Origin Chronos (February 2012)

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The Origin Chronos small form-factor PC helps illustrate why I did not give the Alienware X51 an Editors' Choice Award. Alienware crammed some nice design innovation into its little PC, but unlike the Chronos, the X51 still shows performance compromises due to its small size and, I suspect, Alienware's ties to Dell and the precautions necessitated by large-scale manufacturing. Origin navigates around the size issue with well-chosen components, and the company's independence and smaller manufacturing scale allow it the freedom to overclock. The result is a small gaming desktop I would recommend to anyone.

Our Chronos review system ... Expand full review

The Origin Chronos small form-factor PC helps illustrate why I did not give the Alienware X51 an Editors' Choice Award. Alienware crammed some nice design innovation into its little PC, but unlike the Chronos, the X51 still shows performance compromises due to its small size and, I suspect, Alienware's ties to Dell and the precautions necessitated by large-scale manufacturing. Origin navigates around the size issue with well-chosen components, and the company's independence and smaller manufacturing scale allow it the freedom to overclock. The result is a small gaming desktop I would recommend to anyone.

Our Chronos review system came with the Silverstone SG08 case option, the smallest Origin offers under its Chronos line. The case measures 7.5 inches high, almost 9 inches wide, and just under 14 inches deep, slightly larger overall than the Alienware X51 (13.25x3.75x12.25 inches), but still small enough to make for an unobtrusive living-room system.

The Chronos' size permits only a single graphics card, and Origin has also capped the power supply at 600 watts. That's a reasonable amount of power for a small PC, and almost double the capacity of the Alienware's X51 330-watt PSU. Practically speaking, it means you can use almost any current-generation graphics card in the Chronos. The chief innovation of the X51 is its ability to use a double-wide graphics card in a slim tower case, but the Alienware's smaller power supply means you're limited to midrange GPUs.

4.7GHz Intel Core i5-2550K (overclocked)4GHz Intel Core i5-2500K (overclocked)1.28GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 560TiWindows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Compare the specs of the Chronos to those of the Alienware and you'll see the Origin's advantages pretty quickly. Our review configuration costs $200 more than the X51, but it also has a faster CPU and a faster graphics card, not to mention the ability to add an even more powerful GPU down the road. The Chronos has only a 750GB hard drive to the X51's 1TB model, but I'd happily sacrifice a bit of storage for better gaming performance.

If you're willing to spend a bit more for a gaming system, Origin also offers you more options. You can pay $1,049 for a Core i7-based X51, but that's the only flexibility Alienware gives you in terms of core components for the X51. On the Chronos configuration page, you can opt for top-end graphics cards from AMD and Nvidia, as well as an overclocked Core i7 CPU and up to three solid-state drive (SSD) options.

The SSD storage and higher-end graphics cards alone make the Chronos a more flexible system than the X51, and show how even Alienware has become vulnerable to owner Dell's recent trend toward offering fewer customization options. The fact that Alienware will not overclock the X51 out of the box also gives the Origin system a dramatic performance edge.

Apple iTunes encoding test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Origin Chronos (Core i5-2550K, February 2012)
Adobe Photoshop CS3 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Origin Chronos (Core i5-2550K, February 2012)
Adobe Photoshop CS5 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Origin Chronos (Core i5-2550K, February 2012)
Multimedia multitasking (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Origin Chronos (Core i5-2550K, February 2012)
Cinebench
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Origin Chronos (Core i5-2550K, February 2012)

In its price range, the Origin Chronos is the fastest midrange desktop I've seen. That's not a real surprise given its fast clock speed, although I wondered how the Chronos would compete on the Cinebench multiprocessing test. Its Core i5 chip is only a straight quad-core CPU, while the Core i7-2600 in the HP Pavilion HPE h8xt has a slower clock speed but more processing threads thanks to its Hyper-Threading boost. No matter. The Chronos system outperformed it heartily, and it's your best bet at this price if you need fast application performance.

Far Cry 2 (in frames per second)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Origin Chronos (Core i5-2550K, February 2012)
Metro 2033 (in fps)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Origin Chronos (Core i5-2550K, February 2012)
3DMark 11 combined test
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Origin Chronos (Core i5-2550K, February 2012)
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Asus RT-N66U Dark Knight Double 450Mbps N Router

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I've held off reviewing the Asus RT-N66U Dark Knight Double 450Mbps N Router until now due to some known bugs in earlier versions of its firmware. The latest, version 3.0.0.3.108, is still, well, a little buggy, but fortunately not seriously enough to keep the router from being an excellent networking device.

Being the first N900 router from Asus, the RT-N66U offers stellar performance on the 5GHz band and a vast number of features. The router also has great wireless range and was very stable in my testing. With two USB ports it has more to ... Expand full review

I've held off reviewing the Asus RT-N66U Dark Knight Double 450Mbps N Router until now due to some known bugs in earlier versions of its firmware. The latest, version 3.0.0.3.108, is still, well, a little buggy, but fortunately not seriously enough to keep the router from being an excellent networking device.

