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 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:HP Pavilion Elite, Acer Aspire, Acer Inc., cover, Gateway Inc., HP Pavilion, 64-bit, ASUS, NVidia, HP, Intel
Reviewed on July 15, 2009The Dell Inspiron 545s cuts a more robust profile than other budget Inspirons by offering better upgrade options and some decent performance for its price. It has a hard time challenging Gateway's strong budget slim tower, but this Dell might sway you, depending on your needs.TAGS:Dell Inspiron, Gateway Inc., Intel Core 2 Duo, Dell, 64-bit, dual-core, Intel, Ethernet, video, 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 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 November 11, 2008Velocity Micro's Edge Z55 provides a powerful example of the leap ahead in performance afforded by Intel's new Core i7 CPUs. Velocity Micro's own overclocking efforts don't hurt either. Any PC gamer would love to make this upper midrange desktop their own.TAGS:Velocity Micro, Intel Core Microarchitecture, Acer Inc., 64-bit, Radeon, Intel, PC, hard drive, games, CPU
Reviewed on July 23, 2009The Asus Essentio CM5570-AP006 will give you fair performance and a well-rounded set of features for its price, and we recommend it if you specifically need a midbudget, midtower desktop. In the grand scheme of retail PCs, however, a more affordable slimtower from Gateway gives this system a major challenge on performance and value, which dampens our enthusiasm for the Asus.TAGS:ASUS, Dell Inspiron, HP Pavilion, Gateway Inc., 64-bit, Dell, HP, networking, video card, games, PC
Reviewed on July 2, 2009The Asus Essentio CM5570-AP002 isn't an overly remarkable desktop, but it has a few extra features that help it stand out. Its Wi-Fi and HDMI video out port give it some unique capabilities, and the best part is that Asus still manages to keep the price down. It's hard not to like this system, even though we wish Asus had more comprehensive support.TAGS:ASUS, HP Pavilion SlimLine, Blu-ray drive, HP Pavilion, Blu-ray, Intel, Gateway Inc., 64-bit, HP, Intel Pentium, PC, Microsoft Windows
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
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, 64-bit, Blu-ray, video card, PC, Intel, games, hard drive
Reviewed on August 19, 2009Despite 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, Intel Pentium, CPU
Reviewed on July 16, 2009With more aggressive competition on retail shelves, the HP Pavilion p6130y isn't a particularly compelling desktop computer thanks to underwhelming features and poor performance. We only recommend this system if you truly need the hand-holding that comes with the support of a major U.S. PC vendor.TAGS:HP Pavilion, ASUS, Dell Inspiron, quad-core, digital audio, HP, Ethernet, 64-bit, FireWire, Gateway Inc., Dell, AMD, PC, games