Archive for the ‘Computer Hardware’ Category

Rory Reid takes you on a tour of the 17.3-inch Asus G73 gaming laptop;this is the first that features the ATI Radeon HD 5870 GPU — ATI’s fastest mobile graphics card to date. The model sold in the UK, the G73Jh, also features an Intel Core i7-720QM CPU, 1TB of storage, a Blu-ray drive, and 8GB of DDR3 memory. It’s available now for around £1900.

The Lexmark Company offers quite competitive and reliable devices. That time we got to test Lexmark x203n, a monochrome laser MFP with network access, a key feature of which is high speed and fast first page out time.

Design of this model is very interesting; despite the apparent angularity, there are many curved panels, which are why the device seems less than it actually is, although its dimensions are not too different from the size of a normal laser printer with comparable printing speed. Main body material is white and gray plastic.

Paper is loaded through the tray capable of accepting 250 sheets and resides in the lower part of the front side. There are paper size regulators on the tray that enable accommodation of various formats, from A4 to Legal. The handle in the center front part of the tray helps pulling it out. You can also find an auxiliary slot for inserting envelopes and other custom-sized media.

The printer incorporates a plain CIS scanner maximum resolution of 600×600 dpi. This resolution is OK for most everyday tasks. The scanner lid is very lightweight, yet it’s durable and hard to brake. Strictly speaking, the offline mode (printer not connected to a computer) is not available, because USB ports for memory sticks are not provided. Nonetheless, the Lexmark x203n can transmit scanned documents to one or several emails not being coupled with a PC – simply connect it to Internet via local network.

If the printer has not been in used for a while, to start working again, the scanner requires about 4 seconds. An intriguing feature of the MFP was discovered during the tests. It takes only two seconds to start scanning in “b/w” and “grayscale” mode, but eight seconds for the color mode. 15 seconds are required for the pre-scanning procedure.

The Lexmark x203n is very quick, and once the print job is sent, the printing begins a few moments later. It takes about 2.6 seconds on average to produce one page in “draft” and “normal” quality modes; this figure matches the manufacturer’s specifications. When you set the printer into high quality mode, 5.5 seconds are required to print single page.

The device supports 4 quality modes: “Draft 600 dpi”, “normal 1200 IQ”, “high 1200 dpi” and 2400 IQ (”IQ” is for image quality). You can adjust setting to amplification the printing of dots and fine lines. There is no automatic toner economy mode, but you can adjust the toner density manually. Paper saving mode makes it possible to print 2, 4, 8 or 16 pages on one sheet. The printer supports custom settings for type and source of paper for front and back covers, as well as the first and last page of the document.

The representatives of the company said that copying is one of the main functions of the device, yet the copy mode is very plain. Naturally, only black-and-white copying is supported, but there are many copying options to choose from: format conversion, scaling, selection of paper source, indication of the size of the original, adjustment of intensity, activation of paper economy mode, breakdown of copies, as well as selection of one of three quality modes (text, photo & text, photo). A feature to point out is the maximum number of copies: you can specify up to 999, while most competitor model are limited to 99 copies.

Lexmark x203n MFP is a pure office workaholic, which is unlikely to take root at home, despite his rather “home” design and compact size. But when used in the office, the MFP has a major plus – the high speed of printing and scanning in “b/w” and “grayscale” modes. The high-speed copying is advantageous, too: the first copy is already obtained in 9 seconds, and every subsequent one – in 2.6 seconds.

Among other features and advantages of the model, worth noting are: an additional manual tray, network access, quality toner. The disadvantages of the model are: not too comfortable monochrome display, a modest amount of scan settings, the cost of the original Lexmark toner is a little higher than those of competitors.

It is possible to make great savings when purchasing refurbished computer equipment. Such equipment can be quite an investment, even when retail stores are slashing their prices during a sale. With an increasing number of companies closing down and getting rid of their merchandise, there is more equipment becoming available to purchase at far more favourable prices.

One thing you will definitely want to have included with your purchase is a warranty. Even when buying refurbished equipment, you can get a warranty. And if you do have one, you are in a position to request a replacement or a refund and return the item should there be a problem. The store will want to avoid such an event so will be more likely to provide quality products.

There are a number of online companies who sell refurbished CISCO routers which is good for the buyer as they have the chance to take an in-depth look in the comfort of their own home at the options available to them. CISCO is a very popular brand in computer networking. There is an array of online companies who sell CISCO routers so it can be a difficult choice when it comes to knowing which one to trust. The costs, even when refurbished can still be relatively expensive when it comes to buying high-end equipment so it is important that you make the right purchase for you.

If the company you are buying from is a distance away from you, you will want to look for one that includes delivery with your purchase. The alternative is to take a long and unnecessary drive to collect your item. You may have to pay a small delivery fee bit it is definitely worth it.

Due to the brand reputation of CISCO, it has achieved prominence in the refurbished I.T. equipment market. It was also helped by the development of a trend. As its popularity increased, so did the efficiency of the product.Purchasing Refurbished Cisco Routers Online

Read about and buy cisco routers

If you are obsessed with your gadgets then surely you would do anything to protect them, and make them look more attractive. Same is the case with laptops; here, with the help of laptop covers you can make them look new and stylish. Moreover, with these covers your laptop will be really safe too.

Many people have a misconception regarding laptop covers and laptop bags; they are thought to be the same. But that’s not the reality, as both are completely different accessories. If you search in the market you will get a huge collection of covers. So let us find out some of the advantages you will get while using a laptop cover.

The basic advantage of these covers is that they come in a variety of designs. If you search properly, in the market you will get stylish, trendy, colorful as well as simple covers. So, with this huge variety of covers you can completely modify the look of your laptop.

Most people also tend to change their laptop as they get bored of its look. But, with new covers you can redefine your laptop. Moreover, in everyday use your laptop might get scratches, so with these covers you can prevent it from getting scratched.

On the internet there are many websites that will offer you a variety of designs for laptop covers. There you can, also, use your imagination to create your own covers. You can use prints, your picture as well as your favorite stars picture on the covers. So, you can personalize the laptop and make it stand out from a crowd of similar laptop models.

Many people have a misconception that the cover needs to be pasted on the laptop lid and thus when you remove it, the laptop will get some ugly paste marks. But, that’s not the truth as these covers are made with laminate composite and vinyl. So, it won’t leave any marks and, therefore, you can remove the covers whenever you want.

Locate laptop covers for all your needs by looking online. With ipod cases, and several other cases also able to be bought. Head online to find all your needs now.

Bluetooth headphones are rapidly becoming necessary accessories for many people who live in today’s fast-moving and techie world. These headphones used to be accessible only to those who can afford them or to the geeks. But, if the steadily growing market introduction of more and new bluetooth headphone models tells anything, it is that more and more people are needing them. The growth of the bluetooth headphone population in the market has helped in reducing their prices through healthy competition. This bodes well for you, a potential buyer, as this market condition gives you more options to choose from and at different prices. Read on for three important tips to keep in mind when buying a bluetooth headphone.

Call Features

Every bluetooth headphone lets you to enjoy your music from another device such as an MP3 player or a bluetooth-capable mobile phone. Contrary to popular notion, the sound quality remains excellent and hi-fidelity despite the fact that the music is streamed wirelessly. Also, every bluetooth headphone has basically the same call functions. You can call another phone, accept calls, refuse calls, redial the phone number that you called last, mute calls, and many other basic call features.

The pricier models, though, have advanced functions. Though priced a bit higher, such models justify the cost through the extended features. If you are thinking of buying a headphone, consider whether you need the advanced features. For example, do you really need noise cancellation features? If you are okay with a little background noise when making calls, you don’t need to pay extra for noise cancellation features. Some bluetooth models also include a voice command function. Through this function, you can simply dictate your phone to perform tasks that would otherwise require you to use your hand. When you go shopping for a bluetooth headphone, examine the list of call features so that you will know what you are getting for your money.

Multipoint Capability

Most bluetooth headphones are rather monogamous: they bond only with one gadget at a time. Some models, however, are capable of pairing with two devices at the same time. Thanks to multipoint technology, such models can provide greater convenience to you. For example, a bluetooth headphone with multipoint capability can make a simultaneous connection to two other devices. Therefore, you can listen to your MP3 player and wait for incoming calls on your phone at the same time. Multipoint capability is an advanced feature that adds more value to your bluetooth headphone, so you can expect headphones with multipoint capability to be a little bit pricier than usual.

Design and Style

Your unique personality, taste, or lifestyle will definitely find a perfect match from among the many brands and models. If price is not an issue for you, you will not have any trouble getting the right one for you. But, if you want to save, find a brand or model that gives you value for your money. You can easily do this if you make your purchase choices on the basis of comfort, convenience, and target use. As an example, consider the classification of headphone designs. Bluetooth headphones are broadly classified into those with a boom and those without a boom. The presence or lack of a boom can affect the bulkiness of a particular model. Since booms are microphones that extend from the earpiece to your mouth, you can expect models with booms to be bulkier than boomless ones, which tend to be slimmer and more compact. The latter also tends to be more expensive. Therefore, be smart when choosing a style and design. Try the unit first so that you can evaluate its look and feel much better before closing the purchase.

