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Intel has been hogging the limelight in recent months, with most manufacturers hurrying to release new PCs and laptops based on the Core Duo processor, which was rapidily succeeded by the Core 2 Duo.
Of course, not everyone can afford to rush out and buy a brand new, top-of-the-range PC based on these new processors. Fortunately, the arrival of this new generation of processors has also had a marked effect at the lower end of the market.
Slightly older – but still excellent – processors, such as the dual-core Pentium D or single-core Athlon 64, can now be picked up at very low prices. Other components, such as flat-panel monitors, are also falling in price. This means that it’s now possible to pick up a pretty good complete PC system for £500 or less.
We found a number of very attractive low-cost PCs in this price range – all with processors in the 2-3GHz range, a decent amount of Ram installed and plenty of hard-disk space, and even flat-panel monitors.
Not surprisingly, there’s the occasional indicator of cost-cutting, but it was interesting to note that these PCs often sacrificed other features to keep their price down.
One PC might skimp on the hard disk, while another would opt for a low-cost integrated graphics processor that offers poor 3D performance, for example. This means that a PC that appeals to the games fan might not be suitable for the home-video buff.
So, read on to find out which of these low-cost PCs offers the features and performance that are right for you.
This article is part of a group test of bargain PCs.
Other articles are:
Ambros Shuttle SS31T
Evesham Axis STR Plus
Mesh D820 Value +
PC Nextday Zoostorm 1-3301 Versatile PC
PC Specialist Trident s500
Watford Aries Performa 3500+RV
Is the desktop PC dead?
Graphs and table of features can be read via our Pdf downloads.
Editor's Choice s on the next page.
All Desktops Tags: Desktop PCs
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