It's not that Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is a poor operating system for managing your digital home entertainment, but as the PCs listed below have shown, it is certainly possible to implement it poorly. Fan noise is one of our biggest complaints, a problem whose roots might be easy to trace given that two of these three systems use the same case.

While all of these PCs will at least work, we expected greatness from the initial crop of Windows Media Center systems, and these vendors didn't deliver. We expect (or at least hope) that other vendors' future offerings will fare better. In the meantime, consider the cheaper alternative: buy a DVR with network capabilities, a great TV, a wireless router, and a solid desktop.