Desktop PC Reviews

Much like Dell until recently, Lenovo hasn’t been known for being a forward thinking company in terms of aesthetic design.  They did a couple of things well, and that was good enough; while the Thinkpads as a line might not always win a beauty contest, they have functional, conservative design that stands up heavy use.  Lately, though, the OEM has been trying to reinvent some of their products to take a bite out of the consumer market, and the new all-in-one Lenovo IdeaCentre A600 is definitely a departure from the norm.  Read on for our full review.

Specifications

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 @ 2.13GHz (3MB L2 cache)
• Memory: 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM
• Hard drive: 1TB SATA @ 7200RPM
• Optical drive: Slot loading Blu-ray rom / DVD+/-RW
• Sound: Integrated HD audio with 2.1 integrated speakers
• Video card: ATI HD3650 with 512MB VRAM
• Networking: Gigabit Ethernet
• Wireless networking: 802.11a/b/g/draft-n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Operating system: Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
• Power supply: 150 watt external
• Warranty: 1 year limited warranty

Lenovo’s new IdeaCentre A600 starts at $699; the suggested retail price of this configuration is currently $1399.
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BY: J.R., DesktopReview.com Editor

ATI released their newest video card today, the Radeon HD 4770.  While high end video cards like the Radeon HD 4870X2 and GeForce GTX 295 tend to get all the press and glory, it’s the less expensive half of the market that drives sales.  All too often, users on a budget are forced to settle with low frame rates or really low resolutions in their games.  ATI is looking to change all of that with the 4770, offering consumers high performance for their dollar.  Read on for our full review.

Specifications

• GPU: 40nm RV740
• Core clock: 750MHz
• Memory: 512MB GDDR5 @ 800MHz (3200MHz effective)
• Digital output: 2 x DVI-I
• Analog output: 1 x S-video
• Power: 1 x 6-pin PCI Express
• Interface: PCI Express 2.0 x16

The suggested retail price of the ATI Radeon HD 4770 is $109, though AMD is pressuring partners to offer a $10 mail-in rebate, bringing the eventual price down to $99.  It’s been some time since a sub-$100 video card has offered any amazing value, which makes the HD 4770 a fairly exciting product.

Build and Design
This is a reference card from ATI without any third party manufacturer branding on it, so it’s hard to say what potential cards  might be introduced by board partners.  This version used a solid red circuit board with a red cooling setup and the same cylindrical fan we’ve seen on the past several video cards.

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BY: J.R., DesktopReview.com Editor

Ever since ATI introduced the Radeon HD48xx cards in the summer of 2008, users have scrambled to choose sides in the graphics card debate.  What really shook things up was the price at which ATI introduced the newest cards, offering the performance of rival NVIDIA’s top GPUs at much lower price points.  Up until now the HD4870 has been ATI’s most powerful single GPU solution.  ATI has retooled the RV770 GPU found in the 4870 and 4850 cards and reintroduced it in the all-new HD4890.  With a reported increase in stability and reduced signal noise, is the HD4890 a sufficient competitor to the GeForce GTX 275?  Read on for our full review.

Specifications

• GPU: 55nm RV790
• Core clock: 850MHz
• Memory: 1024MB GDDR5 @ 975MHz
• Digital output: 2 x DVI-I
• Analog output: 1 x S-video
• Power: 2 x 6-pin PCI Express
• Interface: PCI Express 2.0 x16
• Warranty: one year limited parts and labor warranty

The overclocked MSI R4890-T2D1G-OC has a GPU clocked at 880MHz and carries a suggested retail price of $259.99.  The R4890-T2D1G reference version in this review, tuned to 850MHz, comes in slightly cheaper.

Build and Design
Lately, MSI has been jumping on the netbook and nettop bandwagon, introducing model after model.  It’s easy to forget that they produce a lot of motherboards and video cards for all sides of the market.  In this case, it’s the HD4890, ATI’s newest high-end graphics card.  The card itself is sturdy and well designed, though heavier than it looks.  I didn’t get a chance to directly measure the weights but it actually feels heavier than the GTX 275, despite the fact that it’s over an inch shorter.  Like most MSI products, the circuit board is a brilliant red color, as is the bottom of the heatsink assembly and fan.

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BY: J.R., DesktopReview.com Editor
It’s been mentioned a couple of times, but it looks like MSI might be finally ready to fully introduce their newest all-in-one system to the world.  With an 18.5″ WSXGA touchscreen display, could this Atom-based nettop find its way into your house?

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