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CNET Reviews - Top Rated Computer Systems

Rank Most Popular Titles
1 HP Blackbird 002
HP's Blackbird 002 earns the highest rating this editor has ever given a desktop PC. Its design rivals the Apple Mac Pro, it takes risks that benefit your upgrade path, it's fast, and it's competitively priced. If you can afford it, and you want a high-end gaming PC, buy this one. End of story.
2 HP Pavilion Slimline S3330f
The HP Pavilion Slimline S3330f delivers a remarkable combination of features, value, and flexibility. It excels as both a traditional desktop, and a full-fledged living room PC, complete with a Blu-ray and HD DVD drive. Any nongamer in the market for a sub-$1,000 PC should put this system at the top of their list.
3 Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
Intel's Core 2 Duo E6700 offers the best price-to-performance ratio we've seen in a desktop chip. For half the cost of AMD's top-of-the-line chip, you get identical if not superior performance and better power efficiency. AMD surprised us last year with its completely dominant dual-core chips, but Intel regains the crown with Core 2 Duo.
4 Lenovo ThinkPad X31 2672 (Pentium M 1.6 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB HDD)
With loads of features, speedy performance, and awesome battery life, the ThinkPad X31 series is the ultimate ultraportable for executives on the go.
5 Apple Power Mac G5
Whether it's the world's fastest PC is up for debate, but the Power Mac G5 delivers top-notch performance for creative pros and power users.
6 HP MediaSmart Server ex475
Microsoft's Windows Home Server is the best, easiest-to-use answer to backing up and corralling all of the disparate media files in a networked home. And delivered in this petite, relatively affordable MediaSmart Server ex745 from HP, you get plenty of storage in a well-designed hardware package. We recommend this system all the way to anyone looking to take full control of their data.
7 Lenovo ThinkPad T30 2366 (Pentium 4-M 1.8 GHz, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB HDD)
The thin-and-light IBM ThinkPad T series offers an innovative design, top-notch performance, and tons of features.
8 Velocity Micro Raptor DCX (ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT)
This high-end gaming PC doesn't quite cross into ludicrous territory, and by staying disciplined Velocity Micro has come up with one of the best deals we've seen. You still might wait for a clearer picture of the next-generation gaming scene, but based on what we know today, this PC is a winner.
9 Falcon Northwest Mach V (Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800)
This newest Falcon Northwest Mach V isn't shy about its price tag, but it also dominated our gaming tests thanks to two fast ATI 3D cards and an overall top-notch configuration. The current uncertainty regarding next-gen PC gaming is the only issue holding this system back.
10 Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800
AMD's Athlon 64 FX line has worn the desktop CPU performance crown for over a year. The king is dead. Intel's new flagship Core 2 Extreme X6800 not only hands AMD a defeat on all of our benchmarks, but it's also a more efficient, better designed chip overall.
11 Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700
If you thought dual cores were over the top, get ready. Intel presents the Core 2 Extreme QX6700, a single CPU with four distinct processing cores. At $999, the first quad-core CPU will remain an enthusiast part for a while, but as a glimpse of the future, it's clear that clock speed is out and core counts are in.
12 HP Pavilion Slimline s3200t
The HP Pavilion Slimline s3200t offers perhaps the strongest bang for the buck we've ever seen thanks to its HD DVD/Blu-ray hybrid optical drive and its strong overall configuration. It outclasses every other HD-equipped system we've seen so far. If you're shopping for a living room PC and want complete HD format flexibility, this is the system we'd buy.
13 Dell XPS 630
With its second full-fledged gaming PC, Dell shows that it understands the mainstream gaming desktop as well as the high-end. The Dell XPS 630 delivers everything a gamer would want in a sub-$2,000 PC, from its components, to its case, to its powerful software. We've seen no better system in this newly competitive category.
14 Maingear F131 SLI
Maingear's F131 SLI takes it to the high-end PC competition, earning itself an Editors' Choice in the process. Without having the full picture of DirectX 10 performance, you're potentially taking a risk buying a high-end gaming PC now. But if you need to make that purchase today, we recommend Maingear with enthusiasm.
15 Dell Latitude C640
The Dell Latitude C640 thin-and-light notebook offers an unbeatable combination of speed and features.
16 Lenovo ThinkPad X300
The ThinkPad X300 breaks new ground by packing a broad display, full-size keyboard, and nearly every feature a mobile user needs into a sleek, lightweight case.
17 IBM eServer xSeries 225
The IBM eServer xSeries 225 is an extremely capable server at a surprisingly reasonable price.
18 Maingear Ephex (Intel and ATI)
Maingear's Ephex combines aggressive overclocking and a refined sense of what gamers want in a high-end PC. Crysis remains a challenge for even a top-of-the-line PC like this one, but if you can get past that hitch (and the multi-thousand-dollar price tag), we'd recommend this system in a second.
19 Gateway P-6831FX
We loved the pitch for the Gateway P-6831 FX: a 17-inch laptop with 3GB of RAM and Nividia's GeForce 8800 graphics card for only $1,350. But keep an eye on price changes to get the best deal.
20 Apple iMac (24-inch, 2.8GHz)
A slight bump to the specifications for the same price in addition to a much appreciated option to upgrade the graphics means the 24-inch iMac keeps the Editors' Choice it earned last year when the brushed-aluminum-and-glass design was first introduced.
21 HP Pavilion Slimline s3020n
With new polish and a whole lot of bang for the buck, HP's new Pavilion Slimline s3020n leads the small PC field overall. The glossy black chassis, added expandability, and even a new keyboard make this system attractive both inside and out.
22 SanDisk ConnectPlus 128MB CompactFlash + Wi-Fi
This is the most versatile CompactFlash Wi-Fi adapter we've seen, and it's the best option available for adding wireless to a PDA.
23 Gateway FX530XT - Core 2 Extreme QX6700 2.66 GHz - 24" TFT
It's rare that you see a performance-leading PC come in below $4,000, but Gateway's FX530XT has pulled it off. Complete with an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 quad-core CPU and a pair of ATI's highest-end 3D cards, this cutting-edge desktop won't make gamers and digital designers dig quite as deep to get their hands on it.
24 Belkin Wireless Pre-N router
If you're looking for a router with great range, this is it.
25 Falcon Northwest Mach V (Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700)
Falcon Northwest continues its tradition of building the fastest gaming PCs around. This one comes with Intel's quad-core chip clocked higher than we've ever seen before, and its resulting game performance sets new records. You might want to bolster some of the features on this system, but if it's 3D power you're after, Falcon delivers the strongest system we've seen so far.