People buy bluetooth headphones primarily because of the convenience and comfort that bluetooth headphones can add to their busy lives. Yet, faced with a lot of brands and models, you can easily get lost in choosing which one is the best for you. This article helps you in finding your way back.

Jim Cooper is a tech lover who has been writing about useful electronic gadgets such as bluetooth headphones for years. If you love techie gadgets such as bluetooth headphones, hop over to Jim’s site to buy one for yourself or simply to read more interesting stories about bluetooth headphones.

Modern external hard drives are small and compact, and act as an add-on extra, if more storage space is needed. Most laptops and desktop PC’s come with a fair amount of storage capacity. There are so many programs, so much music, videos and cameras whose pictures are down-loadable to the PC. All these take a huge amount of storage space, never mind the DVDs that one might want to keep a library of. With the extras that can be stored on computer, users may prefer to use an external hard drive for this purpose. External hard drives are connected by a USB cable, these being the most popular connection to the computer

History: The first external hard drives were used purely out of necessity. The Apple Macintosh was designed with the interior not able to accommodate even a small internal hard drive, so the hard drive had to be outside the computer. These were large and cumbersome and some sat on top of the Apple computer. But they were external hard drives. Over time and with the strides made in technology, the external hard drive had become smaller so that it could be fitted into a bay in the computer. Towards the end of the 20th century, internal hard drives had become standard in all Windows operating system computers.

Apple Mac plus other workstations stayed with their choice of external hard drives because they were reliant on the SCSI ports on these external hard drives. As USB and Firewire interfaces were being used by PC’s, the consumer saw more of the external hard drives. As the SCSI interface was both pricey and complex, it was replaced by the new Firewire and USB interface, leading to the standardization of, and lower costs in, the external hard drive market.

Internal Structure/Design: The only difference between internal hard drives and external hard drives is that the external hard drive is mounted in a disk enclosure. This is the hard outer casing covering the hard drive. External hard drives do not tolerate physical shocks very well, as they have the platters and moving heads of the standard internal hard drives, so they do need to be handled carefully.

Comparison analysis: In 2009 a comparison was done of the five top external hard drives. The storage capacity of these five models ranged from 160 Gigabytes to 4 Terabytes. The cost also varied considerably when estimated per Gigabyte. This ranged from 0.16 to 0.38 USD. External hard drives with multiple interfaces or biometric features such as security cost a considerable amount more per Gigabyte than the standard ones not offering these features. External hard drives sizes range from 3.5″ and cost less per Gigabyte than the 2.5″ portable used mainly for laptops, and embedded devices.

The internal hard drive in 1987 was a Seagate with a 10 Megabyte. At the time, when the PC was still a baby, the largest hard drive available was a 30 Megabyte Seagate. What a far way technology has come when you can now have a 4 Terabyte hard drive.

Compatibility: All of today’s operating systems are mostly compatible with the modern external hard drives, provided they are supported by the necessary interface standards they operate with. These are MSC, USB or IEE1394. All the large operating systems, various embedded devices and all large servers support these standards. Computers manufactured before 2000, known as obsolete systems, would need updated drivers, or a more updated hard drive to be compatible with a modern external hard drives.

If you enjoyed reading this report then take a look at some other articles by Daron Matochen like nas enclosure sata and alternately routers

Hewlett Packard has a good tradition of making gifts to their customers by releasing new food. The function printers and copiers get a new look, their functionality advances, and yet they get more affordable. This timed, we are dealing with the new copier – HP Color LaserJet CP1215.

Conventionally, the device is shipped in a solid box of cardboard, and HP only uses recyclable packaging supplies as an environment protection measure. The package box also includes four printer cartridges full of ColorSphere toner.

The CP1215’s body is built from a strong polymer and is colored with white and gray. The device has the rectangular profile with smooth shape. Output tray is located at the top and is intended for the pages to come out right on top of the device.

On the front, there is the flip lid that covers toner cartridges installation scheme. In this advance the cartridges are located in the nests on sleds, so they can be easily full out. When effective with the imprinter, such approach comes very helpful.

The control panel of HP Color LaserJet CP1215 resides on the right side of the front board. It consists of 9 light-emitting diodes and two buttons. The diode-indicators are divided into two columns, in agreement with their properties. One column reflects the condition of cartridges, the other indicates the operational status of the device. On the Resume Printing button there is the 9th diode, below which is the cancel button.

Along the sides of the printer there are ventilation holes and carrying handles. On the left side, there are the power switch and power cord socket next to it. On the right side, there is a cavity sinking aligned with the back panel, where you can see the USB port and Ethernet socket.