Being the first N900 router from Asus, the RT-N66U offers stellar performance on the 5GHz band and a vast number of features. The router also has great wireless range and was very stable in my testing. With two USB ports it has more to offer than other USB-enabled routers, and it was very fast when coupled with a storage device.

The RT-N66U isn't perfect, however. Performance on the 2.4GHz band was slower than I expected, and the router's USB ports lack support for the latest USB 3.0 standard. Nonetheless, if you're looking for a top-notch router for your home or even a small office, the RT-N66U is one of the best on the market, especially considering that its street price is lower than that of the Linksys E4200v2 from Cisco.

Design and ease of use
The RT-N66U looks similar to its predecessor, the RT-N56U, with a sleek casing that more resembles a jewelry box than a networking device. The RT-N66U, however, can't disguise its true nature due the external-antenna design, with three of them sticking up from the back. These antennas are detachable but you do need them in place for the router to work.

Also on the back, you'll find four LAN ports and one WAN port. All of these ports are Gigabit Ethernet, meaning you'll also be able to get a fast wired network if you're not interested in wireless. Near these ports are the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button, the reset button, two USB 2.0 ports, the power button, and a tiny power port. While that may seem to be a lot of things on the router's back, items are well-distributed, so it's less cluttered than you would imagine. Still, it would be a lot better if a few items were moved to the front or the sides of the router, where there are no buttons at all.

On the front, the router has an array of LED lights that show the statuses of the ports on the back, the connection to the Internet, the USB ports, and the wireless networks.

The RT-N66U comes with four rubber feet to make it stay put on a surface, but it's also wall-mountable. It comes with a separate base -- which, interestingly, I couldn't attach to the router until I broke a little piece of plastic off of it -- for keeping it in a vertical position. (That little piece is probably there to keep the base from falling off, but it's just too long, making it almost impossible to attach the base to the router.)

The router comes with a CD that contains setup software that walks you though every single step of how to set it up, so it should be very easy for home users. Savvy users can skip the CD and use the router's Web interface to set it up by pointing a connected computer's browser to 192.168.1.1, which is the router's default IP address. The first time you go there, the interface will greet you with a Web-based wizard with steps similar to those of the desktop setup software.

Either way, you won't have any problem getting the router up and running. I myself was able to do that in less than 10 minutes, including opening the box.

Features
The RT-N66U is an N900 true dual-band router, meaning that both of its bands (5GHz and 2.4GHz) can offer up to 450Mbps, currently the fastest speed of the Wireless-N standard. In order to enjoy this higher speed, your Wi-Fi client also has to support the 450Mbps standard (also known as the 3x3 standard), which most of them don't. Nonetheless, the router works with all existing Wi-Fi clients, including those made for pre-N wireless standards.

To make sure the router offers maximum compatibility, you'll need to change the settings of its wireless networks to Auto and the encryption methods to support both AES and TKIP methods. To do this you will need to use the Web interface, which also allows you to access to all of the router's features.

And the RT-N66U's Web interface is great: well-organized, responsive, and reasonably simple. There are three major parts of the interface that you can access from the left part of the page. The top part is the setup wizard mentioned above, the middle is for General items, and the bottom is the Advanced Settings.

General offers a Network Map for viewing currently connected devices, including those connected to the router via the USB ports. You can click on one of the connected devices to interact with it. For example, you can quickly block a Wi-Fi client or set up a network storage feature of an external hard drive. In the General area, you can also add or change up to six Guest networks, three for each band. Other nifty General features include a Parental Control feature, a Traffic Manager, and management of the router's USB ports.

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Epson WorkForce 645

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The $150 Epson WorkForce 645 proves itself a capable performer for small offices that want a do-it-all device that can print, fax, copy, and scan without a clumsy touch-screen control panel. Epson also outguns the competition in print speed, leading the pack in all of our document tests, with the exception of snapshot photos. The 645 serves up plenty of features that maximize office workflow, including the Epson Connect portfolio of mobile printing features that work with Google and Apple's cloud printing. This printer also has the ability to e-mail print jobs to the 845 directly from any device ... Expand full review

The $150 Epson WorkForce 645 proves itself a capable performer for small offices that want a do-it-all device that can print, fax, copy, and scan without a clumsy touch-screen control panel. Epson also outguns the competition in print speed, leading the pack in all of our document tests, with the exception of snapshot photos. The 645 serves up plenty of features that maximize office workflow, including the Epson Connect portfolio of mobile printing features that work with Google and Apple's cloud printing. This printer also has the ability to e-mail print jobs to the 845 directly from any device connected to the Web. With all these convenient features in a device that costs less than $150, you shouldn't hesitate to pick up the Epson WorkForce 645 for all your office printing needs.

