Desktop Reviews

save up your money and buy some digital speakers, these have the quality of a subwoofer and 2 regular computer speakers.

Great value and sound! Highly recommended. Easy hookups and remote volume control.

I Promise u theis r the best pc Speakers Ever!

I am pleased with this drive, which was easily formated following the instructions for my Mac G4 OS 10.2. It is exceedingly quiet and efficient. I transferred about 5 GB of song files in a couple of minutes and then had them playing back on iTunes. The automatic back up is also useful, since it backs up my docs every night at 1 a.m. Don't see any downside ... so far.

I bought the 160gb drive, did not format it in any way, loaded it with video pre edited and post,a couple thousand still photos and it works fine .I can't wait to attach it to my G5 when it arrives.

Almost silent, very fast transfers, looks cool

The drive ships formatted in FAT32. If you're going to use it on Macintoshes running OS 9 it MUST be reformatted to HFS+ using Disk First Aid or something like that.

This is the second product from Iomega that I have had problems with. I know, you think I would have learned the first time. I got this product yesterday. It installed fine. I backed up my files, installed Norton Ghost and created a .gho copy of my entire system. That took 12 hours. When it finished I shut down the computer and powered off the HDD. This morning when I started everything back up, guess what? No HDD. I have spent all day troubleshooting to no avail. Finally broke down and called Tech Support (toll call). After 5 minutes of speaking with me, mostly asking me my name, etc... they said, ok we will send you a new one. Unbelievable! No help, no ideas, no nothing. Just "we'll replace it". Obviously they are used to their products having problems. Then guess what? They are out of stock. They won't take it back because I bought it from Amazon. I got a little upset and so they transferred me to the sales department, saying that the sales department had a special return policy since I bought it online. The sales department had no idea what I was talking about. They offered to transfer me back to tech support and I told them to forget it. That is the last time I buy something from this company. You would think that if the only thing you do is produce and sell storage devices you could at least get it right. And if you didn't, you could try to offer some satisfaction to those that are extremely inconvenienced by your shortcomings. Unreal. Now basically I am out the $170. This HDD has all my personal data on it - it's not something I want to send back to Amazon without being able to clear out. I would really think twice, no I guess that would be three times before buying ANYTHING from Iomega!

PS - Did I mention the files I moved on to the HDD as an archieve? Won't ever see those again....

I did not buy this on Amazon but instead found it for $130 on another website. Unfortunately, I don't have USB 2.0, but the unit works fine and speedier than I expected on my USB 1.1. The only problems I had with this are the extremely bright blue led light that can get very annoying if it's in your line of site (i.e. if you use it with a laptop like me), and the slightly imperfect connections for the USB and power (the USB was a little difficult to get all the way in and the power felt a little loose). Otherwise it's a solid, quiet product that deserves the four stars I gave it.

I highly recommend this product. I used the firewire connector and had everything set up in a few minutes. I use it to back up everything important; documents, e-mails, music, photos, videos, downloads, etc. The hard drive works flawlessly, and the Iomega Automatic Backup software is very simple to use. Just choose directories to back up then select backup methods (i.e., after files are changed, on a fixed schedule, etc.). This product also comes with Norton Ghost which I did not install. One nit-pick: the firewire cable inclued is only 3 ft. I needed 6 ft. and had to buy a replacement (6pin to 6pin, and they're not exactly cheap).

Give me a break! The Athlon 1800+ (which only runs at 1.50GHZ - don't be fooled) is a dinosaur. It is more than 1GHZ behind the top of the line. Why spend over a grand for this when you can get a 2GHz + machine for the same money?

And the graphics on this thing are even worse - ancient technology from a tiny chipset company. Did you know that the embeded graphics (not a card) doesn't even have it's own memory? It steals it from your main memory.

Stay away from this thing - it's too little for too much.

First off if you are a serious gamer and don't plan on upgrading the video card, look elsewhere. Sony does a good job at outfitting their desktops with good features and software for home users, however the graphics sub-system on their low to mid priced desktops (Sis Real256) is not for playing the latest games at high quality settings. Their high-end systems (RX780-790) have entry level gaming cards that will play the latest games for another 6-12 months at high quality settings (a Geforce 4MX, which a cleverly renamed GeForce2).

