Find The Right Computer Systems

Sony Vaio VGN-NW240F (white)

The Sony Vaio VGN-NW240F is a well designed mainstream notebook with respectable performance and features for the money.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.2 GHz), 4 GB DDR II SDRAM, 320 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 6.0 lbs, 15.5 in TFT active matrix

HP Envy 15-1050nr

HP's new Envy 15 packs high-powered components into a svelte 15-inch body. The result is an upscale status symbol that still shows a few first-generation rough edges.

Specs: Intel Core i7 (1.6 GHz), 6 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 500 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 5.1 lbs, 15.6 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star

Apple iMac (21.5-inch, 3.06Hz Intel Core 2 Duo, Nvidia GeForce 9400M, Fall 2009)

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

Toshiba Satellite E105-S1802

As a general purpose productivity machine, the Toshiba Satellite E105-S1802 strikes a number of right notes. Its dreadful speakers, however, limit its entertainment value

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.13 GHz), 4 GB DDR II SDRAM, 500 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 14.1 in TFT active matrix

Alienware M15x (Intel Core i7 720QM, 250GB HDD, 3GB)

Alienware's big and bulky 15-inch M15x pulls out most of the stops, thanks to a superpowered CPU.

Specs: Intel Core i7 (1.6 GHz), 3 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 250 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English, 15.6

Gateway NV7802u

A large-screen laptop with very good performance, the Gateway NV7802u is an attractive choice for home or office.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.2 GHz), 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 500 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, 7.3 lbs, 17.3 in TFT active matrix

Sony Vaio L117FX (Core 2 Quad Q8400s 2.66GHz, 6GB RAM, 1TB HDD, Windows 7 Home Premium)

Earlier this year Sony was the unquestioned king of all-in-ones designed for home entertainment. The new Vaio L117FX retains and improves on many of the features we liked about older models, but revamped all-in-ones from its competition make the new Vaio seem a touch overpriced.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400S (2.66 GHz), 6 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 1 TB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce GT 240M, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Media center

HP Pavilion Slimline s5220y

The HP Pavilion Slimline s5220y provides adequate performance for light-duty media editing and entertainment, but its slim tower case leaves little room for future upgrades, leading us to recommend the older Gateway SX2800-01 that offers more features and better components.

Specs: Intel Pentium E5300 (2.6 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 640 GB Standard, Intel GMA 3100, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Personal computer

Asus UL50AG-RBBBK05

The design and portability of the Asus UL50AG make it one of the slickest 15.6-inch DVD-drive-equipped laptops we've seen, but an ultralow-voltage processor compromises its computing power.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (1.3 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 500 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, 5.1 lbs, 15.6 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star

Nokia Booklet 3G (black)

Nokia's entry in the crowded Netbook field shows that the company's hardware know-how translates to computer design, but a poor choice of CPU should give you pause.

Specs: Intel Atom (1.6 GHz), 1 GB DDR II SDRAM, 120 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Starter, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 2.8 lbs, 10.1 in TFT active matrix

Cloud Engines Pogoplug

The Pogoplug provides a quick and easy way to share files from any USB storage device to users on a home network or over the Internet.

Dell Studio XPS 8000

The Dell Studio XPS 8000 offers a strong combination of midrange performance parts that should satisfy anyone looking for a midtower desktop for general productivity, digital media editing, or gaming. It lacks a few performance-oriented extras, but it makes up for any deficiencies with its attractive looks.

Specs: Intel CORE I5 750 (2.66 GHz), 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 1000 GB Standard, nVidia GeForce GTX260 1792MB GDDR3, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English

Dell Inspiron i1545-4374PBU

The Dell Inspiron i1545-4374PBU is a good, if basic, laptop with a strong price-to-performance ratio.

Specs: Intel Pentium (2.16 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 320 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, 5.7 lbs, 15.6 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star

Dell Inspiron i545s-1476N

With similar results as its ancestors, the Dell Inspiron 545s-1476N registers decent benchmarks and offers respectable upgradability, but we hesitate to recommend it over the older Gateway SX2800-01 that leaves Dell in the dust regarding both performance and features.

Specs: Intel Pentium E5300 (2.6 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 640 GB Standard, Intel GMA 3100, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Personal computer

Toshiba Satellite T135-S1309

For a budget Windows 7 thin-and-light that won't need to recharge often, you could do a lot worse than the Toshiba Satellite T135-S1309.

Specs: Intel Pentium (1.3 GHz), 3 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 320 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 13.3 in TFT active matrix

NetGear WNHDEB111 HD Gaming Wireless N Networking Kit

The NetGear WNHDEB111 HD Gaming Wireless N Networking Kit is a good investment if you want to add a high-speed Wireless-N connection your HD video streamer or game console.

Specs: NETGEAR HD/Gaming 5 GHz Wireless-N Networking Kit WNHDEB111 - Wireless access point, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11n (draft 2.0)

Gateway NV5207u

The Gateway NV5207u is certainly above average for the money, but its processor is a dog.

Specs: AMD Athlon 64 X2 (2.1 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 320 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, 6.8 lbs, 15.6 in TFT active matrix

AVADirect Nano Cube

AVADirect's tries to distill as much gaming power as possible into its Nano Cube, but the extra small case requires too many sacrifices next to even standard small form factor PCs. Gaming purists with a need for an extra tiny PC might appreciate the Nanon Cube, but even they should be wary of everything you need to give up for this tiny desktop.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550S (2.83 GHz), 4 GB DDR II SDRAM, 120 GB Standard, NVidia GeForce GTX 295

Toshiba Satellite A505-S6980

Good design and some really nice-sounding speakers round out the Toshiba Satellite A505-S6980, a very affordable mainstream laptop with excellent battery life for its size.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.2 GHz), 4 GB DDR II SDRAM, 500 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 7.2 lbs, 16 in TFT active matrix

Sony Vaio X (VPC-X115KX/N Signature Collection, gold)

Sony's bold experiment--a high-end luxury system with essentially Netbook components--makes an enviable coffee shop conversation piece, but one that includes some serious sticker shock.

Specs: Intel Atom (2 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 128 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 1.6 lbs, 11.1 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star, RoHS