all about reviews

Small size; support policies meet industry standards

Outdated motherboard lacks HDMI output; slower and has fewer features than desktops that cost $70 less

Do not buy this HP Pavilion Slimline s5510y. Its slow performance for its price and its outdated motherboard prevent it from leveraging the strengths of its slim tower case in the living room. You can find faster, better-equipped PCs for the same ...

Large, 23-inch display ; Blu-ray drive ; fast performance from Intel Core i3 CPU ; great value for its price

Unresponsive touch screen ; no HDMI input

The Gateway One ZX6900-01e is a great deal thanks to its 23-inch display, Blu-ray drive, and speedy performance. It has a few annoying shortcomings; a lack of an HDMI-input, in particular, keeps it from greatness, but overall we'd recommend this ...

Best-in-class touch software

Small screen and underwhelming PC components for the price; slow performance

On first inspection the HP TouchSmart 300-1120 seems like a capable enough all-in-one, but it loses a lot of appeal once you compare it with others on the market. If you want an all-in-one PC for the kitchen counter, this system may work for you. For ...

One of the more affordable touch-screen all-in-ones

Small, comparatively low-resolution display for its price; touch software not as good as HP's; no HDMI input; uninspired connectivity

The Gateway One ZX4300-01e's touch software feels cobbled together, and it's not enough to offset the small screen and lack of other interesting features. You might be interested if you want a low-cost touch-screen PC. Otherwise, move on.

The Kyocera Loft offers a fair number of messaging options and a user-friendly interface. You also get Bluetooth and voice dialing

The Kyocera Loft's phone book only offers caller ID for groups and call quality had some static. Its headset jack is 2.5mm, and its keyboard feels cramped

If you don't mind the keyboard and the occasional static during calls the Kyocera Loft is an accessible and functional messaging phone for Virgin Mobile.

Sleek, living-room-ready aluminum chassis; HDMI video output makes it easy to connect an HDTV; SD card slot; user-accessible RAM; handles Web-based HD video with no trouble; best-in-class case design

Puny storage capacity for its price; no Blu-ray hurts in a pricier living room system like this

Apple's new Mac Mini includes an elegant new design and some long asked-for features, including HDMI output and user-accessible memory. The system still faces a value challenge for its given specs, but Apple has done enough to improve the Mac Mini's ...

Best value among midrange PCs for its features and gaming performance; Blu-ray drive; wireless networking card

Limited upgrade path; clunky hard drive configuration; relatively slow application performance

Dell configured the all-AMD Studio XPS 7100 squarely at gamers, throwing in a powerful 3D card to offset the slow six-core AMD CPU. The result is a fast gaming PC with well-rounded features for an affordable price thanks to a two-month-long special ...

Overclocked Intel CPU; fast graphics card; strong gaming and application performance; customary solid build quality

Case design getting a bit long in the tooth; so-so upgrade path; no weekend hours for phone support

Velocity Micro's Edge Z30 offers a speedy, spare take on Intel's new overclockable K-Series CPUs. We noticed some unfortunate reductions to Velocity's support and it feels about time for a case refresh, but for the most part we can recommend the Edge ...

The EnGenius Wireless ESR9855G offers fast wireless speed and extra-long range. It also has a practical design and is easy to use

The EnGenius ESR9855G lacks support for dual-band, guest networking, and USB-related features. Its wireless signal stability could be better

The EnGenius Wireless ESR9855G 300Mbps gaming router makes a great home router, but its random wireless signal resets might steer away online gamers.

Performance-focused build competes well with PCs that cost twice as much; strong single-card gaming performance; effective heat management

Limited bandwidth should you add a second graphics card; few multimedia extras (for the benefit of a lower price); lower price necessitates fewer multimedia extras

Falcon Northwest's goal with this Talon build is to highlight the overclocking benefits of a new unlocked Core i7 CPU from Intel. Though the chip proves effective, we're more impressed with Falcon's ability to streamline its configuration. You'll find ...