Design and features
The WorkForce 645 fits in tight spaces thanks to its compact design that measures just less than 18 inches wide, 14 inches deep, and 9 inches tall in storage mode with the moving control panel, auto-document feeder (ADF), and paper trays all folded flush into the rectangular unit. The standard colorway for Epson's WorkForce multifunction printer line is matte black with a dot pattern on the scanner lid and minimal use of glossy plastic to combat dust.

A robust control panel folds out of the middle section and rotates up and down for variable visibility on your desk space, and a 2.5-inch LCD in the center acts as the hub for controlling its functions. With many modern printers insisting that users interact through a touch-screen display or virtual buttons, I'm relieved that Epson doesn't succumb to the trend. If you're more comfortable using a touch panel, the WorkForce 840 does include a touch display, but the WorkForce 645's physical buttons make for more efficient navigation.

In this case, the control panel bundles several tactile shortcut buttons with specific action functions like toggling double sided prints with the rear-mounted auto-duplexer, a hard reset button, as well as individual buttons for fax and scanning features. Of course, you also get a four-way directional pad and an OK button for navigating through the menu settings.

The controls are comprehensive and easy to use in conjunction with the Epson driver that comes on the CD included in the box, and other physical features of note include a media card reader on the front panel that supports Compact Flash, MS (PRO), xD, and SD memory cards, and a PictBridge USB port for direct printing and saving images directly off a PictBridge-compatible thumbdrive.

Just above the control panel, you'll find two hinged bays that expose the 2,400-by-2,400-dpi scanner glass and four-ink repository for separate black, cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges. Its scanning functions let you save an image in three ways: to a specific file folder, as a PDF document in a folder, or as an attachment in an outgoing e-mail message. The WorkForce 645 also benefits from a 30-sheet automatic document feeder on its top that automatically picks up individual sheets from a stack in the tray.

Any multifunction or all-in-one printer for business should include an auto-document feeder (ADF), but keep in mind that they always add bulk to the printer. When you're not copying or faxing stacks of paper, consider keeping the ADF folded up and store the extra sheets of paper in the ample input tray, which can hold up to a considerable 250 sheets of plain 20 pound white paper or 10 envelopes. Finally, an extendable lip on the bottom of the printer corrals all outbound prints.

The WorkForce 645 features a built-in 802.11 b/g wireless print server that only took 5 minutes for me to connect and start printing. Unlike other printers that require you to set up a proxy network, the WorkForce 645 prompts you to establish a direct wireless connection right out of the box without the extra, confusing step of first connecting via a USB or Ethernet cable. The printer also has an Ethernet port on the side for a wired connection to a network.

Connecting through Wi-Fi also means you can take advantage of Epson's host of free mobile printing apps that let you print directly from mobile devices. First, the Epson iPrint application for iOS and Android devices enables you to print Web pages, photos, documents, and anything else on a smartphone directly to the WorkForce 645, though I did notice some of our photos got inadvertently cropped from time to time. I wouldn't recommend printing important images like business presentations this way; it's more appropriate for quick outputs of spreadsheets and to-do lists.

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Samsung Series 9 NP900X4B-A02 (15-inch)

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Are larger-scale ultrabooks the laptop version of "Dead man walking"? Well, it's a disconnect if you like ultrabooks for what they were originally promised to have: small-scale portability. Taking the thin splendor of a brilliantly executed 13-incher and going supersize feels a little like making the laptop version of Amazon's Kindle DX. Then again, the iPad succeeded at transcending being a big iPod Touch, so maybe anything's possible.

I felt more than a little deja vu handling the 15-inch Samsung Series 9 NP900X4B-A02, a larger version of the 13-inch Series 9 laptop that I fell in love ... Expand full review

Are larger-scale ultrabooks the laptop version of "Dead man walking"? Well, it's a disconnect if you like ultrabooks for what they were originally promised to have: small-scale portability. Taking the thin splendor of a brilliantly executed 13-incher and going supersize feels a little like making the laptop version of Amazon's Kindle DX. Then again, the iPad succeeded at transcending being a big iPod Touch, so maybe anything's possible.

I felt more than a little deja vu handling the 15-inch Samsung Series 9 NP900X4B-A02, a larger version of the 13-inch Series 9 laptop that I fell in love with exactly one year ago. Actually, that's not entirely accurate: the new 15-incher is a large-scale version of the second-gen Series 9, which we took a peek at earlier this year.

The second-gen Series 9 is far better built, sleeker, and smaller, managing to slide into a footprint befitting a 12-inch laptop. Its big brother, this new 15-incher, goes in the opposite direction, a trend in ultrabooks we're seeing in laptops like the HP Envy 14 Spectre and Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 (even though Samsung doesn't call the Series 9 an ultrabook, it clearly is).

