Product Reviews
Showing
1-20
of 32 results found
-
Reviewed on October 30, 2009
Acer's Aspire Revo 1600 might be the first Nettop we don't actively dislike. We'd rather have an Xbox 360 in the living room, but the Aspire Revo 1600 would be suitable as a PC for young kids or as a low-profile cloud kiosk. Thanks to its $199 price tag, you won't feel too much remorse if it breaks or you outgrow it.
TAGS:
eMachines Inc., wireless networking, Acer Inc., optical drive, graphics chip, Acer Aspire, Intel Pentium, NVidia, networking, adapter, Intel, Microsoft Windows Vista, PC, hard drive, games
Check prices$199.99-$229.99
-
Reviewed on November 20, 2009
The Gateway DX-4822-01 makes a convincing pitch with the performance numbers and features to earn its place in your home, but if you're not tied to the midtower design, the older Gateway SX2800-01 offers faster speeds and the option to set it up as a media center PC.
TAGS:
Gateway Inc., graphics chip, clock speed, ASUS, Apple iTunes, Intel, hard drive, PC
CNET review:
7.0
Very good
Check prices$499.99-$519.99
-
Reviewed on November 12, 2009
The HP Pavilion Slimline s5220y provides adequate performance for light-duty media editing and entertainment, but its slim tower case leaves little room for future upgrades, leading us to recommend the older Gateway SX2800-01 that offers more features and better components.
TAGS:
HP Pavilion SlimLine, graphics chip, Dell Inspiron, Gateway Inc., HP Pavilion, Ethernet LAN, HP, ASUS, Dell, Intel, Intel Pentium, PC
Check prices$479.99
-
Reviewed on February 4, 2009
The Acer X1700-U3700A is slightly slower than the competition, but it gives you almost every component you need in either a basic desktop or a light-duty home theater PC. If you prefer functionality to performance, we recommend this model out of the three systems in the current lineup.
TAGS:
Acer Aspire, Acer Inc., graphics chip, burner, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, optical drive, 64-bit, networking, Dell, Wi-Fi, video card, PC, hard drive, Microsoft Windows Vista, Intel, video
CNET review:
7.0
Very good
Check prices$329.95
-
Reviewed on March 4, 2009
While we're still impressed with the Mac Mini's ability to pack so much into a tight package, Apple can't get away from its PC competitors that offer more features for less money. If saving space and the Mac OS are dominating factors, then the new Mac Minis are a viable option, but your dollar will stretch much further with a budget Windows desktop.
TAGS:
Apple Intel Mac Mini, Apple Mac Mini, graphics chip, wireless networking, Acer Inc., IEEE 802.11n, networking, Apple Macintosh, Apple Computer, Intel Core 2 Duo, NVidia, input, FireWire, adapter, Nvidia GeForce, monitor
CNET review:
7.3
Very good
Pricing not available
-
Reviewed on November 19, 2009
At a glance, the Asus Essentio CM5570-AP003 offers adequate performance compared to other midtower budget desktops, but an older Gateway outshines Asus with faster performance and more versatility for a little more, leaving us unenthusiastic about this system.
TAGS:
graphics chip, ASUS, Gateway Inc., Gigabit Ethernet, Ethernet, Dell Inspiron, Intel, 64-bit, Intel Pentium, CPU, Dell
Check prices$449.99
-
Reviewed on November 23, 2009
The HP Pavilion P6230y yields decent scores, but we have a hard time recommending a system that comes at a higher cost and a slower performance rating over competing systems. This system has a few uncommon features for its price, but nothing that makes up for its overall poor bang-for-the-buck.
TAGS:
HP Pavilion, ASUS, graphics chip, Ethernet LAN, quad-core, HP, Ethernet, Intel, AMD, CPU, PC
Check prices$679.99
-
Reviewed on November 25, 2009
We're fond of the Gateway DX4300-11's clever design, but halfhearted performance scores mar its overall worth. The TV tuner and 1TB hard drive may tempt you to stick it in your living room as a media center PC, but your money is better spent on the Asus Essentio CG5270-BP004.
TAGS:
Gateway Inc., graphics chip, ASUS, Ethernet LAN, TV Tuner, TV, Intel, Apple iTunes, CPU, hard drive
Check prices$656.99-$659.00
-
Reviewed on March 4, 2009
Apple made a number of changes to this $1,499 iMac, but making a 24-inch screen available at this price is the most impressive. The rest of the updates are welcome, and Apple's multitasking capability remains unmatched. Provided you like your all-in-ones best as straightforward desktop computers, the iMac will meet your expectations with speed and elegance.
TAGS:
Apple iMac, Intel Core 2 Duo, Apple Computer, home entertainment, graphics chip, Blu-ray, Intel, NVidia, Nvidia GeForce, monitor, Apple Macintosh, adapter, PC, Microsoft Windows
CNET review:
7.8
Very good
Pricing not available
-
Reviewed on January 16, 2009
Nvidia's GeForce GTX 295 is the single fastest 3D card on the market, and for a relatively aggressive price. Added bonuses like power efficiency and PhysX support sweeten the deal, but even without those extra benefits, we'd still recommend this card for its processing power and comparative value.
