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CNET Reviews - Most Recent Desktops

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1 HP Pavilion Slimline s5310y
With poor system performance and a severe drought in features, we recommend leaving this clunker on the shelf and picking up the Gateway SX2840-01, a highly capable budget desktop with a faster processor chip, a bigger hard drive, and a larger variety of connectivity options inside and out.
2 Gateway SX2840-01
Gateway's SX2840-01 remains the budget PC to beat. Its combination of small size, fast performance, and living room competence makes it one of the most flexible desktops on the market. That it has room to upgrade makes the deal that much sweeter. We recommend this desktop to anyone looking for a powerful, versatile low-cost computer.
3 HP Pavilion All-in-One MS225
Don't expect the world from HP's low-cost Pavilion All-in-One MS2255, but as a basic day-to-day PC for light-duty productivity or Web and media accessibility in the kitchen, it's a very good deal. You'd be wise to look here before considering an Atom-based Nettop.
4 Apple Mac Mini (2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 160GB, Fall 2009)
The lower-cost Mac Mini offers respectable budget performance and Apple's usual compelling design, but a puny hard drive and a lack of HDMI hurt this system's value and overall potential. It's actually more versatile next to its budget-priced Windows competition than the higher-end Mac Mini, but this entry-level Mac is still best left to Apple loyalists.
5 Dell Inspiron Zino HD
In the right configuration, Dell's Inspiron Zino HD will fit seamlessly into your living room as a PC-based video source. Due to its uneven handling of even standard-def video, this $468 build isn't quite up to the task. Fortunately, Dell offers the right upgrades to get you to the hallowed ground of PC-based video content--just be prepared to spend a little bit more to get there.
6 Apple Mac Mini (2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 320GB, Fall 2009)
With strong competition among small PCs on the Windows side of the aisle, the latest Mac Mini faces a greater challenge than older models. If you demand a small, relatively affordable Mac, we suppose the Mac Mini is your only option. Otherwise, you can find Windows-based small form factor desktops that offer more interesting features with better value.
7 Acer Aspire Z5610
You could say that the Acer Aspire Z5610 has a few flaws, but it might be more accurate to call them sacrifices. After all, we don't expect that Acer could sell a 23-inch all-in-one for less than $1,000 without trimming a few costs. Fortunately, Acer chose its trade-offs wisely. You can find faster, better-looking all-in-ones out there, but none that offer this much screen real estate for such an aggressive price.
8 Dell Studio XPS 8000-2361JBK
The 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.
9 HP Pavilion p6210y
The HP Pavilion P6210y gets by as a decent performer in entry-level applications, but we're disappointed by its lack of features. It can definitely serve as a family PC, but the Gateway SX2800-01 is a faster computer with more flexibility in its connection offerings.
10 HP TouchSmart 300-1020
With a small screen for its price, we can't justify the TouchSmart 300 as a home entertainment all-in-one PC. It's also slower than more affordable midtowers, so you can spend less for more productivity. This leaves HP's touch-based software as the TouchSmart 300's primary selling point. We'd recommend this PC in the kitchen, but it's less appealing elsewhere.
11 Dell Inspiron i545s-3055NBK
The Dell Inspiron 545s-3055NBK improves on previous models with more upgrade options and faster performance. Its modest components can easily handle the most common tasks, but shoppers looking for a home theater PC should consider the Gateway SX2800-01 or Dell's forthcoming Zino HD instead.
12 HP Pavilion Elite E9220y
HP's Pavilion Elite E9220y strikes out because of slow performance and underwhelming features for its price. We can't recommend this desktop to anyone.
13 Gateway DX4300-11
We'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.
14 Maingear Shift
Maingear's Shift is the boutique vendor's new flagship gaming PC. It brings almost everything we expect to find in such a system, from expert craftsmanship to fast overclocking to a case that makes a statement. We found a few minor sticking points, but, on the whole, this PC sits comfortably alongside the top tier of luxury gaming boxes, and we recommend it if you have the means.
15 Asus Essentio CG5270-BP004
Massive case notwithstanding, the affordable Asus Essentio CG5270-BP004 delivers a competitive feature set with the horsepower to back it up. We recommend this system for light media editors and anyone who can make use of its straightforward performance and multipurpose features.
16 HP Pavilion P6230y
The HP Pavilion P6230y yields decent scores, but we have a hard time recommending a system that comes at a higher cost and with a slower performance rating than competing systems. This system has a few uncommon features for its price, but nothing that makes up for its overall poor bang for the buck.
17 Gateway One ZX4800-02
Gateway's affordable One ZX4800-02 all-in-one isn't the most feature-rich desktop at this price, but it's fast and capable enough that it will handle most basic consumer tasks with aplomb. Don't get too excited about its touch screen, but there's enough to like about this system that we can recommend it as an everyday PC.
18 Gateway DX4822-01
The Gateway DX-4822-01 makes a convincing pitch with the performance numbers and features to earn its place in your home, but if you're not tied to the midtower design, the older Gateway SX2800-01 offers faster speeds and the option to set it up as a media center PC.
19 Asus Essentio CM5570-AP003
At 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.
20 Apple iMac (21.5-inch, 3.06Hz Intel Core 2 Duo, Nvidia GeForce 9400M, Fall 2009)
Despite its good looks and a few useful new features, Apple's new iMac is all about business. You can find a larger screen for less, not to mention all kinds of digital entertainment features, but no other all-in-one at this price can boast similar performance. If you need a modestly priced all-in-one for getting work done, we'd recommend no other system.
21 Sony Vaio L117FX (Core 2 Quad Q8400s 2.66GHz, 6GB RAM, 1TB HDD, Windows 7 Home Premium)
Earlier this year Sony was the unquestioned king of all-in-ones designed for home entertainment. The new Vaio L117FX retains and improves on many of the features we liked about older models, but revamped all-in-ones from its competition make the new Vaio seem a touch overpriced.
22 HP Pavilion Slimline s5220y
The HP Pavilion Slimline s5220y provides adequate performance for light-duty media editing and entertainment, but its slim tower case leaves little room for future upgrades, leading us to recommend the older Gateway SX2800-01 that offers more features and better components.
23 Dell Studio XPS 8000
The Dell Studio XPS 8000 offers a strong combination of midrange performance parts that should satisfy anyone looking for a midtower desktop for general productivity, digital media editing, or gaming. It lacks a few performance-oriented extras, but it makes up for any deficiencies with its attractive looks.
24 Dell Inspiron i545s-1476N
With 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.
25 AVADirect Nano Cube
AVADirect's tries to distill as much gaming power as possible into its Nano Cube, but the extra small case requires too many sacrifices next to even standard small form factor PCs. Gaming purists with a need for an extra tiny PC might appreciate the Nanon Cube, but even they should be wary of everything you need to give up for this tiny desktop.