ASUS M11AD-US006O Intel Core i7-4770S, 16GB, 2TB, Desktop with Windows 7 Home Premium

ASUS M11AD-US006O Intel Core i7-4770S, 16GB, 2TB, Desktop with Windows 7 Home Premium..

Buy ASUS M11AD-US006O Intel Core i7-4770S, 16GB, 2TB, Desktop with Windows 7 Home Premium By Asus

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43 of 43 people found the following review helpful.
ASUS M11AD-US006O
By Bryan Feldman
I selected this computer for speed and reliability. Since it was to be used primarily for software development, I didn't need a graphics card. And I definitely didn't want Windows 8. So far (after about a week) I am very satisfied.

When the computer arrived it was well packaged. I opened it up to make sure everything was intact and seated securely; it was. Inside this computer is simple and neat with well-routed wires and lots of open space.

The computer has the Core i7-4770S processor running at 3.10 GHz, not 3.4 as stated, and 16 GB (15.7 usable) RAM. It includes Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1. It has a 2 TB hard disk which is divided into two partitions: WIN7 (C:) which has 745 GB usable and DATA (D:) which has 1.07 TB available and comes completely empty.

It comes with some Asus bloatware, some of which run at startup and you may want to disable. Some of the apps may be useful but I have not looked into them yet. This computer includes Bing Bar which states it will collect information about you and you must agree in order to accept the Windows license agreement. And it includes McAfee Internet Security 2012 edition with a one-month subscription.

Initial setup is straightforward and smooth. Once it's complete, you have an option of making a system image backup, which worked well, used four DVDs and took about two hours. First thing I did after that was to remove the Bing Bar and install a non-Microsoft browser.

It has two front USB 2.0 ports and four rear. I would have liked more but I use a small, unpowered hub to attach more stuff. It also has two USB 3.0 ports in the rear. One in the front would have been useful for external hard drives. Note the image of the back of the computer shown on this page is not the correct one and the features pictured there vary significantly from this PC; you can download the documentation from the Asus website to see what it really looks like. The PC is quiet except for a somewhat noisy hard drive, but I am comparing it to my old system; it had an SSD which of course is silent.

The motherboard-based Intel 4600 graphics has 1.75 GB of RAM, supports two HD monitors with Aero Glass, and performs well for my non-gaming use. Also built in is Realtek High Definition Audio. It has a 350-watt peak, 286-watt continuous power supply.

Here's the key point about this computer: it is FAST. Really, really fast. Large programs like Eclipse ADT and Photoshop load amazingly quickly. Big software projects compile in half the time they used to or less even though my prior machine was not slow. The Windows Experience Index gets a 5.9 overall score with the primary hard disk data transfer rate scoring lowest (5.9), graphics scoring 6.7, and RAM and processor scoring a lovely 7.7.

It came with a keyboard and mouse which I did not use and so cannot comment on. The case feels solid and well-made and is handsome and not too big.

Any more questions, please ask and I will add them to this review.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Satisfied Customer
By David E. Mowery
My wife is very pleased with the purchase and so am I. We feel that we received a good bargain.

9 of 15 people found the following review helpful.
ASUS M11AD-US0060 Intel Corei7-4770S, 16 GB, 2TB Desktop with Windows 7
By Chris C. Mills
I really like my new computer with Windows 7!! It's so much faster and more efficient than my last computer. I was very happy to find a new computer that still had Windows 7 available. Windows 8 is very confusing. Windows 7 works much better.

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Huawei G510 Dual Core 3G 4.5 inch IPS 1.0GHz with Android 4.1 Dual Cam Smartphone

Huawei G510 Dual Core 3G 4.5 inch IPS 1.0GHz with Android 4.1 Dual Cam Smartphone..

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
Watch out for the poor QC issue
By Y. Wang
The spec of this phone looks good among all of the budget phone, and that is the reason I purchased it last Saturday. Unfortunately, my phone arrived with a faulted proximity sensor that every time when I make a phone call, the screen will directly go black until the end of the call. After did some searches on the internet, I figured out my situation was not a single case. There are some discussions about the proximity sensor issue across nearly entire Huawei's products line, including the G330, G510 and other phones. So, if you are interested on this phone, be careful for their poor QC, and carefully check your phone when it arrive.
In addition of the QC issue, Huawei tried to build their own UI instead of the standard Android interface. Again, unfortunately, their-own interface is not that user friendly, and does not give many plus to this phone...
The only reason that I will give this phone two stars, instead of just one, is the camera on the back. Its hard to find a phone with this price range come with the LED flash. Although the camera is only 5M pixels, the additional flash really helps to increase the usage of this phone, makes it easy to use indoor.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Dont waste your money its a garbage
By Bayadi
Shipping was extremely slow. got the package, No user manual.
The phone had a Chineese version of android (restricted). no google apps or media store or youtube and no way you can change that.
internet is hardly working, and the phone dont seems a dual core 1.2 and the worst surprise the phone is only 2g on gsm networks (att, tmobile)
I dont recommend this phone. its a garbage,

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
One of my best buy
By Ramsel Vidal
Good product, good deal. I recommend it, this phone does not have much to envy to a Samsung, LG or Sony. Good camera, good-sensitive touch screen, good battery duration is not heated. In so wonderful, I recommend it.

