Saturday, November 3, 2007
3RD Space Vest Lets you Feel Bullets in FPS Games
A company called TN Games announced a new gaming peripherals at E for All this week in LA. This vest is the first peripherals of this sort that I have seen. The vest uses compressed air to allow you to feel the bullets, explosions, and touches in your games. Imagine feeling the bullets hit you in FEAR, or feeling a tap on your shoulder in a horror game. The vest is called the 3RD Space Vest and is set for availability on November 21 for a mere $189. From the looks of the images I have seen the vest looks like something Special Forces would wear. How exactly the vest connects to your computer isn’t mentioned, but I would suspect USB.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Systemax Venture S925 Budget Desktop PC
The Bottom Line
Systemax's Venture S925 budget desktop PC is based on an older architecture design that puts it at a bit of a disadvantage to newer systems. Sure, it's not as fast as the Core Duo's or Athlon processors, but it gets the job done for a reasonable price.
Pros
* Dedicated Graphics Card
* Relatively Inexpensive
Cons
* Older Pentium D Processor
* Lacks FireWire
* Slower Memory
Description
* Intel Pentium D 925 Dual Core Processor
* 1GB PC2-4200 DDR2 Memory
* 250GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
* 20x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner
* NVIDIA GeForce 7300LE Graphics Card with 256MB
* AC'97 Audio with Stereo Speakers
* 10/100 Ethernet
* Six USB 2.0 Ports, 9-in-1 Media Card Reader
* Vista Home Premium
Guide Review - Systemax Venture S925 Budget Desktop PC
The Systemax Venture S925 is actually a fairly dated system. Rather than the newer Pentium Dual Core or Core Duo processors, it uses the Pentium D 925 dual core processor. Even most of the AMD Athlon 64 X2 processors are a better choice for performance than this. On the other hand, it should do just fine for most general and Internet applications. The one gigabyte of memory is typical for a budget system, but it is a somewhat slower PC2-4200 speed. This will let it run the Vista operating system OK, but with some slowdowns.
Storage wise, the Venture S925 is a mix. The 250GB hard drive is a bit smaller than the standard 300GB found in budget desktops. This is still a good amount of space for applications and digital media. The dual layer DVD burner is a bit faster than the standard 16x models used in most systems, but it isn't going to save much time when burning a CD or DVD.
The graphics are a bit of a surprise though. Most budget systems rely on integrated graphics processors that have very limited performance. The Systemax Venture S925 instead uses a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce 7300LE PCI-Express graphics cards. This does give it a bit of a benefit over integrated solutions as it doesn't use up system memory and has a bit better 3D performance. Don't expect too much though as this is a very low end graphics card and is not suitable for things such as 3D gaming.
All of this makes the Systemax hard to place. It generally falls slightly behind most budget desktop systems in terms of performance and storage, but it has the dedicated graphics. The nice part about it though is that it is generally less expensive than many other companies offerings.
Systemax's Venture S925 budget desktop PC is based on an older architecture design that puts it at a bit of a disadvantage to newer systems. Sure, it's not as fast as the Core Duo's or Athlon processors, but it gets the job done for a reasonable price.
Pros
* Dedicated Graphics Card
* Relatively Inexpensive
Cons
* Older Pentium D Processor
* Lacks FireWire
* Slower Memory
Description
* Intel Pentium D 925 Dual Core Processor
* 1GB PC2-4200 DDR2 Memory
* 250GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
* 20x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner
* NVIDIA GeForce 7300LE Graphics Card with 256MB
* AC'97 Audio with Stereo Speakers
* 10/100 Ethernet
* Six USB 2.0 Ports, 9-in-1 Media Card Reader
* Vista Home Premium
Guide Review - Systemax Venture S925 Budget Desktop PC
The Systemax Venture S925 is actually a fairly dated system. Rather than the newer Pentium Dual Core or Core Duo processors, it uses the Pentium D 925 dual core processor. Even most of the AMD Athlon 64 X2 processors are a better choice for performance than this. On the other hand, it should do just fine for most general and Internet applications. The one gigabyte of memory is typical for a budget system, but it is a somewhat slower PC2-4200 speed. This will let it run the Vista operating system OK, but with some slowdowns.
Storage wise, the Venture S925 is a mix. The 250GB hard drive is a bit smaller than the standard 300GB found in budget desktops. This is still a good amount of space for applications and digital media. The dual layer DVD burner is a bit faster than the standard 16x models used in most systems, but it isn't going to save much time when burning a CD or DVD.
The graphics are a bit of a surprise though. Most budget systems rely on integrated graphics processors that have very limited performance. The Systemax Venture S925 instead uses a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce 7300LE PCI-Express graphics cards. This does give it a bit of a benefit over integrated solutions as it doesn't use up system memory and has a bit better 3D performance. Don't expect too much though as this is a very low end graphics card and is not suitable for things such as 3D gaming.
