Posted 11/22/2008 at 11:27:04pm

The specs underwhelm, even compared to $300 PCs and your leftover Athlon X2 box. My biggist concern is the OS, will it be LINUX or XP Home? Do you really think Windows 7 will run on this?

Posted 11/19/2008 at 12:15:55pm

Granted the hardware was a little faster on your deal, but the price of the OS, Optical Drives and a good fan for that OEM CPU bring it to over $1000, and then you have to put it together, tweak it and in the end you don't have a free t-shirt for your efforts. The price of the hardware is not the issue, the issue is wheteher it is worth the extra money for Alienware to assemble and warranty the rig rather than you put it together yourself and hope it lasts. Plus a fancy case will set you back more than you'd like.

Isn't this about what the MaxPC zero point systems run? At least now we know where about the entry price for a MaxPC is.

Posted 11/14/2008 at 05:46:37pm

Looks like this might stack up against the $800 "budget" PC. Get the interns on it post haste, I want to know if $200 is worth the sweat equity.

Posted 11/12/2008 at 12:14:42pm

With a low power chip like this, the HTPC can maybe finally go mainstream. Work out some of the CableCard quirks and load it with a Blu Ray player. Heat and the need for a discreet vidcard were two of the obstacles this CPU can overcome. The rest are proprietary conflicts, like stupid CableCard implementation, DirecTV, TiVo and streaming limitations. We need a champion to build a device to cut through all the bull and bring the PC into the livingroom.

Posted 11/09/2008 at 12:47:29am

That keyboard looks like an Apple wireless, it has no number pad. Is this really the new Mac Mini in disguise? Looks like this will sell like hotcakes, its got enough for everyone but hardcore, Max PC gamers. Less is more they say. Touchscreen will wow them, built in wireless makes set up easy. The all in one design  saves counter space. If this thing doesn't fall on its face, it will have a lot of iMac owners angry.

 Perfect for the education market?

Posted 11/07/2008 at 03:55:36pm

If you read the the name of the magazine its called Maximum PC, not reasonable PC. The discussion is about PCs that can play current games at high levels. The $500 PC challenge from last year proved that there are too many compromises at that price to make it worth the bother. No one is saying a $300 machine isn't useful, it just won't perform to the level that current games require. It is inherent in the story that the PC perform to this  level. I can't deny that $300 will get a PC that does most everything well, the performance of even low end parts blows away the requirements most apps need. But games are demanding so we're focusing on that facet. You can call it elitism, but its really enthusiasm.

Posted 11/05/2008 at 12:33:50pm

Seems the fanboys are out comparing a pre release Windows against the current Mac OS. No mention that Mac OS Snow Leopard will be out before Win 7.That's right Steve Jobs, Windows will have caught up and passed where you are now months after you move forward. Let's all cheer for that! Churros all around.

I'm all for a better Windows OS but is Win 7 a step forward or a leap? Where is the revised file system we were promised with Vista? In fact, how much does Win 7 deliver on the promises from Longhorn? Most importantly how does it advance Games for Windows? Don't sprinkle fairy dust in my eyes and blind me to the fact that the emperor has no clothes.

Posted 11/02/2008 at 01:30:06am

Chuckles are the greatest. Norm's tastebuds must be shot after licking too many PCs. Chuckles is the best gum drop based candy out there. Hands down. They are the anti latte. Norm is a Chucklehead.

Posted 10/31/2008 at 09:43:12am

Regardless of the OS, this Mag is about getting the most out of your hardware. That means hacking and tuning and over clocking. That's what Psystar is doing, they are getting their rigs to do things they want them to do. They are doing it in the face of Apple too. So cheers to them. There is a hole in Apple's lineup for the consumer tower where they can move the preformance emphasis around and save money. More choice for us. That's good. It also offers the opportunity to spec out a Psystar then load it with alternate OS's and run benchmarks. Think of the response to that! Max PC benchmarks XP, Vista, Intrepid Ibex and Leopard with the exact same hardware.

 I still wonder how they are able to offer Blu Ray since I don't think Leopard supports it, nor do I know of any apps that will play the movies or rip the video or write the discs.

Posted 10/30/2008 at 03:13:04pm

At least you were smart enough to realize that Max PC wasn't for you and cancelled the subscription. What games do you play on your eMachine? You don't care, which makes you the person the article is not intended for. $800 to play games. rip DVDs and do everything else better is cheap. The magazine is called MAXIMUM PC, not EVERYMAN'S PC FOR NEXT TO NOTHING. Its like you're reading about Super Cars and your point is that a $60,000 Corvette that's as fast as a $100,000 Porsche or a $250,000 Lamborghini is not a bargain because most people buy Toyota Corollas for $18,000 and they can go to the store just as well. ANd they are smarter because they are laughing all the way to the bank with the money they didn't spend. Not the case! The point is to MAXIMIZE performance per dollar, not to stretch the budget to attain barely acceptable. The focus of the mag is the gamer/power user which is a narrow group. They are not everyone else. In fact they are usually the people everyone else relies on for help and advice and are concerned with wringing every last fps from a game by tuning and tweaking their systems. The idea of a $300 everyman's machine does not concern them because more often than not they just repurpose an old machine or build one with their old parts. I built my in-laws a kick butt PC from a leftover Athlon X2 system, the biggest investment was 2GB of RAM that is now dirt cheap. It won't game but it cost next to nothing for them. Your point is not valid because the nature of the mag excludes the people you want them to expand to. MAybe its elitist, maybe its disappointing to you, but the first rule of writing is to know your audience.