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Intel Core i5-3570K Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 4 Core LGA 1155 - BX80637I53570K

Intel Core i5-3570K Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 4 Core LGA 1155 - BX80637I53570K..

Grab Now Intel Core i5-3570K Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 4 Core LGA 1155 - BX80637I53570K By Intel

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96 of 105 people found the following review helpful.
Outstanding for CPU-intensive games and everything else
By Bryan
I recently upgraded from an AMD 955 CPU to an i5 3570k CPU, and I must say that Intel has gained another convert. This CPU will chew through any game, and I get much better performance than I ever did with the 955--the 3570k simply blows AMD out of the water. I do not do any sort of image editing or video encoding, so this review is written entirely from a gamer's perspective.

PROS:
-Great for extremely CPU-intensive games like the Total War games (Empire and Shogun 2 in particular). These games are fairly difficult to run smoothly at very high graphics settings due in large part to incredible (but demanding) particle effects, high unit density, shadow effects and many others, but the 3570k has no problems handling Empire at max settings (assuming you have a decent GPU to boot).
-I get much higher frame-rates and better performance in games like Crysis, Crysis 2, BF3, Max Payne 3, Empire: Total War, and Deus Ex 3 as well as older games like FEAR, Half-Life 2 and Rome: Total War.
-Achieves an overclock of 4.3-4.6GHz without much trouble at all (I've got mine at 4.5 GHz), at least on a Gigabyte Z77-UD3H motherboard.
-Using the Gigabyte Z77-UD3H MB I managed to OC to 4.3GHz with no stability issues at stock CPU Vcore voltage (1.13 V).
-Built-in Turbo boost feature clocks the 3570k up to 3.8GHz--which is a pretty decent boost and would be a good option for gamers who are uncomfortable with messing with BIOS settings to OC their CPUs.

-Almost identical to the 3770K in terms of gaming performance. Benchmark scores for a number of games show marginal (if any) improvements for the 3770k. Other benchmarks and certain games like the Total War series actually see improved frame-rates with the 3570k versus the 3770k.

CONS:
-It does run somewhat hot--I get temps in the high 70s, low 80s (deg C) with the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (with Arctic Silver 5 TIM) at 4.5GHz and 1.35 Volts. However, IB CPUs are designed to withstand more heat, so this is not a huge issue, but it may warrant considering a pricier cooler if you want to OC to around 5 GHz or higher.

OVERALL: The 3570k is an excellent CPU for any game on the market with a great performance-to-price ratio. Virtually all gaming performance benchmarks that you will find give near identical results for the 3570k and 3770k, so I would save yourself $100 and take the 3570K over the 3770k and put that money into a better graphics card or an SSD. If you already have a 2500k I would say that a 3570k is not worth the upgrade, but if you have anything older or are looking to switch over to Intel from AMD I would highly recommend it!

My PC specs:
Gigabyte Z77-UD3H MB
i5 3570k OC'd to 4.5GHz with Cooler Master 212 EVO + AS5 TIM
EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB on stock settings
Crucial M4 256GB SSD
Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz 8GB DDR3 RAM

91 of 108 people found the following review helpful.
Wow.
By bob
I am very impressed with this CPU. "Slick" is the word that comes to mind. THe stuff on paper about the native PCIe rev.3, and the new memory control circuit....etc. It looks good on paper. "These numbers are better than those numbers, this is different than that...." Well I put one of these into my computer...the one I use everyday, and haven't really upgraded for a while. I build i7s and Xeons, opterons, and Phenoms.......everyday. I get them to work, feed them an OS, drivers, applications, burn them in, package them and ship them out. I never really do 'my' work on them. (kinda like the shoemakers kids). I went back and forth between the i7s, the 2011 socket....but since this had been a bare bones bullet proof unit, I decided to go with the i5....something that would do what I needed it to do, and NEVER fail.

So I put this into an AsRock Extreme 4. Put my old hardware in there. Moved the drives over, loaded the drivers, and fired it up. Holy $^%t! All of that stuff on paper...forget it. What a kick. Real SATAIII is way faster than a SATAIII card. The graphics....wow! I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. This is a total computing experience. Again, I build cutting edge stuff for a living. So I'm kind of numb to this type of stuff. But when it was MY desktop flying around like that (Upgrade was from a core 2 quad).......I was an end user again, and a very happy one at that.

