Cool Tech Reviews

Yes, you can still buy a new PC with Windows XP installed on it. Windows XP ceased to be available at retail on June 30, 2008 but there are a number of exceptions. The relevant exception for a consumer or a small business owner is that "OEMs can downgrade Vista Business or Vista Ultimate licenses to Windows XP Professional or Tablet PC versions for customers indefinitely," where OEMs are the large PC manufacturers.

However, there’s a difference between "can" and "will" or "will with no hassle" so Christopher Null at PC World tried to purchase a PC with XP from Dell, HP, Gateway, Toshiba, Acer, Fujitsu, Lenovo, and Asus and reports on the very mixed results. Hit the article for the full details on each, but the best bets for an machine with XP preinstalled are:

Consumer PC: Toshiba, Fujitsu, Lenovo

Business PC: HP, Fujitsu, Lenovo

If you are willing to pay extra or install XP from a CD, the choices are even more numerous. Also Asus has its line of Eee ultra low-cost PCs (ULPC) which come with XP under a different exemption in the rules.

As had been promised, Dell today announced three computers with the Ubuntu 7.04 Linux distribution preloaded. There was a bigger surprise, however, in the other announcement that Dell would start selling exclusive models of their PCs at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club retail stores in the USA and Canada. 

(more…)

The rumors are confirmed by Agnes Kang at ZDNet Asia:

Following its recent partnership with Advanced Micro Devices to put the latter’s chip in its server product line, Dell Computer confirmed this week that it will launch AMD-based laptops as early as October. The move could deal another blow to rival Intel.

Dell will release mobile computers running AMD’s Sempron and Turion 64×2 processors in early October, representatives from both AMD and Dell, told CNET Taiwan. Initial plans will target consumer models equipped with 15.4-inch displays.

Tom Krazit at CNET:

Dell has agreed to purchase gaming PC maker Alienware, in a rare acquisition designed to improve Alienware’s supply chain and boost Dell’s standing among PC enthusiasts.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Alienware will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of the world’s largest PC maker, said Nelson Gonzalez, chief executive officer of Alienware. Gonzalez will now report to Jim Schneider, Dell’s chief financial officer, but the company will operate separately from Dell, he said.

A Dell representative confirmed the deal, but said the company was deferring comment until later on Wednesday.

There are more details in the article, but it appears the calim is that Alienware will operate semi-autonomously. While not as bad a match as the HP acquisition of Compaq, there still was some adverse comment about overlap:

“I still think it’s a bad idea, and a bad fit,” said Stephen Baker, an analyst with NPD Techworld. Alienware’s customers buy from that company in part because of its image as a technology-driven company that understands the needs of gamers, while Dell is viewed by those customers as a stodgy corporate supplier.
…
The deal also could mean that Dell has to rethink its consumer PC strategy, said Roger Kay, principal analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates. The company has sunk a lot of effort into building its XPS lineup of high-end desktops and notebooks for gamers and multimedia enthusiasts. Now, it looks like those systems compete with Alienware in certain areas, he said.

Alienware sells very powerful and very expensive PCs to the top tier of the gaming market. Dell, on the other hand, has a stronger identity with casual gamers who want a good PC but don’t want to pay Alienware prices. Both companies have recently tried to appeal to gamers that fall in between those two groups, with Alienware reaching down and Dell reaching up, Kay said. It’s unclear how those strategies will continue.

Not unexpectedly, some Alienware fans are already expressing their displeasure. Ed Bott says, “So long, Alienware, it was nice to know you”:

Pretty soon Dell customers will be able to spend $10,000 for a PC.

It will be interesting to see how those first buyers react when they have a problem with that Dell PC and get shunted into the world’s worst technical support system.
…
In the six months or so since I last wrote about Dell, their service has become worse. I’ve now been waiting 24 days for Dell to repair a defective motherboard on a notebook computer that’s still under warranty. The sheer incompetence of their support organization is breathtaking.

