Systemax Vitality DH463

Systemax Vitality DH463Inexpensive and expandable system lacks graphics power.
The Vitality DH463's case--basic black with brushed aluminum trim--doesn't jump out at you, but this $1200 (as of October 6, 2006) Media Center PC delivers respectable performance, great upgrade options, and some nice hardware for the price.
Foremost among the system's components is Intel's cutting-edge 1.86-GHz Core 2 Duo E6300 CPU. Combined with 1GB of RAM, this processor pushed the Vitality DH463 to a WorldBench 5 score of 108 ranking it third among currently tested value systems. Other hardware pluses include a nice wireless mouse and keyboard combination from Logitech, and a TV tuner and remote. The keyboard has good heft and lots of well-placed function buttons.
With a Radeon X1600 graphics card and 256MB of graphics RAM, the Vitality DH463 should be able to handle older, less-demanding games easily, but don't expect fast-moving, high-resolution graphics action on the latest first-person shooter. The Vitality's frame rate score of 118 frames per second on our Unreal Tournament gaming test at 1280 by 1024 resolution lagged behind the average score of 245 fps for the seven Top 10 value systems that have a dedicated graphics cards. Gamers on a budget should consider the Velocity Micro Vector GX Campus Edition, which offers better graphics at a cheaper price than this system.
Hands-on play of Return to Castle Wolfenstein proceeded smoothly, but appeared unacceptably dark on the $200, 19-inch Hanns G flat-panel display that came bundled with our system. Small (6.8-point) text looked a bit fuzzy but was readable.
For upgradability, this system rivals pricey, high-end gaming systems. After removing two thumbscrews, you can open the case, where you'll find one free PCI slot, two free PCI Express slots, and more unoccupied hard drive and external drive bays than you'll ever need. You may have to wrestle a bit with the cables that spill throughout the case, but access to slots and bays is generally unhindered. The simple user manual covers basic use and will be of value primarily to less experienced users.
The Vitality DH463 could be a good fit for someone who expects to upgrade hardware in the future but doesn't need powerful graphics.

Dell Dimension E521

Dell's Dimension E521 doesn't set the field afire with its performance or looks. However, at $489 (as of November 6, 2006), including a 17-inch LCD monitor, this system is powerful enough to handle basic computing tasks.
Equipped with a 1.8-GHz AMD Sempron 3400+ processor and 512MB of RAM, the E521 achieved a modest WorldBench 5 score of 80--adequate for many tasks, such as Web browsing or word processing, but below the typical cheap PC score we've seen recently. The system simply isn't up to running games: In Doom 3, it managed a skimpy (and unplayable) 6 frames per second at a resolution of 1280 by 1024 pixels. It also choked when we tried to play a DVD movie and convert an MP3 file simultaneously; the video became jerky and unwatchable. Our review system came with a 17-inch Dell E177FP LCD monitor. Although we welcomed the inclusion of a small, unobtrusive LCD, the monitor is merely adequate, with undistinguished color.
The E521 comes in a standard silver-and-black Dell Dimension minitower case, whose clean design vents hot air without requiring additional (and potentially noisy) fans. The case provides a reasonable amount of expansion room, too, in the form of two vacant drive bays--one internal and one externally accessible. The former is useful if you decide to add a second hard drive, and the unit's small 80GB hard drive will likely fill up quickly if you use it to store digital photos, music, and videos. You'll also likely want to add a DVD burner someday to the DVD-ROM drive that came with our system. The drive bays and the system's PCI slots don't require you to use a screwdriver to install new drives or cards.
The Dimension E521 is supposed to be Vista-capable, and Dell posts information about upgrading to Vista on its site.
The E521 is the least-expensive system we tested, but it's slow, has a small hard drive, and carries the bare minimum amount of memory you should even consider.

