Best Mainstream Desktop PCs

If you are looking for a desktop computer that will be used for just about any purpose but still costs under $1250, then the HP Pavilion Elite m9550f is my selection. The system offers a good mix of performance, storage and graphics capabilities into a single package. Whether you are looking to just browse the web, edit a video or play a video game, this system can do it. The Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 may not be the latest and greatest but it is certainly capable and the 8GB of memory means this system is unlikely to run out of memory. The 1TB hard drive is also one of the largest for a system in this price range. About the only issue this system really has is the limited number of USB ports but that is easily solved with a USB 2.0 hub.

If you want to get the most computer for your money, then Dell's Studio XPS is clearly the best choice. With a starting price of $899, it is the least expensive system on the market to come with the new Intel Core i7 920 quad core processor and DDR3 memory. While the base specs might leave some room for improvement, the base platform is excellent for those willing to do a few upgrades later. The Studio XPS falls short of being the best all around choice because Dell doesn't offer many choices for video cards making it a less than optimal choice for those thinking of using it for PC gaming. It also doesn't have the same build quality as their other XPS desktops but that's part of why the system is so affordable.

Those looking for a PC gaming desktop for under $1250 will be pleased with the Cyberpower Gamer Infinity 7517. It mixes together a nice blend of components that gives it very strong gaming performance today with potential for future games. The system uses a GeForce 9800 GTX+ graphics card that gives it some strong 3D performance allowing for PC games to easily be played up to the 1920x1200 resolution. The Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 processor also gives it potential for future games that will be able to handle the additional cores compared to those based on dual core processors. The biggest downside to the system is that the space within the case and power supply may limit potential future video card upgrades.

Photo and video editing are much more demanding on storage and processing than many other tasks on a PC. HP's Pavilion Elite m9550f meets all the these requirements with little effort. The Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 processor helps it deal with video editing faster and the 8GB of DDR2 memory means that it can even deal with those large high definition video clips. The large one terabyte hard drive is also critical as both photos and videos take up a large amount of storage space. The option of an external HP Pocket Media drive allows for easy file transfers between systems or if you just need some extra space. It would have been nice if the system had an eSATA port for use with large external drive arrays for additional space.

Those who want to have a system built exactly the way they want it should consider the iBUYPOWER Intel Core i7 RTG. iBUYPOWER offers an amazing array of options for adjusting the system to exactly what you want and offers to get the system shipped out on the next business day. The system is based around the Intel Core i7 920 processor that gives it outstanding performance and at a very reasonable price. Now the base components for video and hard drive will probably leave much to be desired, but with a base starting price of $999, it is possible to get them upgraded and still be price competitive with other PCs. The big downside here is that customizing the PC can quickly raise the price.