Advantages: Sppedy, good monitor and sound system, nice design
Disadvantages: poor graphics card

...The Dell Dimension 8400 is a great machine let down by the poor graphics card that comes as standard. The 250gb hard drive is fast and this is noticeable as early as in booting up the machine. 1 gigabyte of memory is provided, which is more than generous for most tasks. The system also includes the soundblaster audigy 2 card, together with a 5.1 surround sound speaker system which works well for both games and movies. One minor point out here is the level of the subwoofer compared to the other speakers - you may wish to keep the subwoofer level to near minimum to avoid an excess of bass. The 17" TFT display is clear and bright and has a high refresh rate. There is no discernable blurring. The DVD rewriter is speedy and can handle dual layer disks. One minor gripe is that the second drive is cd-rom only. This can make... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Ease of ordering,good value ,pick your own configuration.
Disadvantages: Build quality of case can be patchy.

...I bought my Dell 8400 approx 12 months ago.This model is no longer sold by dell themselves and has been replaced by the 9150 model. If you are therefore buying second hand you should be able to get a good deal. Try to go for a higher spec model,mine has a 3.4Ghz intel processor which i find is quick enough for just about every need, especially if you can get 1 Gigbyte of Ram though there are generally empty slots to upgrade yourself. The case is easy to open as there are no screws and plenty of space inside if you wish to change graphics cards ,drives etc. Mine was supplied with an nvidia 6800 Gpu and is pretty good at playing all the games on the market at this time. As an example ,when i play Doom 3 i play on high settings and still get 40+ frames per second though you must shut down all open windows etc. The Hard... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Looks great, performs well, easily installed
Disadvantages: Gigabit networking is unavoidably expensive

...Netgears GS605 offers a stylish alternative to having gigabit Ethernet in the home. I spent a lot of time looking for a retailer who stocked this item and eventually I ended up shopping with MicroDirect after Misco sent me a GS105 (the GS605's business brother) in error. I'm quite fond of Netgears home networking equipment and my entire home network currently uses solely Netgear products. The GS605 is the same size as all Netgears current line of home products that feature the platinum white casing. The product I obtained was silently different than advertised in that it had a silver reflective lining around the front panel instead of the traditional white used on all of the other platinum white products. The GS605 is also considerably heavier than both the DG834 router and the WG602 access point, most likely due to a greater... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Superb Handling and build quality
Disadvantages: Expensive service costs

...For any of you contemplating the purchase of a s/h R850GS, I owned one for 12 months last year and would endorse it as the "best" bike I have ever owned. For two and a half months I traveled Europe from the battle fields of Ypres through Normandy, Brittany , to the Dordoine. Then accross the French Alps into Italy. Right accross Italy to Austria via the Brenner Pass, then down to Vienna. Back to Bavaria, then along lake constance accross into France again and via Champagne, Poitiers and central France to Calais and Home. throughout this journey, the GS performed impeccably, no breakdowns,glitches or any problem, even one stretch where I was in the saddle from 9am to 9am travelling right accross France, she didn't miss a beat. Overall the GS gave good economy (45 ish MPG) superb handling (fitted with Metzler tyres) and superb... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: SLi Compatable, Cheap, compact
Disadvantages: Not the best to overclock, Bit slow on High res Games

...Ive just set up a second computer with the ASUS EN7600GS Silencer 256mb graphics card installed and I dont think there is a better budget upgrade card on the market. I set this graphics card into the following setup. Foxconn Am2 N570SM2AA motherboard AMD Athlon 64x2 3600+ Processor 512 DDR2 800 RAM Seagate 7200 250 GB Hard Drive 400w Power Supply DESIGN: The 7600GS is designed for motherboards with a PCI Express 16 slot and I would suggest it was placed on a motherboard with 2 PCI express slots as this graphics card is SLI capable. Meaning it can be linked with another ASUS EN7600GS so you can run two graphics cards as one Powerfull graphics card. I found the 7600 GS has a little trouble running games very smoothly with high resolutions, particularly with Anti-aliasing enabled. It still does very well and does manage... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Great commuter - and OK for short people
Disadvantages: Some vibration and not trememdously fast if you doing a track day!

...Well there I was - over 50 years old and deciding to get into biking. Having had a CB100N around 25 years before but never done my test and having a husband into bikes - it was "if you can't beat them join them". So got my theory and took my DAS. Now I took it on a Suzuki GS500 and therefore I felt comfortable on it so decided this was what I would buy for myself. The GS500 is a twin cylinder, four stroke, air-cooled machine, 487 cc, with disc brakes front and rear, and of very simple design. No fancy computerised bits, no fuel warning lights, just the rev counter and speedo and basic bits and pieces. However it does have electronic ignition which is a bonus for those of us who have bruised legs in the past from kick starts! The riding position is quite upright and the older bikes are naked though the newer F model... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Good alrounder
Disadvantages: Might not be flashy enough for some!

...What a very nice bike. Yes indeedi! Whilst many devoted bikers spend countless thousands on their impressive piece of motoring metal, and countless more on horrendous insurance premiums, this little gem seems to have been overlooked. The Suzuki GS500E, fully faired version, is really a super all round bike. It packs plenty of power, handles very well and is very economical. Whats more the super cheap insurance class it falls into is a definate bonus. And the price, what can you say, you wont find any better bargin priced machine on the market. As a passenger, the ride is very comfortable, a little vibration is felt through the pegs, but nothing to complain about. I think as the rider, you will also be pleasantly supprised. The purchase price of these bikes is amazing, good value beyond belief!!And if you want a mega bargin... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: looks, sound quality, build quality
Disadvantages: Cost

..., QED silver anniversary speaker cable and a VanDenHul mains cable. After the disappointment of the Bowers & Wilkins i was convinced to try some KEF iQ9. these were much better on the detail but the bass was lacking and didnt want to have a seperate subwoofer. Then i tried the Monitor Audio GS10's and although they are only small and have no dedicated bass driver, the sound was incredible. The bass was a deep rumble, which you could not only hear but feel in your chest. The definiton of the hi-hat was as good as the KEF and you could feel the "oumph" that these speakers were producing. Beware if you buy these that the stands are £200 extra, but the proper stand has spikes which dig into the carpet to keep it all stable. There is a variety of awesome finishes on the Monitor Audio Gold Series which cannot be beaten by any other... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful