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One PC, Two Brains

Think that dual-core PCs are too pricey? We lab-tested six economical desktops that deliver plenty of power.

Dan Sommer

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Photograph: Robert Cardin; Background: Geoff Spear
If you've yearned for a dual-core desktop system but have held off buying one because you were deterred by high prices, now is the time to take the plunge. The cost of dual-core processors from AMD and Intel has dropped significantly since they debuted last year, and a good selection of affordable dual-core PCs is currently available. You can shell out less than $1500 and walk away with a robust and powerful system--including a monitor--that's ready to take on both multitasking and multithreaded applications.

With the advent of dual-core CPUs, PCs have gained more processing power than ever before. A dual-core machine has two computing cores in one processor package, which allows the system to efficiently work on more than one task at a time. Our WorldBench 5 benchmark's multitasking test has shown us that dual-core processors prove especially useful when the computer is running two taxing programs. Dual-core processors also boost the performance of multithreaded software, though relatively few applications are written this way. (WorldBench 5 includes the multithreaded Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator and Windows Media Encoder.) You can expect to see more multithreaded applications, such as multimedia programs and games, in the months to come.

However, you don't have to be a gamer or a power user to take advantage of dual-core technology. For example, everyone should be running antivirus software, and on a dual-core PC using well-behaved applications you can run a virus scan while rendering a video at the same time, without having the machine screech to a halt. You can also burn a DVD and crunch numbers in a spreadsheet, all the while enjoying plenty of speed.

To see what kind of dual-core desktop systems you can get at a value price, we picked a ceiling of $1500 and came up with a representative set of machines that offer a wealth of dual-core power and features to satisfy buyers looking for a bargain. The PC World Test Center assessed six dual-core systems, three based on Intel Pentium D processors (Dell's Dimension E510, Gateway's FX510XL, and HP's Pavilion Media Center m7490n) and three with AMD Athlon 64 X2 CPUs (Ajump's NBP1005, CyberPower's Gamer Ultra 8500SE, and Polywell's MiniBox 939NP-4200).

We evaluated the desktops by running them through our WorldBench 5 and gaming tests, and by appraising each system's performance, features, design, and price. As these are value machines, price weighed heavily in our consideration. After our complete comparison, one PC emerged as the winner: HP's Pavilion Media Center m7490n, which earned our Best Buy award thanks to its good performance on our WorldBench 5 tests, loads of media-oriented features, and reasonable price.

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