Top 3 Budget Desktops

ZT Systems Affinity 7225Xi Desktop
Editors'Rating8.0

ProsVery good performance for the price; strong selection of rebate extras

Cons Not great for gaming; limited expansion potential

Editors' Take ZT Systems' Affinity 7225Xi helps you get a lot of extra mileage out of your PC-buying dollar.
Computer Shopper does not currently have pricing information for this product. It may be available directly from the manufacturer's Web site.

Key Specs
Processor: 2.4GHz Core 2 Quad Q6600

Memory: 4GB DDR2

Storage: 500GB hard drive

Optical Drives: DVD±RWMonitor: None

Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 3450 (512MB)

Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium

Review
Reviewed by: Matthew MurrayReview Date: July 2008
With budget desktops, it's not wise to hope for much more than a decent price: Performance from systems costing less than $750 is often only adequate at best. Often, but not always, as ZT Systems' Affinity 7225Xi proves.
After you purchase the $749.99 machine, you can go to the ZT Systems Web site and claim a rebate that will also net you an 80GB Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini portable hard drive, the PC Mover migration utility (for moving files, programs, and settings from your old computer to your new one), and a D-Link DGL-4300 GameLounge wireless gaming router. All in all, more than $200 of additional value.
But discounting the premiums, the Affinity 7225Xi still comes across well. With its 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 500GB hard drive, a 512MB ATI Radeon HD 3450 graphics card, and Windows Vista Home Premium, the system is better equipped than most of the others we saw in our recent roundup of five under-$750 desktops. The ZT system bested them in most of our performance benchmarks, too, generally earning scores more in keeping with Dell's $1,500 Vostro 410 in every area but gaming. There, the Affinity 7225Xi proved its low-cost provenance with poor frame rates in Company of Heroes at 1,280x1,024, nabbing 5.3 frames per second (fps) using the DirectX 10 (DX10) shader, and doing slightly better with the DX9 version by reaching 15.7fps.
Great gaming isn't generally associated with budget systems, though, and even a better-than-average choice, like Cyberpower's Gamer Infinity 1000, requires some compromises. That's true of the Affinity 7225Xi, too, as you'll need to contend with somewhat limited port connectivity (no FireWire or surround-sound audio) and restricted interior expansion room. There's space for one external 5.25-inch drive, one external 3.5-inch drive, and three internal 3.5-inch drives, but no more RAM. In terms of slots, one PCI Express x1 slot is blocked by the graphics card's cooling assembly, and of the other two PCI slots, one contains a modem. On the plus side, a multiformat card reader has been included up front.
Although you may have to rein in your expectations somewhat, those rebate-ready extras will definitely help soften the blow. But it's a real point of strength that—even with its limitations—the Affinity 7225Xi delivers a lot for its price.
Discuss this product in our desktops forum.
ZT Systems, 866-984-7687 http://www.ztsystems.com/
Direct Price: $749.99

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HP Pavilion a6560f Desktop

Editors'Rating8.0

Pros Excellent hardware selection for myriad tasks, including Media Center functions

Cons Poor gaming performance; limited expansion options

Editors' Take You don't need to be on a tight budget to appreciate the value of HP's Pavilion a6560f desktop, the money-minding media maven's new best friend.
Computer Shopper does not currently have pricing information for this product. It may be available directly from the manufacturer's Web site.

Key Specs

Processor: 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo E4700

Memory: 3GB DDR2Storage: 300GB hard drive

Optical Drives:Double-layer DVD±RW with LightScribe

Monitor: NoneGraphics: nVidia GeForce 9300GE (256MB)

Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium

Review

Reviewed by: Matthew MurrayReview Date: June 2008
Okay, so it's not so hot at gaming, but otherwise, you'll have a hard time finding a basic task for which HP's $750 configuration of the Pavilion a6560f isn't well-suited.
That especially includes top-tier media chores. Though unusual for a system in this price range, the Pavilion a6560f comes with a TV-tuner card, so you can record and play back your favorite TV shows using the Media Center features of the included Windows Vista Home Premium operating system. (The 300GB hard drive gives you plenty of space to store them.) Plus, because HP has outfitted the machine with 3GB of RAM, you'll be able to do other tasks at the same time. In addition, the 256MB nVidia GeForce 9300GE video card has an HDMI port, so you can output to your high-definition television (HDTV). You also get a multiformat memory-card reader, eight-channel surround-sound jacks, and digital audio ports.
If these are the kinds of specs you're looking for, the Pavilion a6560f is one of the most economical choices out there. Of course, there are a couple of drawbacks: The 2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4700 processor isn't exactly a performance superstar, for one. The desktop's expansion potential is also moderate at best: two front-accessible drive bays (one 5.25-inch, one 3.5-inch), one internal hard drive bay, one PCI slot, and one PCI Express x1 slot are all that's available—even the RAM slots are maxed out. But given what you get, we're inclined to forgive much of what you don't, including gaming prowess.
Our DirectX 9 (DX9) Company of Heroes test returned sad results (only 12.5 frames per second at 1,280x1,024 resolution), and our 3DMark06 score of 1,678 was also disheartening. Meanwhile, our DX10 graphics tests wouldn't even run. While some people would undoubtedly prefer that a computer so ideally suited for the living room were a better handler of 3D, we think they'll be satisfied with the TV-tuning functionality, regardless.
Special mention should also be made of HP Advisor, which guides you through the setup process prior to starting Windows for the first time, and provides a one-stop shop for common software functions later on. We were somewhat annoyed at how long the process took (roughly 10 minutes), but it was certainly friendlier than most of Microsoft's methods. We can see how HP Advisor would be of use to someone with little or no computer knowledge, plugging in the tower for the first time, but experienced users might be a bit frustrated by the time investment. When word gets out about this system's considerable value as a super-affordable TiVo replacement, however, we wouldn't be surprised if a few gurus went after the Pavilion a6560f anyway.
Discuss this product in our desktops forum.
Hewlett-Packard, 877-203-6108 http://www.hp.com/
Direct Price: $750

