With all the talk of HD video, you might scratch your head when you learn that HP’s Digital Entertainment Center z560 only has a standard-definition DVD player. But when you learn what else it has and that its price is pretty reasonable, you might not care. This is a perfect home theater PC for riding out the HD format wars.

The XPS 710 brings quad-core processing to Dell’s flagship desktop, but competing systems from others outshine this system in too many ways for us to recommend it. We still like the case and the build quality, and Dell has even beefed up its support, but among other issues, a $5,000 PC is not supposed to be slower than systems that cost nearly $2,000 less.

We don’t recommend paying list price for HP’s budget Compaq Presario Media Center SR2050NX, but if you can find it for less, this desktop makes a fine choice as a cheap second PC.

HP’s new SlimLine Pavilion s7600e strikes a near-perfect balance of size, features, value, and support. Apple’s Mac Mini might be more attractive, but there’s almost nothing it can do that this small-form-factor Windows PC can’t do better, and for less. If you’re looking for a general-purpose desktop or a small, affordable PC to send media files to your TV, this should be your pick.

HP’s new Slimline Pavilion s7600e strikes a near-perfect balance of size, features, value, and support. Apple’s Mac Mini might be more attractive, but there’s almost nothing it can do that this small-form-factor Windows PC can’t do better, and for less. If you’re looking for a general-purpose desktop or a small, affordable PC to send media files to your TV, this should be your pick.

The Apple Mac Mini is an unquestioned winner among budget desktops, but HP has a small-form-factor PC whose feature set will woo many would-be Mac Mini buyers.

If you’re looking for a pure budget desktop and aren’t too worried about looks, even this new updated Mac Mini with its 1.66GHz dual-core CPU is a hard sell. But if you want a small, innocuous computer for sending or receiving media or other files between rooms, no other computer offers the deal that Apple has with this one.

Though it’s a capable PC, particularly for the price, the budget eMachines T5048 starts to lose its appeal when you look at desktops that cost just $100 or so more. It’s is a good pick if you need to keep to a strict budget, but otherwise we recommend spending a little more.

The Dimension C521 is significant because it’s one of the first Dell PCs to include an AMD processor, and Dell uses it to good effect. Unfortunately, that doesn’t save this system from Dell’s failure to incorporate any of the virtues of a modern space-saving PC.

The 17-inch iMac is missing a few features you might like–SuperDrive and a remote control, to name two–but it still makes a stellar home PC, thanks to its great design, new Core 2 Duo processor, and superior software bundle. Plus, its price makes it a borderline budget PC.

With so many systems on the market that have planted their home-theater flags deeply in the living room rug, Dell’s noncommittal XPS 210 feels too much like it’s trying to please everyone. The addition of Intel’s Core 2 Duo chips helps overall performance, but in general, this small-scale desktop needs more than a new brain to keep up with the competition.

Other vendors might offer more flexible configurations and better deals on components, and the specter of HD video looms darkly, but the 24-inch iMac’s sprawling display and convincingly capable features should set most people’s minds at ease. We highly recommend this new iMac as PC that doubles as a secondary home-entertainment system.

Filed under: Desktops, Displays

With Apple’s “Showtime” event just around the corner and new minis and iMacs already on the market, there has been a surprising dearth of rumors surrounding the world-changing products that will inevitably be announced on Tuesday, so we’re here to fill that void with a juicy and plausible — but entirely unlikely — bit of dirt. The story goes like this: a gentleman calling himself “Jeff Foster” just happened to be working on his brand new blog (red flag #1) when a friend of his who supposedly just got a job as an Apple rep decided to endanger his newly-acquired position by sending Jeff some blurry cameraphone shots from inside the storied halls of Cupertino headquarters (red flag #2). All three images that Jeff “received” depict a previously unmentioned desktop called the “MacTower” (positioned the exact same way in each photo — red flag #3), with one of the snaps (pictured above) blowing the lid off an all-new 24-inch Cinema Display complete with built-in iSight camera. This MacTower — which looks almost exactly like the PowerMac G5 of old (red flag #4) — is presented as a little brother to the recently-released Mac Pro, and reportedly sports a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, up to 4GB of 667MHz DDR2 RAM, hard drive capacity maxing out at 1.5TB, a 16x SuperDrive, and of course, Bluetooth 2.0 and AirPort Extreme radios standard. Despite the many inconsistencies that make Jeff’s story sound dubious at best, we decided to pass the info along so you all can have a nice Sunday picking it apart and screaming “Photoshop!” in the comments; oh, and Jeff, you’re welcome in advance for sending a little traffic over to your blog’s “very first post” (red flag #5).

Update: Red flag #6 (perhaps the biggest of them all): Several astute readers have pointed out that a commenter calling himself Jeff Foster made the following remarks in another rumor post we ran on the first of this month: “I really just want them to release a smaller tower… you know, so they’ll have a mac mini, imac, something like a Mac Tower, and mac pro…” Coincidence? We think not. For shame, Jeff, for shame.