HP Media Center TV m7690y

HP Media Center TV m7690yThis home-theater-ready system came through with good performance--and it gives you room to expand.
The ability to capture and enjoy media is at the heart of the Hewlett-Packard Media Center TV m7690y. This $1000 system (as of November 6, 2006) runs Windows XP Media Center Edition and includes a TV tuner for recording television shows. Our test system also came with a remote control and with audio support for up to 5.1 channels of surround sound.
Among the m7690y's multitude of design conveniences is its variety of ports. On the front of the silver case, a sliding cover hides an array of video and audio inputs, plus two USB 2.0 ports and a FireWire port. The system's integrated audio decoder has SPDIF inputs and outputs, useful for connecting it to a satellite or cable TV box or to a stereo receiver.
On the back of the case is a bay for HP's Personal Media Drive, a removable hard drive that you can operate in the system, or via a USB 2.0 connection. An optional 160GB Personal Media Drive costs $140 (about $40 more than you'd pay for an ordinary external hard drive).
The m7690y earned a mark of 109 on our WorldBench 5 tests, the second highest score among our cheap PCs. Unfortunately, its graphics performance was subpar, making the system (as configured, with an nVidia GeForce 7300LE graphics card bearing 128MB of video memory) a poor choice if you plan to use your PC for gaming.
The case's interior has no room for a second internal hard drive, and it includes just one open externally accessible drive bay. Our test system came with a 200GB hard drive, which will fill up fast as you record TV and share the drive with other content and data.
The monitor accompanying our system--HP's 19-inch f1905e LCD--had a clear, bright screen, and produced good color and smooth movement during DVD playback. We found it easy to adjust the height and angle of the monitor-details you rarely see on monitors paired with low-cost PCs.
HP says that the m7960y is Vista-capable, and the company offers Vista upgrade information on its site.
For the price, the m7960y is an attractive package. Though it lands at the top end of the cheap PCs price scale, its features justify the difference in cost

CyberPower Gamer Ultra 7500SE

CyberPower Gamer Ultra 7500SEThis budget gaming system offers midrange performance and plenty of expansion room, but its mediocre design lessens its appeal.
Priced at $999 (as of November 6, 2006), the Gamer Ultra 7500SE is a budget system can handle most computing tasks, including many games.
The Gamer Ultra 7500SE parlayed its Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor and 1GB of RAM into a WorldBench 5 score of 98-above average for a cheap PC.
The 7500SE's gaming performance was even better. Sparked by an EVGA e-GeForce 7600GS graphics board with 256MB of RAM, it had a frame rate of 76 frames per second on our Doom 3 test, at 1280-by-1024-pixel resolution.
A number of blue LEDs illuminate the case's curved plastic front, which nevertheless looks and feels fragile and cheaply made. CyberPower sets aside plenty of bays for adding extra hard drives: Four internal 3.5-inch drive bays and two externally accessible 5.25-inch drive bays are open (a dual-layer DVD burner, a DVD-ROM drive, and a five-in-one media card reader fill the remaining externally accessible drive bays). The system runs Windows XP Media Center Edition, but CyberPower did not include a TV tuner or a remote control with our review unit, to keep the system's price under $1000 (you can buy a tuner and remote bundled as a $99 option).
The 19-inch ViewSonic Optiquest Q9B LCD monitor included with our test system rendered our test images, games, and DVDs in dark and dull colors. And the LCD provides only a VGA input, which yields fuzzier video than would a DVI connection (which the system's graphics card supports).
CyberPower backs this system with a three-year parts-and-labor warranty that includes 24-hour daily tech support; unfortunately, it scored poorly in our most recent reliability and service survey. The 7500SE is Vista-capable, according to its maker, and the company offers Vista upgrade information on its sit

Dell Dimension E520

Dell Dimension E520Sensibly priced PC delivers acceptable performance and a solid set of features.
The Dimension E520 may look like its cousin the E521 on the outside, but inside it's a different beast. It has a faster processor, more memory, a bigger hard drive, and a dedicated graphics card that makes it a more desirable proposition for a wider range of activities. But it's also more expensive at $989 (as of November 6, 2006) versus $489.
For the higher price, you get above-average components--including a 200GB hard drive and dual optical drives (a dual-layer DVD burner and a DVD-ROM drive)--and reasonable performance. The system contains a 1.86-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 processor and 1GB of RAM, and it achieved a respectable WorldBench 5 score of 105. That's well above the average mark posted in our roundup of cheap PCs, but it's 29 percent lower than the 148 turned in by the Micro Express MicroFlex 66B.
Still, the E520 is not for gamers. Its nVidia GeForce 7300LE graphics board generated hit-or-miss graphics performance; our test games were playable, barely, at 1024 by 768 resolution. For example, at a resolution of 1280 by 1024 pixels, the system achieved frame rates of 24 frames per second on our Doom 3 test and 32 fps on our Far Cry test.
Like most sub-$1000 PCs, this system doesn't leave you much room for expansion. Housed in a standard Dell Dimension midsize tower case; our test configuration provided a single internal 3.5-inch bay, and two expansion slots (one PCI and one PCI Express x1).
The system is Vista-capable, according to Dell, which offers Vista upgrade information on its site