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Shuttle KPC Desktop

Editors'Rating8.0

Pros Extremely inexpensive

Cons Optical drive, keyboard, and mouse not included; difficult to upgrade

Editors' Take The KPC isn't the most full-featured PC, but it's designed for everyone—and has a price that will still allow you to make mortgage and tuition payments.
Computer Shopper does not currently have pricing information for this product. It may be available directly from the manufacturer's Web site.

Key Specs

Processor: Intel Celeron 430 (1.8GHz)

Memory: 512KBStorage: 80GB hard drive

Optical Drives: None

Monitor: NoneGraphics: Integrated Intel GMA 950

Operating System: Foresight Linux

Review
Reviewed by: Bill O'BrienReview Date: March 2008
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Shuttle is best known for selling barebones and complete PC systems in compact packages. With its newest offering, the KPC ("Korporate PC"), something else is small: the price. A fully working PC can be yours for a remarkable $209.
The KPC uses Shuttle's own K45 chassis equipped with an Intel Celeron 430, a single-core, 1.8GHz Conroe-based processor with 512KB of L2 cache. Only 512MB of memory is included (though you can upgrade to a maximum of 2GB), an integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 handles the visuals, and an 80GB hard drive is on tap. Not top-of-the-line components by any stretch, but enough to run the preloaded Foresight Linux OS (or a copy of Windows XP you might have lying around). Shuttle says it may offer Windows preloaded as an option in the near future.
This version of Linux is a reasonable choice, and Shuttle preinstalls it with a "Windows-like" user interface that should feel familiar. It has also included OpenOffice.org, a productivity suite of applications that mimic what you'll find in Microsoft Office; and Mozilla's Firefox Web browser, a competent (and many say superior) rival to Internet Explorer.
The KPC is not about high-performance computing (which you shouldn't expect at the price). Still, it's hardly lame. We stacked it against an older 3.2GHz Pentium 4 system running Vista Ultimate, with 2GB of memory and a 320GB hard drive; it's a computer we've overclocked and upgraded over the years to keep relevant, but it's one that really should be retired. Using basic productivity software—Firefox, Microsoft Word and Excel, as well as the latter two's OpenOffice.org equivalents Write and Calc—the little KPC held its own.
Loading a large Excel spreadsheet that required a significant number of recalculations was an 8.2-second task for the Pentium 4, but it took just 6.3 seconds on the KPC. An intricate Web page with multiple links and images took Firefox 5.4 seconds to load on the Pentium 4 but only 4 seconds on the KPC. Finally, the two practically tied when doing 895 "Find and Replace" operations: Word finished in 0.68 second, while Write was just behind it at 0.66 second. Keep in mind that adding additional memory to the KPC should boost performance.
To do so, you'll need to remove four screws and open the case, where you'll find a compact motherboard with a PCI slot, two memory slots (one of which is filled), and a place to install a wireless module. With no optical drive included with the KPC, the interior is a bit more spacious than usual; still, you shouldn't be surprised if you come away from a Shuttle upgrade with scraped knuckles and a few scratches.
According to Shuttle, the KPC runs full-tilt at just 55 watts and idles at 33 watts, saving 30 watts more than typical computers. We suspect that the measurement is a huge underestimate if compared to the amount of power used by our older Pentium 4 test bed. And quiet? You won't hear the KPC running.
Of course, the $209 price is a bit deceiving: You will need to add a keyboard, mouse, monitor, and an external USB optical drive (you get four USB ports to fill before you'll have to resort to a hub). If you have one or more of these items from your previous PCs, then buying the KPC starts to make even more sense. The Shuttle KPC offers new hardware with a one-year warranty and the promise of expandability. It might be a good opportunity for you to check out a Linux PC.
Discuss this product in our desktops forum.
Shuttle Computers, 888-972-1818 us.shuttle.com
Mfr. Est. Price: $209

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