CyberPower CyberPower Gamer Ultra 7500SE

A number of blue LEDs illuminate the case's curved plastic front, which nevertheless looks and feels fragile and cheaply made. CyberPower sets aside plenty of bays for adding extra hard drives: Four internal 3.5-inch drive bays and two externally accessible 5.25-inch drive bays are open (a dual-layer DVD burner, a DVD-ROM drive, and a five-in-one media card reader fill the remaining externally accessible drive bays). The system runs Windows XP Media Center Edition, but CyberPower did not include a TV tuner or a remote control with our review unit, to keep the system's price under $1000 (you can buy a tuner and remote bundled as a $99 option).

The 19-inch ViewSonic Optiquest Q9B LCD monitor included with our test system rendered our test images, games, and DVDs in dark and dull colors. And the LCD provides only a VGA input, which yields fuzzier video than would a DVI connection (which the system's graphics card supports).

CyberPower backs this system with a three-year parts-and-labor warranty that includes 24-hour daily tech support; unfortunately, it scored poorly in our most recent reliability and service survey. The 7500SE is Vista-capable, according to its maker, and the company offers Vista upgrade information on its site.

Richard Baguley