- 2GB of Memory
- Windows XP Professional Operating System
- Low Cost
- Older Pentium D Processor
- integrated Graphics
- Intel Pentium D 915 Desktop Processor
- 2GB PC2-4200 DDR2 Memory
- 250GB 7200rpm ATA Hard Drive
- 16x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner
- ATI Radeon Xpress 200 Intergrated Graphics with 128MB Shared Memory
- AC'97 Audio
- 10/100 Ethernet and v.92 56Kbps Modem
- Six USB 2.0 and 9-in-1 Reader
- Windows XP Professional, Norton Internet Security, Nero OEM
8/17/06 - One of the first surprise with the PowerSpec 8501 is its memory. The 2GB of DDR2 memory is twice what the average mainstream desktop system comes with. This makes memory intensive applications such as graphics and video much smoother on the system. The systems Pentium D 915 dual core processor is good for multitasking, although it does fall behind the new Core 2 Duo and Athlon 64 X2 in terms of performance.
Storage on the PowerSpec 8501 is fairly average. Rather than using a newer SATA drive, the system ships with a 250GB ATA drive. This doesn't really affect performance at all and storage is on par with other PCs. A 16x DVD+/-RW dual layer burner handles reading and recording data, music and movie CDs and DVDs.
Graphics are one area where the PowerSpec 8501 could use some improvement. The PC uses an ATI Radeon Xpress 200 integrated graphics that shares 128MB of the large 2GB of memory. The problem is that this has very limited 3D performance and is unsuitable for things such as gaming. Many mainstream PCs come with dedicated graphics cards that can easily outperform this solution.
While the system does come with the XP Professional operating system, the software is very limited. No productivity software is included standard. Buyer's will likely need to budget for purchasing this in addition to the system. Thankfully, the PowerSpec 8501 has a very reasonable price compared to many other mainstream desktops.
