Customer Reviews for ZT Affinity ZT Affinity 850 Desktop PC with Intel Core i5-3450 Processor, 8GB Memory, 23" Monitor, 2TB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Home Premium with Windows 8 Pro Upgrade Option
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ZT Affinity ZT Affinity 850 Desktop PC with Intel Core i5-3450 Processor, 8GB Memory, 23" Monitor, 2TB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Home Premium with Windows 8 Pro Upgrade Option
The ZT Affinity 850 Desktop PC features the third generation Intel Core i5 processor for a faster, smoother and richer visual experience for all of your demanding computing needs. The 23" Full HD LED-backlit LCD monitor is great for movie and home video enthusiasts with 1920 x 1080 resolution, LED backlighting for power savings and a slim and lightweight design to conserve your desktop space. A vast 2TB hard drive enables you to store massive quantities of music and high definition video. 8GB of fast DDR3 memory enhances your multitasking experience. A wireless keyboard and mouse help reduce clutter on your desktop. Industry-leading support and advanced digital media capabilities make this system a perfect solution for enhanced performance computing.
Average Customer Rating:
4.5
out of 5
(2 Reviews) 2
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Customer Recommendation100%2 out of 2reviewers would recommend this product to a friend.
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Customer Reviews
Review 1 for ZT Affinity 850 Desktop PC with Intel Core i5-3450 Processor, 8GB Memory, 23" Monitor, 2TB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Home Premium with Windows 8 Pro Upgrade Option
Good if you don't need the latest processor
,10/21/2012
By lepetitediabolique0 ,
Washington, DC
4
out of
5
When I was checking out the available ZT Systems computers on this website, I was having trouble deciding between this and the 870-0015 (which has an Intel i7 processor and 16 GB RAM, and was the one I'd really wanted, but which I knew I couldn't afford to buy before the Windows 8 computers came out and that particular model was discontinued); I contacted ZT Systems' "pre-sales" department several times (because the models I'd been interested in previously kept getting discontinued before I got together the money to buy them, and I really needed a Windows 7 computer, as my four-and-a-half HP Windows Vista computer had "crashed" once too often for my liking back in May of thid year)--if you want to contact this company's pre-sales department, I suggest that you contact their customer service department instead to get the direct pre-sales phoone number, and then be prepared to wait for up to 30 minutes or more (especially with those new Windows 8 computers--which I personally have ZERO interest in getting, as I've only heard bad things about them--coming out later this month or early next month), and be warned--their direct pre-sales number apparently gets changed either every week or maybe even day!
At any rate, when I finally got through the last time, I told the pre-sales CSR that I was looking for a computer/monitor bundle, and that I was NOT going to use it for serious gaming or video/photo editing, but I WAS going to use it to download a lot of music and video files, and the CSR (Gerardo?) told me that for my purposes, this model, with the Intel i5 processor and 8 GB RAM, would be "more than sufficient" for my needs, though I now wish I'd been able to afford the 870-015 I mentioned above, as this particular model (the 850-0008) is a little on the slow side--it doesn't seem to me to be any faster than my 32-bit HP Windows Vista computer with 1 GB RAM, but that may be because I'd recently performed a complete system recovery on the HP (using the recovery disks I'd had to pay an extra $20 for not long after buying it, due to the computer's having a "corrupt OS" out of the box, but of course HP didn't seem to think that warranted them sending me a brand-new computer--at least these ZT Systems computers come with the recovery disks you need), and BTW, all of these ZT Systems Windows 7 computers are 64-bit ones with at least 8 GB RAM; this particular model has a clock speed of 3.10 GHZ as opposed to the 870-0015's 3.40 GHZ, so maybe that could be a contributing factor, as well.
Setup should have been fairly simple and straightforard, but for me, a relative computer novice, it turned out not to be--first of all, even though there is a "quick" setup guide sheet included with this system, plus more detailed instructions included in the accompanying booklet, nowhere does it tell you how to set up the monitor--at least not in print; no, you have to plug the cables into the back of the monitor screen part and then insert the monitor driver disc just to access the monitor setup guide, which will then tell you how to set up the bundled monitor on its base (and if you can't/don't want to do that just yet, you CAN just set the monitor upright on its bottom part--just be forewarned that this is a rather precarious position to put it, especially if you don't have quite enough room on your desk for that 23" screen--ALL of the ZT Systems computers that come bundled with a monitor have monitors with 23" screens, which, quite frankly, are larger than the 22" screen of my TV), but back to the monitor's setup instructions ONLY being on the monitor's user guide on the monitor drivers disc, I personally think that this is a very stupid idea. Also, another stupid idea, as it turned out, was the fact that there was even a monitor drivers disc-when I called ZT Systems to ask about setting up the monitor, I was told that these bundled monitors are "plug-and-play", so there really is no need for a drivers disc for the monitor!