(just one tech note: You have to have a z77 or better southbridge to make all the newer stuff on the gen. 3 Intels to work)

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful.
Stop Reading and Buy It Now!
By Anthony Hodges
First off, let me state that I bought mine through Micro Center because they were offering the mobo I wanted in combination with this CPU when it first dropped for $280 as a package. However, I highly doubt there will be a big difference in the chip based on where you bought it.

This chip is out of this world. I paired it with a Z77 mobo and it FLIES. I've managed to successfully OC it to 4.6 GHz on air cooling (Cooler Master V-8) with temps ranging from 20C idle to 64C load. That sounds high, but the TJMax for this chip is 105C and it's safe to push up to 90C. I've still got enough room to MAYBE push 4.7 out of this, maybe. Now note, you WILL NOT be able to push this chip much beyond 4.5 GHz without some serious cooling solutions thanks for Intel's decision to use paste instead of solder. There is a major voltage/heat wall at 1.34v that will stop you in your tracks and the temps start rising fast at about 1.28-1.3v. However, pound-for-pound, this chip is worth it in both my opinion and reviews over the last generation simply because of that native USB 3.0 support and PCI-E 3.0 support. It will run neck-and-neck with a OC'ed Sandy Bridge, but offer the new supports. Both may not be used heavily right now, but I'm future proofed for at least 1 1/2 years minimum. Why not get the same performance with new toy for slightly more price?

I do not use my system for heavy media processing so I cannot comment on that, but I do use it to see how far I can push the system and for gaming. Just for an example, I'm running BF3 (which is very CPU intensive for a MP game) under ultra settings and only use 68-72% of my CPU potential. My previous AMD 955 BE was under 100% the entire time and never let down. I sadly had my GPU fry from static when I was rebuilding my system with this new chip and I got to play with the iGPU on the chip while I waited for my graphics card's RMA to finish. I was NOT able to play high graphics intense games like BF3, but I was able to play games like Civilization 5 and Diablo 3 under high settings with 60+ FPS with just the integrated GPU. That's impressive to me!

If you're looking to upgrade to a new chip, this one will not let you down and will continue to zippy and take advantage of new technologies well into the future. This chip is good for the gamer, a challenge for the OC'er, and PERFECT for the person who just wants to sit at home and watch Youtube.

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Intel NUC D34010WYK, Mini HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, USB 3.0, 4th Gen Intel Core i3-4010U, Consumer Infrared sensor

Intel NUC D34010WYK, Mini HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, USB 3.0, 4th Gen Intel Core i3-4010U, Consumer Infrared sensor..

Grab Now Intel NUC D34010WYK, Mini HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, USB 3.0, 4th Gen Intel Core i3-4010U, Consumer Infrared sensor By Intel

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87 of 87 people found the following review helpful.
Pretty fly for a small fry
By Steven Wilson
Although this is primarily marketed as a desktop/HTPC machine, I bought it to act as an unobtrusive home server to run local file sharing, game servers, and other miscellaneous tasks that required more grunt than my old netbook could spare. The build was fairly simple and quick, although getting the cover off was a little bit tricky (I ended up using the edge of the SDD clamshell to pry it off without scratching/gouging anything). The power/size-to-performance ratio is really something; it's certainly as quick as anyone could ask of a 1.7GHz chip that fits in such a tiny and low-power box. My only complaint is that the blower lends a slight air of cheapness/unreliability to the overall package. However, I have nothing but my prejudices to base that on right now, as it's been running fine so far. The only concrete drawback it has is that it makes the machine quiet rather than silent. That said, I doubt it would be audible at 10 feet if you wanted to use it for an HTPC build (my Blu-Ray player and game consoles are definitely louder). Only time will tell regarding reliability; I've had it running only a few hours, so I can't truly speak to that issue.

My Build:

This kit (Intel NUC D34010WYK, in case Amazon merges the reviews with the other Haswell NUC SKUs)

"Crucial CT2C8G3S160BM, 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800) CL11 SODIMM 204-Pin 1.35V/1.5V Memory Modules For selective Macs"

"Mushkin Direct Atlas Deluxe 60GB mSATA SATA III SSD MKNSSDAT60GB-DX"

FreeBSD 9.2 amd64

Tips and miscellaneous info:

The AC power cord was included in the box; I mention this because the older NUC kits reportedly did not include it, and Intel's description of this SKU only mentions that there are "options" for the power cord, so I didn't know until I opened it whether I would need to buy one.

The onboard Ethernet is an Intel PRO/1000 variant, but older operating systems will not have out-of-the-box support for it because it is the newer I218-V hardware (hardware ID 8086:1559). Support for this exists in recent versions of Linux and FreeBSD; OpenBSD 5.4-current does not support it as of this review, though a preliminary kernel patch was posted to the openbsd-tech list in case you really can't wait to run OpenBSD on this box. I assume you can download an appropriate Windows driver from Intel.

Don't forget that this box does not have any full-size video connectors: only mini-HDMI and mini-DisplayPort are available, so make sure you have the appropriate cable/adapter to connect it to your monitor/TV. I used the "BlueRigger High Speed Mini HDMI to HDMI cable with Ethernet (6 Feet)".

