Category Archives: Computers

Dell XPS 420

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The XPS 420 is the top of the line Dell desktop model for the International market. Cramped with features, the XPS 420 is a multimedia powerhouse aimed at gamers,enthusiasts,etc.
This new model features a new completely revised chassis.Finished in shiny black plastics,the front panel is a smudge magnet and attracts much dust as well.The side panels finished in brushed aluminum with a big xps logo scream for attention.One unique thing about the xps 420 is the presence of small LCD screen on the top(Windows Sideshow) an extension of vista sidebar. This small LCD can be used for showing small tidbits of information via the sidebar gadgets. New gadgets can be downloaded from Microsoft’s Web site.
Dell XPS 420 Desktop The base configuration consists of Intel quad core q6600,2GB of DDR II 667 MHz,250 GB hard drive and 8600 GTS graphics card. These components are powerful enough to ensure a high-end rig experience, though we think the 8600 GTS is aging and expect dell to replace it soon with the newer 9600GT card.
The 20-inch LCD monitor comes bundled with the system is breathtaking.The screen is glossy and reproduces crisp images.Movies are fun on this monitor,so is editing photographs and the sheer space on offer will allow you to open two word pages side by side.The LCD also has an embedded 2Mp Web camera,which can be used for chatting,taking photographs and capturing video.The capture quality is good and colors are faithfully reproduced.
There is also an MPEG 2 transcoder with front mounted AV ports,wich can be used for importing video from camcorders and encoding it to Divx.The accompanying software,however.is not user friendly and requires lot of patience to learn.additionally, there is the 19-in-one memory card reader with Bluetooth 2.0 module,wireless (Bluetooth) keyboard and mouse and a Hauppauge TV tuner card with remote.Miscellaneous items include micro fibre cloth for wiping the LCD,soft and hard mouse pads and a folder with the necessary manual and CDs all perfectly packed in the box.
The cabinet can be opened without any tools.All it requires is pulling a singal latch to release the side panel.On the inside,everything is neatly packed.Since Dell has opted for the BTX form factor,the system requires just one fan to cool itself.The cables and wiring are tied down and routed optimally without affecting the air flow.The single 120-mm fan is placed right after the huge CPU cooler and throws out hot air from the front of the cabinet. Throughout our testing process the system remained cool and quiet.Though the cabinet is tall and the internals are neatly organized,there is not much space for future upgrade;just two hard drive slots thats what you get here.
On the software front,Dell has bundled in Adobes Elements studio package consisting of the lite version of Photoshop Elements, premier Elements and SoundBooth Cs3. The typical Dell in house software is present and they provide complete control over every aspect of this beautiful machine.
The XPS 420 performs admirably in all aspects,thanks largely to the powerful hardware thats under the hood.The Q6600 simply chewed through the test we put it through and has enough grunt to trans code home videos on the fly. Though the 8600 GTS ran through the entire graphics test delivering playable frame rate,we think its best to upgrade to a higher card. Dell offers 8800GT in lieu of the 8600GTS and if you pocket permits you should upgrade for better gaming experience.Overall,the system performance is more than satisfactory is more than satisfactory,despite vista running on the system,it was responsive with hardly any lag.
Priced at $ 1750,we fell the XPS 420 is overpriced considering the weak graphics subsystem. However, it is very difficult to recreate the overall look and fell that the XPS420 has-the beautiful case,neatly packed interiors,stupendous hardware and the tiny LCD screen on the cabinet!If you have money to blow and appreciate style,then the XPS 420 fits the bill.

Specifications:
Intel core 2 Quad Q6600,2 GB DDR II, 250 GB, Media Xcelerator,8600 GTS, 20-inch LCD screen with 2 MP cam and Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Freecom Tough Drive Pink 250 GB

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Freecom, though unknown to the Indian market is an established player in the external storage arena. In the past, we have reviewed Freecom drives and now, we except them to be priced sanely.
The Tough Drive series, as the name suggests, is aimed at enduring shock. This particular drive is clad in pink rubber, which Freecom hopes will lure the fairer sex.
Thankfully, the Tough Drives are available in other color options. In terms of design, the drive is sleek but not portable, obviously due to the thick layer of rubber cladding it dons. The rubberized body feels good to hold, but the tyer pattern design on it doesn’t do anything to enhance its look.
On the brighter side, the Tough drives are indeed solidly put together and sport good design from the usability aspect. Apart from the rubber cladding, internally the hard drives are put on a spring suspended frame (anti-shock frame) for better shock absorption. The USB connector is integrated in the drives, and hence there is no need to carry along any cables. The drive can be directly connected to the PC. The USB connector lights up blue, and blinks during data transfer. The Tough Drive doesn’t require additional power and runs off a single USB port.

Freecom has bundled back-up software, namely NTI shadow. It can do real time continuous data backup, scheduled backup and has version control. Thus older files can be retrieved. The user interface is simple and the settings are granular to the point that you can even select the types of files to be backed up.
Internally, the Tough Drive comes with 5400 RMP Fujitsu hard drive and delivers good performance. 4 GB (1 DVD) of assorted data takes less than 3 min to copy whereas a 1 GB (one movie) took around 39 sec to copy. We say the drive is fast for most purpose it will be used for.
Priced at $250, the Tough drive is a reasonable buy. Ordinary 250 GB drives are available in the $125 region and the small premium of $40 for shock proofing is well worth it in the longer run. However, we would prefer to never see the pick version again black or black or blue please !

Specifications:
5400 RPM drive, 2 m drop shock proof, USB 2.0 and Integrated USB connector.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Intel D201GLY2 Motherboard

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The D201GLY2 is the cheapset mother processor combo solution to came out of the Intel stable. Built to the Micro ATX from factor, the motherboard is mere 17 x 17 cm. This combo makes a lot of sense for people building linux nodes or low power downloading machines.
The motherboard comes with an Intel Celeron 220 processor soldered, which means no speed upgrade. The core 2-architecture based processor runs at Jurassic 1.2 GHz on a 533 MHz system bus. Thankfully, the motherboard supports DDR 2, but it has single memory slot-so no dual channel for you.
Though the mothebroad comes from Intel, both the chipsets are from SiS, namely, SiS662. The graphics driver for Windows works well, but with Ubuntu 7.10 and Linux Mint 4.0, we ran into display problems and needed a patch driver for the GUI to work properly.

Other features include two SATA ports, one IDE slot, six USB ports, one serial port and one parallel port. A 10/100 Ethernet comes onboard and it has only one PCI slot.
Considering the hardware, we didn’t run our usual heavy duty tests, but instead relied on same old ones to do the number crunching, The processor is reasonably fast and can handle three applications simultaneously.Running multimedia, we could see the system suffer a bit when switching between applications. Graphic engines on the motherboard are quite weak and don’t stand a chance when put to gaming. Reasonable resolution movies run fine, but high resolution ones occasionally stutter. The chipsets and processors are passively cooled and when put to task, get really hot. We suggest going for the actively cooled model (D201GLY2A).
Priced at Rs 3,300, the D201GLY2 offers excellent value and if you want to build a compact, low cost machine, the D201GLY2 is definitely the solution to go for. However don’t except to run games or any other heavy duty application. We suggest this for building a downloading machine, a print server or a file server.

Specifications:
17 x 17 cm size, Celeron 1.2 GHz, support DDR 2 up to 667 MHz, ADI AD1888 Audio (2 channel), 2 SATA ports and 10/100 Ethernet.

Popularity: 9% [?]