All Computer Systems

The Bottom Line: The Brother MFC-990CW is a speedy, fully capable all-in-one device that earns our recommendation for an individual or a family that will make use of its touch screen and telephone/answering machine. Mechanical issues notwithstanding, this is the highest-scoring Brother printer we've tested to date.

Specs: Fax, Copier, Printer, Scanner, Ink-jet, 1200 x 2400 dpi, Cordless handset

The Bottom Line: Falcon Northwest's revamped, mainstream-oriented Talon gaming desktop puts its best redesigned foot forward with a new case and a strong, price-competitive configuration built around Intel's latest batch of Core i7 CPUs. Shop around, as many vendors will have adopted Intel's new chips, but for this build at this price, Falcon Northwest sets the example to beat.

Specs: Intel Core i7 860 (3.3 Hz), 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 1500 GB Standard, Dual nVidia GeForce GTX 275, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition

The Bottom Line: Samsung brings a different look to a generic Netbook build with the N310, but is there any good reason this costs almost $500?

Specs: Intel Atom (1.6 GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160 GB, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, 2.9 lbs, 10.1 in TFT active matrix, EPEAT Gold, EPEAT gold

The Bottom Line: The Brother MFC-3360C does decent quality text and graphics, but anyone printing a large volume of photos won't be happy with the extremely slow output speed. If you're set on buying a multifunction printer, put your $90 toward a more capable device, like the Canon Pixma MX330.

Specs: Fax, Copier, Printer, Scanner, Ink-jet, 600 x 1200 dpi, Corded handset

The Bottom Line: The 11-inch, AMD-powered Gateway LT3103u does well on price and performance, but drops the ball on battery life when compared with the competition.

Specs: Athlon 64 (1.2 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 250 GB, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic, 3 lbs, 11.6 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line: The Hannspree Hannsnote doesn't set the Netbook world on fire, but it's a surprisingly usable and well-featured mini-laptop at a competitive price from a new manufacturer.

The Bottom Line: The Hannspree Hannsnote doesn't set the Netbook world on fire, but it's a surprisingly usable and well-featured mini-laptop at a competitive price from a new manufacturer.

The Bottom Line: Acer's Aspire M5800-U5802A could use some visual polish, but get past its appearance and you'll find a fast, affordable computer that will handle any task you care to throw at it. It's even a decent low-end gaming box. We'd only recommend against this desktop if you demand a computer's appearance match its capabilities.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 (2.66 GHz), 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 750 GB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce GT 230, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Personal computer

The Bottom Line: Attempting to create a premium-priced version of a Netbook, Sony has added an HD display to the Vaio W. It's an attractive step-up package, but the internal components are the same as are in cheaper models.

Specs: Intel Atom (1.66 GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160 GB, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, 2.6 lbs, 10.1 in TFT active matrix, RoHS, EPA Energy Star

The Bottom Line: Attempting to create a premium-priced version of a Netbook, Sony has added an HD display to the Vaio W. It's an attractive step-up package, but the internal components are the same as are in cheaper models.

Specs: Intel Atom (1.66 GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160 GB, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, 2.6 lbs, 10.1 in TFT active matrix, RoHS, EPA Energy Star