$298 Wal-Mart PC Has OO.org, No Crapware

cristarol writes "Wal-Mart has begun selling a $298 PC (Everex IMPACT GC3502). It comes with Windows Vista Home Basic and OpenOffice.org 2.2, as well as a complete lack of crapware: 'Users accustomed to being bombarded with trialware offers and seeing their would-be pristine Windows desktops littered with shortcuts to AOL and other applications will likely be pleased at their absence from the GC3502.' The machine is targeted at the back-to-school market. The hardware is nothing to write home about: a 1.5GHz Via C7 with 1GB of RAM and integrated graphics, but as Ars points out, it should be more than capable of performing basic tasks." Dell sells a low-end PC through Wal-Mart for $200 more, and one assumes it is loaded with crapware. Anybody know for sure?

Comments

Comparison

[eldavojohn]

Dell sells a low-end PC through Wal-Mart for $200 more, and one assumes it is loaded with crapware. Anybody know for sure? Well, from the product page of the $500 "Dell Dimension E521 Desktop PC w/ AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor":

• # Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
• # NVIDIA GeForce 6150 integrated graphics
• # Dell USB keyboard and USB 2-button mouse
• # Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
• # Integrated 7.1-channel audio
• # 56k PCI data/fax modem
• # Microsoft Works 8.5
• # Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0
• # Roxio Creator Basic
• # McAfee Security 30-day trial
• # Earthlink application software
• # Windows Vista PC-Restore
• # 1-year limited warranty and at-home service

Having experienced all the above software (with the exception of Earthlink application software whatever that is), I'm going to say that yes, it is loaded with crapware. Scariest one on that list would probably be the earthlink application software because that's the most generic name for a product I can ever think of.

The other differences between these two machines is they have comparable memory, DVD burner & GPU, the Dell's hard drive & CPU are a lot better. The ArsTechnica article mentions upgrades at a price, you could probably get the IMPACT up to the Dell range and get it close which is probably pretty important for the average consumer who doesn't want to deal with the ordeal of reinstalling Windows just to get a clean slate.

Minimal crapware..

[tji]

It's not totally crapware free. From the Specs: Norton Internet Security(TM) 2007 (90-day subscription included)

They could have chosen a free AV package, like they chose a free office suite (or even a free operating system). But, they went with the try-now buy-later package.

Re:Minimal crapware..

[pla]

Also: anyone know how a 1.5GHz VIA C7 performs? Comparable to a 1 GHz PIII at least?

Yeah, the Epia and JetWay microATX/miniITX boards use that line, and I have one with that exact chip.

I'd say it compares favorably with the PIII, clock-for-clock. It works pretty well for a general purpose PC. You can use all your normal "productivity" apps no problem, it can handle audio just fine, some video (they usually have hardware MPEG2 and now even MPEG4 decoders, though I don't know what the exact setup mentioned has). Even some older gaming, but don't expect any modern FPSs to run well, if at all.

As a VERY nice feature, they suck very little power. For a system with one of these, using the on-board video, with one HDD, you can realistically expect to see under 40W peak consumption. And of course, that shows in the cooling needs as well - A single low-RPM CPU fan works fine, you won't even hear it outside the case (of course, for a dirt-cheap WallyWorld PC, you can probably count on getting a POS power supply with a nice loud 80mm fan in it).

Re:Minimal crapware..

[pugdk]

I agree, I looked at the specs myself and immediately singled out:

Additional Software
  CyberLink PowerDVD Suite
  Norton Internet Security(TM) 2007 (90-day subscription included)

Norton Internet "Security". In my opinion you would have to search hard for worse crap ware.

It's in the processor

[InvisblePinkUnicorn]

I found this on the processor they're using:

"With a maximum power consumption of just 20 watts (2 watts average), the VIA C7®-D processor sets new standards..."

How much do 1.5GHz processors normally consume?

Re:It's in the processor

[samwichse]

Actually, that is incorrect. AMD calculates their TDP as a worst-case thermal output. From the linked article:

Thermal Design Power (TDP) is measured under the conditions of TCASE Max, IDD Max, and VDD=VID_VDD, and include all power dissipated on-die from VDD, VDDIO, VLDT, VTT, and VDDA.

Sam

It's not a bad deal at all

[Ignorant Aardvark]

Four years ago, when I was just starting university, I bought a $200 bargain basement GNU/Linux PC from Wal-Mart (unfortunately they don't sell these anymore). I used it as a personal server in my dorm room. Yeah, it was severely underpowered compared to my desktop, but it was just fine for using to tinker around with GNU/Linux. I used it for a good three years until I had enough money to buy something better. But what an incredible value that was, three years of experience for only $200. This latest machine looks to be good for exactly the same thing. Buy it, strip off Windows, put on GNU/Linux, and it makes a good first server.

Re:One Question

[RAMMS EIN]

``Yeah, and why doesn't everyone cook their own food, since it's cheaper? And why doesn't everyone build their own house, since it's cheaper?''

