The best budget desktops for your cube Updated January 12, 2006 If you need to outfit a handful of workstations on a shoestring, you don't need to be as selective as you might think. Whether you need a computer that works hard and doesn't take up a lot or room or a full-size desktop for storing and managing large amounts of data, you'll be able to find the PC you need for less than $1,000, most including a monitor. You'll need to be careful when you configure, ensuring that each computer has a minimum of 512MB of RAM for smooth work flow. But even with that add-in, you should have no trouble finding a work PC on the cheap.
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| Product name |
Apple SuperDrive Mac Mini (1.42GHz) |
HP Pavilion Slimline S7720n (Celeron M 1.5GHz, 512MB RAM, 200GB HDD, XP Home) |
Dell Dimension E510 (Pentium 4 630 3GHz, 512MB RAM, 80GB HDD, XP Media Center 2005) |
ZT Group Pro A7055 |
IBuyPower Value-Pro Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2 GHz - 17" TFT 
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| Review date | September 19, 2005 | November 1, 2005 | November 2, 2005 | July 14, 2005 | July 14, 2005 |
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Editors' rating (Editors' rating explained) |
7.1
Very good |
6.8
Good |
6.7
Good |
7.0
Very good |
7.7
Very good |
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| Buying choices |
Prices from online stores: Searching for pricing data... |
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Prices from online stores: Searching for pricing data... |
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| Product videos |
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| Review summary | The Apple SuperDrive Mac Mini addresses some of the shortcomings of its $499 predecessor, making it a well-rounded home PC at its base configuration. | HP's first small-form-factor PC, the Pavilion s7220n Slimline, is a stylish and able budget performer, but its lack of expandability makes it better suited for use as a second PC. | Dell's mainstream Dimension E510 looks good from the outside, but surprisingly limited configuration options dampen our enthusiasm. | Dual optical drives (including a DVD burner) plus generous hard drive storage and several PCI slots make this a good choice for upgraders and digital pack rats, even if there isn't much left in the budget for audio and video features. | Nearly everything about the iBuyPower Value-Pro suggests a price tag higher than $999, making this a top choice among sub-$1,000 systems. |
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| Product series | See all products in this series | See all products in this series | See all products in this series | N/A | N/A |
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| User comments | 7.9 Very good (from 28 users) | 8.0 Excellent (from 7 users) | 7.1 Very good (from 44 users) | Be one of the first to rate this product! | 3.9 Poor (from 28 users) |
| Basic Specs | |||||
| Product Description | Apple Mac mini SuperDrive - PowerPC G4 1.42 GHz | HP Pavilion S7720n - Celeron M 370 1.5 GHz - 17 in TFT active matrix | Dell Dimension E510 - Pentium 4 630 3.0 GHz - 17 in CRT | ZT Home System A7055 - Athlon 64 3400+ - 17 in TFT active matrix | IBuyPower Value-Pro Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2 GHz - 17 in TFT active matrix |
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| Type | Personal computer | Personal computer | Personal computer | Personal computer | Personal computer |
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| Product Form Factor | Desktop slimline | Desktop slimline | Tower | Tower | Mid tower |
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| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 6.5 in x 6.5 in x 2 in | 4.4 in x 13.1 in x 9.8 in | 7.4 in x 18 in x 16.3 in | Info unavailable | 7.9 in x 16.9 in x 17.3 in |
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| Weight | 2.9 lbs | 14.1 lbs | 28 lbs | Info unavailable | 14.5 lbs |
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| Localization | Info unavailable | English / United States | English | Info unavailable | Info unavailable |
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| Processor | 1 x Motorola PowerPC G4 1.42 GHz | 1 x Intel Celeron M 370 / 1.5 GHz | 1 x Intel Pentium 4 630 / 3.0 GHz | 1 x AMD Athlon 64 3400+ | 1 x AMD Athlon 64 3500+ / 2.2 GHz |
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| Processor Main Features | Info unavailable | Intel Execute Disable Bit | Hyper-Threading Technology , Intel Execute Disable Bit , Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology , Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology | Info unavailable | Info unavailable |