Low-voltage (1.35V / "DDR3L") SODIMMs are required; 1.5V-only SODIMMs are not supported. This means you generally can't just toss in any old DDR3 laptop RAM and expect it to work.

I'm not sure precisely what the default boot order is, but out of the box without any bootable medium it eventually fell back to PXE boot, and adding an external CD/DVD/BD drive with a bootable DVD resulted in booting from it without having to alter any settings or even enter the boot menu. so that was kind of nice.

UPDATE: after putting it in its long-term place, I notice that it's louder than I expected from sitting right in front of it. It's definitely audible at 10 feet in a silent room. I don't think the quality of the sound is particularly annoying, but YMMV on that.

99 of 109 people found the following review helpful.
Headless and Well Hassled
By Robert Salita
Update 28-Mar-2014: 90 days later -- Still no fixes. Just blah-blah. How is it possible that Intel can't fix major BIOS and driver issues? This is a great example of why open source is the safest choice.

Update 8-Mar-2014: Rumblings of a revolt on Intel Community forum. Months later no fixes. Here's my statement to Intel about why they should be a good citizen and fixes their BIOS and drivers. "I can't make a compelling case for how my living room HTPC impacts sales. I can state that my Amazon review, currently pinned as a top helpful review, is going to become increasingly more negative due to the total lack of fixes for the headless HDMI and USB boot issues. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, INTEL PLEASE FIX THESE ISSUES. I EXPECT A COMPUTER TO BOOT WITH USB DEVICES ATTACHED. I EXPECT I CAN PULL THE HDMI CABLE OUT AND USE THE NUC HEADLESS. I'M TOTALLY STUCK AND NOT FEELING THE LOVE. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE FIX YOUR ISSUES.

Update 27-Feb-2014: 60 days later -- Still no fixes. At least Intel is being more active in discussing the fail on boot issue on their NUC forums.

Update 27-Jan-2014: 30 days later -- No fixes for any of the four reported bugs. However, Intel has now confirmed all four issues. Lowered rating to two stars. Intel, where's the updates?

Update 28-Dec-2013: Others are confirming the inability to boot when USB 3 devices are attached. Likely this is an issue with all D34010WYK NUCs, maybe even all Haswell NUC variations. If you are thinking of buying this NUC and attaching USB 3.0 devices, you'd better read this thread: communities.intel.com/message/213356#213356

Update 24-Dec-2013: BIOS setup GUI freezes upon selecting some specific options (yes, before even saving changes) such as "Boot immediately upon power-on". Other options freeze too.

Update 24-Dec-2013: New hassle. NUC fails in BIOS bootstrap when more than 1 USB 3.0 device is plugged in. When more than one USB 3.0 device is plugged in, the startup screen has a missing "F2 to enter setup ..." message. Solution is to plug in just one USB device, power off/on, immediately after BIOS stage hands off to Windows, you can plug in all devices without issue. I'm guessing that early BIOS stage doesn't enable, or can't draw, full USB 3.0 current but does so immediately upon handing off to Windows. The issue occurs using a powered USB 3.0 hub with all USB 3.0 devices also powered. It also occurs without the hub. Can anyone else confirm this issue? I'm guessing this is just an issue with the BIOS firmware which can be corrected with a BIOS update.

Several major disappointments. My usage is as an always-on device mainly for HTPC use (file service, transcoding, etc). First disappointment is the noticeable fan noise -- a bit of a grinding or whirring sound. It's just loud enough to be noticeable and hard to mask. Second disappointment, perhaps temporary, is due to a graphics driver bug, you are blocked from running it as a headless Windows PC. It needs to have an active monitor plugged in at all times - it needs the monitor's EDID. If you either try to boot without a monitor, or you boot but later yank out the HDMI cable, the remoting software (LogMeIn, SplashTop, etc) freezes with a black screen and dead mouse. This was not the behavior on the Ivy Bridge versions of NUC, only the Haswell. I'm using Windows 8.1 Pro N with the latest BIOS and drivers.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful.
Intel took a nice product and made it even better, yet again!
By tunahammer
I have nothing but praise for this little machine! Intel fixed a number of previously griped about issues. Here is what they fixed/improved-
1. Purchase now includes a mickey mouse style power cord!
2. Thermal cooling pads are installed near SSD
3. There is an audio out port; horray!
4. 4 USB ports, instead of 3!
5. Even smaller in size!
6. Infrared is pretty cool for media playing.

The only thing that I dont really care for are the mini-hdmi AND display port outputs. Go with one or the other! NOT really a big deal tho.

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Intel Core i7-4770 Quad-Core Desktop Processor 3.4 GHZ LGA 1150 8 MB Cache BX80646I74770

Intel Core i7-4770 Quad-Core Desktop Processor 3.4 GHZ LGA 1150 8 MB Cache BX80646I74770..