Okay, if you are still interested in a Sony then this isn't a bad choice. However as a "budget" oriented computer the pricing is on this system out of line with the rest of their lower end value line (RV74* series). I suggested instead:

For ... less you can get the RX740 with the same basic features (same CPU, graphics sub-system, software, etc) just half the memory (256M). Since you can by 256M of PC-2100 DDR for ... and stick it in two minutes, this makes more sense to me.

If you want a fairly powerful desktop for home video, music, and moderate gaming, then spend ... more and get one of the 750 series like this:

RX755 - 2 GHZ P4, 512M DDR-Ram, all the features of the above system and a few more.

Frankly I think that right now the P4 is a better investment in the long term. The Athlon CPU line doesn't support SSE2 (special instructions that speed up software), has a much slower memory sub-system (about 1/2 the bandwidth), and less on-die cache than a P4 (again about 1/2). The Athlon used to be a better value for your money, but with 1.5GHz Athlons (aka "Model 1800") selling for just ...less than a 2.0 GHz P4 it seems crazy not to spend the few extra bucks and get an extra year of life out of your computer. Plus whereas Athlons are designed to last for about 5 years, P4s are designed to last over 10, something to think about if you want to pass this system on to a relative or kid in a few years.

I have been using this system for a while now, I must say it is very fast! I did some comperasment to Penium4 1.8 Nothwood.
The Athlon 1800+ smoked Penium4 in almost evry aspect.
Without a doubt AThlon XP is much faster from Peniums (same clock) Athlon have diffrent architecture from Penium4, they meke more operation per second thats why the are faster.
Athlon XP + Windows XP = Extreeme Perfomace

Well, you need to buy this antenna only if you absolutely cannot move or rotate your desktop.

While waiting for my Belkin antenna to arrive, I rotated my desktop to bring the existing antenna in line with the router on the other end of the house. I immediately got an improvement in signal from - low to very good.

When my Belkin antenna arrived, I was surprised to see that it was of the same size as the original antenna supplied with the PCI card! The only advantage is that it is now connected with a cable. So now you can place it anywhere close to the desktop. But the reception remained approximately the same. See description from Belkin below:
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Product_Id=126498

Here is how you should evaluate if you need this product:

a) Draw an imaginary line between the fixed antenna and the router. Now remove as many obstructions as possible on this line. The CPU itself maybe an obstruction. If possible rotate the CPU.If this helps then the desktop antenna will probably help.

b) Another test to determine if the desktop antenna will help or not is to place a wireless laptop close to the desktop and compare its reception with the desktop. If the two are significantly different then the desktop antenna would help.

Overall, donot expect a miraculous improvement in signal strength. The antenna only helps you to place itself in a better location. You could do the same by moving or relocating your desktop. Good Luck!

I have a wireless network, with two laptops and two desktop systems. I get 100% signal strength throughout my house on the laptops, but when I moved a desktop system to the basement to attach to a MIDI keyboard, I got dismal signal strength (about 20%). A laptop right next to the system showed 100%.

Enter the Belkin antenna. After removing the network card's antenna and attaching the Belkin, signal strength more than quadrupled, to 85%. That makes the internet connection usable again.

I would have rated it a five if it would have given me 100% signal. What's the problem? The card? Planetary alignment? Who knows... But the Belkin was worth it!

The Compaq Presario S5300NX is a nice computer. With Pentium 4 at 2.5G and 512M ram (exapndable to 1GB) it's got good speed. The 120GB hard drive provides plenty of space for all application and storage - and a CD burner in case you need more.
However, with that kind of power, it has one glaring weakness: It's Intel Integrated video Chipset (64MB). With no AGP expansion, the 5300NX slows 3-D graphic-using programs way down. For example, Command and Conquer Generals (which states a minimum 32M card) runs very slowly. As I said, the annoying thing is that Compaq (HP) didn't even provide an AGP expansion slot - making it virtually impossible to fix this achilles heel - even if you wanted to.