Update #2: Red flag #…oh what the heck, when the faker comes right out and openly admits to his scam, all flags get tossed to the wind. From “Jeff Foster,” in the comments section of this very post: “It’s something i threw together last night a little out of boredom and a little out of, well, no, i guess totally out of boredom. just having a little fun.” Upon much deliberation, we’ve decided not to unlink Jeff’s site; however, if you’re sick and tired of these frauds gumming up the rumor mill with this purposely deceptive crap, we encourage you to follow the Read link and let Jeff know exactly what you think of his little “boredom project.”

[Thanks, Mike C.]

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The Lenovo ThinkCentre A60 offers no-nonsense security features that business users need, along with decent components for a reasonable price. Only its short warranty gives us pause.

The Systemax Sabre can’t compete with the higher-end PC shops’ design and innovation, but Systemax blows them away with its aggressive Sabre pricing. If you’re a gamer or simply someone looking for a powerhouse desktop for less, this desktop is one of the best deals on the market, despite its relative lack of polish.

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

It’s not often that you read a review of a computer with a line like “You could kill someone with this thing,” but the folks at bit-tech.net got to write that gem in their look at Dell’s new gaming-oriented XPS 700, referring to the deadly-looking 3-millimeter thick piece of aluminum that forms the case’s side panel. Unfortunately, they weren’t as impressed with the system’s performance as they were with its decapitating potential, finding it decidedly lacking when put up against their comparable custom-built rig — although much of the blame seems to be pegged on the slow memory that Dell ships with the XPS. Still, they did find the system got most of the core elements right and delivered decent gaming performance at a reasonable price; given the cost of upgrades from Dell, though, they recommend going light on the memory and video card options when you order and swapping them out yourself when you get this sucker home.

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You’ll find Velocity Micro’s higher-end midrange PC at your local Best Buy, and it’s one of the best off-the-shelf PCs around. Dell and HP have slightly better deals online, but if you don’t want to wait for shipping, the ProMagix E2200 brings a strong combination of design and capability you won’t find from any other in-store PC.

Velocity Micro’s ProMagix E2010 is an impressive machine for a fixed-config retail PC, but we really don’t need a second optical drive or a floppy drive.

Sony’s VAIO VGC-LS1 is an impressive, if pricey, Media Center showpiece that combines a decent Core Duo-based system and LCD screen into a slim, attractive package.

The HP Compaq Presario SR1910NX is as strong a system as any other $400 computer, but that’s not saying a lot. Spend a bit more–while still staying firmly rooted in the budget class–and you can push its replacement date back a couple years.

Apple’s Mac Pro has design innovations that we hope will cross over to other systems. Its performance is as strong as you’d expect for a system in its class, and it’s priced right, too. You might need more flexibility in your config options, especially for 3D design, but otherwise, the Mac Pro is as solid a professional-class PC as we’ve seen.

The HP Pavilion a1510n is a perfectly serviceable PC at a reasonable price, but you can get more for your money from other vendors if you’re willing to forgo the brand name.

HP’s small-form-factor Pavilion s7500y Slimline is compact and configurable, with features such as a TV tuner, but we wish the upgrade options included newer, more powerful CPUs.

Filed under: Desktops

Dell’s giving that sweet Core 2 love to more than just the XPS 410 and XPS 700 desktops; even workstations are getting into the game. As part of the continuing onslaught of spec-bumped machines, the company announced that its Precision 390 tower is now available with four Core 2 Duo options (1.86GHz E6300, 2.13GHz E6400, 2.40GHz E6660, or 2.66GHz E6700) or even the blazing 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme X6800, along with a seemingly-ancient 3.0GHz Pentium 4. The new rig can handle up to 8GB of DDR2 RAM, up to a 7,200RPM, 500GB hard drive, and comes with a number of graphics options from either nVIDIA (the Quadro series) or ATI (either a FireGL V7200 or V3400). If you act now, you can pick up a base configuration (which includes the E6300) for just $800, though going high-end will cost significantly more: a Core 2 Extreme–equipped setup more than doubles the price to $1,790.

[Thanks, Michael]

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Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

Perhaps the most notable things about the revamped Alienware Area-51 7500 are its new mood-lighting adjustable case and P2 chassis. The AlienFX case sports user-adjustable lighting in six different areas of its tool-less entry chassis, while the inside adds additional slots and inputs for the h@x0r in you – complete with AlienWare’s AlienIce cooling system. Specs-wise, the new 7500 (an apparent bump from the MJ-12 7500) packs a dual core Intel Core 2 Duo processor or 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme X6800 (at the high end – default config is a Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz), nVIDIA graphics (options include both single and SLI configurations, with up to dual 512MB GeForce 7900 GTXs), and as much as 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM. The new machine starts at $1,799, but our configured uber-rig (with 30-inch LCD, mind you) got us over $6,800 within just a few radio button clicks. Do your credit card a favor and take it out to dinner before you lay this one on it.

[Thanks, David]

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