These may actually not be cheaper. It depends on how much your own time is worth. Buying a used computer doesn't have to cost you extra time, whereas preparing your own food or building your own house certainly does cost time.

Also, I do cook my own food, because it's cheaper. And because it's better.

``And why doesn't everyone buy a used car, since it's cheaper?''

Again, it might not be cheaper, because of maintenance costs. However, I think the main reason is that cars are status symbols. A second-hand status symbol isn't worth that much...

``And why doesn't everyone use fluorescent lighting, since it's cheaper?''

That one, I don't have an answer to. Perhaps it is because fluorescent lamps have a higher initial cost than incandescent lamps?

I do use fluorescent lighting. Because it saves the environment. It's also cheaper, but I would do it even if it were (not too much) more expensive. And now we're full circle, because the exact same applies to me using VIA hardware, too. :-)

Re:Don't sell the students short

[LWATCDR]

Okay let's take a look at the "real world"
1. It has Vista Home Basic so no Aero. It probably will not be stressing the harware.
2. It has a gig of Ram. I have NO problem running XP media Center and OpenSuse on a system with a Gig of ram as a duel boot. Open Office runs just fine.
3. It is under $300.
4. I has a DVD drive so yes you can watch DVDs on it.
5. It has IE on it. The sad truth is some sites require IE to work correctly. This is changing but having IE to fall back on does make life easy.
6. It has Open Office. Which gives you a lot of good tools.
7. Did I mention it is under $300. Less than a PS/3 or 360?
8. It only has an 80 gig drive. So it has 6 USB ports. Think Geek was selling 80 Gig external drives for under $50! Those are much better to put your music and videos on anyway. When the RIAA and Montag come knocking at your door they my not find your external drive with your MP3s or your collection of books.
9. It uses SATA for the HD. I bet you could put in another or a Larger drive if you really wanted it.
10. So it only has one gig of ram. It has an open memory slot. Go buy an extra gig.

For a High school kid or even a college student this would be a good machine. Frankly a lot of businesses could work just fine off one of these. It also doesn't use a lot of power thanks to the C7 CPU.

As to just building your own. Not everyone wants to build their own PC or even knows how. This machine with an LCD monitor would be a handy little system for many people.
I don't know if it has any open slots but even without them you could add WiFi with USB. You could also add a TV tuner so it could be you kids TV as well.
In other words it seems like a good deal for some people. The fact that it will not play the latest and greatest games I can only see as a plus.

Re:If it stops them from getting hooked on WOW...

[TheMeuge]

Clear your download manager list. Processing the names of all those pr0n clips slows the download initiation down.

P.S. I may be kidding about the pr0n, but not about the root cause of the slowdown.

Dell AthlonX2 $382.59 USD @ DELL

[addbo]

OK... so Dell.ca has a very decently spec'ed computer for about $100 more... (I'm sure there are similar deals in USD... it's $399 CDN... just did a quick conversion on XE.com

http://www.redflagdeals.com/deals/main.php/alldeal s/pop7days/#e26983

        * AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 4000+
        * Windows XP Professional
        * 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 2 DIMMs
        * 160GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
        * 16x DVD+/-RW Drive
        * Microsoft Works 8
        * Integrated 7.1 Audio, Video
        * Dell USB Keyboard, Optical USB Mouse
        * 1 Year Next Business Day Onsite/In Home Service and Tech Support

I think it's worth it for $100 more... even with possible crapware... XP Pro itself is worth like $150 OEM. (I'd still rather of XP than Vista at the moment)

Again, Wal-Mart not the cheapest

[mea2214]

The Wal-Mart PR machine likes to give the illusion that they have the cheapest prices but yet again, they don't. For the past year the Microcenter by me has been selling refurbished 2.4G P4 machines loaded with XP Professional for $249. I have no interests in Microcenter other than they have a store a few blocks from me that I shop at and I like reading their monthly sale ads while sitting on the toilet. Here's a link to that PC because it's on sale again this month. http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtm l?product_id=0259605 They also have a refurbished Compaq for $199 (P4 1.7G) that would be good for college students too.

Re:Has VIA improved?

[yppiz]

I have a Via C7-M machine - an OQO 02 - running Vista. It's as stable as an Intel or AMD machine. So, yes, they have their act together.

Re:Where to start.

[toadlife]

You need 2GB to have a system that is usable. So many have said this about Vista, but it has not been my experience at all.

My work computer is a Athlon64 3000 (Single Core, 1.8Ghz) with 1GB RAM and a cheap GeForce graphics card that barely supports Aero. I'm currently running Vista Enterprise with Aero turned on.

With McAfee Virusscan 8.5, Outlook 2003, Firefox with four tabs open, Thunderbird, Yahoo Messenger, a couple of MMC consoles, an RDP session and a puTTy session running, my machine is currently using 731MB of RAM.

Vista is a little more sluggish than XP was on this machine, but it is certainly usable.

Re:Has VIA improved?

[springbox]

I've had a lot of motherboards with VIA chipsets and they have all worked wonderfully. Linux support for them is also pretty good.