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 December 7, 2009The retail version of Dell's Studio XPS 8000 desktop might lack some of the charm of its direct-from-Dell counterpart, but its strong price-performance offering makes it easy to overlook the minor cosmetic deficiencies. That and its admirable power consumption make this system an impressive all-purpose midrange desktop.TAGS:Dell Studio, ASUS, Dell, 64-bit, Intel, PC
Reviewed on November 19, 2009At a glance, the Asus Essentio CM5570-AP003 offers adequate performance compared with 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, Intel, Ethernet, Dell Inspiron, 64-bit, Intel Pentium, CPU, Dell
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., Dell, HP Pavilion, ASUS, 64-bit, Intel, CPU, HP, video
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, dual-core, 64-bit, Intel, Ethernet, hard drive, video
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, Gateway Inc., Intel, Intel Pentium, HP, 64-bit, PC, Microsoft Windows
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, Acer Inc., Intel Core Microarchitecture, 64-bit, Radeon, Intel, PC, hard drive, games, CPU
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, HP, Intel
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 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, digital audio, Blu-ray, 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, Blu-ray, 64-bit, PC, video card, Intel, games, hard drive