FeaturedSystems.com

If you can’t tell, Dell desktops
are among one of my favorites. Like me, they support the idea that you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for a powerful system with lots of features. Enter the Dell Inspiron 531: until December 20, 2007, the computer system is available for just $449. “Ok,” you say, “that’s a good price and everything, but there are lots of desktops at that price point.” But this $449 comes with 2GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive. Yes, you will have to put up with Windows Vista Home Premium, but the combination of price, RAM and drive space make this one a winner in my book.

Here’s the official gateway to the deal:

Inspiron 531 only $449 (before tax, fees, shipping & handling) after $340 instant savings

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A brand of computer system I’ve often read about is Alienware. Named for the founders’ love of the hit series The X-Files, the sleek brand features a product line with advanced desktops, laptops, home entertainment systems and accessories. Alienware systems are known to be specialized for the gamer community, offering high-performance computing options like advanced liquid cooling, overclocked processors and way-cool cases.

If it’s not a name you know, the company offers the following as an introduction:

Established in 1996, Alienware® manufactures high-performance desktop, notebook, media center, and professional systems. Operating under the philosophy of “build it as if it were your own,” Alienware has earned numerous awards for excellence and has become a respected brand name worldwide with systems available direct within the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

While this descriptions captures their go-it-alone attitude, it does bear mentioning that the former “outsider” company was acquired by Dell in 2006 and remains a wholly-owned subsidiary. That purchase didn’t squelch their competitive drive, though. As recently as October 2007, the company has launched two new services: AlienContact and AlienExchange. The former is a remote support application to help diagnose problems. The latter is a computer trade-in/trade-up offer. Neither are industry firsts, but both efforts show you this isn’t your father’s computer company.

I’ve run across to recent promotions for Alienware systems: one for a desktop and one for a laptop.

Featured Desktop Deal: NEW Area-51® ALX - Extreme Gaming Performance Desktop. This Quad Core gamer system has an Intel Core 2 Extreme processor, DDR3 memory, ATI Radeon 512MB graphics card and more. At just $150/month, you should take a look at this MONSTER system.

Featured Laptop Deal: Aurora™ m9700: Alienware’s most popular system of 2007 ready for the Holidays!. This feature-rich Alienware laptop can be had for just over $2000.

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Quick post: I just received an “insider” email notifying me that you can get an Inspiron desktop computer from Dell for just $449 (+taxes, s&h).

Inspiron 531 only $449 (before tax, fees, shipping & handling) after $310 instant savings

These systems are normally $759! This is a limited time deal, with the offer expiring in under 2 weeks: 11/01/07. Of course, you should consult the deal’s rules and restrictions but this should be a bargain many entry-level users find attractive.

Dell’s E-Value Code for this Inspiron deal is 6VAFF-DDDAEA3.

Technorati Tags: Dell, Inspiron

Found: A great deal on Dell’s newest entry level computer, the Dell Vostro 200 desktop computer.

While Dell’s newest brand "Vostro" targets the small business crowd, tech savvy bargain hunters are finding the name also means capable computing at a low price. Since Dell hasn’t been making these for long, it has taken a while for Shop.FeaturedSystems.com to get them in inventory but, at last, we have a good deal lined up.

For just $399, the Dell Vostro 200 Desktop comes with a 1.60 Dual Core Processor, 1GB of RAM, a 80GB hard drive, 16x DVD-ROM drive and, best of all, it comes with Windows XP Home - not Windows Vista. (We’re not big fans of Vista…) Like the rest of the Vostro line up, bloatware is kept to a minimum, meaning you actually get to use more of that 80GB drive than with other desktop systems since lots of unnecessary programs aren’t there to take up space. If you’re a novice user who likes or wants programs like AOL and software “Lite” pre-installed, this computer isn’t for you.

Pros and Cons? An interesting positive feature we’ve seen mentioned again and again - this computer is quiet! If there’s one negative issue we’ve seen come up: the motherboard doesn’t have a parallel port to support older printers. A few users have been disappointed to learn they have to buy a USB printer to go with their new system.

So take a look at the Dell Vostro 200 Desktop if you’re in the market for a strong, economical desktop computer. Browse online resources like Compreviews.About.com and ComputerShopper.com for more opinions but, ultimately, our $399 price is hard to beat.

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HP is a computer brand we’ve trusted for years. Since the late 90s, the company has targeted consumers with "Media Center" desktop systems for maximum video and multimedia performance. As time as passed, computer prices have dropped and dropped and dropped, delivering to us one of HP’s latest desktop deal - the HP Pavilion Media Center M8120N. Priced new at just under $1200, this system has an Intel Core Duo processor, 3GB of RAM and a whopping 640GB hard drive. Did I mention it’s just $1200?

Review full system info on the product detail page, but it’s worth noting that this desktop PC has received an average of four stars from Amazon.com users. Many of those who have purchased it have rated it with five stars, citing:

I ordered my new PC and it arrived within the week. I was thrilled. The set up with the directions you gave me were simple- I could do it without asking anyone for help. Each feature has been so easy to master. I now use my digital camera card in the slot on the PC to upload my photos- no more cords to worry about. I made a file of photos and used the DVD burner to burn a file for safe keeping. Simple, fast, and I love it! And I watched some movies on it too.. really great!

What more could we say? The only negative reported was that early models had only a VGA monitor output. This was a little too low tech for those with high-end monitors - a DVI output would have been preferred. Subsequent reports indicate the HP now ships with DVI output and a VGA adapter. Perfect!

Interested in buying the HP Media Center? When it arrives, the package contains the HP Media Center m8120n desktop PC, keyboard, mouse, remote control, and power cord. It is backed by a limited warranty for parts and labor for one year from date of purchase as well as technical telephone assistance for one year. Software is also covered for 90 days from date of purchase. This is definitely a desktop computer system worth considering for home and home office users in the market. For more information, readers can also reference the CNET review of the M8120N.

Technorati Tags: HP Pavillion, Media Center