Dell, Inc. Desktops

The Bottom Line: The retail version of Dell's Studio XPS 8000 desktop might lack some of the charm of its direct-from-Dell counterpart, but its strong price-performance offering makes it easy to overlook the minor cosmetic deficiencies. That and its admirable power consumption make this system an impressive all-purpose midrange desktop.

Specs: Intel Core i7 I7-860 (2.8 GHz), 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 1 TB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce GTS 240, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Personal computer

The Bottom Line: The Dell Inspiron 545s-3055NBK improves on previous models with more upgrade options and faster performance. Its modest components can easily handle the most common tasks, but shoppers looking for a home theater PC should consider the Gateway SX2800-01 or Dell's forthcoming Zino HD instead.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 (2.93 GHz), 6 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 750 GB Standard, Intel GMA 3100, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Personal computer

The Bottom Line: With similar results as its ancestors, the Dell Inspiron 545s-1476N registers decent benchmarks and offers respectable upgradability, but we hesitate to recommend it over the older Gateway SX2800-01 that leaves Dell in the dust regarding both performance and features.

Specs: Intel Pentium E5300 (2.6 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 640 GB Standard, Intel GMA 3100, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Personal computer

The Bottom Line: The Dell Studio XPS 435 successfully overcomes our bias against desktops that claim to be experts at everything through charming case design and a strong configuration at a relatively fair price. It misses greatness because of a handful of minor missteps, but if you need a do-it-all mainstream tower system, this Dell more or less covers all the bases.

Specs: Intel Core i7 920 (2.66 GHz), 6 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 1000 GB Standard, ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB GDDR5, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English, Personal computer

The Bottom Line: Dell seems to have missed a beat in this year's round of back-to-school retail desktops, and the Inspiron 545 is no exception. Its competition has too much to offer in the way of performance and features, leaving Dell with little but its established online support resources to give it an advantage.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 (2.33 GHz), 8 GB DDR II SDRAM, 1 TB Standard, ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3450, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1

The Bottom Line: The Dell Inspiron 545s cuts a more robust profile than other budget Inspirons by offering better upgrade options and some decent performance for its price. It has a hard time challenging Gateway's strong budget slim tower, but this Dell might sway you, depending on your needs.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 (2.8 GHz), 6 GB DDR II SDRAM, 750 GB Standard, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1

The Bottom Line: You might find a better deal from Dell if you configure an Inspiron 537s online, but this retail only model has little to recommend it. From slow performance to a weak feature-set, this budget slimtower is outclassed by too many other retail desktops.

Specs: Intel Celeron 450 (2.2 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 320 GB Standard, Integrated Intel GMA x4500 Graphics, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic SP1, 32-Bit

The Bottom Line: We suspect lower-end configurations of the Dell Studio One 19 all-in-one desktop will draw consumers looking for a low-cost, "fast enough" PC. But even its multitouch interface can't save our expensive review unit from other vendors' similarly priced all-in-ones with better features for the dollar.

Specs: Intel Pentium Dual Core E5300 (2.6 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 500 GB Standard, nVidia GeForce 9400 Integrated Graphics, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64Bit

The Bottom Line: Even though Dell's Studio XPS-122B has the latest Intel CPU, its sparse configuration feels like a throwback. This is not to say it's slow or lacking in features, but you'll find this system has relatively few aspirations aside from serving as a standard desktop. We recommend it to anyone in need of raw computing power for an affordable price.

The Bottom Line: Dell's Inspiron I530-120B is a fine workaday desktop, but we find it could use some more excitement. It has its strengths, and its features are reasonable for its price, but we wish Dell had done more to differentiate this desktop.

Specs: Microsoft Windows Vista