|
Put one of these PCs in your living room | |||
 Dan Ackerman Senior associate editor |
Media Center PCs are about as trendy as computer hardware gets right now, with a whole generation of media addicts hooking up their rigs to home entertainment systems. But there's nothing worse than a beige midtower case clashing with the living-room decor, so media PCs are slowly gravitating toward rack-style cases designed to fit in with modern components, such as digital cable boxes and A/V receivers. HP's z555 Digital Entertainment Center and the WinBook PowerSpec MCE 410 both score high marks for their aesthetic qualities and media-friendly features. The z555 is a top-of-the-line system, complete with three TV tuner cards, including one high-definition card for capturing HDTV broadcasts. In contrast, the otherwise excellent WinBook PowerSpec MCE 410 includes only a single TV tuner and a smaller hard drive. Media Center PCs aren't meant for gaming, but the z555's GeForce 6600 holds its own in games such as Half-Life 2, while the Radeon X300LS in the MCE 410 can handle only games from a generation or two ago. The other big difference between the two systems? Price. The $1,999 HP z555 Digital Entertainment Center doesn't include a monitor or speakers, while you could spend that much on the $999 WinBook PowerSpec MCE 410, plus its optional $999 30-inch LCD monitor. More resources
|
|||
- Reviews & advice
- Site map
- Editorial policies
- Meet the editors
- How we test
- Forums
- Internet speed test
- Popular topics
- Apple iPhone
- Apple iPod
- Cell phones
- Dell
- GPS
- LCD TV
- CNET sites
- CNET Site map
- CNET TV
- Downloads
- News
- Reviews
- Shopper.com
- More information
- Newsletters
- CNET Mobile
- Customer Help Center
- RSS
- CNET Widgets
- About CNET
-
TOP PRODUCTS FROM TOP BRANDS