Buy Intel Core i7-4770 Quad-Core Desktop Processor 3.4 GHZ LGA 1150 8 MB Cache BX80646I74770 By Intel

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60 of 69 people found the following review helpful.
Even less improvement than expected
By CRT
Quick Review:

While the i7-4770 is a solid processor for desktop users seeking power and bang for the buck and not concerned about the highest clock speed, it is not worth the upgrade if you are on a Sandy Bridge or newer CPU. I upgraded from a much older platform and I would have waited for the 2014 Haswell-e/Haswell refresh chips if the capacitors in my old motherboard had hung in a little longer.

Pros:

+ Supports Intel's Transaction Synchronization Extensions (TSX): This is not supported by the initial K series Haswell offerings and represents a capability that, as an executive responsible for software development, I would leverage in any effort where I could not justify the investment in fine-grained thread synchronization. I expect that game, CAD and multimedia developers are going to be looking to leverage this. As of this writing, this is the fastest consumer chip that supports it.

+ Good performance relative to current offerings: Stock i7-4770 chips do well on benchmark and real world tests. As of this writing (July 10,2013), cpubenchmark.net reports an average CPU Mark of 10,126. That is higher than any stock chip under 580USD, even beating the 4770k at stock speeds.

Cons:

- Surprisingly high retail price at introduction for what it is, I paid 310USD with an Intel box price of 312USD - expect prices to drop as initial fervor dies down and the Haswell line matures.

- Potentially superseded quickly by the i7-4771 (same capabilities with higher speed, possibly driven by improvements in binning with process maturity).

- Surprisingly disappointing performance improvement over previous generations (particularly memory operations).

- Extremely limited overclocking.

Neutral:

o Requires an LGA1150 motherboard - you can't reuse your old one if you wanted to, but LGA1150 chipsets natively have greater peripheral support

BACKGROUND

If you are reading this than I expect you either typically build your own PCs, are considering your first build or are considering upgrading an existing LGA1150 PC (assuming you are reading this in 2014 or later). In each of these cases, you are not the typical user so I will not waste time on basics or information that is available elsewhere. I will give you my opinions and the reasoning behind them and hope they will help you making your own informed decision.

I have been building and tweaking PCs since the early 1990's, but I have only done a half dozen builds for personal or family use. For my primary desktop I tend to build 1 tier from the top (enthusiast, high bang for the buck) and keep it for a long time. It takes me about a day to build a machine and get the OS to boot, but it seems like it takes months before I have the applications fully configured. This build replaced a late 2003 Pentium 4 3.2GHz Northwood Socket 478 build. Yep - almost 10 years. And I actually use my machine - Catia, heat transfer simulations, photoshop CS, HDTV video capture and editing, large MS project plans, various SW development environments and the standard Office applications. I do occasionally game, but not a lot of FPSs. The Socket 478 machine performed as needed until late 2012 when the lack of 64bit and being limited to 2 concurrent threads became an issue (I have access to other hardware, so it was never a road block).

While the new i7-4770 based machine is faster, I am surprised by how little improved it is in real world applications. The most conservative general application of Moore's law says that the new machine should be able to process about 30 times as much information (double every 2 years over 10 years). Having lived with the new machine for few weeks now I am convinced that it is not that much faster. I have used PassMark's Performance Test to benchmark and maintain my personal machines since 2001 so I can provide some objective comparisons in addition to a thumb in the wind estimate...

Using Performance Test v5 with the 4770 machine running 8 threads vs. 2 threads on my old 3.2GHz P4

CPU Mark: 7146.7(i7-4770) vs 665.0(P4) - about 10.75 times the CPU Mark of the old machine

With the 4770 machine running only 2 threads its rating drops to 3343.3 (~5x)

With regards to the built in 4600 graphics - the P4 at the time of testing was sporting a Radeon HD 3800 AGP 8X...

3D Graphics Mark: 2415.0 vs 2358.8 (almost no change)
2D Graphics Mark: 260.8 vs 114.3 (2.25x)

This is a bit of an unfair comparison as a midrange modern dedicated graphics card would likely improve the new machine's performance by an order of magnitude, but it does put Intel's onboard GPU in perspective.

And the real disappointment - memory...

Memory Mark: 992.7 vs 564.9 (~1.75x)

The new machine has much more memory and PerformanceTest 5.0 is 32bit so the new machine has considerable addressing overhead handicapping it, but this really shows how little difference there is between ancient low latency DDR-440 and comparatively high latency modern DDR3-1866.

There is one category where we see the type of improvement we would hope for after 10 years - storage performance. Disk access has always been a bottle neck for me so the P4 was loaded with two Raptors in a RAID0 configuration for the primary boot and application drive. The 4770 machine has a single SSD. The result:

Disk Mark: 19406.6 vs 418.2 (~46x)

The overall PassMark rating of the new system in PerformanceTest v5 (running 8 threads) is 6322.9 versus 677.3 or slightly over 9 times the performance of the old P4 machine.

