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Top 15 Desktop PCs

Seven newcomers vault onto the chart, including the unusual, multimedia-friendly Tangent UltraBox.

Melissa Perenson

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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 hard drive via RAID, 19-inch LCD monitor, 256MB Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro graphics, 4X DVD-R/RW/+R/RW drive, 16X DVD-ROM drives, flash media reader, Price when ranked: $3600,

Bottom Line: The Awesome 6300 is one of the fastest systems we've tested with business applications and 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 hard drive, 19-inch CRT monitor, 128MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics, DVD-R/RW/+R/RW drive, 16X DVD-ROM/48X/24X/48X CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $2592,

Bottom Line: The Millennia 920i has a roomy interior and a dual-format DVD burner, as well as Pinnacle's Studio 8.5 for video editing and DVD authoring.

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

Last Rated: December 18, 2003

3. Dell Dimension 8300

3.2-GHz Pentium 4, 120GB hard drive, 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. We liked the clean text on Dell's 17-inch LCD and the speakers' 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

4. Micro Express MicroFlex 64 KB

2-GHz Athlon 64 3200+, 120GB hard drive, 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: $1999,

Bottom Line: Inexpensive 64-bit PC sped through PC WorldBench 4; 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

5. Polywell Poly 900NF3-FX1

2.2-GHz Athlon 64 FX-51, 286GB hard drive via RAID, 19-inch CRT monitor, 256MB Gainward FX PowerPack Ultra/1600 XP graphics, DVD-R/RW/+R/RW drive, 52X/24X/52X CD-RW drive, Price when ranked: $3250,

Bottom Line: Acing our gaming tests with sky-high frame rates in Unreal Tournament 2003, this PC ties for fastest model on our chart.

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Sys Technology Performance 3200+/64 PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: January 31, 2004

6. Sys Technology Performance 3200+/64

2.0-GHz Athlon 64 3200+, 200GB hard drive, 19-inch LCD monitor, 128MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics, DVD+R/RW drive, 16X DVD-ROM drive, Price when ranked: $3396,

Bottom Line: High-performance system displayed bright, colorful images on the bundled monitor; chassis offers plenty of room for upgrades.

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ABS Awesome 5500 Extreme PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: January 31, 2004

7. ABS Awesome 5500 Extreme

3.2-GHz Pentium 4 Extreme, 160GB hard drive, 17-inch LCD monitor, 256MB ATI Radeon 9800 XT graphics, DVD-R/RW/+R/RW drive, 16X DVD-ROM drive, flash media reader , Price when ranked: $2799,

Bottom Line: Good-looking gray and black tower uses Intel's gaming-centric chip. It produced top-notch frame rates in gaming tests, but the monitor earned so-so image quality scores.

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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 hard drive, 17-inch LCD monitor, 128MB NVidia GeForce FX 5200 graphics, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 48X/24X/48X CD-RW drive, Price when rated: $1049,

Bottom Line: This PC produced solid frame rates in our graphics tests, making it ideal for gaming.

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Micro Express MicroFlex 3000D PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: January 31, 2004

9. Micro Express MicroFlex 3000D

2.17-GHz Athlon XP 3000+, 120GB hard drive, 15-inch LCD monitor, 128MB ATI Radeon 9600 Pro graphics, 16X DVD-ROM/52X/24X/52X CD-RW combo drive, flash media reader, Price when rated: $999,

Bottom Line: Nicely designed, tall black tower is highly expandable and functional; graphics performance is middling, but the LCD's images are attractive.

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

Last Rated: December 18, 2003

10. NuTrend Kila 2

1.83-GHz Athlon XP 2500+, 80GB hard drive, 17-inch CRT monitor, 128MB NVidia GeForce FX 5200 graphics, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 52X/32X/52X CD-RW drive, Price when rated: $899,

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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Polywell Poly 900VF PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0

Last Rated: January 31, 2004

11. Polywell Poly 900VF

2-GHz Athlon 64 3200+, 80GB hard drive, 17-inch CRT monitor, 128MB NVidia GeForce FX 5200 graphics, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 52X/24X/52X CD-RW drive, Price when rated: $1357,

Bottom Line: Fastest PC on our value chart when running productivity applications, but graphics performance was disappointing. Silver tower is not especially attractive.

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

Last Rated: December 18, 2003

12. HP Compaq Business Desktop D330

3-GHz Pentium 4, 80GB hard drive, 15-inch LCD monitor, 128MB NVidia GeForce FX 5200 graphics, 16X DVD-ROM/48X/24X/48X CD-RW combo drive, Price when rated: $1636,

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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IBuyPower Dream 2004PC PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0

Last Rated: January 31, 2004

13. IBuyPower Dream 2004PC

3-GHz Pentium 4, 120GB hard drive, 19-inch CRT monitor, 128MB NVidia GeForce FX 5200 graphics, DVD-R/RW/+R/RW drive, 16X DVD-ROM drive, Price when rated: $1203,

Bottom Line: Has the look of a gaming machine, with a fancy front panel and window on the side. It turned in low frame rates in our tests, however.

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EMachines T3025 PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: January 31, 2004

14. EMachines T3025

2.17-GHz Athlon XP 3000+, 160GB hard drive, 17-inch LCD monitor, Integrated NVidia GeForce4 MX graphics, 16X DVD-ROM drive, 48X/24X/48X CD-RW drive, flash media reader, Price when rated: $1148,

Bottom Line: A large hard disk, solid overall performance, and a front-panel media reader highlight this system; the bundled monitor lacked vibrancy in our graphics tests.

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Tangent UltraBox Multimedia PC PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: January 31, 2004

15. Tangent UltraBox Multimedia PC

2.8-GHz Pentium 4, 80GB hard drive, 17-inch LCD monitor, 128MB NVidia GeForce FX 5200 graphics, DVD-R/RW/+R/RW drive, flash media reader , Price when rated: $1895,

Bottom Line: Stylish, shoe-box-size entertainment PC has a TV tuner, plus an audio system (AM/FM radio and CD player) that works without requiring the PC to be switched on.

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

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