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Top 15 Desktop PCs

This month we put PCs through their paces using our revamped test suite, WorldBench 5--and we got some interesting results.

Kalpana Ettenson

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Ultimate M6 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: May 24, 2004

1. ABS Ultimate M6

2.4-GHz Athlon 64 FX-53 CPU, Two 74GB RAID hard drives and a 250GB drive, 19-inch LCD monitor, 256MB ATI Radeon 9800 XT graphics, 8X DVD±RW and 16X DVD-ROM drives, media card reader, Price when ranked: $4799

Bottom Line: Built for speed (and priced accordingly), it's the fastest PC on the chart. The jet-black case is good looking and roomy.

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Gateway 710X Peak Performance PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: April 28, 2004

2. Gateway Gateway 710X Peak Performance

3.2-GHz Pentium 4 CPU, 250GB hard drive, 17-inch LCD monitor, 256MB NVidia GeForce FX 5950 Ultra graphics, 8X DVD±RW and 16X DVD-ROM drives, media card reader, Price when ranked: $2600

Bottom Line: The matching LCD with this silver-and-black midsize tower produced sharp text at all font sizes.

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Aurora Extreme PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: May 24, 2004

3. Alienware Aurora Extreme

2.4-GHz Athlon 64 FX-53 CPU, Two 74GB RAID hard drives and a 250GB drive, 22-inch CRT monitor, 256MB ATI Radeon 9800 XT graphics, 8X DVD±RW and 48X CD-RW drives, media card reader, Price when ranked: $4616

Bottom Line: Quick, gaming-centric, and very pricey; this Aurora's sci-fi-themed case is exotic without being horrendously gaudy.

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Presario 8000z PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: April 28, 2004

4. Hewlett-Packard Presario 8000z

2.2-GHz Athlon 64 3400+ CPU, Two 80GB RAID hard drives, 17-inch LCD monitor, 256MB ATI Radeon 9600 Pro graphics, 8X DVD+RW and 48X CD-RW drives, Price when ranked: $2502

Bottom Line: The 8000Z sped through our tests, but the model we reviewed lacked open drive bays to boost storage.

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Microflex 34A PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: July 02, 2004

5. Micro Express Microflex 34A

2.2-GHz Athlon 64 3400+ CPU, 250GB hard drive, 19-inch LCD monitor, 256MB ATI Radeon 9800 XT graphics, 8X DVD±RW drive, media card reader, Price when ranked: $2799

Bottom Line: A generally well-equipped system, with USB ports on the top of its black chassis; however, it earned low scores for sound quality.

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Max 64 3400+ PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: July 29, 2004

6. Amax Max 64 3400+

2.2-GHz Athlon 64 3400+ CPU, 160GB hard drive, 19-inch LCD monitor, 256MB ATI Radeon 9800 XT graphics, 8X DVD±RW and 52X CD-RW drives, media card reader, Price when ranked: $2839

Bottom Line: Moderately priced, silver-gray power system includes a Wi-Fi USB device with 128MB of flash memory.

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Gamer Extreme PC PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: July 29, 2004

7. IBuyPower Gamer Extreme PC

2.4-GHz Athlon 64 3800+ CPU, Two 80GB RAID hard drives, 19-inch CRT monitor, 256MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics, 8X DVD±RW and 16X DVD-ROM drives, media card reader, Price when ranked: $2895

Bottom Line: A flamboyant design and a 19-inch CRT monitor limit the appeal of this otherwise well-equipped system.

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510XL PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: April 28, 2004

8. Gateway 510XL

3-GHz Pentium 4 CPU, 160GB hard drive, 15-inch LCD monitor, 128MB NVidia GeForce FX 5200G graphics, 8X DVD±RW and 16X DVD-ROM drives, media card reader, Price when rated: $1400

Bottom Line: Mediocre graphics performance and a smallish LCD make this unit best suited for business and home-productivity use.

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VAIO PCV-RS520 Desktop PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: May 24, 2004

9. Sony VAIO PCV-RS520 Desktop

3-GHz Pentium 4 CPU, 160GB hard drive, 17-inch LCD monitor, 128MB ATI Radeon 9200 graphics, 8X DVD±RW and 16X DVD-ROM drives, media card reader, Price when rated: $1600

Bottom Line: Stylish design and competitive performance are undermined by an inferior keyboard and tinny-sounding speakers.

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Dimension 2400 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: March 29, 2004

10. Dell Dimension 2400

2.67-GHz Pentium 4 CPU, 80GB hard drive, 19-inch CRT monitor, Integrated Intel 845GL graphics, 16X DVD-ROM and 48X CD-RW drives, Price when rated: $699

Bottom Line: A large CRT monitor and a generous, home-oriented software bundle highlight this bargain system.

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Back to School 64 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: July 02, 2004

11. IBuyPower Back to School 64

2.2-GHz Athlon 64 3400+ CPU, 80GB hard drive, 19-inch CRT monitor, 256MB ATI Radeon 9800 XT graphics, 8X DVD±RW drive, media card reader, Price when rated: $1694

Bottom Line: Though this machine performed well in our tests, its outlandish front panel might give even gamers pause.

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Harmony 1000 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: July 02, 2004

12. ABS Harmony 1000

2.8-GHz Pentium 4 CPU, 80GB hard drive, 17-inch LCD monitor, 128MB ATI Radeon 9600 XT graphics, 16X DVD-ROM and 52X CD-RW drives, media card reader, Price when rated: $1499

Bottom Line: Minitower sports a sleek look and front-mounted CD audio controls, but it lacks open drive bays and memory slots.

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Sys Performance 64-3200 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: July 02, 2004

13. Sys Technology Sys Performance 64-3200

2.0-GHz Athlon 64 3200+ CPU, 120GB hard drive, 17-inch LCD monitor, 128MB PNY FX5900SE graphics, 8X DVD±RW drive, media card reader, Price when rated: $1795

Bottom Line: Nondescript black tower has a terrific software bundle and an attractive balance of features, speed, and price.

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DX 2000 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: May 25, 2004

14. Hewlett-Packard DX 2000

3-GHz Pentium 4 CPU, 40GB hard drive, 15-inch LCD monitor, Integrated Intel 3D Extreme graphics, 16X DVD-ROM/48X CD-RW combo drive, Price when rated: $1138

Bottom Line: No-frills, attractively priced business system performs sufficiently well for light to moderate work duties.

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Max 3000+ PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: July 29, 2004

15. Amax Max 3000+

2.167-GHz Athlon XP 3000+ CPU, 120GB hard drive, 17-inch LCD monitor, Integrated NVidia GeForce4 MX graphics, 16X DVD-ROM/52X CD-RW combo drive, Price when rated: $1399

Bottom Line: Model works as a low-profile desktop or thin tower; silver-gray design fits nicely in most business or home settings.

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All systems are tested or retested under our WorldBench 5 test suite.

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