The larger version makes me feel like I've shrunk a bit, but it's still a gorgeous piece of equipment from a structural standpoint. The chassis, keyboard, and touch pad -- even the screen hinge -- have exactly the sturdy, clean design that anyone ponying up for a pricey, fancy laptop would hope for. The screen's big and bright, too, just like its predecessor's. What's not to like?

Well, first, the price: the 15-inch Series 9 NP900X4B-A02 will cost $1,499 when it debuts in late April. That's less than the $1,600-plus for last year's Series 9 13-incher, but it's still way up in the stratosphere. It's not unreasonable for a larger laptop, provided it also has better specs and performance than a tiny ultraportable computer.

That's problem No. 2: under the hood, the 15-inch Series 9 is really just the same as its soon-to-arrive 13-inch sibling. It has a Core i5 processor and a 128GB solid-state drive (SSD), and even that big screen has the same 1,600x900-pixel resolution. An included 8GB of RAM is the only notably lofty spec. There's no optical drive (of course), and there aren't even any extra full-size ports like Ethernet and HDMI; you'll need dongles or special cables, and only the Ethernet dongle comes in the box.

Still, there's no denying that the larger Series 9 is a beautiful computer. However, is it worth the $1,499 price, especially when even a MacBook Air costs less, and perfectly capable if slightly less sexy full-size laptops can be had for half of that? That's up to you. After all, Samsung makes a less thin but equally powerful Series 5 Ultra that's still reasonably slim but costs over $500 less. Also consider that, for $100 less, the next-generation 13-inch Samsung Series 9 will offer much of the same functionality, in a smaller size with half the RAM. I certainly would love a 15-inch Series 9 if it fell in my lap, but it's a lot of money for what you get. In this instance, you're truly getting a super-size ultrabook. You're paying for thin.

Larger-screen ultrabooks will be a trend throughout 2012, but I'm still not sure I get the motivation for larger, thinner laptops...even though this Series 9 is probably one of the best of them, if you're judging purely on style and feel.

Note: our review version came with Windows 7 Professional installed, but the retail version will ship with Windows 7 Home Premium.

System weight / Weight with AC adapter

Steely gray all around, smooth matte metal surfaces, gleaming polished edges, and elegantly curved sides: the new Series 9 is one of the most impressively made laptops I've ever seen, and it feels as good as it looks. It leaves out any unnecessary flourishes or creaky bits that crept up on last year's model, in favor of a single-piece, all-metal, aluminum construction that's every bit as nice as a MacBook Air.

You'd think that taking the elegant efficiency of the 13-inch model and expanding it to a 15-incher would result in an awkward surplus of unused keyboard space or an extra-wide "surfboard" feel, but that isn't the case. Yes, the 15-inch version feels very wide and flat given its thinness, but I got used to that quickly and fell into the large screen with its compact bezel.

Part of what makes the design feel tight is the fact that this 15-inch-screen model fits into the footprint of a 14-inch laptop, according to Samsung. Indeed, this laptop's dimensions (14x9.3 inches) places it between a standard 14- and 15-inch laptop. It's nearly an inch wider than the 14-inch Series 5, and 0.3 inch deeper. A 15-inch MacBook Pro (which also has a slightly larger 15.4-inch screen) measures 14.35 inches by 9.8 inches. Incidentally, the original 13-inch Samsung Series 9 measured 12.9 inches by 8.9 inches, with a thickness of 0.64 inch, and weighed 2.92 pounds.

The most important metric might be thickness: at 0.58 inch, this is the thinnest 15-inch laptop I've ever come across. It weighs 3.68 pounds, which is also lighter than any 15-incher to my recollection (and is significantly lighter than many 14-inchers).

There's a question that arises: who needs a really thin 15-incher? This larger Series 9 isn't exactly ultraportable, and it's even a bit thicker than I would have imagined. Still, the laptop sits gracefully, has a wide-tilt screen hinge, and feels very comfortable. Because of this laptop's tweener size, after using it for a while you're likely to start feeling like it's not far from a 13-inch. It definitely rests easily in the lap, although the heat venting can run a bit warm.

The full-size raised keyboard has shallow keys, but it feels great to type on. The closest analog I've seen is a MacBook Air. In low light, a built-in backlight kicks in. It's subtle, but effective. The Samsung keyboard lacks a number pad and doesn't have function-reversed top keys (you need to press Fn to raise and lower volume, for instance), but other than a right-hand column of keys for Home/Page Up/Page Down, all keys are full-size and easy to access.

On the extra-large palm rest lies an extra-large multitouch clickpad, using Elan software. It feels as spacious as an Apple trackpad, with a large, matte-black and slightly recessed surface. Samsung posted a driver update during the process of my review that made the pad work a little more smoothly, especially for two-finger page scrolling, and overall it's better than average for a Windows laptop.

