The Best PC Deals Under $1000
Products Reviewed
(12 items)
Lenovo ThinkCentre A60 D3U
Lenovo's $949 A60 D3U lacks the frills of a consumer system, but it has features that an IT manager might find useful. A built-in data encryption chip safeguards data on your hard drive, software protects your passwords and encryption keys, and Lenovo's ThinkVantage management program allows you to configure and check the system remotely. The A60 D3U's WorldBench score of 95 is more than adequate for most general business tasks.
An unexpected bonus on the PC configuration we tested was the inclusion of Lenovo's first 19-inch wide-screen monitor, the L192 Wide. This cleanly designed display rendered sharp, bright images.
eMachines T5048
At this price, eMachines bundles its 17-inch eView 17F3 CRT monitor with the T5048. The monitor produced adequate image quality, but images and movies lacked sharpness and had dull colors.
The system came with a dual-layer DVD burner, a multiformat card reader, and a 160GB hard drive. One limitation: The audio output supports stereo speakers only.
At a Glance
A gaming system for buyers on a budget, this model provides fairly good performance at a very attractive price.
At a Glance
System outperformed our other value models by a wide margin; it's a great choice for media editing or gaming.
At a Glance
The inexpensive C521 is a solid performer; its compact design makes it a great fit for tight spaces.
At a Glance
Midpriced Windows Media Center PC has strong performance and solid features for the price.
At a Glance
Media-centric system performed very well for a value PC; with its TV tuner, it could replace your living-room DVR.
At a Glance
Cheap PC came bundled with a good 17-inch LCD monitor, but its low performance matches its low price.
At a Glance
Solid business system includes innovative features such as a data encryption chip and remote management.
At a Glance
Inexpensive system contains low-end components that delivered lackluster performance.
At a Glance
PC offers reasonable performance and some expansion options in a package ideal for small spaces.
At a Glance
Nicely priced system was a mediocre performer; its 19-inch wide-screen LCD offered disappointing image quality.
At a Glance
This super-small system will look great on your desk, but this model can't handle power-hungry graphics tasks.
At a Glance
Packaged with budget components and a CRT, this is among the least expensive systems you'll find; but it's extremely slow.
Add Your Comment