Reviewed on July 10, 2009Gateway's SX2800-01 offers a strong combination of performance and features all wrapped up in a design that fully embraces the merits of a slim tower PC. We recommend this system to anyone looking for a fast, affordable desktop for the home office, the living room, or anywhere in between.TAGS:HP Pavilion SlimLine, Gateway Inc., Dell Inspiron, clock speed, HP Pavilion, Dell, 64-bit, HP, Intel, PC, video
Reviewed on January 27, 2009Maingear's Ephex is the fastest PC we've reviewed, and also the most expensive. You can find better service policies from other boutique PC vendors, but the Ephex's overall speed and build quality are enough for us to recommend it to those in the market for the best desktop they can find.TAGS:Maingear, Intel Core Microarchitecture, LightScribe, Blu-ray, 64-bit, video card, PC, Intel, games, hard drive
Reviewed on August 10, 2009The Dell Studio XPS 435 successfully overcomes our bias against desktops that claim to be experts at everything through charming case design and a strong configuration at a relatively fair price. It misses greatness because of a handful of minor missteps, but if you need a do-it-all mainstream tower system, this Dell more or less covers all the bases.TAGS:Dell Studio, Blu-ray drive, ASUS, Blu-ray, Dell, design, 64-bit, video card
Reviewed on July 29, 2009Dell seems to have missed a beat in this year's round of back-to-school retail desktops, and the Inspiron 545 is no exception. Its competition has too much to offer in the way of performance and features, leaving Dell with little but its established online support resources to give it an advantage.TAGS:Dell Inspiron, back-to-school, ASUS, Dell, Gateway Inc., 64-bit, networking, PC
Reviewed on August 25, 2009Acer's Aspire M5800-U5802A could use some visual polish, but get past its appearance and you'll find a fast, affordable computer that will handle any task you care to throw at it. It's even a decent low-end gaming box. We'd only recommend against this desktop if you demand a computer's appearance match its capabilities.TAGS:Acer Aspire, HP Pavilion Elite, Acer Inc., cover, Gateway Inc., HP Pavilion, 64-bit, ASUS, NVidia, Intel, HP
Reviewed on November 19, 2008You can find flashier PCs than Dell's $1,299 Studio XPS, but few have as much power where it counts. We don't recommend its small, pared-down case for upgraders, but this PC will satisfy anyone who needs a loaded, powerful PC for gaming and consumer-level digital media editing.TAGS:Dell Studio, Intel Core Microarchitecture, Gateway Inc., configuration, Dell, 64-bit, hard drive, Intel, PC
Reviewed on August 4, 2009Asus crafted the Essentio CG5290-BP007 to serve as a no-frills gaming desktop for just more than $1,000. And while the boutique PC vendors have a bit more polish for not too much more money, Asus can at least claim that this PC is one of the fastest on the retail shelves. You might have a hard time arguing the necessity of such a fast gaming box for back-to-school, but we can at least recommend this system as a speedy bargain.TAGS:back-to-school, ASUS, retailer, 64-bit, customer service, games, Nvidia GeForce, NVidia, video card, PC
Reviewed on July 31, 2009Don't let the overlarge case get you too excited, but Asus has put together a compelling budget gaming PC with the Essentio CG5270-BP003. With fast gaming and general application performance, as well as a competitive price, this desktop will satisfy any aspiring PC gamer looking to save a buck.TAGS:chassis, ASUS, gamer, 64-bit, video card, games, PC
Reviewed on October 7, 2009The $799 ZT Affinity 7334Ma's stellar performance benchmarks, Blu-ray drive, and plenty of room for expansion give it a step up from the competition. ZT still needs help in the external design department, but this system certainly earns our recommendation as a workhorse do-it-all system.TAGS:HP Pavilion Elite, Blu-ray drive, HP Pavilion, Blu-ray, ATI Radeon, AMD, 64-bit, HP, ATI Technologies, PC
Reviewed on July 6, 2009You might find a better deal from Dell if you configure an Inspiron 537s online, but this retail only model has little to recommend it. From slow performance to a weak feature-set, this budget slimtower is outclassed by too many other retail desktops.TAGS:HP Pavilion SlimLine, Dell Inspiron, Gateway Inc., HP Pavilion, Dell, 64-bit, ASUS, CPU, Intel, HP, video
Reviewed on July 31, 2009We've never loved HP's Pavilion Elite PCs, and this desktop offers the same scattershot configuration that has always put us off. That said, we suspect a dorm room might actually be an appropriate place for a midtower that offers acceptable speed on top of Blu-ray capability. Just know that faster, more specialized desktops are available for less.TAGS:HP Pavilion Elite, HP Pavilion, Blu-ray, ASUS, HP, 64-bit, networking, AMD, 3D, Ethernet, hard drive
Reviewed on July 28, 2009Gateway's DX4300-03 is a game attempt at a digital media hub-style PC, but the value proposition just isn't here. Slow performance in particular drags this desktop down, and unless you particularly value a TV tuner, you'll find faster, more capable computers not much farther down the retail shelf.TAGS:Gateway Inc., ASUS, Acer Aspire, wireless networking, optical drive, TV Tuner, 64-bit, networking, TV, Acer Inc., PC
Reviewed on December 12, 2008No other all-in-one PC can offer touch-based input or an LCD screen as large as that of the HP TouchSmart IQ816. It's hard to deny that those features make this a compelling desktop for families with a place to put it. Weak performance hinders its suitability for work, and it's not the best digital entertainment center, but we recommend this system to anyone looking to get in early on the touch-computing experiment.TAGS:HP TouchSmart, Intel Core 2 Duo, IEEE 802.11n, Blu-ray, digital audio, HP, 64-bit, PC, Intel, Microsoft Windows