Today we took a look at desktops and came cross the new DX4840 range from Gateway. The DX4840 sports i3 or i5 processors, Windows 7 and at least 4GB of memory. Here are the specs on the DX4840-02e model

* Intel® Core™ i5-650 Processor2 3.2GHz with Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.46GHz (4MB L3 Cache)
* Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
* 4096MB DDR3 Dual-Channel 1333MHz Memory
* Expandable to 8GB
* 640GB 7200RPM SATA hard drive
* Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD
* 16X DVD+/-R/RW Super Multi Drive
* High Definition Audio with 5.1-channel Surround Support
* Available Expansion Slots 1 - PCI-E x16, 2 - PCI-E x1, 1 - PCI
* Dimensions (System) 16.23″ (H) x 7.09″ (W) x 16.27″ (D) or 412.24mm (H) x 180mm (W) x 413.2mm (D)
* Gateway® FHX2300 23″ Widescreen LCD Display (1920 x 1080 resolution & 16:9 Aspect Ratio)
* External Ports (10) USB 2.0 ports (4 Front, 6 Rear), VGA, (2) PS/2 Ports, HDMI™, (3) Audio Ports
* Multi-in-One Digital Media Card Reader with Photo Frame Button
* 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port)
* 25 lbs. (11.3 kg)

It also rocks in at $800 which isn’t a bad price for a desktop with all these features. We managed to find one review for you to check the full deal on the Gateway DX4840-02e over at PC Mag where they gave it a 4 out of 5, quoting integrated graohics and bloatware are negatives whilst on the upside were the machine’s performance and included monitor.

Lenovo have got in on the 3D act with the latest addition to their IdeaPad range, the Y560d laptop. The unit boasts ATI’s Mobility Radeon HD 5730 and a 15.6 inch display as well as of course, the TriDef 3D system. Here’s a breakdown of the specs and features on the Y560d 3D laptop from Lenovo.

* Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Processor ( 1.60GHz 1333MHz 6MB )
* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 1GB
* 4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz
* 15.6″ HD Wide LED - 3D 1366×768
* 500GB HDD 5400rpm
* DVD Recordable (Dual Layer)
* 6 Cell Lithium-Ion battery
* Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 network card
* Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR

So if you’re after a 3D laptop the IdeaPad Y560d from Lenovo may be just what you are looking for. The unit currently will set you back $1500 from Dealzon.

We did look around for a few reviews but none were to be found, which surprised us with the 3D technology being relatively new. Of course if you have managed to get your mits on an IdeaPad Y560d, drop us a comment and let us all know what you think!

Today we’re checking out the i5 powered Acer Aspire AS5741-6073 laptop. This unit sports a 15.6 inch display with a $700 price tag, here are the rest of the details on the Aspire AS5741-6073

* Intel® CoreTM i5-430M Processor (3MB L2 cache, 2.26GHz)
* 4GB DDR3 1066 SDRAM
* 500GB hard drive
* Acer® CineCrystal 15.6″ (1366 x 768) TFT display
* Intel® HD Graphics
* 802.11b/g/n WLAN, gigabit LAN
* Webcam
* Integrated Super-Multi drive; 5-in-1 card reader
* Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium ; 64-bit version
* 5.3 lb
* 15.6 inch widescreen display
* Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW optical drive

As mentioned the unit sports a $700 price tag and in fact is only $687 at Amazon. And at amazon it’s already received a five star customer review which doesn’t mentioned any downsides to the Aspire AS5741. PCMag have also reviewed the unit and gave it 3.5 stars out of five, stating ‘Design looks dated. Keyboard design makes it a magnet for dirt and dust.’ as cons, whilst liking processor, battery life, and weight.

With 2010 being the year of 3D TV, we’ve sort of forgotten about 2009’s favourite toy the Solid State Drive. So we were pleased to see Intal’s latest SSD offering come across our radar and thought we’d share the SSD joy with you all. The last time we took a look at an Intel SSD was back in January with their X25-V SSD range and less than six months later, their latest range, X25-M Mainstream is available. The X25M SSD range comes in three flavours, 40, 80 and 160 GB with the following specifications

* Serial ATA interface
* Data transfer rates up to 3 Gbps
* Sustained Sequential Read: up to 250 MB/s
* Sustained Sequential Write: up to 70 MB/s (80 GB drive) and up to 100 MB/s (160 GB drive)
* 2.5¨ Industry Standard Hard Drive Form Factor
* 1.2 million hours Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF)
* Intel® Multi-Level Cell (MLC) NAND Flash Memory

Needless to say the specs are an improvement on the January models, but what about the prices? Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to have been a lot of movement in this area, with the 40GB model still costing around the same $120 mark as back in January. However if you’re keen to upgrade your old ‘moving part’ drives then click on thru below to get to the Intel SSD X25-M range at Amazon.