These numbers back up the way the new machine feels - much faster, but not shockingly so. In fact, shockingly disappointing would be more accurate.

Did I get a bad 4770? Bad motherboard? Bad memory? Should I give up my job as an engineering executive and go back to playing with Legos because I can't even build a PC? To answer that, let's see how the new machine compares against modern machines. Using the current version of Performance Test (v8.0) yields the following results...

PassMark Rating: 3,227
CPU Mark: 11,114
2D Graphics: 1,120
3D Graphics: 559
Memory Mark: 2,961
Disk Mark: 4,266

These numbers are solid. In fact, with the exception of the 3D Graphics, this machine outperforms the other 71 i7-4770 based systems on cpubenchmark.net as of this writing. And the i7-4770 is arguably the fastest stock chip you can get for under 580USD. This makes the lack of progress over the past 10 years even more clear.

My take is:

Unless you have to have a new desktop now, you really should sit this round out altogether - Intel did. The lack of TSX support on the K-series takes them out of play. I am doubtful of the real world improvements of the Ivy Bridge-e as well. If you have a Sandy Bridge, or a Sandy Bridge-e - in my opinion you built at the right time. We have two 2600K based machines and they will serve in their roles well for many years. My plan for my personal desktop is to take a good look at the Haswell-e chips after the prices stabilize (along with DDR4) - maybe sometime in 2015. If I like what I see, the i7-4770 will be transitioned to our HTPC and I will build a new desktop then. That will give me 2 years with this hardware on my desk - about 1/5 of what I got out of my last desktop build.

40 of 45 people found the following review helpful.
Solid Processor, Modest jump from Gen 3, Not for overclocking
By Amadeus B. Klein
This is Intel's 4th Generation i7, the 4770 is a direct replacement of the 3770. This CPU is not meant for overclocking (does not have an unlocked multiplier), you want the Intel Core i7-4770K Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80646I74770K for that.

That said you will need a new motherboard to upgrade from any of the earlier generation CPUs as this generation uses the 1150 socket while the other 3 used different ones. One nice thing here is aftermarket CPU coolers that fit 1155/1156 sockets will work on this CPU.

This CPU is a Quad Core, 8 thread running at 3.4GHz with boost to 3.9GHz as needed.
It is an 84 Watt CPU. The only currently available faster Intel 4th Gen CPU is the 4770K running at 3.5Ghz (and able to be overclocked thanks to the unlocked multiplier).

It comes with HD 4600 integrated graphics which is an upgrade over the HD 4000 in the 3rd Generation 3770.

Depending on what site you read for technical reviews this processor will give an improvement of 1%-20% over a 3rd generation CPU. Personally it seems about a 5%-10% increase in performance in most bench tests I have seen...

When looking at this consider some of the following things:
1) This will require a new motherboard ($100+)so budget that in
2) This does not have an unlocked multiplier, so overclocking is out.
3) With a $300+ price tag and a minimum $100 for a motherboard you will be spending at least $400+ to upgrade so even assuming the best performance increase that's $20 per % of increased performance.

If the price fits what you are looking for and you have no desire to overclock then this might be a solid choice of CPU...

I personally decided on the i7-4770K because if I ever choose to I can overclock it. I upgraded from a 3770K (not overclocked) and didn't really see any real world performance increase (Not overclocked).

I am using it in my media center PC which serves 6-8 TVs, streams music and maintains my media collection. so I am not pushing it with extreme gaming, but I do have it running without a hitch while streaming 1080p 3D movies to 6 TVs at the same time...

If you absolutely must have a 4th Gen i7 Processor and price is a major concern then this might be a good fit, but if top performance is more what you're looking for go with the 4770K... The performance bump over the 1st/2nd gen CPUs does seem worth the price.

If you are happy with your 3rd Gen i7 I would skip the upgrade since it's not that large of a performance boost overall...

Components in my personal Build:
Silverstone Tek GD-08 Case
ASUS Z87-PRO Intel Z87 4DIMM ATX
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W 80+ Bronze
SAMSUNG 840 250GB 2.5 SATA III
Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50 GHz LGA1150
Kingston XMP 16GB 1866MHz DDR3 CL9 (Kit of 4) XMP
Blu-ray Optical Drive
5 Western Digital Red 3 TB NAS Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, SATA III (12TB Usable with Raid Config)
ARCTIC Freezer 7 Pro Rev. 2, CPU Cooler
EVGA GeForce GTX 650 1024MB GDDR5 DVI mHDMI Graphics Card

Just my Thoughts,

MG

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful.
A better deal than the i7-4770K
By coder
This processor is fully featured, unlike the i7-4770K which lacks support for TSX and costs more. The TSX instruction set extension will make multi-threaded applications faster, so despite the i7-4770K's extra overclocking abilities (which are not guaranteed), it may not be the faster processor in all cases.

