Reviewed on November 25, 2009We'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., ASUS, graphics chip, TV Tuner, Intel, TV, Apple iTunes, CPU, 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, Acer Inc., Intel Core Microarchitecture, 64-bit, Radeon, Intel, PC, hard drive, games, CPU
Reviewed on July 2, 2009Digital Storm's 950Si has all the makings of a quality performance gaming system, but its value proposition comes up just a bit short. The stable-yet-aggressively overclocked CPU tells us that Digital Storm knows what it's doing, and with a more competitive price it would earn a more enthusiastic recommendation.TAGS:Intel Core Microarchitecture, Blu-ray drive, Western Digital, burner, Blu-ray, DVD-drive, 64-bit, CPU, Intel, hard drive, PC
Reviewed on January 28, 2009In its present configuration, the Dell Inspiron I530S-119B won't feel at home in a home theater or digital media environment, but it succeeds in providing high performance at minimal cost thanks to a faster processor than the competition. Future upgrades to this system are limited, but if you're shopping for a budget computer for basic functionality, this Dell will do the trick.TAGS:Acer Inc., Dell Inspiron, graphics chip, Dell, Acer Aspire, Intel Pentium, 64-bit, desktop computer, Intel, CPU, hard drive
Reviewed on February 26, 2009Maingear's X-Cube small form factor game PC has received a cleverly redesigned case and boasts strong bang for the buck in its niche. We wouldn't necessarily pick this configuration, and you can find a better deal in a standard-size gaming desktop, but you still might be charmed by its unique looks and its decent value.TAGS:Maingear, Velocity Micro, ATI Radeon, AMD, ATI Technologies, motherboard, Intel, games, CPU, hard drive, PC