Dell Dimension C521

Dell Dimension C521Moderately priced, slim-line Dell combines attractive looks and a balance of performance and expandability.
The Dell Dimension C521 sacrifices some expansion room to keep its case skinnier than a typical midsize tower PC. Even so, the $729 (as of November 6, 2006) C521 is a good choice if you seek a space-conscious, low-cost system that retains some expansion options.
Set up vertically, the well-designed case has a width of just 4.5 inches (you can also situate it horizontally). Even so, it retains a modicum of expansion room, including three open expansion-card slots--one each for PCI, PCI Express x1, and PCI Express x16. The thin chassis limits you to half-height PCI cards, however. The system's other expansion options are limited to one 5.25-inch externally accessible bay (which a dual-layer DVD burner occupies) and two 3.5-inch bays (claimed by a 160GB hard drive and a five-in-one memory card reader).
Our test system came with Windows XP Media Center Edition installed, but it lacked a TV tuner. In fact, Dell doesn't offer a TV tuner as an option for this model, but you can buy a third-party TV tuner card for about $80.
The C521 configuration we tested packed a 2-GHz Athlon 64 X2 3800+ dual-core processor and 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a combination that powered the C521 to a creditable WorldBench 5 score of 95--more than adequate for tasks like word processing, Web browsing, and even video and image editing. Thanks in part to its ATI Radeon X1300 graphics card with 256MB of memory, the C521 did reasonably well in our games tests, too, managing about 24 frames per second on Doom 3 at a resolution of 1280 by 1024 pixels on the included 17-inch E177FP LCD monitor. We consider Doom 3 barely playable at that frame rate, but the PC would adequately handle less graphically demanding games.
Dell bills the C521 as Vista-capable and offers Vista upgrade information on its site.
Though its performance trails far behind that of more-expensive systems, it's fast enough to make the C521 a realistic choice as a casual gaming system for the kids or as a versatile second PC

Micro Express MicroFlex 66B

Micro Express MicroFlex 66BThis model may be priced as a cheap system, but its components make it a performance powerhouse.
When it comes to performance, the Micro Express MicroFlex 66B ($999 as of November 6, 2006) is a winner: It managed an impressive WorldBench 5 score of 148. The MicroFlex 66B carries a speedy 2.4-GHz Core 2 Duo E6600 processor and 2GB of memory--the only system in our roundup to do so. It also came configured with an ATI Radeon X1600 graphics card. This system produced the best graphics performance of any cheap PC on our gaming tests, making it a good choice as a versatile, low-cost gaming system.
The large, imposing case has plenty of room for expansion, with five open externally accessible drive bays (one of which is a 3.5-inch bay) and one open internal bay. The system's construction improves on previous Micro Express models: Cables are tidily bundled inside the case with reusable ties that prevent them from blocking fans and airflow.
Our only major complaint involves the system's paltry 380-watt power supply, which could become overloaded if you add several hard drives or optical drives.
The MicroFlex 66B came with a 17-inch ViewSonic VP720b LCD monitor that rendered graphics adequately but produced text lacking in sharpness and rather difficult to read at smaller font sizes. Peripherals include a comfortable wireless keyboard and mouse from Microsoft.
Micro Express describes the system as Vista-capable and offers Vista upgrade information on its site.
The fastest cheap PC we reviewed, the MicroFlex 66B is a great value. It's well worth considering if you're on a tight budget and need to perform intensive tasks like video or graphics editing.