So just get this i7-4770 instead and get what you pay for. You can also save money on a cheaper motherboard. This processor offers a lot of bang for the buck and still has untapped potential thanks to the AVX2 and TSX features which will be used by future software and thus extend its longevity.

I've observed a fairly consistent 20% higher performance in multi-threaded applications over an i7-2600 so far. AVX2's doubled vector processing power should increase that gap even more once multimedia applications and games make use of it.

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ASUS M11AA-US002Q Intel Core i3-3220T, 4GB RAM, 1TB HD, Desktop with Windows 7 Professional

ASUS M11AA-US002Q Intel Core i3-3220T, 4GB RAM, 1TB HD, Desktop with Windows 7 Professional..

Grab Now ASUS M11AA-US002Q Intel Core i3-3220T, 4GB RAM, 1TB HD, Desktop with Windows 7 Professional By Asus

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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful.
Excellant computer
By Sharon A Thomas
I am very satisfied with this processor. It meets all of my needs, especially having a Windows 7 operating system similar to XP like I'm used to instead of Windows 8 which I can't get used to at all. I just didn't realize that it came with a keyboard and mouse and I had ordered another set. I like the compact size with easily accessible usb ports but the black keyboard is a little hard for me to see the letters or numbers. Overall I love it though paired with a nice 21 inch flat screen with excellant digital display.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
I am a ASUS Convert
By appaloosa
This ASUS CPU is exactly what I needed to replace my pricey, but out of date Dell that had an Windows XP operating system. It gets the job done and luckily was easy to set up, as I love my armoire desk and needed this shape CPU. Not familiar with the brand except for seeing my grandkids using theirs. Only thing I see as a negative is the cd slot is difficult to access when I have something plugged into the USB ports right above. Luckily my monitor has 2 ports that make this situation better. Changing to Windows 7 has been a learning process, but much easier than I expected. I definitely have very little technological training so appreciate this unit making my life easier, not more difficult. Senior citizens like me do not like change, but I have read enough to know Windows 7 would be a good alternative. and it is!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
A good Buy !
By Alexander Sloan
This is a good buy for a low end PC. Has sufficient memory and processing power for home, High School and College use. Would not purchase for gaming or business. Does not have wireless

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PlayStation Portable 3000 Core Pack System - Piano Black

PlayStation Portable 3000 Core Pack System - Piano Black..

Grab Now PlayStation Portable 3000 Core Pack System - Piano Black By Sony

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384 of 404 people found the following review helpful.
Simply The Best
By JDP
The all new slimmer PSP 3000 comes in with a couple of new upgrades over the 2000 model. Primarily for the Skype functionality, a microphone is onboard along with a reduced glare 4.3" screen. Its a given that fingerprints will still be a continued issue for the PSP line. Thankfully, the age old problem of ghosting has yet to appear on my new PSP 3000.

One of the sweeter features now is an upgraded (AV) video output support. Owners can now operate their systems with regular (NON HD) TV. I suggest buyers pick up a good composite or component cable. With the usual collection of great games, improved graphics is a major plus.

As with all previous models, control buttons layout are very much like the classic Play Station. One area of concern is that load times for the UMD (Universal Media Disc) seemed to drag a bit. Its a given that purchasing the kit which includes the proprietary MS Duo Card is more cost effective in the end. Its obvious that Sony missed the boat when it went with its own proprietary format instead of the more widely used and less costly SD standard.

Even though Wi-fi capable, the unit is outfitted with possibly the slowest version (802.11b) on the planet. It powers up via a 5 volt ac adapter or USB. Video playback is great as long as you copy your favorites on the memory stick Duo Card. Going any other way is definitely a slow dragged out process. When it comes to television, Sony's own version of Slingbox allows for free tv viewing.

This PSP won't get confused with your IPOD anytime soon but music play is generally good. Another added feature is that it will even support music art. If one is going to display photos on the PSP I strongly suggest compressing your files. Photo display can be via slide show or singles.

Of note, the PSP is also a web browser. However, its hit and miss for flash. Streaming internet radio via Shoutcast is a freebie. PSP offers a regular schedule of firmware updates. As with the earlier editions, via a network or the internet the unit can pick up audio, video and photo files that are stored on a PS3. The PSP 3000 comes with the standard 1200 mAh rechargeable battery. Battery life runs almost a full 5 hours whether one is gaming or watching a movie.

Necessary accessories such as the Memory Stick Duo card, protective screen cover, headphones and a carrying case are not included. Not all PSP headphones are compatible with the PSP 3000. When purchasing headphones read the specs carefully.

Even without the included accessories, the PSP 3000 still brings it on. I would definitely recommend this model as a gift or as a personal purchase. After all, it is Play Station.

