eMachines T3646 is one of the cheapest desktops available, and unfortunately it shows. It offers some compelling performance, but basic capability is more important in budget systems, and we found this system came up short compared with others in its price range.

The aluminum-and-glass look remains the same, but underneath Apple makes some small but meaningful updates to its all-in-one iMac.

The aluminum-and-glass look remains the same, but underneath Apple makes some small but meaningful updates to its all-in-one iMac.

The aluminum-and-glass look remains the same, but underneath Apple makes some small but meaningful updates to its all-in-one iMac.

The Velocity Micro Edge E2250 is a very fast midrange PC, and it's one of the best PCs in its class for digital media editors. Gamers will find a strong foundation with some upgrade potential, but they can get better performance for the dollar elsewhere.

A slight bump to the specifications for the same price in addition to a much appreciated option to upgrade the graphics means the 24-inch iMac keeps the Editors' Choice it earned last year when the brushed-aluminum-and-glass design was first introduced.

Dell's updated flagship gaming desktop incorporates the latest hardware from Intel, Nvidia, and AMD into a system that delivers some very impressive gaming scores. We'd give it a higher recommendation if it wasn't so expensive compared with systems from the competition.

The eMachines T5254 costs less than similar systems from Dell and HP, and it outperforms them (in some cases), and uses less power while doing so. You can't configure it before making a purchase, but eMachines has chosen this system's specs wisely, and with a level of environmental consciousness that make it a very enticing deal.

PC vendors have very few tricks remaining to differentiate their systems from the competition, which makes the built-in Bluetooth in the Dell Inspiron 530 unique. There's little else that makes this system stand out, but if you need Bluetooth in your budget desktop, we can recommend no other.

Regardless of the exact configuration, HP's budget-conscious Pavilion a6400z desktop is attractive and affordable. HP also offers a reasonable array of options for configuring a basic budget PC.