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| Cache Memory | 512 KB L2 cache | 1 MB L2 cache | 2 MB L2 cache | L2 cache | 512 KB L2 cache |
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| Cache Per Processor | 512 KB | 1 MB | 2 MB | Info unavailable | 512 KB |
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| RAM | 512 MB (installed) / 1 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 333 MHz - PC2700 | 512 MB (installed) / 1 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM - PC2-3200 | 512 MB (installed) / 4 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM - 533 MHz | 512 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 400 MHz - PC3200 | 1 GB (installed) / 4 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 400 MHz - PC3200 |
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| Storage Controller | IDE ( IDE/ATA ) ; None | Serial ATA ( Serial ATA-150 ) | Serial ATA ( Serial ATA-300 ) ; IDE | RAID ( Serial ATA-150 ) ; IDE ( ATA-133 ) | Serial ATA ( Serial ATA-150 ) ; IDE ( ATA-133 ) |
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| Floppy Drive | None | Info unavailable | None | None | None |
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| Hard Drive | 1 x 80 GB - Standard - IDE | 1 x 200 GB - Standard - Serial ATA | 1 x 80 GB - Standard - Serial ATA-150 | 1 x 200 GB - Standard - ATA-100 | 1 x 160 GB - Standard - Serial ATA-150 |
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| Hard Drive (2nd) | - None | None - None | - None | - None | - None |
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| Optical Storage | DVD?RW | DVD?RW (+R DL) with LightScribe Technology | CD-RW / DVD-ROM | DVD?RW (+R DL) | DVD?RW (+R DL) |
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| Optical Storage (2nd) | None | None | None | DVD-ROM | None |
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| Card Reader | Info unavailable | 9 in 1 card reader | Info unavailable | 7 in 1 card reader | 6 in 1 card reader |
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| Storage Removable | None | None | None | None | None |
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| Monitor | None. | None. - 17 in - TFT active matrix | DELL E773 - Display - 17 in - CRT | Flat panel display - 17 in - TFT active matrix | Flat panel display - 17 in - TFT active matrix |
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| Printer | None | None | Info unavailable | None | None |
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| Graphics Controller | AGP 4x - ATI Radeon 9200 - 32 MB | Intel GMA 900 - 128 MB | Intel GMA 950 | AGP 8x - NVIDIA GeForce MX 4000 - 128 MB | PCI Express x16 - NVIDIA GeForce 6200 TurboCache supporting 256MB - 256 MB |
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| Audio Output | Sound card - Stereo | Sound card - 7.1 channel surround | Sound card - 7.1 channel surround | Sound card - 5.1 channel surround | Sound card - 7.1 channel surround |
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| Communications | None - 56 Kbps | Fax / modem - 56 Kbps | Fax / modem - PCI - Plug-in card - 56 Kbps | Fax / modem - PCI - Plug-in card - 56 Kbps | None |
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| Voltage Required | AC 120/230 V | Info unavailable | AC 120/230 V | Info unavailable | Info unavailable |
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| OS Provided | Apple MacOS X 10.4 | Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition | Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 | Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition | Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition |
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| Manufacturer Warranty | 1 year warranty | 1 year warranty | 90 days warranty ( On-site ) | 3 years warranty | 3 years warranty |
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| Product name | Apple SuperDrive Mac Mini (1.42GHz) | HP Pavilion Slimline S7720n (Celeron M 1.5GHz, 512MB RAM, 200GB HDD, XP Home) | Dell Dimension E510 (Pentium 4 630 3GHz, 512MB RAM, 80GB HDD, XP Media Center 2005) | ZT Group Pro A7055 |
IBuyPower Value-Pro Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2 GHz - 17" TFT
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| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
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| Price range | Email me when this product is available |
This product is no longer available.
View all HP Desktops |
This product is no longer available.
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This product is available directly from the manufacturer's Web site.
| Email me when this product is available |
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