound: Integrated 7.1 audio
• Video card: ATI Radeon HD4850 1GB
• Networking: Gigabit Ethernet
• Wireless networking: 802.11n
• Operating system: Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
• Power supply: Delta Electronics 460W
• Warranty: 1 year limited warranty

The HP Pavilion Elite m9600t has a starting price of $949.  In this configuration, it carries a suggested retail price of $1429.99. Read the rest of this entry »

BY: J.R., DesktopReview.com Editor

While most people look at HP and think of their consumer Pavilion (and now Compaq) lines, this area only constitutes one part of their overall business strategy.  Now the number one computer manufacturer worldwide,
HP offers product lines that span just about any spectrum you can name.  The HP Compaq dc5850 falls in the business line of products and while, at its core, it’s a basic business desktop, HP has managed to add in features that make their machines stand out.  Read on for our full review.

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