Normally, I would have given it 4 stars, but with all the power it has, the inability to do even a fair job at handling graphics that most older computers can, is an unforgivable oversight.

The Compaq Presario S5300NX is a unit that has its ups and downs which will be detailed below. However, since its strengths outweigh its weaknessess, the Presario deserves a 4 star rating.

STRENGTHS:

*Combination of DVD and CD-RW drives - A Tower which features only one drive (i.e. the RW drive) defeats the purpose of the RW drive. With dual drives, you can now burn much faster.

* Appearance - Mostly black with a gray front panel it is a machine (a la Dell) that looks like it means business.

* Front side USB 2.0 - The Presario features 2 Front side USB 2.0 prots as well as two in the rear. Front Side USB ports make it much more conevient to plug in Jump Drives and other transient USB devieces. In addition, there is a convenient pull down access panel to hide the USB ports when not in use.

* Pentium 2.5 Ghz - The 2.5 Pentium 4 provides more than enough juice to power any applications you can throw at it.

* 120 GB Hard Drive =- Provides plenty of storage space for files.

* Quality keyboard - Finally... a name brand computer which features a quality, non-throwaway keyboard.

* 3 1/2 disk drive - Yup, it's almost a relic... but not quite and the Presario has it.

* Quiet running - The Presario runs quiet.

* On-board Intel extreme Graphics - The on-board intel extreme graphics can handle the very latest in graphics requirements for todays games.

*Quality motherboard - Many name brand computerscome with cheap motherboards. The Presario however, features the ASUS mother board.

WEAKNESSES:

* No AGP expansions slot - There is no upwards expansion of the graphics capabilities of the Presario.

* Minimum expansion slots - Again, provides minimum opporuntity for expansion of the Presario which limits its upgrade potential.

* Clumsy tower design - It takes some effort to open the tower in order to upgrade the machine. In addition to removing the side panel, one must also remove the front panel.

* Limited pre-packaged software - You get Windows XP... and not much else.

All in all, the S5300NX is a complete machine, but it better be since there is not much room for upgrades.

With only preset selections for sound i.e. bass, soft, clear, or vocal I did not like the sound. I found it lacking in any depth. I returned mine.

Great Sound Simple to set up External loop AM antenna gets the talk radio I wanted. Professional, classy appearance. Great for my 12x12 office.

I bought this with quite a bit of reluctance as a player for work. It is actually working out fine...

PLUS
--Nice looking 3+ people came by and admired it.
--I use headphones almost exclusively and sound was fine (I haven't used speakers yet).
--Line in capabilities
--FM reception is decent (of course this is affected by how much interference around the player).
--Reasonably small footprint.
--AC adaptor--I love not having to keep changing batteries the way I used to with my MP3 players.
--MP3 capable--even displays MP3/ID3 tag info and handles folders.
--Affordable

MINUS
--Headphone jack is in back (inconvenient)
--Sliding door access to CD player is a little awkward
--If you lose the remote you lose some functionality not available on the player.
--No random play feature

I recently decided to upgrade from my Compaq Presario 400Mhz I bought a good 5 years ago. Thinking the 2.7 GHz and 512MB (plus an extra 256MB) would be great. I am totally disappointed!!

The Compaq Presario S5200NX is by far a waste of money. It is slower than you can imagine and the technical service from Compaq/HP is ZERO !

I am without a doubt totally disappointed, my only option at this point is to either purchase a new processor and see if that speeds it up or buy another computer. Since I have only had this for a couple months neither choice truely appeals to me.

If in the market for a new computer...DON'T BUY A COMPAQ PRESARIO S5200NX !!

This is a good basic computer. The price is right for 120GB and 512RAM. This is a big step up from my Windows Me Emachines. I love it up to this point.

