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Top 15 Desktop PCs

AMD outscores Intel, with four Athlon 64-based systems among the seven top power systems and five Athlon XP-based systems among the eight top value PCs.

Alexandra Krasne

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ABS Awesome 6300 PCW Rating: 4.5PCW Rating: 4.5PCW Rating: 4.5

Last Rated: December 02, 2003

1. ABS Awesome 6300

2.2-GHz Athlon 64 FX-51, 240GB via RAID, 19-inch LCD monitor, 256MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics, DVD-R/RW/+R/RW drive, 16X DVD-ROM drive, flash media reader, Price when ranked: $3172,

Bottom Line: Packed with lots of extras, the Awesome 6300 is one of the fastest systems we've tested in business applications and in games.

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MPC Millennia 920i Professional PCW Rating: 4.5PCW Rating: 4.5PCW Rating: 4.5

Last Rated: October 06, 2003

2. MPC Millennia 920i Professional

3.2-GHz Pentium 4, 250GB, 19-inch CRT monitor, 128MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics, DVD-R/RW/+R/RW drive, 48X/24X/48X CD-RW/DVD-ROM combination drive, Price when ranked: $2592,

Bottom Line: MPC's Millennia 920i is an excellent gaming system with great sound; it has a roomy interior and a dual-format DVD burner.

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Gateway 710XL PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: November 07, 2003

3. Gateway 710XL

3.2-GHz Pentium 4, 500GB via RAID, 18-inch LCD monitor, 256MB NVidia GeForce FX 5900G Ultra graphics, DVD-R/RW/+R/RW drive, 48X/16X/40X CD-RW drive, Price when ranked: $3600,

Bottom Line: Tons of storage space, solid performance, and FireWire ports make this model a good choice for video editing.

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Dell Dimension 8300 PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: December 18, 2003

4. Dell Dimension 8300

3.2-GHz Pentium 4, 120GB, 17-inch LCD monitor, 128MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 48X/24X/48X CD-RW drive, Price when ranked: $2899,

Bottom Line: Business-oriented system bundles Office XP. Dell's 17-inch LCD displayed clean text, and the speakers pumped out great-sounding audio.

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Micro Express Microflex 64 KB PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: December 18, 2003

5. Micro Express Microflex 64 KB

2.0-GHz Athlon 64 3200+, 120GB, 19-inch LCD monitor, 128MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics, DVD-R/RW drive, 52X/24X/52X CD-RW drive, flash media reader, Price when ranked: $2514,

Bottom Line: Least-expensive 64-bit system this month sped through PC WorldBench 4 tests; top components include a 19-inch LCD and a fast graphics card.

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Polywell Poly 900NF3-FX1 PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: December 02, 2003

6. Polywell Poly 900NF3-FX1

2.2-GHz Athlon 64 FX-51, 322GB via RAID, 19-inch CRT monitor, 256MB Gainward GeForce FX 5900 Ultra graphics, DVD-R/RW/+R/RW drive, 52X/24X/52X CD-RW drive, Price when ranked: $3279,

Bottom Line: Sailing through our gaming tests with sky-high frame rates in Unreal Tournament 2003, this system ties for fastest model.

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Amax Max64 3200+ PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: December 18, 2003

7. Amax Max64 3200+

2.0-GHz Athlon 64 3200+, 240GB via RAID, 19-inch LCD monitor, 128MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics, 4X DVD-R/RW drive, 16X DVD-ROM drive, flash media reader , Price when ranked: $2799,

Bottom Line: Speedy PC is slightly slower than our other Athlon 64 3200+ system, but comes equipped with a gigabit ethernet network card.

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Dell Dimension 4600 PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: November 07, 2003

8. Dell Dimension 4600

2.8-GHz Pentium 4, 80GB, 17-inch LCD monitor, 128MB NVidia GeForce FX 5200 graphics, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 48X/24X/48X CD-RW drive, Price when rated: $1250,

Bottom Line: This system produced solid frame rates in our tests, making it ideal for work and play. The LCD is stellar, too.

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NuTrend Kila 2 PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: December 18, 2003

9. NuTrend Kila 2

1.83-GHz Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton core), 80GB, 17-inch CRT monitor, 128MB Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 graphics, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 52X/32X/52X CD-RW drive, Price when rated: $929,

Bottom Line: Light on the extras, this sub-$1000 budget PC is an excellent choice for the casual gamer and multimedia dabbler.

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Micro Express MicroFlex 32A PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: September 02, 2003

10. Micro Express MicroFlex 32A

2.2-GHz Athlon XP 3200+, 120GB, 19-inch CRT monitor, 128MB ATI Radeon All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro graphics, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 52X/24X/52X CD-RW drive, flash media reader, Price when rated: $1399,

Bottom Line: A strong performer, the 32A blazed through our 3D graphics tests, pumping out high frame rates at 1280 by 1024 resolution.

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Polywell Poly 880NF2-2800 PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: September 02, 2003

11. Polywell Poly 880NF2-2800

2.08-GHz Athlon XP 2800+, 80GB, 17-inch CRT monitor, Integrated NVidia NForce2 graphics using main memory, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 52X/24X/52X CD-RW drive, Price when rated: $990,

Bottom Line: This model has good speed and room for additional storage. A window on the side of the case allows you to see the interior.

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HP Business Desktop D330 PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: December 18, 2003

12. HP Business Desktop D330

3-GHz Pentium 4, 80GB, 15-inch LCD monitor, 128MB NVidia GeForce FX 5200 graphics, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 48X/24X/48X CD-RW/DVD-ROM combination drive, Price when rated: $1667,

Bottom Line: Business system is easy to set up, and its DVD playback and sound system performed well in our tests.

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HP Business Desktop D325 PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: October 08, 2003

13. HP Business Desktop D325

2.13-GHz Athlon XP 2600+, 40GB, 15-inch LCD monitor, Integrated NVidia NForce2 graphics using main memory, 24X-48X CD-ROM drive, Price when rated: $828,

Bottom Line: Bare-bones business system has room for expansion and dual VGA inputs, but it lacks a CD-RW drive.

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Sys Technology Performance 2800+ PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: November 07, 2003

14. Sys Technology Performance 2800+

2.08-GHz Athlon XP 2800+, 80GB, 17-inch CRT monitor, 128MB ATI Radeon 9200 graphics, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 52X/32X/52X CD-RW drive, flash media reader, Price when rated: $1276,

Bottom Line: One of the fastest models we've tested for our value chart, the Performance 2800+ easily handles basic computing tasks.

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ABS Awesome 4500 PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: December 18, 2003

15. ABS Awesome 4500

2.6-GHz Pentium 4, 120GB, 15-inch LCD monitor, 128MB Nvidia GeForceFX 5600 graphics, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 52X/32X/52X CD-RW drive, flash media reader, Price when rated: $1499,

Bottom Line: ABS's Awesome is geared toward multimedia, but gamers might want to buy it with a monitor that supports higher resolutions.

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All systems are tested or retested under our PC WorldBench 4 test suite.

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