The printer uses latest drivers; you can suspicion the 6 principal tabs: “Printing Labels”, “Paper and Quality”, “Effects”, “Finishing”, “Color” and ‘Services”. This affordable printer is not restricted in capabilities and very robust. And now let’s examine whether the Color LaserJet CP1215 meets expectations about the printing quality set by the manufacturer.

The printing property is beyond any remarks; produced pictures were lively and rich. However, the machine failed to perfectly reproduce printing pattern of moire, but as an excuse, we may say few printer models of this grade can handle this task. Generally, the color printing level can be qualified as outstanding.

Monochrome grayscales prints deserved special attention as most printers have problems with them. The HP Color LaserJet CP1215 was not very good at printing large areas of gray, however handled minor areas well.

Printed texts make only clear impressions. The characters were evenly full with toner and did not have rough edges. If you enlarge the printed characters, they will look readable and crisp. Considering all these advantages, there’s no doubt all statements concerning printing quality of this model are true

Regarding the printing swiftness, it should be noted that the claimed race is entirely consistent with sincere life tests. Naturally, this printing tempo is not the greatest that exists, but at such a rate and trait it is not possible to name it a disadvantage.

Affordable price tag of the HP Color LaserJet CP1215 make it stand out from other laser printers Hewlett Packard. Print quality is a fidelity flat for the most problematic consumer. The cost of toner cartridges neutralizes the low price of the printer, but this is unusual of all HP toner cartridges and printers.

Samsung has been one of the first to propose affordable laser printers. Unlike some manufacturers that bargain a relatively inexpensive device with very posh consumables, Samsung initially introduced cheap printers with very affordable cartridges. All models completely meet the requirements of modern laser printer in terms of quality, speed and capabilities.

The series of Samsung laser printers had developed over time, and new interesting models have been introduced. One of them is a budget printer, the Samsung ML-1520P.

The printer uses a handy horizontal layout, which from practical point of view has many advantages over the vertical layout.

The bottom of the device holds a 250-sheet input tray. Unlike laser printers with vertical layout, the paper is located inside the device, which prevents dust and dirt from getting on the principal mechanisms of the device, with the drum.

Due to unusual locking method, the input tray can be handy for placing the media of numerous sizes and envelopes. To see if paper is loaded into printer, there is a special mechanical indicator, located on the right area of the main tray.

Above the main tray, there’s a universal tray for 50 sheets, providing unscheduled supply not only for standard media, but also cardboard, dense films and envelopes. By the way, for printing on thick media the Samsung ML-1520P uses the mechanism of direct media passage, excluding paper folds and jams.

The main output tray is located on top the printer. It can hold up to 50 sheets face-down. And the input tray on the rear side receives pages face up.

On the printer’s top. There’s a universal control panel, which includes the printing cancel button and two indicators to show the current mode and printing status.

Now, let’s look at the back of the printer. Here are arranged all the necessary connectors for power supply and interface. ML-1520P is equipped with LPT and USB universal interfaces.

Cartridge is installed from the front, into a corresponding concealed slot. Inserting the toner cartridge is pretty painless, just align it to the guides and push inside the printer.

Installing the software needed to work correctly printer takes just a couple of minutes, all of the process is conceivable for the user. Once the drivers have been installed, the user gets access to a number of additional options that adjust the document layout, print quality and other features.

As for speed, the actual tests were surprising. When printing a page of text the first page came within 7 seconds, with a total time of printing a single copy of 16 seconds. When printing a 20 page document with great illustrations and a sufficiently large amount of text, first page out in 15 seconds, which is associated with the need to download the document to the printer’s memory. In this case the total print time was about 100 seconds.

In terms of print quality, Samsung ML-1520P is not inferior to other printers on the market. The printed image has a sufficient intensity and uniformity of filling. Moreover, ML-1520P has the toner economy mode, saving up to 40% of toner. The quality of printing practically does not worsen. In fact, the quality of visual symbols remains the same, but the pictures become a little lighter.

As for the cost of consumables, a toner cartridge for ML-1520P, 3000 copies will cost about $75 which is more than affordable, compared to other budget models. How long will this toner cartridge last? The answer to this question depends upon how you plan to use the printer. If you print the black pages, then do not expect more than 1,000 copies. If you print regular documents, with an average coverage and in toner economy mode, you can print up to 5,000 copies. So, this printer is an optimal combination of ergonomic design, high-speed, low cost Samsung toner and low noise level, and that makes the Samsung ML-1520P the ideal choice not only for home use, but for a small office or department where the need to obtain a high quality and printing speed is limited by budget.

The Lenovo X300 comes with a SSD hard-drive and is only 2.1 lbs! Is it enough to topple the Apple MacBook Air?