This replaces my 333cs E-tower, and it's a multi-tasking dream...RPG Games windowed with spreadsheets and music playing.....I'm one happy camper

I purchased a Viao in fall if 1999. I didn't learn until I upgraded the OS to Windows XP that Sony hasn't provided a system update or any other software update for my model since Windows 98. More dismaying, Sony hasn't bothered to notify owners via its support site that there's a BIOS issue when upgrading to XP. Now, I can't turn off my computer and Sony has refused to help me repeatedly. Sony has terrible customer support service.

This is a better PC than other Sony's I've reviewed, especially with regard to its value. The specs are good enough as shipped to make 95% of the PC market happy. The other 5% (myself included) would like to have a true gaming-capable machine, having 512 megs of system RAM, 64 megs of video RAM and USB 2.0-ready ports. All of this can be added, but of course that would add significantly (about 40% I reckon) to the price. In addition, there is no monitor included here, so that's another important expense, which along with the above-mentioned items would approximately double the asking price. Nonetheless, it's a quality machine with lots of great features and it's one I'd be happy to have for anything but interactive, Internet gaming.

This is a great price for a system this feature rich and powerful. While it is not the fastest P4 system on the market is is easily one of the best low cost systems you will find. Sony's build quality is very high, and they include lots of extra features and software. Nothing is free and Sony has done a good job of making the right trade-offs to keep the price down on this system without selling you a bland box you can't use.

CPU: Intel P4 Nortwood 2GHz w/512k L2. A great CPU today, and with more software supporting its SSE2 features, the best investment for tomorrow. Sadly AMD has fallen far behind Intel and won't catch up until mid 2003 (based on their current CPU roadmaps).

Chipset: Sis650 a good chipset, not as fast as Intel's 845 or 850 series, but it cost a lot less.

Memory: The Amazon review has this wrong. This system comes with 256M PC2100 DDR running at 266MHz. Without boring you with a long explanation lets just say that it is not quite as fast as PC800 RDRAM (Rambus) but still much faster than what came on older systems. 256M is plenty for all but the most serious power users. If you want to upgrade later you can for about $50-$100 and a little time.

Grapics: Sis Integrated "Real256" - Not a Nvidia chip (despite what the Amazon review says) this was developed in-house by Sis as a DirectX 7 compliant graphics chip. The latest games coming out now are DirectX 8 (and beyond). They will work fine on this graphics chip, but not at the highest quality settings. The good news is it comes with a AGP slot so in when you want to step up you can buy a new video card. I suggest ATI cards over Nvidia cards for overall quality if you do this. Matrox is also coming out with a good card (their current cards are too slow).

OS: Windows XP, which is far superior to Win98SE or Windows ME. As much as I hate the 'activation' feature, it is the best thing going for most people.

Features: Sony is the best at adding in lots of useful things like, Firewire/I-link ports (for hooking all kinds of stuff like a digital video camera to adding an external DVD-RW drive), built in ethernet, modem, and sound. Also a CDRW and DVD drive. One down side: no USB 2.0 ports.

Software: Comes with Corel WordPerfect Office, PC-Cillin anti-virus software, and Sony's in house video software. Good bundle that comes a lot cheaper than MS Office and Norton Anti-virus.

...

The product rating should be less than zero!

Have had two of this model in the last two months and both failed miserable. The motherboard developed serious problems on the first one very soon after bringing it home and the second lasted a few hours before the DVD/CD stopped operating. We bought the brand name, Sony. Now that name is one we will avoid.

Our workstation area didn't allow a traditional pc setup with separate monitor & cpu. Our first thought for an upgrade from our aging laptop was an iMac, but we didn't want to deal with the change in operating system. This model very nicely filled our needs without taking up a ton of space. The wireless keyboard & mouse also go in a drawer when not in use, so the system takes up next to no space. Great little performer...

Everyone that sees my Vaio V-200G is immediately impressed with the stylish design. They're even more impressed when they learn that the compact monitor is ALL THERE IS to the entire system. Me and my friends stopped fighting over the television when I hooked this one up to cable. I also recorded my favorite shows and didn't worry about missing them due to work. The display is sharp and vivid. Hook up a surround sound speaker system to this and you'll have a nice theatre presentation while watching DVD movies.