What will be your primary focus? Work, gaming, entertainment, second system or all in one?
By Gregory Quick.
Have you been putting off purchasing a new system because you wanted to get the last iota of usage from Windows NT or you did not want to change a thing on your old MacBook Pro but old age has set in and you are looking for an upgrade. And while you have waited a new generation of powerful, multifunctional systems has entered the market.
At a basic level you have to break down what you are looking for. Will cost be the primary focus? Portability? Does the operating system matter to you? Gamers want to the fastest most powerful system while people that use their PC as a second screen for viewing video want high resolution screens.
Tablets
Tablets have come a long way since their introduction to mainstream users a few years ago, with weight, size, processing and storage options available for almost every user and situation. While there are dozens of options available, which can be accessed at Adorama’s iPads and Tablets section we will look at just a few of the more popular models.
As with much of the computing world the first decision is do you want an Apple product, in this case an offering in the very popular iPad family. A powerful offering in a small format is the Apple iPad Mini 128GB with Retina Display. This model is one that is also designed to have independent cellular connectivity using a separate contract with AT&T as well as its standard Wi-Fi support.
The 7-inch iPad comes with 128GB of storage and features a 2048 x 1536 resolution, or to put that in context it is greater resolution than a HDTV provides. It is only 0.29-inch thick and weighs in at less than three-quarters of a pound.
If you are not looking for an Apple product you might want to take a look at the full featured Samsung ATIV Tab 3 10.1” LED HD Tablet Computer. The tablet ships with an additional keyboard as standard and it is powered by an Intel Atom Z2760 1.8GHz processor.
The Samsung ATIV Tab 3 is at the vanguard of a new generation of tablets that Support Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system and it comes with 2GB RAM and a 64GB SSD. It comes preloaded with Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 so that users can start being productive out of the box.
Chromebooks
Chromebooks have been slowly gaining market awareness and market share over the past three years. The heart of a Chromebook is the Chrome operating system from Google. The OS and the Chromebook deliver a system experience that harkens back to the decades old client server systems where the bulk of the data and applications reside in the cloud. This allows the Chromebook to be offered for a low price as it does not need too much storage as most of the apps and data are stored remotely, while only a few apps resided natively.
The Asus C300MA 13.3” HD Chromebook is a light and thin portable computer that is powered by an Intel 2.16GHz Celeron N2830. It comes with 16GB flash storage and 2GB RAM. Since connectivity is key it has to dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi and additional emerging Wi-Fi standards will be supported via software upgrades. The C300MA comes with a 13.3-inch display that supports 1366 x 768 screen resolution and it includes integrated stereo speakers and a web cam. The C300MA has an Adorama price of $249.99
The Acer C7209-2600 11.6” Touchscreen Chromebook takes an interesting approach to computing with the inclusion of an 11.6-inch touchscreen display that enables users to use the screen as the interface if that fits the app and their work style. Aside from the screen with its 1366 x 768 resolution with integrated microphone and web cam, it has an Intel Celeron 2955U dual core 1.4GHz processor, 2GB RAM and a 32GB solid state drive. The Acer C7209 has an Adorama price of $279.99
Macintosh Notebook Computers
Apple pretty much pioneered the sleek, beautiful looking notebook, and along with style its products also offer very good features and performance that even top graphics professionals will appreciate when the notebooks are used as an everyday workhorse.
A nice lightweight offering from Apple is the Apple 13.3” MacBook Air Notebook Computer that features an amazing 12 hours of battery life, helped in part by its energy efficient 128GB flash storage drive. The notebook has a 13.3-inch display, 4GB of RAM and a 1.4GHz Intel Core i5 processor.
Macintosh Desktop Computers
Desktop computers offer users additional power, storage capacity and the ability to add extra screens, and Apple’s desktop offerings are no different. With Apple often being the tool of choice for content developers you can expect some full featured systems such as the Apple iMac 27” LED All-In-One Desktop Computer.
Fired up by a 3.5GHz Intel Core i7 quad core processor it has 16GB RAM, a 3TB Fusion drive and advanced graphics provided by an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M subsystem that features 4GB of dedicated memory. It has a 27-inch display with 2560 x 1440 resolution for the graphics system to power!
PC Notebooks
Portability seems to be the name of the game these days but just because you are using a system on the road, or on vacation does not mean that you want to sacrifice power and productivity. Notebooks are increasingly offering everything from systems that come close to rival the powerful desktops to systems that are great as low cost second or third household/office computers.
A nice entry level system is the Asus D550CA-BH31 15.6 Notebook Computer. With its large 15.6-inch display it rivals what many have on their desktop and comes with a 1.8GHz Intel i3-3217U processor, 6GB RAM and a 500GB HDD. The system is designed to run Microsoft’s Windows 8 64-bit operating systems.
For the power hungry user there is always the MSI 9S7-177214-024 24 17.3” Full HD Gaming Notebook Computer. Gamers are among the most demanding users, requiring high end graphics and instantaneous response from their computers and this is a system that delivers. It has a 17.3-inch display that is powered by an NVIDIA GeForce graphics engine. The notebook is powered by an Intel Core i7-4700GQ 2.4GHz processor and has 16GB RAM and both a 128GB SSD as well as a 1TB HDD.
PC desktops also now run the gamut of low cost deals to high end powerhouses and customers benefit by being offered a great range of offerings that can fit into any specific users needs and pocketbook. An example of a lot of computer for a great price is the Asus All-in-One 23” Desktop Computer that not only includes the computer but also a 23-inch display. With an Intel Core i5-4200U 1.6GHz processor, 4GB RAM and 1TB of HDD it can meet most anybody’s needs. It runs the latest Windows 8 64-bit OS.
