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Engadget's summer gear guide 2012: desktops
In the interest of keeping cool this summer, we've put together a list of the hottest products out right now. From smartphones to e-readers and everything in between, there's no time like the present to re-up that post-spring-cleaning stash. So grab a popsicle or a cold one and dive in -- the water's just right. Desktops are amazing. They deliver serious, expandable computing power to the places where you need it most, and with much better bang-for-the-buck than laptops. Moreover, they're constantly evolving: low-power PCs can now do more with fewer watts, regular gaming PCs can achieve 3D effects that would have required extreme setups just a year ago, and all-rounder desktops have become, well, even more rounded. Which brings us to the recommendations: three PCs that range from $799 to $1,199 and beyond, and that represent each of these three categories. If you're going cheaper, don't be afraid to build your own -- that way you'll only spend money on specs you actually need. Ready to see our selections? Head on past the break to read 'em.
Tranquil PC Skinny Ripper is a slim music-archiving server
If you've been avoiding ditching your CDs because ripping them all to an easily digestible and streamable format has proven too much of a hassle, then Tranquil PC might have the answer for you. The Skinny Ripper is a slim, fanless server with an optical drive that automatically rips any disk you insert and saves the contents to the internal 1TB drive. The embedded version of Fedora also has Subsonic music streaming app preinstalled so you can playback your collection from any smartphone or computer with a browser. You can order one now at the source link, starting at £665.83 ($1,051).
Tranquil PC ships MMC-12: a 1.5-inch thick, fanless HTPC
We haven't heard from Britain's own Tranquil PC in a hot minute, but the company's storming into the new year with a machine that's easy to overlook. In a good way. The MMC-12 Media Center measures just 1.5-inches thick, enabling it to be slid into (or under) just about any A/V rack. £649 (right around $1,000) nets you a Core i3 processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory (plus another open RAM slot), an admittedly paltry 80GB mSATA hard drive, CD / DVD burner, Windows 7 Home Premium and an HDMI port. You'll also get a pair of USB 3.0 ports, two underwhelming (and bound to be unloved) USB 2.0 sockets, a gigabit Ethernet jack, DVI socket and an aluminum enclosure. The company recommends that you connect a couple of your favorite USB TV tuners for maximum enjoyment, and in case you're wondering, Blu-ray drives and international shipping is available.
Tranquil PC iXL takes you up to 2.93GHz sans fans, has equally lofty price
We told you Intel's 32nm Clarkdales were power efficient, right? Well, Tranquil PC's slapped one of those chips, a 2.93GHz Core i3-530 to be precise, into its all-new iXL Power PC and now boasts a total system juice consumption of a measly 30W at idle. That means this HTPC can get away with living the quiet, fanless life, while HDMI, a trio of eSATA ports, a multicard reader, and a Blu-ray option flesh out a comprehensive package. Naively, we thought we'd throw the Blu-ray drive in with a 500GB hard disk to see what this might cost us, and were stricken with grief at the sight of a £742 ($1,100) price tag. Should four-digit entry fees not scare you off, you'll want to know that the iXL is shipping now. For everyone else, hit the source link for a bunch of glamor photos.
Tranquil PC serves up a pair of high-end but laid-back HTPCs
We haven't heard from the folks at Tranquil in some time, the UK-based firm's employees surely too busy watching all the As Time Goes By episodes they stuffed onto their last five-bay media server, but they've sent Gene and Lionel on their way and are back to announce two new HTPCs. First is the T7-MP2, a tiny, fanless Ion- and Atom-powered machine that offers HDMI output for direct connectivity to your HDTV and up to 1TB of storage, starting at a rather pricey £479 (about $700). The other is a more powerful beast, the ixVL, coming sometime next month with either an Intel Core i3 or i5 CPU inside and an optical drive (DVD or Blu-ray), but still no fans for quiet operation. No price on this one yet, but expect it to cost, you know, more than the other one.
Tranquil PC's SQA-5H home server: 5 bays, Atom 330, the works
No, this ain't a Craigslist ad, this is just a bomb-diggity home server set to officially be released by Tranquil PC tomorrow. The SQA-5H is a cube-shaped server with five hot-swappable drive bays, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom 330 processor and 1GB of RAM (2GB maximum). Additionally, it touts a Quick System Backup for piping your stored data onto an external HDD, a "Mode" button for quick capacity checks and an optional SQA-EX slave unit which provides five additional drive bays connected with a single cable. Expect to find pricing details within 24 hours on the November-bound device.[Via WeGotServed]
Tranquil PC introduces AVA RS3 music server
Hope you like the shiny, because Tranquil PC is bringing lots and lots of it with its latest home music server. The AVA RS3 comes in two flavors, one of which packs 2 x 500GB drives while the other includes a pair of 1TB HDDs. The unit also boasts a fanless design to keep things quiet, and just in case your music library isn't all converted to .wav files just yet, it possesses an internal optical drive to handle direct-to-HDD ripping. Expect these to ship out in around a fortnight for £549 ($1,092) / £699 ($1,390).[Thanks, WHSuser]
Tranquil ships T7 and T2e Atom media PCs
Ignoring all those silly Atom shortages, Tranquil PC has their T7 and T2e Atom media PCs ready for delivery. As expected, the T7 is based on a fanless design for your uber-quiet home theater and measures only 8.8 x 9.1 x 2.2-inches with space for a 2.5-inch SATA drive. Meanwhile, the T2e can be fitted with a slot-loading DVD drive and comes in a more media rack-friendly form factor. They both pack the Intel Atom 230 at 1.6GHz and will set you Brits back starting around £189 and £284 (or $371 and $554 US), for the T7 and T2e, respectively.[Photo by PC Pro]Read - T7 Atom at Tranquil PCRead - T2e Atom at Tranquil PC
Tranquil PC announces Intel Atom-based Harmony home servers
Well, doesn't Tranquil PC seems pretty stoked about their new Atom-based Harmony home servers? Though they're not exactly mind-blowing (to us, anyway), two new fanless models should be shipping in June: the T7-HSAi (left, with a single 3.5-inch drive or two 2.5-inch drives) and T2-WHS-A3i (right, with up to two 3.5-inch drives), both featuring Ethernet, four USB 2.0 ports, 512MB or 1GB RAM options, and running Windows Home Server. With base configs and 500GB drives, the T7 will start at £278 ($550 US), and the T2 at £299 ($590 US).
Tranquil readying Windows Home Server-based M one media mecca
Tranquil PC, home to Manchester's own media server gurus, is reportedly gearing up to tempt your wallet once more with the M one. Said media server will look quite similar to the A3, and will boast 2TB of internal storage space, four DVB-T digital terrestrial tuners and an Ethernet jack. Regrettably, that's all the details that have been deemed worthy of being loosed thus far -- aside from the fact that it'll rely on Windows Home Server, of course -- but keep an eye on the read link for more tidbits throughout the weekend.
Tranquil readying T7-HDX to expand storage of T7-HSA server
Apparently, Tranquil's Windows Home Server-equipped T7-HSA wasn't a half bad device -- save for its single internal HDD and complete lack of expansion options outside of external USB storage, that is. Thankfully, the company is reportedly on the way to remedying said niggle with the T7-HDX, which "slides on to the T7-HSA's chassis to form one integral unit, and can be configured at purchase with a range of storage options which are managed via an internal port multiplier." We're hearing that the T7-HDX accessory will be available in a 2 x 500GB model and a 2 x 1TB edition for £249 ($485) and £449 ($874), respectively, and while we've no idea exactly how "discounted" they'll be for existing T7-HSA owners, you folks should certainly keep an eye out when the HDXs land in March.
