ASUS Essentio CM6730-US-2AD Desktop PC Intel Core i3 2120(3.30GHz) 4GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity Intel HD Graphics Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit

Pros: Good HD space, runs very well, nice on-board graphics, good amount of RAM, easy to use, can reinstall windows without disk by using a start-up command which makes it easy if you need to reinstall, the wireless antennae are very nice

Cons: Rather annoying trying to get into safe-mode, ASUS changed the default way

Other Thoughts: A friend gifted me this PC when mine went on the fritz and died. I wasn't looking for a high-volume gaming PC but I do game. This has worked VERY well for my purposes and does not take a hard hit. I have run Sims 3 on full settings, windowed and multitasking and it's fine. I have done the same with WoW, Star Trek Online, and even now, Guild Wars 2.

I have not upgraded the PC in any way. I have had no issues except difficulty getting into Safe Mode when I got hit with a virus. That was the only majorly frustrating aspect, as I ended up just reformatting and reinstalling Windows instead.

But for me, this works awesomely. I can game on it, multitask while gaming in windowed mode, not have to sacrifice graphics, it's fairly light and easy to move.

All around, I'm really glad this is the PC I settled on and my friend got for me.

Pros: It arrived in a nice box.

Cons: This computer is without a doubt the worst piece of high-tech garbage I have ever owned. It only operates at the same speed as the 5 year old Dell it replaced. It is advertised as a great platform for HD, 3D, gaming and multimedia. That is FALSE. The graphics system needs to be upgraded since the on board one can't handle even basic mouse movements without jerking. I don't run games, but this computer won't even scroll through a short webpage without problems so you can forget about anything that is graphics intensive.

The 1 tb hard drive is enough for a couple programs, but after running a system backup, that is all used up. In order to install a 2nd hard drive, it is necessary to remove the CPU fan. The CPU fan that comes with the computer is inadequate, and the computer would intermittently shut down due to overheating. I needed to replace the CPU fan with a new one that can handle the load.

If I had it all to do over again, I WOULD NOT buy this computer!

Other Thoughts: ASUS is more concerned about their image than whether they sell computers that work as advertised. When I tried to return the computer for repairs, the tech department refused to pay for return shipping. Only after a marketing guy stepped in again did they agree to pay. When I finally did return it, I taped specific instructions directly to the computer covering the problems the computer was having. About two weeks later, the computer returned. The tech department ignored my instructions and just replaced the hard drive with a new one. They did nothing else. None of the problems were addressed, and the computer was clearly never tested to see if any of the problems that caused it to be returned in the first place were fixed since they remain to this day.

ASUS sold me a worthless computer. ASUS tech department first did everything possible to avoid fixing the computer. When they did accept it for repair, they didn't fix the problems, but just switched out the hard drive.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

Sorry to hear that our repair center didn't read the problems you were having. When changing the fan did you still have issues after for overheating?

If you are still having problems you can email me at cl-jeffrey@asus.com. Asus strives to meet and exceeds our customer expectations within our warranty policy. Please reply with reference# C1042-1730

Regards,

Jeffrey
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: Decent price for the system, includes wireless, and USB 3 as well optical audio.

Cons: CPU fan is constantly revving at highest speed when processing things not even intense at all. Already tried usual driver/bios fixes from their website and configured EFI bios settings accordingly.

You would think this little guy is a DELL PowerEdge server with the noise it makes from that one little fan. Asus usually makes great products, but they let me down with their stupid warranty sticker on the back case. Now I cant even drop a fan or two in there without worrying about voiding the warranty. Im going to talk to newegg about returning this and getting a replacement to see if they are all like this.

Other Thoughts: Maybe 1 or 2 chassis fans???

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

We apologize for the fan issue you are experiencing with this desktop. Please contact us at Desktop_Support@asus.com so we can assist you with this issue. If needed we can pretest a replacement to ship to you.

Best Regards,

ASUS Desktop Support