Dell Vostro All-in-One

On July 16, 2009, Dell announced its first All In One desktop computer designed exclusively for small businesses. The Vostro™ All In One helps small businesses say goodbye to cramped spaces and overcrowded desks. It is available starting today in Asia Pacific and Japan (customers in North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa will be able to order the product starting August 11 and August 23, respectively). For additional information on the product's specifications, Dell commentary, and global “Reclaim Your Desk” survey results and contest rules, see the Related Article and Links in the right navigation of this page.

Designed to minimize the amount of space a desktop computer occupies, the Vostro All In One provides small business buyers with a powerful, stylish and affordable desktop computer. What’s more, the computer’s full desktop processing power is backed with Dell’s worry-free small business support.

* Dell global survey finds 4 of 5 small business owners see technology as a means to help clean up employees’ desktops & improve productivity¹
* Space-saving Vostro All In One reclaims up to 79 percent of desk space, transforms desktop computing with sleek, clutter-free design
* New Dell Vostro All In One features full desktop processing power, latest productivity and security features with customer service and support options

Cramped spaces and overcrowded desks are a headache for business owners. That is the conclusion from a Dell online poll of small businesses in China, India, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and United States about their desk space challenges. In response, Dell today announced the Vostro All In One, Dell’s first all-in-one desktop computer designed exclusively for small businesses.

“Small businesses around the world are constantly looking to do more with less, and IDC predicts that by 2013 small form factor, all-in-one and ultra-small form factor desktops will make up nearly 38 percent of the overall desktop market,¹” said Richard Shim, research manager for IDC's Personal Computing program. “Solutions that help organizations migrate to space-saving desktops are well positioned to benefit from this trend.”

The Vostro All In One’s clutter-free design minimizes the amount of space the computer takes up on the desk to provide business buyers with a powerful, stylish and affordable desktop computer. What’s more, the computer’s full desktop processing power is backed with Dell’s worry-free small business support.

The system is easy to set up, going from box to business in less than four minutes, and, when using the optional VESA mount, saves customers as much as 79 percent of their desk space versus a traditional desktop and monitor set-up. When combined with optional integrated Wi-Fi® and a wireless mouse and keyboard, the result is a wire-free desk. The new Vostro also offers Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processors and an integrated webcam that enables businesses to enjoy remote collaboration.

“Small businesses are waking up to the fact that saving space is a critical requirement for their desktops and the Vostro All In One is the first-of-its-kind solution for small businesses wanting a cleaner, more productive workspace at an amazing value,” said Sam Burd, global vice president, Dell Small and Medium Business. “This is a perfect example of how Dell is expanding the Vostro line to bring customers innovative design and productivity based on their unique needs and business environments.” visit site

Acer Aspire Predator Gaming PC

The Aspire® G7710 Predator is designed to meet the extreme demands of required by competitive gaming enthusiasts. The Aspire® G7710 Predator has been developed to achieve a balance of aggressive aesthetics and extreme performance as well as a strong upgrade path. The latest generation of processors complimented by up to 3 x 2GB of DDR3 memory and up to 1 Terabyte of hard drive storage that caters for even the most hardcore of gamers. Not only are the insides impressive, the Aspire® G7710 Predator comes with a sculpted design and a cutting-edge cooling system to keep the Predator running at its optimal level no matter how high you turn the graphics level on.



Superior performance
The Aspire G7710 offers a broad range of digital possibilities. Boasting the latest generation of processors, providing up to 12GB DDR3 1066/1333 of system memory and a choice of either 3-way capable NVIDIA® SLI® or 2-way capable ATI CrossFireX™ graphics for an awe-inspiring gaming experience. Customizable processor and graphics overclocking via the Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility (IXTU) unleashes above-normal performance, pushing your gaming machine run to the upper limits.

Downside

The Predator's internals are a mess, with cables everywhere and a very cheap OEM look, complete with banal steel frame and green motherboard. There's no sign of innovation here, and aside from the hot-swap drive bay the interior of the case looks like something you could pull off the shelf for around AU$50. It's light years behind the likes of Dell, Alienware and Voodoo, and small touches like not being able to remove the RAM without taking out the graphics card first will haunt tweakers and upgraders.

The front door may not be flimsy, but the fact that it opens to the top of the case means you lose a potentially useful flat surface to place things on. There's also four USB ports, a headphone and a microphone jack situated on top of the case, and moving the door will wreak havoc with cords as a result. The door can be removed altogether, although this ruins the aesthetic.

One thing that is flimsy is the door to the hot-swap hard drives, and we fear for its longevity. Similarly, the drive caddies are built cheaply, making you wonder where the base price of AU$4,500 has gone.

A large amount of heat is output from the back, courtesy of the dual 9800GTXs and the water cooling unit expelling the heat from the CPU directly out. While this won't be a problem for most (and the heat is better out than in), it's worth noting in case you push your case against a wall. The water cooling is for the CPU only, with Acer choosing to use the standard heatsinks for the 9800GTXs, while the 780i-based motherboard also does Acer no favours in the heat department.

The 24-inch monitor with the "world's first 50,000:1 ACM contrast" looks nice enough, but once you turn off the pure marketing tool that is dynamic contrast ratio, it returns to a usual 1,000:1 base contrast. While the bright orange of the case is kind of cool, the monitor is also cased in the stuff, and distracts heavily from what's important — that is, what's happening on the screen itself.