Labs roundup: Sub-$2,000 PCs: Labs Introduction
Are you kicking around an old clunky PC that looks like a relic from the Stone Age? Google Zeitgeist (www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html) tells us that while Windows XP accounted for 46 percent of the OSs used to search Google during February 2004, 24 percent were still using Windows 98 and Windows 95, indicating there are still a lot of late-1990s PCs kicking around. Even if you’re running something from the 1GHz days, it’s probably time to think about an upgrade. But it can easily get to the point where you’re upgrading just about every component. In that case, you should seriously consider looking at the excellent bargains available in new PCs today.
Budget PC bonanza!
10 PCs under $2,000: do you really get what you're paying for? PC Authority investigates.
Are you kicking around an old clunky PC that looks like a relic from the Stone Age? Google Zeitgeist (www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html) tells us that while Windows XP accounted for 46 percent of the OSs used to search Google during February 2004, 24 percent were still using Windows 98 and Windows 95, indicating there are still a lot of late-1990s PCs kicking around. Even if you're running something from the 1GHz days, it's probably time to think about an upgrade. But it can easily get to the point where you're upgrading just about every component. In that case, you should seriously consider looking at the excellent bargains available in new PCs today.
This month we've done the legwork for you. The Labs team has taken 10 PCs for under $2,000 and run them through their paces. In the process, we've found some absolutely fantastic deals on machines that can do everything from basic home and business applications to high-end gaming and media content creation machines, all for a very reasonable price.
We invited manufacturers to send in the best value systems they could, and we had an overwhelming response. Then we chose the 10 best PCs and started testing.
While traditionally major vendors such as Dell, HP and IBM have been fantastic for inexperienced users looking to purchase an all-in-one product to fill their PC needs, this month's Labs proves there are other smaller manufacturers offering compelling reasons to shop around.
We received some very different looking systems, from fairly plain beige to more advanced tool-less attractive black numbers, and even a single Shuttle XPC small form factor chassis with plenty of goodies inside. Given the emergence and slowly increasing popularity of the XPC and small form factor range, and their steady migration from the computer room to the lounge and bedroom, we hope they continue to flourish and grow in popularity. Just as their looks differed, so too did their insides, some companies choosing to go with a less powerful machine in favour of more accessories, exactly what we were keen on seeing. This is not to say we punished manufacturers for supplying beefy systems with fewer accessories under the price ceiling. On the contrary, this pushed up their Value score and they also shone in our eyes. You really can get a whole lot of PC for a relatively small amount of money. And there's some incredibly exciting new tech coming out in the year ahead including PCI Express and a new batch of graphics cards fresh from the oven. We're really looking forward to seeing what the newest hardware will do to the market; we imagine system pricing falling even further.
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NextThis Group Test appeared in the May, 2004 issue of PC & Tech Authority Magazine
