Digital Star Power-600

For under $3000, this little system provides scorching performance for productivity users as well as gamers.

The machine is well put together and is housed in a stable ATX mid-tower case. Inside, it is very clean, and the sheet metal has been buffed to a shine. Safety has also been considered: all sharp edges have been folded back.

For the enthusiast, there is room to tinker - the case provides two free 5.25in bays, plus one free 3.5in bay. On the motherboard lie three DIMM slots for memory (two free), as well as five PCI slots (three free), but there are no ISA slots. Upgrading the CPU might be tricky, as the power supply sits directly in front of it and would need to be removed first.