The 15-inch matte screen looks as great as the screen on the 13-inch version, although the 1,600x900-pixel resolution is slightly less astounding at this larger size. The screen looks very bright, almost shockingly so, head-on. However, it's a disappointment when viewed from off angles. From side to side it's got a passable range of readability, but from top to bottom the image blows out fast. The screen's so large and wide that the image can begin to degrade around the edges depending on where you're viewing it from, so center stage is best. The self-adjusting screen brightness auto sensor sometimes got finicky depending on where I placed my hand, too. That being said, from a direct viewing angle this is a premium laptop screen experience.

Stereo speakers seated under the laptop are fine for movies and TV shows, even music, but the audio quality resembles a loud pair of good but not great headphones. Plugging in your own headset will help matters.

The 1,280x1,024-pixel Webcam comes with CyberLink YouCam software and its requisite collection of absurd novelty effects. Video quality looked good, both for casual picture capture and Web chat.

Micro-HDMI, VGA (needs dongle)Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone combo jackStereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0, SD card reader, eSATAEthernet (needs included dongle), 802.11n Wi-Fi, BluetoothEthernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional mobile broadband

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HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-All-in-One Printer

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The $299 HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-All-in-One printer is an updated version of the Pro 8500A Plus multifunction CNET reviewed last year. The flagship of HP's workcentric inkjet line gets a performance makeover from the inside out, with improvements to the speed of the print engine and the texture of the 4.3-inch touch-screen display, and a sleeker chassis that hides fingerprints better than the previous version. The device also takes printing to the cloud with ePrint and an accompanying iOS application that make the Officejet Pro 8600A Plus an impressively resourceful printer. I recommend it for home ... Expand full review

The $299 HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-All-in-One printer is an updated version of the Pro 8500A Plus multifunction CNET reviewed last year. The flagship of HP's workcentric inkjet line gets a performance makeover from the inside out, with improvements to the speed of the print engine and the texture of the 4.3-inch touch-screen display, and a sleeker chassis that hides fingerprints better than the previous version. The device also takes printing to the cloud with ePrint and an accompanying iOS application that make the Officejet Pro 8600A Plus an impressively resourceful printer. I recommend it for home offices and professional environments that need a dependable workhorse printer.

Design and features
The Officejet Pro 8600 Plus printer strips away the glossy veneer of the past and replaces it with a modern matte paint job that does its best to hide dust and fingerprints. It has a professional look that should easily fit into any office or home decor, though at 12.4 inches tall, 19.4 inches wide, and 18.9 inches, you'll need to clear a sizable amount of space to fit its large chassis. The printer's sides feature two indented handles that make it easier to carry around, although you won't want to move it on a daily basis.

A single 250-sheet input tray protrudes 4 inches out of the front of the 8600 Plus and a 50-page automatic document feeder (ADF) resides on top. You won't find a manual feed tray in the center console like you would on a laser printer, which might be irritating if you print on irregular media like heavy cardstock or nonstandard envelopes. If that's the case for you, I recommend the HP LaserJet Pro 100 Color MFP, a capable Hewlett-Packard laser printer with similar all-in-one functionality (scanner, copier, fax, and printer).

On the other hand, if paper input capacity is a hindrance, HP also sells a version of this printer called the Officejet Pro 8600 Premium that comes with an extra 250-sheet paper tray, an additional set of ink cartridges worth $60, and a 50-sheet pack of HP Premium Glossy Brochure paper, priced for $14 in HP's online retail store. By upgrading to the step-up Premium package, you'll save about $50 on your overall consumables cost, and I recommend taking advantage of these savings up front if you plan to print lots of photos or graphic documents.

The HP's ample 4.3-inch touch-sensitive color display makes navigating the print, copy, scan, and fax functions a breeze. The screen is the same size as the Officejet Pro 8500A Plus' screen and the competing Epson WorkForce 840, but the WorkForce 840 surrounds its color LCD with a larger 7.8-inch touch panel that provides additional navigation buttons. The HP's entire touch panel, on the other hand, resembles an iPhone on its side and measures 6 inches on the diagonal.

In the end, both printers do an admirable job of providing a simple and clear menu system for navigating their many functions. However, HP makes it easier than Epson to enter text thanks to a full QWERTY virtual keyboard; entering data such as a wireless password on the Epson requires scrolling through the alphabet for each letter and is akin to entering your initials for a high score in an old arcade game. This version of the display also has less mushy play between the outward-facing screen and the hard registration pad below it, so you're less likely to mistakenly press a button. The screen still isn't perfect--for some of the onscreen features I needed to repeatedly push the corresponding virtual icon until the action finally registered. With no way to recalibrate the screen in the settings page, you're in for a frustrating experience until the printer gets it right.