If you’re thinking of buying a Dell – or an Alienware – think again. There are plenty of well-run companies you can give your business to.

Finally, John Pain from the AP has a nice background story on the people who built Alienware.

Here’s another item from the TechSpot Holiday Gift Guide that likely has more general appeal than an 800GB RAID 0 array. It’s the Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW 24 inch LCD Monitor which lists for a remarkably low $1,199 at Dell, but which you can find for less than $1,000 elsewhere.

This monitor has been on the market for a while and collected a number of reviews. All seem to agree that for ordinary productivity applications it is incredibly slick. Bent User (who has some nice photos):

I am no stranger to high-resolution work environments. Prior to using the 2405FPW, I used two monitors with resolutions of 1420×1200 and 1280×1024. As you might expect, the difference between one large monitor and two smaller is night and day. Let me say that again: there is no comparison. Widescreen 1080P isn’t just bigger, it allows you to do things that you otherwise could not. Consider the following: the 1920×1200 pixel native resolution of the 2405FPW allows Word, Internet Explorer and Instant Messenger to run comfortably side-by-side without overlap…

Hit the link for the screenshot. Also:

It is also important to note that even with the immense 1920×1200 resolution, the pixel pitch … is still reasonable – 0.270 mm – comparable to that of a 19” monitor running at 1280×1024. This means that because of the monitor’s size you can get away with the high resolution without increased eye strain.

More in the same vein from Loyd Case at PC Mag where it is an Editor’s Choice:

With its 1,920-by-1,200 (WUXGA) resolution, the 2405FPW is a productivity boon for graphics pros, spreadsheet jockeys, and knowledge workers who want to keep an e-mail window open off to the side while they work in another application. And while the Dell is not a TV (it lacks a built-in tuner), it’s just crying out to be connected to a Media Center PC (or other tuner-equipped machine).
…
Even though low price doesn’t always mean a good product, we’re happy to report that Dell has delivered a highly capable widescreen display. The model has a 9-in-1 USB memory card reader and a USB 2.0 hub built into the display. In the lab, the 2405FPW hit its marks, with a measured contrast ratio of 612:1. The minimum dark level was also quite good for an LCD. In addition, the unit we tested tracked close to the 6,500 K (Kelvin) color temperature that’s specified by the NTSC standard, which is good news if you plan on watching DVD movies or TV.

One key parameter for fast-moving video and high-frame-rate gaming is the response time. Dell rates the 2405FPW at 12 ms gray-to-gray (from one shade of gray to another). Several action movies we viewed showed no visible signs of smearing or streaking—once we updated the graphics card driver. If you buy one of these, make sure you update your video card with the latest drivers. Games also looked good, and we saw no ghosting even in fast-paced 3D game play. Most games, however, are still mired in 4:3 aspect ratio, so you’ll want to set the scaling of the display to Aspect Ratio; the default stretched mode makes some games look really odd.

Which introduces several important points. As Dell warns on their web site, you need to be sure that your graphics card supports the WUXGA resolution of 1920×1200. Then there was a constant refrain in the reviews that you need to update your graphics card drivers, particularly for video playback. ExtremeTech:

We watched parts of several DVD movies on the UltraSharp 2405FPW, also through the DVI input. At first, we encountered a really ugly image quality problem, with white streaks appearing during full-screen video playback. We paid a visit to nVidia’s Nzone web site and downloaded the public beta 67.66 drivers for the GeForce 6 series. The image-quality issue disappeared. The lesson here is that driver updates may be needed for these ultra-high resolution displays.

Frankly, the reviews vary greatly on DVD playback and it’s not clear how many would have been improved with a driver update. Kristina Blachere at CNET:

DVD playback was mediocre, with visible streaking and ghosting; however, the UltraSharp 2405FPW rendered details well, even in darker scenes.

Alexander Gasparski at WindowsAtoZ:

We did, however, notice small ghosting and streaking when playing fast-moving action games and watching a DVD, but nothing that was bad enough to make the picture anywhere near mediocre. Dark-scenes rendered and displayed very good in our testing as well.

