New PC for son
My son needs a new computer for his room. He really likes the iMac G5, but we have only Windows machines and software. He does a lot of word processing for school, a little bit of gaming, and enjoys playing with other applications such as iTunes. What Windows and what Mac computers would you recommend?

If your son is into gaming, he'll know that there are many more games available for the PC than for the Mac. And since you can do word processing and use iTunes on either platform, we suggest going the PC route.

But Macs look so cool
If he likes the all-in-one look of the iMac G5, then run the Gateway Profile 5.5 and MPC ClientPro 414 past him. Both machines share the iMac's basic design of hiding the guts of the PC behind a flat-panel display. Granted, neither quite matches the iMac's slick design, but both are cool-looking PCs in their own right.

If gaming is more important
Still, if gaming is of greater importance than keeping his iPod fully loaded via iTunes, an all-in-one design isn't advisable. He'll want a system that can house a full-size graphics card and can be upgraded down the road. Here's a list of some good options.

Fast gaming PCs
ABS Ultimate M5-64
Cyberpower Gamer Infinity 6800GT
Dell Dimension XPS
HP Compaq X Gaming PC GX5000Z
Velocity Micro ProMagix PCX

Small-form-factor gaming PCs
Falcon Northwest Fragbox 2
Shuttle XPC G5 95000g



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