All of this makes the Systemax hard to place. It generally falls slightly behind most budget desktop systems in terms of performance and storage, but it has the dedicated graphics. The nice part about it though is that it is generally less expensive than many other companies offerings.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Lenovo 3000 J200 Budget Desktop PC
The Bottom Line
Lenovo seems to have once again forgot the consumer oriented focus by producing the Lenovo 3000 J200 as more of a low cost business PC than as something to be used in a home. There is almost no reason this should be considered for a purpose outside of a business.
Pros
* Excellent Lenovo Product Support
Cons
* Small Hard Drive
* DVD Burner Not Standard
* Lacks FireWire
Description
* Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2140 Processor
* 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 Memory
* 80GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
* 48x CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
* Intel GMA 950 Integrated Graphics
* HDA 7.1 Audio
* v.92 56Kbps Modem, 10/100 Ethernet
* Six USB 2.0 Ports
* Vista Business
Guide Review - Lenovo 3000 J200 Budget Desktop PC
When Lenovo purchased IBM, they kept the ThinkCentre for business systems and introduced the Lenovo 3000 J series desktops as a consumer alternative. The latest 3000 J200 models seem to have lost that focus.
The Lenovo 3000 J200 is powered by an Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2140 processor. This is a decent processor for a low cost system, but is a step below the Core 2 Duo models in terms of performance and efficiency. The one gigabyte of PC2-5300 DDR2 memory is typical of most budget desktop systems but it restricts the level of performance with the newer Vista operating system.
Storage is probably the weakest area of the Lenovo 3000 J200. It only comes with a paltry 80GB of hard drive space. This may be fine for a business desktop that deals just with productivity software, but it is tiny compared to the average 300GB of space from most other budget desktops. To make matters worse, Lenovo ships the system with a 48x CD-RW/DVD combo drive. Sure, it can playback DVDs, but cannot record to the format. The cost difference between a CD-RW/DVD drive and a full DVD burner is almost non-existent these days.
Graphics aren't that far off as every budget system tends to use an integrated graphics solution. The Lenovo 3000 J200 uses the Intel GMA 950. This is fine for standard 2D applications but lacks any performance for 3D and doesn't have the improved video playback features of the new X3100. A PCI-Express slot is available for an after market graphics card.
At least Lenovo has one of the highest rated support groups in the industry to back up this product. There is pretty much little reason for consumers to look at this system over much more powerful and feature packed desktops available on the market.
Lenovo seems to have once again forgot the consumer oriented focus by producing the Lenovo 3000 J200 as more of a low cost business PC than as something to be used in a home. There is almost no reason this should be considered for a purpose outside of a business.
Pros
* Excellent Lenovo Product Support
Cons
* Small Hard Drive
* DVD Burner Not Standard
* Lacks FireWire
Description
* Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2140 Processor
* 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 Memory
* 80GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
* 48x CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
* Intel GMA 950 Integrated Graphics
* HDA 7.1 Audio
* v.92 56Kbps Modem, 10/100 Ethernet
* Six USB 2.0 Ports
* Vista Business
Guide Review - Lenovo 3000 J200 Budget Desktop PC
When Lenovo purchased IBM, they kept the ThinkCentre for business systems and introduced the Lenovo 3000 J series desktops as a consumer alternative. The latest 3000 J200 models seem to have lost that focus.
The Lenovo 3000 J200 is powered by an Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2140 processor. This is a decent processor for a low cost system, but is a step below the Core 2 Duo models in terms of performance and efficiency. The one gigabyte of PC2-5300 DDR2 memory is typical of most budget desktop systems but it restricts the level of performance with the newer Vista operating system.
Storage is probably the weakest area of the Lenovo 3000 J200. It only comes with a paltry 80GB of hard drive space. This may be fine for a business desktop that deals just with productivity software, but it is tiny compared to the average 300GB of space from most other budget desktops. To make matters worse, Lenovo ships the system with a 48x CD-RW/DVD combo drive. Sure, it can playback DVDs, but cannot record to the format. The cost difference between a CD-RW/DVD drive and a full DVD burner is almost non-existent these days.
Graphics aren't that far off as every budget system tends to use an integrated graphics solution. The Lenovo 3000 J200 uses the Intel GMA 950. This is fine for standard 2D applications but lacks any performance for 3D and doesn't have the improved video playback features of the new X3100. A PCI-Express slot is available for an after market graphics card.
At least Lenovo has one of the highest rated support groups in the industry to back up this product. There is pretty much little reason for consumers to look at this system over much more powerful and feature packed desktops available on the market.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)