Desktops continue to evolve beyond the standard midtower. Virtually every vendor now offers a slim tower, a small form-factor case, or an all-in-one. Along with their changing appearance, memory prices have plummeted, and it's not uncommon to find 4GB in $500 PCs. We highly recommend that you compare specs carefully this holiday, and make sure you get the most for your PC dollar.
Editors' top pick
The bottom line: The Acer Aspire X1200-U1520A is a speedy, compact, low-end desktop that's powerful enough to serve as a light-duty home theater PC. Expansion is limited by an especially cramped interior (even for a small PC), but the total package is worthwhile for PC shoppers on a budget.
The bottom line: The Gateway GT5692 is a reliable PC that will easily get you around all the standard tasks of a budget desktop. This triple-core system also includes 64-bit Windows and enough RAM to make it a very strong photo-editing desktop for its price.
Price:
$549.99
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