Lenovo IdeaCentre Q150-40816AU

Reviewers say the Lenovo IdeaCentre Q150-40816AU is a top pick among nettops, which are small, inexpensive computers designed for basic tasks. It's not the cheapest nettop, but the IdeaCentre Q150-40816AU has good performance for its size and is an excellent addition to a media center or home theater, according to reports. The 6.75-by-6-inch computer has an HDMI output and can stream videos or movies from the web. It doesn't come with a display or keyboard, so you'll have to buy those separately. The nettop has a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom processor and 2 GB of RAM, making it best suited to web surfing, email or composing documents -- not gaming or video editing.

The Lenovo IdeaCentre Q150-40816AU has a spacious 500 GB hard drive, but doesn't include an optical drive, and some users say the fan runs loudly. The Lenovo IdeaCentre Q150-40816AU is sold directly by the manufacturer. Many online retailers offer a similar model, the Lenovo IdeaCentre Q150-40814AU (*Est. $350). That version comes with a smaller, 250 GB hard drive but adds a palm-sized multimedia remote with a small integrated keyboard to the package. If you need a more robust desktop computer, reviewers recommend the HP Pavilion Slimline s5-1060 (*Est. $770).

PCMag.com has the best review of the Lenovo IdeaCentre Q150-40816AU, complete with benchmark testing and detailed analysis. Editors at PCMag.com also do a great job comparing the nettop to other similar computers. Wired, SlashGear.com and Liliputing.com have useful reviews, although the nettop isn't always rated and reviews are not as detailed.