Mainstream Desktops

Everyday workhorses that get the job done

Users who desire more processing power than that available from a value-priced desktop -- but who don't need or want to pay for the hardware gamers crave to get a competitive edge -- will find what they are looking for in a mainstream desktop computer. Such systems use a traditional tower-style case and monitor, taking up more room on a desk than an all-in-one, but they cost less and are more expandable.

Among this class of desktop computers, we saw some of the best comments for the Dell Studio XPS 8300 ( *Est. $700 and up) . Although configurations with a 3 GHz Intel Core i5 processor start at $700, reviewers recommend opting for a mid-grade configuration. With this configuration, which starts at $1000, experts say the Dell Studio XPS 8300 offers plenty of multimedia and gaming performance for mainstream users. "Configured as our unit is, the Dell XPS 8300 dished out amazing productivity and 3D-gaming performance for the price," Daniel A. Begun writes at ComputerShopper.com, which gives the desktop an Editors' Choice award. In addition to a quad-core second-generation Intel Core i7-2600 processor, that step-up configuration comes with 8 GB of RAM and a 2 TB hard drive. Other features include a memory card reader, Wi-Fi, an HDMI port and Blu-ray drive. Numerous additional upgrades are available, but those will drive the price higher.

Performance is good across the board, and the Dell Studio XPS 8300 can keep up with pricier desktops when it comes to application performance, multitasking and multimedia. It can also handle 3D gaming, as noted, thanks to a discrete AMD Radeon HD 6770 graphics card. Most critics review systems with an older AMD Radeon 5870 card and report decent gaming capabilities even with it; for example, ComputerShopper.com achieved a very good frame rate of 83.4 fps in "Far Cry 2." Most modern games are playable at medium-to-high resolutions.

HotHardWare.com benchmarks an AMD Radeon HD 6770-packing XPS 8300 as part of a three-PC roundup and finds the system capable of handling mainstream games well enough. At 1,280-by-1,024 resolution at high graphics settings, the PC achieved 48.79 fps in "Far Cry 2" and 80.6 fps in "Left 4 Dead 2," a game that features lots of on-screen characters and explosions. All three of the mid-range PCs it tests choke a bit when tasked with running more intensive titles like "Lost Planet 2," "Metro 2033" and "Stalker: Call of Pripyat." The Dell system struggles to post frame rates in the low- to mid-twenties for all three of the games. On the plus side, the XPS 8300 outshines the competition in CNET's multimedia, encoding and image processing tests; in fact, the publication compares the computer to gaming PCs rather than other mainstream-type options. It also performs very well in HotHardware.com's productivity benchmarks, although it stumbles a bit in 3D performance tests.

One downside is that the Dell Studio XPS 8300 doesn't have much space for upgrades, although there are a few empty bays available. The internal configuration of the components makes accessing some of the open slots and bays somewhat difficult, however. The PC also comes with a small amount of bloatware installed, and About.com's Matt Kyrnin points out that "the 460W power supply is insufficient to run the power hungry top of the line cards from AMD and NVidia," so it will be impossible to turn the mainstream computer into a complete gaming powerhouse.

The slim-cased Dell OptiPlex 900 (*Est. $610 and up) is another mainstream Dell computer with plenty of power. Designed primarily for business use, pricing starts at an affordable point, but critics take a peek at systems with advanced configurations that will run buyers anywhere from $1,170 to $1,920. PC World examines the build with the best gaming chops, and at a $1,920 sticker price: it includes a 3.4GHz Core-i7 2600 processor, 4 GB of RAM, a 1 TB hard drive, a Blu-ray drive and a discrete AMD Radeon HD 6450 graphics card. Users can access the chassis without any tools, but the computer is tightly packed and doesn't include any open expansion slots.

The OptiPlex 900 offers strong performance on the productivity front. DesktopReview.com covers a cheaper version of the rig that includes the same Intel Core i7-2600 processor, and it performs similarly to the well-regarded HP TouchSmart 610 all-in-one in benchmarks that test CPU capabilities and whole-system performance -- that is to say, very well. Gaming performance is another story. The AMD Radeon card in PC World's configuration was only able to produce a playable frame rate in "Crysis" when the game was set to its lowest graphics settings, and even then, it could only pump out a less-than-smooth 37.3 fps. PCMag.com doesn't even bother to test gaming performance in its review of the system. The OptiPlex 990's thin frame and lack of open expansion slots means upgrading to a high-end graphics card is not a possibility.

A similarly built PC, the HP Compaq 8200 Ultra-Slim (*Est. $720 and up) , also fails to meet the mark as a gaming PC -- and the internals in the reviewed configurations are less impressive than the Dell OptiPlex 990's. For example, it includes a Core i5 processor (a step down from the OptiPlex 990's Core i7) and Intel's CPU-integrated HD graphics (a step down from PC World's discrete AMD Radeon card). But while anything more than casual gaming is off the table, productivity performance is excellent, and reviewers at AnandTech.com, ComputerShopper.com and DesktopReview.com love the HP Compaq 8200 Ultra-Slim as a business-class computer.

Professional users -- especially those who do commercial image and video editing -- might also want to give the Apple Mac Pro serious consideration. A round of upgrades over the summer introduced three new versions: a Quad-Core Mac Pro (*Est. $2,500 and up) with one 2.8 GHz quad-core Intel Xeon Nehalem processor, an 8-Core Mac Pro (*Est. $3,500 and up) with two 2.4 GHz Xeon Westmere processors and a 12-Core Mac Pro (*Est. $5,000 and up) with dual 2.66 GHz 6-core Intel Xeon Westmere processors.

Experts say most mainstream users won't need anywhere near this level of power, but the base model of the Mac Pro earns a few recommendations for professional users, including an Editors' Choice award from ComputerShopper.com. One thing that reviewers love about the Mac Pro is its expandability and upgrade potential -- it comes with four easily accessible hard drive bays, and it is also easy to swap out the graphics and memory. "We were definitely impressed with the ease of upgrading. Apple strives with most of its products to make ease of use a top priority, and the at-home upgradability of the Mac Pro is no exception," Jonathan Rougeot writes at ComputerShopper.com.

Performance is very good on nearly every test, and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics handle nearly all modern games (you can upgrade to better graphics cards before purchase, including an ATI Radeon HD 5870). However, some reviewers say that the Mac Pro is getting a little long in the tooth, because little has really changed from previous models other than the processors. "Compliments about the system aside, it's rare to see an Apple product go this long without some sort of a refresh. There is room for a styling upgrade, for some tweaks with the add-in card retention plate -- it's just time to try something new," Anand Lai Shimpi writes at AnandTech.com.