In addition to using a direct USB connection (like most vendors, HP does not include a USB cable with the printer), you can set up the Officejet Pro 8700 Plus on your network via Ethernet or Wi-Fi. We tested the Wi-Fi connection and the process was easy; using the printer's touch screen, we navigated through a few setup screens to find our network, quickly entered its password using the virtual QWERTY keyboard, and established a connection within a minute. Macs and PCs alike on our network were able to see the printer without the need to install any additional software.

Once you connect the printer to a wireless network, you can use HP's AirPrint feature to print from any iOS device without an additional application. Using AirPrint, you can print out a photo from your iPhoto library by simply choosing the connected printer and hitting Print. You can't adjust any print properties, however; and our Hipstamatic test photo printed with a portion missing on both letter-size paper and 4x6-inch photo paper.

In addition to AirPrint, the Officejet Pro 8500A Plus also features HP's ePrint technology, which enables you to send jobs from any connected device to the printer using the uniquely assigned e-mail address. You can find this address using the control panel (Wireless > Web Services > Display Email). It's a convenient feature, to be sure, but it comes with a few restrictions. For one, the printer must be on and also connected to your network. For another, it can't print Web pages, although you can simply copy and paste the text into a document as a workaround.

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Cisco Linksys E4200 v2 Maximum Performance Dual-Band N900 router

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The Linksys E4200 v2 Maximum Performance Dual-Band N900 router is a major upgrade to the original Cisco Linksys E4200 that was released in January. Though it looks exactly the same on the outside, on the inside the E4200 v2 boasts 450Mbps on both 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands (as opposed to just the 5GHz band of the original) and a faster processor for network storage when coupled with an USB external hard drive, and can host up to 50 guest clients (up from the original 10). Other than that, the two routers are essentially the same in terms of features. ... Expand full review

The Linksys E4200 v2 Maximum Performance Dual-Band N900 router is a major upgrade to the original Cisco Linksys E4200 that was released in January. Though it looks exactly the same on the outside, on the inside the E4200 v2 boasts 450Mbps on both 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands (as opposed to just the 5GHz band of the original) and a faster processor for network storage when coupled with an USB external hard drive, and can host up to 50 guest clients (up from the original 10). Other than that, the two routers are essentially the same in terms of features.

That said, the new E4200 v2 offers all that the original has to give and more, enough to justify its price tag of $199, compared with the original's street price of around $150. If you're looking for a top-notch router with no compromises, especially one that also offers an easy and viable network storage option when coupled with an external hard drive, the Cisco Linksys 4200 v2 will make an excellent investment.

Those who don't care much about the 450Mbps speed should also consider the original Linksys E4200, the Netgear WNDR3800, or the Asus RT-N56U.

Design and ease of use
Like the rest of the Linksys E-Series routers, the Linksys E4200 v2 looks more like an expensive jewelry gift box than a router. With its flat shape and internal-antenna design, the router is more compact than its peers. This means you can leave it out in the open, rather than hide it, as you would most routers. The v2 also comes with a much more compact power adapter than the previous version, which is a nice touch.

The router has four LAN ports and one WAN port on the back. All are Gigabit Ethernet-capable, meaning they support throughput up to 1,000Mbps. Also on the back you'll find the push button for the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) feature, a recessed reset button, and a USB 2.0 port that can host a USB external storage device for the router's network-attached storage (NAS) function. With WPS you can add WPS-enabled clients to the wireless network with the press of a button. The USB port on the E4200 v2 supports either a USB printer or an USB external hard drive for a quick network storage solution. The router now comes with a much faster processor that runs at 1.2GHz (as opposed to the original's 480MHz), promising significantly higher storage performance.

On the front, the new E4200 forgoes the usual array of status LEDs. Instead it has just one white light, in the shape of Cisco's logo, which blinks when the router's booting up (or something is not right) and stays solid when everything is in order.

Like all routers in the E-Series, the E4200 v2 comes with Cisco Connect, software that helps novice users set up and manage the router very easily. Anyone who can use a computer mouse can get the router up and running within about 5 minutes. The software works essentially the same for all E-Series routers.

By default, the software sets up a single wireless network combining the two networks for the 2.4GHz band and 5GHz band, so that they share the same name and the same password. This is similar to how Apple sets up its AirPort Extreme. Though this makes things easier, it also means you won't be able to manually pick which band to use with dual-band clients.

With Cisco Connect you can also turn the guest network (which is available only in the 2.4GHz band) on or off, manage the parental control features, and carry out a few other tasks. The software is very limited in functionality and requires a live Internet connection to work. In order to do more with the router, such as name two separate networks for 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands, or set up the router for an isolated network that's disconnected from the Internet, you'll need to use the router's Web interface by pointing a connected computer's browser to 192.168.1.1.