PCWorld:

The Dell’s numerous inputs should endear it to entertainment-minded buyers. The 2405FPW accepts not only analog and digital output from a PC, but also composite, component, and S-Video from consumer electronic devices such as DVD players and camcorders. Each input is clearly labeled and numbered on the back, and the corresponding numbers on the front bezel light up as you select the input.

The existence of inputs does not translate into excellent output, however. When we played our test DVD movie through our PC’s digital output, the 2405FPW showed fuzzy images and somewhat dull colors. When we connected a high-quality DVD player to the monitor via its component inputs, the colors improved, but the image still lacked crispness. Details did look impressive in dark areas, though, particularly in the highlights on a black velvet cloak.

Finally, as the PC Mag review alludes, gaming is problematic on all large displays because of the aspect ratios. Extreme Tech recommends checking in on the Wide Screen Gaming Forum for particular games but observes that when the full resolution is supported, it is really nice. LAN Game Reviews:

Right off the bat let me say WOW. Primarily this was used for BF2, EQ2 and City of Heroes and not only was the gameplay excellent but quite possibly somewhat improved due to clarity. The special effects when casting a spell or firing the mini-gun seemed to jump of the screen…

With a decent 5.1 sound system, and a quality video card to drive the monitor you will be startled by the impact of a well placed arty round. This is not the kind of monitor that makes a game look better; it immerses you into the world as the game designers intended. This monitor is made for one thing and one thing alone, to make you feel like you can leap from tall buildings… and feel frightened when you realize your secondary in City of Heroes hasn’t got Flight yet!

To sum it up, the Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW seems to be a bargain on a very capable display for ordinary computer uses, but you need to be sure your graphics card can handle it. For DVD playback and games you will need to be a little careful.

Tom Spring at PC World:

Is the idea of getting a capable notebook from a major vendor for just $500 too good to be true? Not if your needs are modest. Although such deals involve definite catches, our tests revealed that new bargain-basement models work well if you want a machine that handles e-mail, Web surfing, word processing, and other run-of-the-mill productivity chores.

We tested laptops from Acer, Dell, and HP’s Compaq line; each company sells basic models for around $500 (after rebates). Gateway and IBM are also getting into the act: As we went to press, both were advertising units starting in the $500 range after rebates.

These ultralow-priced systems challenge the adage that even the most inexpensive laptops are costlier than the lowest-priced desktops.
…
Thanks to strong sales of budget notebooks, in August 2005 more laptops than desktops sold at retail stores for the first time ever. Notebooks represented 52 percent of retail PC sales, according to NPD. The rise in sales corresponds to a fall in prices: The average cost of a notebook during August 2004 was $1350; in August of this year, it was $1100, NPD says.

Hit the link for the full reviews of the Acer Aspire 3003LCi, HP’s Compaq Presario M2000, and Dell Inspiron 1200. Note that for each of them you have to check the rebates and special offers carefully to make sure the total comes in under $500. Beyond that, they all seemed fairly capable although you have to watch the features included. For instance, I’m picky about Wi-Fi and only the Acer has that built in. The Acer also has a faster processor and more hard disk storage, but much worse battery life. PC World rated it the winner but only by a hair.

So where’s this all going?

How low can laptop prices go? Lower than $500, say a number of PC vendors.

The cheapest notebooks could sink to the $400 range by the end of this year and may even drop as low as $300 by late 2006, according to various computer vendors, chip experts, and PC industry observers. In fact, as we went to press CompUSA was selling a Compaq laptop for $425 after $300 in various rebates.

“It used to be notebooks would sell for close to $600 only as a stunt,” says Mark Margevicius, an analyst with Gartner Research. But now some laptops have sold for that price consistently, he says.

Due to increases in production, some expensive notebook components have dropped in price, explains Roger Kay, analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates. That in turn drives system prices down.

That certainly happens at one end of the spectrum. At the other end, they start piling on features.