Reviewed on November 6, 2008Falcon Northwest's latest Mach V provides a model for the coming trends in high-end computing. From the latest Intel CPU, to solid-state storage, to copious amounts of memory, there's lot to admire about his PC. You will also have to pay for it, which unfortunately will thwart all but the most well-off gamers and enthusiasts.TAGS:Intel, Hitachi Ltd., motherboard, CPU, hard drive, chipset, PC, games
Reviewed on November 3, 2008Thanks to an expensive new motherboard requirement, Intel's new Core i7 desktop processors will remain enthusiast and professional-level parts until more affordable complementary hardware comes out later next year. Speed never comes cheap, however, and if you're willing to spend for it now, you'll find yourself in possession of the fastest CPU on the market.TAGS:motherboard, CPU, Intel, chipset, memory stick, AMD, Intel Pentium, platform
Reviewed on February 26, 2008With its second full-fledged gaming PC, Dell shows that it understands the mainstream gaming desktop as well as the high-end. The Dell XPS 630 delivers everything a gamer would want in a sub-$2,000 PC, from its components, to its case, to its powerful software. We've seen no better system in this newly competitive category.TAGS:Velocity Micro, quad-core, Dell XPS, Intel Core 2 Duo, CPU, Gateway Inc., dual-core, video card, games, Intel
Reviewed on August 14, 2008The Dell Studio S1535-125B impresses us with its leading performance in the sub-$1,000 category, thanks in large part to a speedy Intel CPU and generous memory allotment. Striking a fine balance between Dell's XPS and Inspiron lines, we recommend this well-rounded 15-inch laptop for students and home users alike.TAGS:Dell Studio, Intel Core 2 Duo, back-to-school, CPU, laptop computer, Intel Centrino, Intel, IEEE 802.11, resolution, speakers, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Reviewed on July 11, 2008The Dell Inspiron 1525-121B is the textbook example of a midsize, mainstream laptop. Switching to slower CPU knocks a little off the performance, but also takes $80 off the price and adds battery life, compared with Dell's more mainstream configurations.TAGS:Dell Inspiron, Intel Pentium, laptop computer, Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel, CPU, speakers, keyboard
Reviewed on June 25, 2008HP's new-and-improved TouchSmart all-in-one PC refines the touch-based concept it introduced last year. Faster all-in-ones, and Apple's iPhone, make the TouchSmart seem a bit behind the times, but the convenient software and its kitchen-friendly design offer functionality that's unavailable elsewhere.TAGS:HP TouchSmart, Averatec, Intel Core 2 Duo, Apple iMac, HP, RSS reader, Nvidia GeForce, NVidia, CPU, hard drive, Intel, Microsoft Windows