40 GB - $118
80 GB - $225
160 GB - $430

Asus have unleashed the EeePC 1201PN notebook on the unsuspecting world. The 12.1 inch notebook squeezes itself into a market niche somewhere between netbook and mid-range notebook with a MSRP of $499. Judging by comments around the web, despite using Nvidia’s Ion platform for its discrete graphics chip, this EeePc lacks the Optimus technology from Nvidia which consequently means a shorter battery life. If you are still keen read on for a full list of specs on the Asus Eee PC 1201PN notebook

* Intel Atom N450 (1.66 GHz, 512 KB L2 Cache)
* Nvidia ION 2 graphics platform
* 12-inch WXGA (1366×768) LED screen
* 2 GB DDR2 RAM, 2 x SODIMM Slot, 4 GB Max
* 250 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
* Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System (32 Bit)
* HDMI and VGA out
* Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n connectivity
* 0.3 MP Webcam
* 3.1 lb
* 11.65 inches, 8.19 inches, 1.31 inches

Shame about the lack of Nvidia Optimus as an enhanced battery life would have helped the EeePC 1201PN raise its head above the current throng of notebooks around the $500 price tag. We did manage to track down a review for you over at LaptopMag, where it receives 3.5 stars out of 5, not exactly a stellar result.

So it seems the Asus EeePC 1201PN falls a bit short of the mark, but if you really, really want one then you can pop on over to Amazon where you can your hands on one for a slight discount on MSRP at $484.

It wasn’t that long ago that we were enthusing about the MSI GX640 gaming notebook and here we are two weeks later and MSI have unleashed yet another one on the alien-bashing world. The latest unit, the GX740, sports a 17 inch display, powered by a quad 1.6 GHz Core i7 processor with a Mobility Radeon HD 5870 grahocs card with a go-faster red trim. The price tag will be around $1400, so if you’re still interested feel free to check out the rest of the details

* 17 inch TFT-LCD Widescreen Display
* Quad 1.6 GHz Core i7 processor
* 4GB memory
* Mobility Radeon HD 5870 graphics card (with GDDR5 1GB VRAM)
* 7.1-channel audio output
* Built-in subwoofer
* 5 SRS Premium Sound™-certified high-fidelity speakers
* 500GB, 7,200RPM HDD
* Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity
* HDMI output
* 2.0 Mega Pixel Webcam

The MSI GX740 certainly seems to sport the necessary specifications for a gaming laptop with a nice price tag of $1400 at Amazon. As for reviews, PC Advisor give it the thumbs up with a slight reservation about the lack of a full HD display and Notebook Check give the MSI GX740 a thorough test review with a glowing final verdict.

Today we’re taking a look at ViewSonic’s 27 inch HDTV cum monitor, the VT2730. This 27 inch 1080p display falls neatly in the gap between HDTV and monitor ideal for someone short on space or after a large PC display. Admittedly not a large market but an existing one none-the-less. The LCD HDTV sports 100,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and a 3.4 ms response, here are the rest of the features and specs on the ViewSonic VT2730

* 27″ VT2730 widescreen LCD HDTV
* Full HD 1080p resolution
* 100,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
* Super-fast 3.4ms video response
* Integrated ATSC/NTSC/QAM tuner
* USB port JPEG picture format
* 16:9 Full HD 1920×1080 resolution panel
* Advanced ClearPicture™ image processing eliminates noise, increases contrast and detail and optimizes color for rich, vibrant images
* Ultra-high brightness of 250-nit
* Add versatility to your LCD TV with support for HDMI with high-definition content protection (HDCP) and analog (VGA) signals, plus component, S-video, composite, and TV/cable input
* TV/Video comp. 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
* Analog 15-pin mini D-sub (VGA)
* Digital HDMI (x3)
* Power Consumption 70W (typ) / 75W (max.)
* With Stand 25.4″ x 18.3″ x 0.9″
* 15.4 lb. (7.0 kg)
* One-year limited warranty on parts and backlight

Possibly the best thing about the VT2730 is its price tag which rocks in at only $369 over at Amazon. We like the VT2730, and if you’re after a large monitor its a pretty good purchase at $369. However we’re not totally convinced as its suitability as your HDTV. We did find one review over at PCMag who had image quality as a negative yet colour quality as a plus.

If you are using a ViewSonic VT2730 either as an HDTV or as a monitor, feel free to let us know what you think.