Reviewed on August 17, 2009Dell's Mini 10v keeps a lot of the features of the more expensive Mini 10, while dropping the price below $300. It's one of only a handful of $299 Netbooks that doesn't look and feel especially cheap.TAGS:Netbook, HP Mini, SD card, IEEE 802.11, Dell, Dell Inspiron, Intel, Wi-Fi, broadband, Bluetooth, CPU, HP
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, Intel, HP, PC, video
Reviewed on August 11, 2009Dell's popular Mini 10 is the most customizable Netbook we've seen. Adding extras such as a higher-resolution display makes it more useful, but also blurs the price line between Netbooks and mainstream laptops.TAGS:Netbook, HP Mini, SD card, Dell Inspiron, IEEE 802.11, Dell, laptop computer, Wi-Fi, Intel, HP
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, Gateway Inc., Dell Inspiron, HP Pavilion, Dell, ASUS, 64-bit, Intel, CPU, HP, video
Reviewed on June 11, 2009We cringe at the idea of recommending such a slow PC when you can get significantly better performance for just a few more dollars. That said, it's hard to argue with the eMachines EL1300G-01w's low price, clean good looks, and relatively complete budget feature set. As long as you have no ambitions for this PC performing anything resembling serious work, it will make a fine second or third home system.TAGS:eMachines Inc., HP Pavilion SlimLine, Apple Intel Mac Mini, Dell Inspiron, AMD Athlon, 32-bit, Dell, AMD, Nvidia GeForce, NVidia, HP, Apple Macintosh, PC
Reviewed on November 6, 2009With 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, Ethernet, HP Pavilion, Intel, HP, PC
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 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, Ethernet, HP, 64-bit, FireWire, Dell, Gateway Inc., AMD, PC, games
Reviewed on February 20, 2009By sticking a wireless network adapter in a desktop with relatively slow performance for its price range, it almost feels as if HP has phoned in the configuration of this Pavilion a6700y. We can think of few reasons to justify purchasing this PC.TAGS:HP Pavilion, Dell Inspiron, graphics chip, optical drive, Gateway Inc., HP, Dell, 64-bit, Wi-Fi, networking, Ethernet
Reviewed on February 26, 2009HP's Pavilion a6750y highlights the multitasking benefits of a mainstream quad-core CPU. It's also a fairly stable base on which to build a more capable system. You can find desktops with more raw performance out there, but this one is a reliable multitasker for the dollar.TAGS:HP Pavilion, Gateway Inc., Dell Inspiron, HP, Dell, networking, PC
Reviewed on October 31, 2008The HP Pavilion a6620f makes a decent case for its budget price. We like the design and the built-in digital-audio ports, and if you're on an unbreakable budget, the a6620f will get you through a variety of processes, but we recommend saving up for a system that will give you a more powerful set of components for a negligible price difference.TAGS:digital audio, HP Pavilion, portable hard drive, graphics chip, burner, HP, port, Intel, 64-bit, Ethernet, Dell Inspiron, hard drive, Dell, PCI, adapter, video
Reviewed on August 6, 2007Sony's distinctive, midrange VAIO TP1 Living Room PC trades performance and features for its cutesy appearance. Unless you really like the looks of this Roomba-like PC you can find a much better deal from a variety of standard desktop PCs.TAGS:Velocity Micro, Sony Vaio, Sony Corp., HP Pavilion, Dell Inspiron, Intel Core 2 Duo, PC, Dell, TV, Apple iTunes, HP