Desktops tend to be faster, more expandable, more comfortable to use, and less expensive than their laptop counterparts. In this section we help sort out the uncertainty in purchasing a desktop with a few simple rules and the actual speeds of the various machines.

For the Most Reliable Desktop  – choose a Dell Workstation
For the Fastest Desktop – choose an i7 computer
For Fast, Yet Affordable - choose a Core 2 Quad computer
For the most Affordable -choose a Core 2 Duo computer

The effective speed (Passmark Benchmark Score) of the CPU is shown in parentheses:

1. Dell T3500 Workstation, W3520, 3 Yr War $1069 (5849)
Why? Enterprise version of the i7
2. Dell Studio XPS 8000 – i7-860, Windows 7 $798 (5985)
Why? Best deal overall, i7 speed.
3. Apple iMac 27” – i7-860, Snow Leopard $2199 (5985)
Why? It’s a Mac. Gorgeous display.  i7.

4. Dell Studio Slim Desktop- Q8300, Windows 7 , $499 (3952)
Why? Quad core, good build quality.
5. Asus - Essentio Desktop – Q8300-Windows 7  $649 (4177)
Why? Asus quality, available locally, excellent speed.

6. Dell T3400 Workstation, E7400, XP Pro, 3 Yr $649 (2456)
Why? Workstation Reliability, ECC RAM, 3 yr.
7. Dell Studio Slim Desktop- E5300, Windows 7 $399 (2078)
Why? Affordable, good performance, G45 Express chipset.
8. Asus - Essentio Desktop - E5300-Windows 7 $449 (2165)
Why? Asus quality, available in locally, good speed.
9. Mac Mini – P7550 Core 2 Duo, 1 yr War. $599 (1635)
Why? Least expensive machine to get into the Mac world.
10. Dell  Inspiron I545S-1476NBK, E5300 Win 7 $479 (2100)
Why? Inexpensive, locally available, good speed.