And another thing--this computer has TWO on/off switches, one on the back of the computer, which must be set in the proper position BEFORE attempting to turn on the computer using the "power on" button (actually a set of 9 smaller chrome buttons on the front of the computer, which all get pushed in when you press on any of these smaller buttons; apparently they were designed to do this). Oh, and again BTW, the booklet will tell you to turn on the *monitor* BEFORE trying to to trun on the computer using the power on/off button in the front (but only after you've pushed the on/off switch in the back to the proper position--it took me several tries to figure out which combination of what should be switched on before I finally had the computer up and running).
If you should decide to get one of these computers and set it up to be password-protected, then I recommend that you get a 2 GB USB flash drive so you can create a password-recovery "disk" just in case you either forget your password or get "locked out" of your computer (there are instructions on how to do this in the computer's "help" tab--just type "create a password recovery disk" in the search box). I didn't do this, and not three days after I first set up my new computer, I got "locked out" due to my either trying to install an unnecesary monitor driver or else clicking on the wrong item after opening up my iTunes Media folder (I was trying to access the "Automatically Add Items to iTunes Library" folder, I think, and accidentally clicked on "Previous iTunes Libraries" or some such file, and trust me, you don't want to do that), and because I didn't have a password recovery "disk", I had to reinstall Windows 7 and then reinstall the motherboard drivers (warning--if you do this, you will lose some pre-installed programs, like the original games folder--no big loss--as well as the pre-installed "basic" version of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010, among other things, but since I don't generally play games on my computer and thus could do without the new and different games folder that got installed, and I have never used Microsoft Office, as I prefer Open Office, which is just fine for word processing--which is all I do--plus Open Office is FREE, but if you really must have Microsoft Office, I recommend you get at least a version that can be used on multiple PCs, and do the same with your antivirus/antimalware software, as one of your "available" computers will be considered as "used" and cannot be reused/reregistered after you reinstall Windows and the motherboard drivers--in fact, your software will list that you have at least two computers using it, and once you remove the pre-reinstallation version, which will no longer "work" anyway, you will have maybe one computer left in case you need to perform yet another reinstallation, unless you've either already used the software with the maximum number of computers or it's good for more than three computers, or you have extra copies of the software in question).
I apologize if I'm explaining things that most of you know already, but I didn't know these things before I bought this computer, and I suspect that there are at least some people out there who, like me, didn't/don't know all of these things.
And one last thing: If you're planning to keep this computer for at least three years, you could do worse than to buy the 3-year extended warranty Walmart.com offers (even though it's actually for only 2 years beyond the manufacturer's warranty, as the first year overlaps with the manufacturer's warranty and only covers damage due to power surges). Why? Because the ZT Systems warranty will be voided if the computer is damaged in ANY way (but you will still be eligible for their lifetime hardware technical support)--and by "damaged", I mean "including any repairs or modifications that have not been authorized by the manufacturer" so you may wish to think twice before doing something as "simple" as upgrading the power supply or video card, or adding a wireless card, or even adding extra RAM (and no, I did NOT buy the Walmart.com 3-year extended warranty, even though it is said to cover damage due to "drops and spills", also known as "accidental damage coverage", I believe, even though I am hoping to move in a year or two, and judging from what happened the last time I did so, I suspect I may live to regret my decision).
SUMMARY: This is a perfectly good computer/monitor bundle for someone who wants a huge (2 TB!)-capacity hard drive and who is not a serious gamer or photo/video editor, although the Intel i5 processor, 8 GB RAM and 3.1 GHz clock time may make it somewhat less appealing to some, in which case I would recommend the 870-0015 over this model. Also, be aware that the setting-up instructions may seem nonsensical to "newbies", especially the monitor setup--which is where I think ZT could've been more helpful, but then, maybe not, as (as they pointed out) *they* don't make the monitors that come bundled with their computers. Also be aware that, contrary to ZT's claims, a good deal of their computers' components and accessories are made overseas--the wireless mouse/keyboard combo and the monitor are labelled "Made in China", while the DVD-RW drive has the LG logo on it--and LG products, for the most part, are made in Korea (I can't speak about the rest of the components, as I simply don't know, but "forewarned is forearmed", as they say).
Product Attributes:
Value
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations
4
out of
5
Recommends this product? Yes
Age:45 - 54
Ownership:2 - 7 weeks
Usage:Every day
-2points
Review 2 for ZT Affinity 850 Desktop PC with Intel Core i5-3450 Processor, 8GB Memory, 23" Monitor, 2TB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Home Premium with Windows 8 Pro Upgrade Option
08/14/2012
By Aboman ,
USA
5
out of
5
A great computer for the money! Sets up fast and easy without hours of hairpulling! Free lifetime support works great- Dane was very helpful in resolving a small trouble on the phone. I'm recommending the ZT to all my friends.
Product Attributes:
Value
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations
5
out of
5
Recommends this product? Yes
Age:55 - 64
Gender:Male
Ownership:2 - 7 weeks
Usage:Every day
+3points