TAGS:
NVidia, Nvidia GeForce, power consumption, graphics chip, Radeon, ATI Technologies, manufacturing, card, DirectX, gamer, PC
CNET review:
9.0
Spectacular
Pricing not available
-
Reviewed on November 6, 2009
With similar results as its ancestors, the Dell Inspiron 545s-1476N registers decent benchmarks and offers respectable upgradability, but we hesitate to recommend it over the older Gateway SX2800-01 that leaves Dell in the dust regarding both performance and features.
TAGS:
HP Pavilion SlimLine, Dell Inspiron, Gateway Inc., graphics chip, Dell, Ethernet LAN, HP Pavilion, Ethernet, Intel, HP, PC
Check prices$479.99
-
Reviewed on August 19, 2009
Despite its quirky case design, Acer's Aspire M3800-U3802A is an affordable, feature-competitive midtower that you might find appealing if you're in the market for a cost-effective desktop to use for upgrading. If you want the best PC for your dollar, you can spend just a bit more on another system and get much faster performance.
TAGS:
Acer Aspire, Acer Inc., graphics chip, Gateway Inc., tray, Intel, Intel Core 2 Duo, 64-bit, CPU
Check prices$429.99-$452.31
-
Reviewed on May 28, 2009
The heart of Lenovo's IdeaCentre A600 is in the right place, offering a 21.5-inch LCD-based all-in-one for less than $800. But a faster competitor and a careless design turns us off from this particular A600 configuration. You might consider a different A600 build if you can live with the design, but we can't recommend the $749 version.
TAGS:
Averatec, Lenovo, HP Pavilion SlimLine, TV Tuner, graphics chip, HP Pavilion, 32-bit, Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel, TV, CPU, HP, Microsoft Windows Vista, hard drive, Microsoft Windows
Check prices$802.99
-
Reviewed on October 9, 2009
If you've heard of Psystar, chances are you know the risks involved with buying its systems. You might also have guessed, correctly, that in this OS X Snow Leopard-based Open(Q) system, Psystar once again shows up Apple in the price-performance department. There's little else to recommend this spare system, but if fast and cheap OS X is what you need, Psystar has you covered, at least for as long as it's still around.
TAGS:
OS X Snow Leopard, Apple iWork, Apple iLife, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, graphics chip, Apple Computer, Intel Core 2 Duo, Apple iMac, Apple Mac OS X, Nvidia GeForce, NVidia, operating system
Pricing not available
-
Reviewed on February 27, 2009
While the Gateway might appeal to users who value storage over speed, you can find more features in PCs that cost just a little less, and more performance for just a little more. That leaves this Gateway with little to recommend it.
TAGS:
Gateway Inc., graphics chip, HP Pavilion, video memory, burner, quad-core, optical drive, Wi-Fi, HP, 64-bit, Dell Inspiron, HDMI, FireWire, AMD, hard drive, CPU
CNET review:
4.8
Mediocre
Check prices$459.96
-
Reviewed on April 28, 2009
ZT's smartly configured Affinity 7308Ma offers a Blu-ray drive and fast application performance, both rare for its $699 price tag. You won't show off this midtower PC off for its looks, but we recommend it to those who enjoy the satisfaction that comes with finding a hidden bargain.
TAGS:
Blu-ray drive, Dell XPS, Blu-ray, graphics chip, Dell Inspiron, quad-core, Dell, Gateway Inc., AMD, PC
CNET review:
8.1
Excellent
Pricing not available
-
Reviewed on August 17, 2009
If you must buy a Nettop, the eMachines EZ1601-01's large screen and category-competitive components make a decent argument for its value among other systems like it. One look at a true budget desktop, or even a Netbook, and the appeal of this system diminishes quickly.
TAGS:
eMachines Inc., ASUS, graphics chip, optical drive, display, Intel, PC
Check prices$359.99-$416.99
-
Reviewed on September 23, 2009
Don't let the 20-inch screen fool you. The Lenovo C300 is still a Nettop, and thus still not worth your money. With its terrible performance and limited convenience benefit, a true budget PC or a Netbook would be a wiser purchase.
TAGS:
Lenovo, Averatec, graphics chip, 32-bit, display, CPU, networking, Ethernet, ATI Technologies, Microsoft Windows Vista, hard drive
Pricing not available
-
Reviewed on September 29, 2009
Extra performance by way of a low-wattage AMD chip helps Averatec's D1133 All-In-One stand out from its dismal Nettop competition, but it remains a below-average deal in the grand scheme of budget desktops. We see the appeal of Netbooks, but the benefits of Nettops like this Averatec continue to elude us.
TAGS:
Averatec, Lenovo, graphics chip, touch screen, AMD Athlon, speakers, ATI Technologies, movie, CPU, LCD, AMD, PC
Check prices$399.99-$559.28
-
Reviewed on January 27, 2009
At first glance, the eMachines ET1161-07 seems like a decent setup, but a laundry list of subpar components running on 32-bit Windows Vista just can't keep up with other similarly priced systems that give you much faster performance and higher-quality components for just $100 more.
TAGS:
eMachines Inc., Acer Aspire, graphics chip, expansion, burner, digital media, optical drive, Acer Inc., Dell Inspiron, 32-bit, AMD Athlon, Nvidia GeForce, NVidia, AMD, Dell
Check prices$324.99
Sponsored matches for "graphics chip"