Note that if you haven't used Cisco Connect, the default credential to log in to the router's Web interface is "admin" for both username and password. Once you have changed the default password, the username remains the same. If you use the Cisco software to set up the router, the password (or encryption key) for the wireless network is also the one required to log in the router's interface.

It's rather confusing to list what you can and can't do with the Cisco Connect software. The good news is, the Web interface's functionality encompasses that of Cisco Connect. For this reason, savvy users can and should skip the Cisco Connect software entirely, so they can be in complete control of the router's settings.

In the end, it's best to use the Cisco Connect software if you are a novice user, or the Web interface if you are a savvy user, but not to use both, to avoid instances where one would cancel out the other.

Starting with the E4200 v2, Cisco has also released a mobile application for Android- and OS-based devices that enables users to monitor the router, or any other router in the E-Series, right from a mobile device. For now you can only do that if the device is connected to the router's wireless local network, and not from anywhere via the Internet.

Features
The Linksys E4200 v2 is a true dual-band router, meaning it has two separate access points--one for the 2.4GHz band and the other for the 5GHz band--that can work simultaneously. It's also the first from Cisco to offer the 450Mbps (or 3-by-3) configuration on both bands. The previous version only supports this on the 5GHz band. Others routers I've reviewed that offer dual-band concurrent 450Mbps include the Trendnet TEW-692GR and the Netgear WNDR4500. To take advantage of this new speed, the clients have to also support the same 3-by-3 Wi-Fi standard, which more and more of them do.

In addition to the networks for the two bands, the E4200 v2 offers another wireless network on the 2.4GHz band for guests. Guest networking is great for when you want to share the Internet with others without giving them access to your local resources, such as files or printers. The E4200 v2's guest networking feature allows up to 50 clients, which is a big improvement compared with the original E4200's maximum of 10. However, you'll need to use the Web interface to set this higher number, as Cisco Connect allows a maximum of 10 clients. This is likely because 10 clients are enough for a home and only home users would use the software rather than the Web interface to set up the router.

Regardless of which option you use to manage the router, you can't name the router's guest network arbitrarily. The guest network's name will always be your main network's name plus a "-guest" suffix. This means guests will always know what your main network's name is and that, well, they are guests.

The E4200 has simple and straightforward support for network storage, including features such as sharing the content of a USB external hard drive (formatted using either NTFS or FAT32), with user account restriction. By default the admin account has full access and can create more user accounts. It also has a built-in UPnP media server with which you can stream digital content to other UPnP-compliant devices, such as set-top boxes, network media players, and game consoles.

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HP TouchSmart 620 3D

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Review:

My feelings about 3D-capable all-in-one PCs have so far ranged from mild enthusiasm to ambivalence, but Hewlett-Packard's $1,599 TouchSmart 620 3D is the first to inspire true frustration. The 3D technology works well enough, but this system is a veritable case study in how Windows PCs can so easily frustrate consumers with bloatware and artless interface design.

HP offers a perfectly capable, non-3D 23-inch all-in-one in its TouchSmart 610. For the above reasons, and others, I recommend that system over the TouchSmart 620 3D to most buyers looking for an all-in-one. If you're committed to 3D, or ... Expand full review

My feelings about 3D-capable all-in-one PCs have so far ranged from mild enthusiasm to ambivalence, but Hewlett-Packard's $1,599 TouchSmart 620 3D is the first to inspire true frustration. The 3D technology works well enough, but this system is a veritable case study in how Windows PCs can so easily frustrate consumers with bloatware and artless interface design.

HP offers a perfectly capable, non-3D 23-inch all-in-one in its TouchSmart 610. For the above reasons, and others, I recommend that system over the TouchSmart 620 3D to most buyers looking for an all-in-one. If you're committed to 3D, or if you want an all-in-one for gaming, check out Lenovo's faster, more affordable IdeaCentre B520.

The TouchSmart 620 3D is essentially an updated version of the TouchSmart 610 we reviewed this past April. Along with the 3D screen and accompanying glasses and software from TriDef, HP has added a second lens next to the traditional Webcam on the TouchSmart's top edge. This second lens makes it possible to capture your own stereoscopic 3D pictures and video footage.

For $500 less than this TouchSmart 620 3D, you can still buy a non-3D TouchSmart 610xt. The only other difference between the two is the Radeon HD 6650 graphics card in the TouchSmart 610, not quite as good as the TouchSmart 620's Radeon HD 6670A.

The awkwardness of the TouchSmart's 3D implementation stems from the absence of centralized 3D control software. I understand that various issues of Blu-ray encoding, player licensing, and software drivers, among others, make that idea a challenge, but it's almost as if HP went out of its way to make launching a 3D game or recording and playing a homemade 3D movie more difficult.

HP buried the TouchSmart 620's TriDef 3D Ignition gaming app in the Start menu.

