Gateway GT5694 Desktop (1.8GHz Phenom 9100e, 4GB DDR2, 640GB, DVD±RW DL, Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit)

Compact Case Is Designed for Smaller Work Areas

This compact computer is smaller than the standard and midsize tower PCs that fit under your desk, making it ideal for limited work areas. Small case designs vary, too. However, such PCs tend to be underpowered (especially on gaming), and mini cases also have few available expansion slots and drive bays. Generally you'll have to expand the system via USB, FireWire, or eSATA peripherals, so make sure your compact system has a large number (and assortment) of ports.

AMD Phenom CPU Delivers Excellent Performance

This system boasts one of AMD's latest, greatest processors. Quad-core versions deliver excellent performance, though they are about 10 percent slower than a current Intel product at the same clock speed. Subjectively, you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference. Triple-core versions (in which one core is dead or disabled) will provide the exact same performance until the point at which a fourth core would kick in. The current pricing for triple-cores, however, doesn't give much incentive to downgrade. 

Large Amount of RAM Produces Blazing Performance

Simply put, this computer is likely to offer blazing performance. The large amount of RAM it ships with is more than enough to handle most memory-hungry applications and large files, and as a result the PC won't constantly swap memory to its hard drive.

The more installed memory your PC has, the more applications you can run smoothly at once, and the better the system will perform. Upgrading memory in a desktop after you purchase the PC is simple, but usually it's worthwhile to buy the amount of memory you want preinstalled with the system.

To use more than 4GB of memory on your PC, you need either Windows XP 64-Bit Edition (limited to 128GB) or a 64-bit version of Windows Vista (which can handle 128GB and beyond).

Plenty of Hard-Drive Space for Multimedia Enthusiasts

This system's hard drive has good capacity, enough room for multimedia enthusiasts looking to store home video, ripped DVDs, MP3 music files, and digital photos. For the average user with decent file-cleaning habits, this much hard-drive space could be overkill. Most likely, you'd use this large amount of storage only if you're heavily into video, and even then you might consider RAID mirroring (for data redundancy) rather than a bigger drive.

Included Disc Writer Burns CDs and DVDs

The DVD burner on this system will allow you to burn CDs and DVDs (including movies, with the right software), play DVD movies, install software from CDs and DVDs, and play audio CDs and other types of discs. Most DVD burners have a slide-out media tray, though you'll find some slot-loading models on smaller or more-stylish PCs. Half-height drives exist, too; you'll find them mostly in laptops or external boxes. Since DVD burners are now a commodity item, even entry-level models are fast.

Integrated ATI Graphics Are Suited to Everyday Computing

This PC is built on a motherboard that uses an integrated ATI graphics chip set. It's likely a compact system for which a stylish design and the ability to handle everyday computing tasks are more the focus than speedy gaming performance.

The ATI Mobility Radeon X300 provides limited gaming performance (though it's still better than Intel's GMA950 alternative), and it will allow you to run Windows Vista's glossy Aero Glass environment. 3D performance is a little more acceptable with an ATI HD 3200 integrated graphics chip set, which supports DirectX 10. The HD 3200 also offers hardware acceleration for high-def video (including Blu-ray), as well as support for Hybrid CrossFireX, a new feature that allows the HD 3200 chip set to work in conjunction with a HD 3400-series dedicated graphic card (should the PC have one) to improve performance.

Single Graphics Card Slot Permits Upgrades

With only one video card slot (typically a 16x PCIe slot), this system is a mainstream PC likely intended for general home or business use. You can fill this slot with a premium graphics board--an important consideration if you're a gamer, video editor, or CAD specialist. If you're not a demanding user, however, the most high-end cards don't offer enough of a boost to justify their steep pricing. Instead, look for a PC configured with a decent CPU and a good GPU, such as nVidia's GeForce 9800 GTX or ATI's Radeon HD 4850.

Note: If this PC's graphics card slot is empty (and it therefore has only integrated graphics), incentives for you to upgrade to a dedicated graphics card include better game play at higher resolutions, guaranteeing more than one output to drive multiple displays, and running regular applications at higher resolutions (some integrated graphics top out below the maximum resolution of the largest monitors).

Windows Vista: Good Multimedia and Security, but a Resource Hog

This computer ships with Microsoft's latest operating system. Windows Vista offers improved multimedia and networking savvy, looks better than Windows XP, and has greater security than its predecessor, but it can be a slower-feeling operating system due to heavier resource requirements. You can run it with only 512MB of main memory in your PC, but having at least 1GB will provide a much better experience.

Common 32-bit versions of Windows Vista can address no more than 4GB of RAM, even if your machine has more available. So unless you're using the 64-bit version of Vista (or 64-bit XP, if you can still find a copy), a computer with 2GB to 4GB of memory is the right target.

FireWire Port Allows Rapid Data Transfer

The FireWire connection (also called an IEEE1394 or i.Link port) in this computer can rapidly transfer data to and from a range of devices, most commonly video cameras, external hard drives, and advanced sound cards.

Generally desktop PCs have a full-size six-pin FireWire port on the rear, often on a front panel. Some also include the smaller, unpowered four-pin connection that you can find on laptops and certain consumer electronics devices. (Camcorder makers often bundle a six-pin-to-four-pin FireWire cable because of this.)

The newer FireWire 800 (IEEE1394c) implementation is not backward-compatible and uses a nine-pin connector. If your peripheral (such as a video camera or external hard drive) uses FireWire 800, you should double-check to confirm that every desktop PC you're considering supports it, too. 

Card Reader Takes MultiMediaCard

This system's MMC slot allows it to read the older MultiMediaCard format--the predecessor of SD Card media. SD and SDHC slots will read MMC, too, but not vice versa. For the most part, MMC is simply an additional spec for an SD or SDHC slot, which will read the two (or three) types.

Card Reader Accepts Sony Memory Stick

This computer can read and write to Sony's proprietary Memory Stick flash memory devices, and with an adapter it could also support variants such as Memory Stick Pro, Duo, Pro Duo, and Micro. Few non-Sony devices use Memory Stick; however, the company is so large that chances are you might need to read data from one someday. Most times, Memory Stick is just one among several media card types that a desktop PC can accept.

Media Reader Takes SD Card

Equipped with an SD Card (Secure Digital) reader, this PC can transfer photos from a digital camera when you have no cable. With the proper adapter, SD slots will also read data from the miniSD media used in cell phones.

The newer SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) standard is not backward-compatible, so the slot may not read such cards; check the PC's specs further to determine whether it offers SDHC support. The latest SD variant, the microSDHC, is the tiniest flash memory card to date, measuring only 11mm across. It's also the fastest and roomiest, capable of holding up to 16GB of data.

Media Reader Takes CompactFlash Cards

This PC has a multiformat card reader capable of reading CompactFlash (also known as CF) cards. Despite having been supplanted by SD Card and SDHC, CompactFlash cards are still used in older digital cameras.