Reviewed on April 28, 2009ZT's smartly configured Affinity 7308Ma offers a Blu-ray drive and fast application performance, both rare for its $699 price tag. You won't show off this midtower PC off for its looks, but we recommend it to those who enjoy the satisfaction that comes with finding a hidden bargain.TAGS:Blu-ray drive, Dell XPS, Blu-ray, graphics chip, quad-core, Dell Inspiron, Dell, Gateway Inc., AMD, 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:Dell Inspiron, Acer Inc., graphics chip, Dell, Acer Aspire, Intel Pentium, Intel, desktop computer, CPU, 64-bit, hard drive
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, Gateway Inc., HP, Dell, optical drive, Wi-Fi, 64-bit, networking, Ethernet
Reviewed on October 20, 2008As much as Acer's Aspire X3200 surpasses other pricier PCs with its wide array of useful inputs and outputs, you'll have a hard time choosing between it and its otherwise identical dual-core Acer linemate of the same price. If you're a multitasker on a budget, you'll likely prefer this model's triple-core CPU.TAGS:Acer Inc., Acer Aspire, graphics chip, Dell Inspiron, 64-bit, HDMI, Dell, hard drive, CPU, PC
Reviewed on January 16, 2009Nvidia's GeForce GTX 295 is the single fastest 3D card on the market, and for a relatively aggressive price. Added bonuses like power efficiency and PhysX support sweeten the deal, but even without those extra benefits, we'd still recommend this card for its processing power and comparative value.TAGS:NVidia, Nvidia GeForce, power consumption, graphics chip, Radeon, ATI Technologies, DirectX, manufacturing, card, gamer, PC
Reviewed on October 31, 2008The Gateway DX4720-03 performs admirably and actually holds its own against triple-core computers thanks to its impressive list of features. It also has plenty of room for internal expansion, so we recommend this budget system if you need the speed but don't crave a ton of CPU power.TAGS:Gateway Inc., graphics chip, 64-bit, HP Pavilion, Dell Inspiron, Gigabit Ethernet, Dell, FireWire, Ethernet, modem, AMD, HP, hard drive
March 29, 2007Start-up releases beta version of Windows software to squeeze processing power out of multicore chips and graphics engines.TAGS:graphics chip, programming, Microsoft Windows