The first hint of this problem is that you will find no shortcut icon or top-level Start menu listing that uses the term "3D" on the TouchSmart 620 3D. The only way you'd know how to launch a 3D game, play a 3D movie, or capture and view homemade 3D content would be if you either dug through the Start menu subfolders, or read the scant two-page 3D section in the back of the (paper) user manual.

To actually play a PC game in 3D on the TouchSmart 620, you need to open the Games folder under the Windows Start menu, then open the TriDef subfolder to launch the TriDef Ignition application. You then assign game executable files to Ignition, and launch them from inside the app in order to trigger the 3D effects.

Though the process of launching a game in 3D isn't as simple as it could be (how about a hard 3D toggle button on the chassis?) I do like that Ignition offers a series of Shift-Alt key-based shortcuts for turning 3D on and off in a game, adjusting the 3D depth, and other settings tweaks. Otherwise, I fail to see how HP can justify a desktop shortcut for HP Games, which links you out to Wild Tangent's utterly disposable casual gaming library, but completely bury the TriDef application, one of the primary reasons anyone would buy the 3D-equipped TouchSmart 620 3D in the first place.

After you capture 3D footage in the Webcam software, there's no obvious way to watch it.

How to enable 3D for Blu-ray movies is similarly obscured, although easier to muddle through than the gaming setup. The system has no immediate indicators showing how you might play a 3D Blu-ray Disc. Fortunately, PowerDVD launches automatically when you insert a disc, and a large "3D" icon in the software player makes your next steps pretty clear.

Points off for the 3D Webcam, though. Again, HP has buried the necessary software for one of this system's star attractions. This time you must look inside HP's TouchSmart Magic Canvas software suite, where again you'll find no indication of the proper software to use. Launch the Webcam software and you'll find a 3D record button, but with no apparent means of playing the content back that you've recorded. You can actually double-click on the thumbnails to play back video, but there's no indicator to that effect in the Webcam program. Fumble around more inside the touch software and you'll find you can also play the movies in the touch Video application.

A few other disappointments mar the 3D viewing experience. The HP's active 3D glasses use a large watch battery for power, and thus aren't rechargeable like the Nvidia 3D Vision glasses that come with the Lenovo IdeaCentre B520. The HP's glasses also rely on autodetection to turn on when the screen displays a 3D image. Autodetection is fine in concept, but HP has added no external light or other signal that the glasses are powered on. That means an added level of uncertainty if you ever need to troubleshoot.

The quality of the 3D playback in this system is fine from a depth perspective, but the screen itself is not as good as those of the TouchSmart's competition. The HP seems to suffer from low black levels, apparent in the 3D Blu-ray of "Coraline," a gloomy stop-motion film heavy with atmospheric shadows and dark environments. The resulting image is greenish and washed-out, which we also noticed both in the racing game Dirt 3 and in content we recorded via the 3D Webcam.

Gaming is usually more of a problem for 3D than movies, since the quality of the experience can be so heavily tied to graphics card drivers and the game code itself. In addition to the greenish tinge of the display, Dirt 3's 3D rendering suffered from noticeable shadow and background flickering. I saw similar flickering and missing textures in Far Cry 2. It's hard to be that critical of 3D in games, given that a driver update or game patch could take care of any issues (more likely for newer titles), but the experience on this system underscores the fact that PC-based 3D content in general needs polish.

Blu-ray/DVD burner combo driveBlu-ray/DVD burner combo driveGigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n wirelessGigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n wirelessGigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n wirelessWindows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

it weren't for the Lenovo IdeaCentre B520, the TouchSmart 620 would look competitive. Unfortunately for HP, the IdeaCentre B520 offers much better value. Lenovo's touch software is not as robust as HP's, and its screen isn't as adjustable, but the Lenovo includes more useful HDMI inputs and outputs. Against such robust competition from Lenovo, it's hard to excuse the HP's price tag.

The TouchSmart 620's reclining display is useful, in that it tilts back up to 60 degrees to make it easier to interact with when you're standing in front of it. As with the 610, HP missed an opportunity to let the screen go perfectly horizontal, whereas Samsung didn't hesitate with its Series 7 all-in-one earlier this year. The hinge design on the TouchSmart is also clunky, in that the screen slides down too readily when you try to simply angle it backward.

For the software, HP has poured a notable amount of effort into its Magic Canvas software suite, but with the sloppy 3D integration and the example Samsung has set by porting its clean tablet touch interface to the Series 7, HP's touch software is starting to look overwrought. I don't anticipate a complete overhaul from HP with the touch-oriented Windows 8 operating system on the horizon, but the TouchSmart 620 3D in particular has shown that Magic Canvas needs streamlining.

Adobe Photoshop CS3 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
HP TouchSmart 620 3D (Core i5-2400, fall 2011)
Adobe Photoshop CS5 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
HP TouchSmart 620 3D (Core i5-2400, fall 2011)
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