EPA Energy Star Desktops

The Bottom Line: Despite its good looks and a few useful new features, Apple's new iMac is all about business. You can find a larger screen for less, not to mention all kinds of digital entertainment features, but no other all-in-one at this price can boast similar performance. If you need a modestly priced all-in-one for getting work done, we'd recommend no other system.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (3.06 GHz), 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 500 GB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, EPA Energy Star, Apple MacOS X 10.6, Personal computer

The Bottom Line: Acer's Aspire Revo 1600 might be the first Nettop we don't actively dislike. We'd rather have an Xbox 360 in the living room, but the Aspire Revo 1600 would be suitable as a PC for young kids or as a low-profile cloud kiosk. Thanks to its $199 price tag, you won't feel too much remorse if it breaks or you outgrow it.

Specs: Intel Atom N230 (1.6 GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160 GB Standard, NVIDIA ION LE, EPA Energy Star, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Personal computer

The Bottom Line: Apple's new 27-inch iMac will charm plenty of you with its screen size alone. Fortunately, that won't lead you astray. Behind its expansive display, Apple has packed one of the fastest all-in-ones available, and added a few useful extras to sweeten the deal. This iMac isn't perfect, but its positives far outweigh its negatives. We can think of few users to whom we wouldn't recommend this system.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (3.06 GHz), 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 1 TB Standard, ATI Radeon HD 4670, EPA Energy Star, Apple MacOS X 10.6, Personal computer

The Bottom Line: We cringe at the idea of recommending such a slow PC when you can get significantly better performance for just a few more dollars. That said, it's hard to argue with the eMachines EL1300G-01w's low price, clean good looks, and relatively complete budget feature set. As long as you have no ambitions for this PC performing anything resembling serious work, it will make a fine second or third home system.

Specs: AMD Athlon 2650e (1.6 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160 GB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE, EPA Energy Star, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic, Personal computer

The Bottom Line: You can find more-cost-effective large-screen all-in-ones for general productivity, but Sony's Vaio LV250B is our favorite for home entertainment. Loaded with unique features geared toward digital media convenience, this system will meet the needs of anyone looking for a PC to use as an entertainment hub.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 (2.80 GHz), 4 GB DDR II SDRAM, 500 GB Portable, NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT, EPA Energy Star, RoHS, EPEAT Silver, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Media center

The Bottom Line: Instead of succumbing to the latest fads, the Sony Vaio JS250J all-in-one PC stays the course pioneered by its models from last year, delivering capable performance and best-of-breed home entertainment features at a better price than its all-in-one competition. The Vaio JS250J will appeal to anyone in need of a multipurpose home PC.

Specs: Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 (2.5 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 320 GB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS, EPA Energy Star, RoHS, EPEAT Silver, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Personal computer

The Bottom Line: Apple's new eight-core Mac Pro demonstrates marked improvements over the older model in high-intensity digital media and multitasking scenarios. We also love the design tweaks that improve on Apple's already industry-leading sensibilities. Any Apple-bound design professional would welcome this new tool in his or her arsenal.

Specs: Intel Xeon (2.26 GHz), 6 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 640 GB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce GT 120, EPA Energy Star, EPEAT Gold, Apple MacOS X 10.6, Personal computer

The Bottom Line: No other all-in-one PC can offer touch-based input or an LCD screen as large as that of the HP TouchSmart IQ816. It's hard to deny that those features make this a compelling desktop for families with a place to put it. Weak performance hinders its suitability for work, and it's not the best digital entertainment center, but we recommend this system to anyone looking to get in early on the touch-computing experiment.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 (2.1 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 750 GB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GS, EPA Energy Star, EPEAT Silver, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Personal computer

The Bottom Line: Apple's smaller-scale iMac remains our favorite all-in-one. And while its looks, its ease of use, and its performance are all selling points, Windows PCs are starting to catch up (at least with the latter). A few components could also stand an update, but in general you'll find the 20-inch iMac a remarkable computer for its price.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.4 GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 250 GB Standard, ATI Radeon HD 2400XT, EPA Energy Star, EPEAT Silver, Apple MacOS X 10.5, Personal computer

The Bottom Line: If you're considering all of the computers in the $700 to $1,000 price range, the Dell Studio Hybrid is not very compelling. However, if you limit yourself to the very specific niche of small PCs, you'll appreciate this system's clever design and its relatively powerful hardware.

Specs: Intel Pentium Dual Core T4300 (2.1 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160 GB Standard, Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, EPA Energy Star, EPEAT Gold, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Service Pack 1, Personal computer