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:power consumption, NVidia, Nvidia GeForce, Radeon, graphics chip, ATI Technologies, manufacturing, card, DirectX, gamer, PC
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 Core 2 Duo, 64-bit, Intel, CPU
Reviewed on August 17, 2009If you must buy a Nettop, the eMachines EZ1601-01's large screen and category-competitive components make a decent argument for its value among other systems like it. One look at a true budget desktop, or even a Netbook, and the appeal of this system diminishes quickly.TAGS:eMachines Inc., ASUS, graphics chip, optical drive, display, Intel, PC
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, graphics chip, Blu-ray, Dell Inspiron, quad-core, Dell, Gateway Inc., AMD, PC
Reviewed on October 20, 2009Nvidia's Ion graphics chip gives the Asus Eee Top ET2002 better-than-average video performance for a Nettop, but that does little to spare this system from its weak overall performance and the variety of competitive, more well-rounded alternatives for low-cost video and gaming. Nettops might be competitive someday, but for now this category as a whole is a disappointment.TAGS:ASUS, graphics chip, Gateway Inc., Xbox 360, LCD, entertainment, keyboard, Microsoft Xbox, NVidia, Nvidia GeForce, games, video, mouse, PC
Reviewed on July 13, 2009As much as we've appreciated HP's efforts in bringing the slim tower to the mainstream, we cannot recommend this off-the-shelf Pavilion Slimline s5120y. Even considering its low price, its design, features, and performance all come up short next to its retail competition.TAGS:HP Pavilion SlimLine, HP Pavilion, Gateway Inc., graphics chip, HP, port, 64-bit, Dell, Intel, hard drive, video
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 in regards to both performance and features.TAGS:HP Pavilion SlimLine, Dell Inspiron, graphics chip, Gateway Inc., Dell, Ethernet LAN, Ethernet, HP Pavilion, Intel, HP, PC
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
Reviewed on September 29, 2009Extra performance by way of a low-wattage AMD chip helps Averatec's D1133 All-In-One stand out from its dismal Nettop competition, but it remains a below-average deal in the grand scheme of budget desktops. We see the appeal of Netbooks, but the benefits of Nettops like this Averatec continue to elude us.TAGS:Averatec, Lenovo, graphics chip, touch screen, AMD Athlon, ATI Technologies, speakers, LCD, movie, CPU, AMD, PC, Intel
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, CPU, 64-bit, desktop computer, Intel, hard drive