327 of 347 people found the following review helpful.
How I Decided Between PSP GO and PSP 3000
By E. Agarwal
I've spent the last few weeks doing some research on which to buy, and finally caved and bought a PSP GO. I ended up returning it and buying the PSP 3000, and here's why:

1. Physical comfort.

I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for things that are new and look cool (sometimes at the cost of utility.) Plus, things that slide are undoubtedly awesome. Sony knew that when they made the GO. The problem is the "cool" and "new" factors are outweighed by the smaller screen and compressed controls. Also, I thought it would be better having the controls on the bottom wh en gaming, and have a less distracting view when watching movies since the buttons would be hidden, but I was wrong. The buttons on the side are far more comfortable, convenient, and surprisingly natural. The bigger screen actually does make a difference, and the L and R buttons just feel more natural this way.

One thing to note about the screens (both have the same resolution):

They're good, but not great. The problem is we're spoiled now. If you have a smartphone (which if you don't, I feel like I don't even know you,) you'll be disappointed when you see some things on the screen that are just so clearly pixelated. I'm going to post a video review in a bit and you'll see what I'm talking about.

2. Digital games vs. UMD (the names of the physical discs that the 3000 uses.)

For those who don't know, the PSP GO uses digital games exclusively. There are no physical discs. You download games from the Playstation Network store. It's convenient since you don't have to carry discs around, and you have immediate access to a huge selection.

The 3000 uses physical discs (UMD) as well as downloads. Now, carrying discs around is definitely a hassle (even though they're only about 2 inches by 2 inches), but the benefit is that you can buy used discs for very cheap, an option not available with the digital only GO.

***IMPORTANT TIP***

At GameStop, you can buy used PSP UMDs for cheap, and they have a great return policy. For any reason, you can return any used game within 7 days for a full refund, to any GameStop in the country. If you don't have your receipt, you have to return it to the location where you bought it.

***/IMPORTANT TIP***

3. Price

This is often overlooked but I think very important. The retail price for the GO is $250, which is pretty crazy given that you can often find a PS3 for $250, or at worst, $300. Given that you can get a full system for 20% more, it's hard to justify spending that much for considerably less functionality.

Now on Amazon you can get the GO go for $200, plus tax and such leads to about $215. On NewEgg, you can get the PSP 3000 with Madden 11, free shipping and no tax for $170. So you'll end up paying at least $45 more, but for what?

You are really spending $45 more for no reason. And with this extra $45, comes the responsibility to spend even more on games that you buy directly from the PlayStation network as opposed to used UMDs.

4. Memory Stick

***IMPORTANT TIP***

If you do decide to get a GO, it uses something called the M2. If you buy it from Amazon, you get a 4GB for $15 and it comes with an adapter for the Memory Stick Duo:

http://www.amazon.com/Sandisk-Memory-Stick-SDMSM2-4096-Package/dp/B00107AO58/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1281896190&sr=8-1

If you buy a 3000, it uses the Memory Stick Duo, which if you buy by itself, a 4GB will run you ~$19:

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Memory-Stick-Flash-MSMT4G/dp/B0013AX2JM/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1281896267&sr=1-2

I know it's only a matter for $4, but I thought that was interesting (I need to get out more) and worth mentioning.

***/IMPORTANT TIP***

5. Fun level

They're both freaking fun. Sony knows what they're doing, the games are great, the devices are both portable and easy to take around, and keep you entertained for hours. Either way, you'll love what you bought.

6. WRAP UP

I ended up with a 3000 and I'm happy with it. I couldn't justify spending nearly as much money as I would on a full system without getting much in return. And the ability to buy used games for considerably less was also hugely attractive. Finally, the better placement of the controls really won me over.

Enjoy!

160 of 181 people found the following review helpful.
Handheld entertainment bonanza
By ice grizzly
With a wealth of games and movies, the new refined PSP is a big bonanza. It is slim, sleek and bright. Either if you are new to PSP or upgrading from PSP1000, this one has a lot to offer. Inbuilt microphone, bright LCD scree, better battery life, smoother inputs and more ergonomic placement of master controls. This is a very well designed machine, if you have checked the past PSP history they have very long life. Perfect for both adults and young ones. 08 had more than 10 block busters for PSP. 09 is promising to be another great one with more goods coming from Japan and EU. Most important of all Little Big planet and Resistance Retribution. All the PSP2000 accessories are compatible with PSP3000, every thing from case to car chargers. As with PSP2000 this one sport a larger RAM. With additional hardware resources it supports a wide variety of media including 720x480p H.264/MP4 DVD quality movies, wma, mp3 and more.

Now one important warning. Memory Stick Duo is one of the most pirated card in black market. Pay up and buy from trusted vendors. Cheap cards sold in ebay and other 3rd party vendors are slow and less reliable. When you put the card in any device like PSP check for magic-gate info. If it says magic-gate: unknown, return it back. You are better off buying Lexar or other cheaper card from reputable vendor than buying fake card. Dont promote fake sellers, if you find any fake seller report to Amazon and authorities.

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