There has been a drastic decrease in the number of desktops sold throughout the years due to the prices of laptop coming down. However, there is still a small area in the PC market taken by the desktop computing. This is probably those who wants a extremely powerful computer for gaming or for the use as a workstation, if not want to have a desktop to enjoy computing on a large screen monitor. We take a look at the various desktop computers at IT SHOW 2013 which came across our sight.
ACER
Acer is a suitable company to look for your very first desktop to add to your home, selling efficient ready-made desktops at affordable prices. In IT show 2013, Acer is selling 2 different desktops depending on personal preferences, the Mini Aspire XC600 and the Gaming Predator G3620. Plus with every purchase, it comes with a free 12 month of McAfee Internet security.
 |
| The mini XC600 located on the right |
If you are looking for a small and portable desktop, look no further than the mini Aspire XC600. Though small in size, it has specs that are comparable to the desktops that are sold at the IT show. At the lowest price of $799, inside comes with a 3rd gen i5-3470, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD as well as a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT605 graphics card, all packed into a small and slick metal case for you to carry around as and when needed.
If you think the specs the $799 Aspire XC600 was not enough to suit your needs, you can opt for the more expensive price of $949, which was originally $999, to enjoy a better 2GB NVIDIA Geforce GT 620 graphics card, a boost of RAM from 4GB to 8GB and a larger 1TB HDD. An i7 one is also available if i5 is not sufficient for you at a cost of $1149, which also comes with a bigger storage space of 2TB.
This desktop is sold standalone, meaning you would not have a monitor to go with it, but fret not as if you top up $79, a 19.5″ Wide HD monitor that costs $269 will be added along with your purchase.
|
| The Predator G3620 |
The larger Predator G3620 provides more bang for your buck as for the lowest price of $1299, it comes with a much bigger 23″ Full HD Monitor with no extra surcharges, a more powerful 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 630 graphics card, 8GB RAM as well as a 1TB HDD. Plus with every purchase, you are entitled to a free Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student which you are able to upgrade to the 2013 version free if you visit the Microsoft official site.
For an additional cost of $150, totaling up to $1449, the Predator will be equipped with a more powerful NVIDIA GeForce GT630 graphics card to better suit your gaming needs. For a more hefty price of $1699, a $250 difference from the former Predator, it will come with the most powerful graphics card Acer will provide, a 4GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 640 graphics card, as well as 16GB RAM and a huge 2TB HDD to store the different games and videos for your own enjoyment.
DELL (Alienware)
If you are looking for fail-safe desktops, DELL is the company to choose from. Every desktop that is bought from DELL comes with an additional 1 year warranty, making it a total of 2 years, as well as most importantly, the Accidental Damage Coverage, which ensures either repair or replacement of parts in the case of electrical surges, water spills etc. Unfortunately, every desktop you buy from DELL does not come with a monitor so you would have to find from another source, or buy one from DELL itself.
This year, DELL brought 4 desktops for sale in the IT show, each with different specs and costs to suit a wide range of customers. Here at The Tech Revolutionist we would be recommending 2 of them, one suitable for basic home use, and another more suited for gamers.
 |
| Inspiration 660s |
The Inspiration 660s is the cheapest among the four, costing $699 at the least price. Its small and compact size meant it is portable and does not take up too much space. Specs wise, the Inspiration 660s would be sufficient if you do not intend to play any graphics intensive games with it.
The cheapest one comes with a 2nd gen i3-2130 processor, but we would recommend going for the higher priced $799, which originally costed $999, to go for a much better 3rd gen i5-3330S processor to further boost the performance of the desktop for just $100 more. The 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT620 graphics card it provides is not much, but should be sufficient as stated above. Other than that, the 4GB RAM and the 1TB HDD is comparable to the other desktops in the IT show. So if you are looking for a cheap, portable and efficient desktop from DELL, the Inspiration 660s is just the thing for you.
 |
| Alienware X51 |
If you are a gamer, you would have definitely heard of DELL’s Alienware, which is famous for bringing about performance that is perfect for gamers. The X51 does just that by providing a powerful 1.5GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 graphics card, 3rd gen i7-3770 processor, 8GB of RAM, 1TB of hard disk space as well as HD 71 Performance Audio with WAVES MAXX audio for all your hearing pleasures, all together in a casing that is comparable to the Inspiration 660s for $1699, meaning you can bring it around freely and easily unlike conventional gaming desktops to LAN parties of your friends.
 |
| Side by side comparison of 600s and X51 |
Not to mention, besides the Accidental Damage Coverage and the 2 year warranty, this desktop comes with a $100 dollar voucher, meaning that you literally only payed $1599 for this desktop, as well as free 15 months of McAfee Security Center.
ASUS attracted many with the presenting and selling of a huge, limited edition ROG CG8890 gaming desktop worth over $6000 including the monitor that is equipped with state of the art graphics card as well as processor, showing what ASUS is capable of producing.
 |
| ROG CG8890 on display at IT show |
Other than that, ASUS has brought a huge amount of desktops for sale in the IT show as well as a plethora of free gifts available for each individual desktop purchased. It might look confusing as you look at the flier, but fret not, as we are here to recommend and show the best-value buy in ASUS.
 |
| CP6230 |
The CP6230 would be a best-value buy if you are looking for an average desktop for basic use and moderate gaming. The lowest price of $990 comes with 3rd gen i5-3350P processor, 2GB ASUS NVIDIA GT620 graphics card, 4GB of RAM as well as 2TB of hard disk space, while the more expensive $1200 comes with a better 3rd gen i7-3770S processor and a larger RAM of 8GB.
Both will come with a Trend Micro Internet Security worth $39, 32GB of ASUS web storage, ASUS wireless keyboard and mouse and a trolley for your convenience. The $1200 will come with an additional pair of movie passes. Unfortunately, it does not come with a monitor so you would have to get your own.
|
| CG8270 |
If you feel that CP6230 is just not enough for your needs, but would not want to go overbudget with the Republic of Gamer’s desktop, the CG8270 would be the next preferred choice for you. At $1460 without the monitor, you get 16GB of RAM instead of CP6230’s 8GB and a better 2GB ASUS NVIDIA GT630 graphics card. It also entitles you to all the freebies the CP6230 has, and an additional HDMI cable if you choose to get the monitor as well at $1769.
HP
Last but not least, we come to HP. HP provides lots of value-add services when purchasing their desktops.
For free, HP will give out a 10% discount for HP PC Accessories and a $40 Takashimaya voucher with every purchase of desktops. Plus, By paying an additional $129 with a purchase of a desktop, you are entitled to Microsoft Office 2010 Home and Student worth $188, which like Acer, you can visit the Microsoft official website to have it upgrade to 2013 for free.
There is also an additional 2nd and 3rd year of onsite servicing and warranty if you pay an additional $99-$159, which originally costs up to $599. If you are a music lover, you are also given the opportunity to buy a Beats Audio Solo Headphones for around half its original price at $299, which was originally $420.
|
| HP Envy Phoenix |
We would recommend the HP Envy Phoenix series if you are interested in buying HP desktops, which comes with a liquid cooling system, which ensures your system would not heat up too quickly and spoil it. At the lowest price of $1499, it comes with 3rd gen i5-3570 processor, 8GB of RAM, 1TB of hard disk space as well as a 3GB NVIDIA Geforce GT 640 graphics card. The more high end $1999 one comes with a 3rd gen i7-3770 processor, 2TB of hard disk space and a better 1.5GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 graphics card.
