The all-important holiday season is here, and with it the inevitable confusion about how to find the best deals on desktops and laptops. In order to help cut through the clutter, we are once again scouring the shelves of big retail stores to find boxed versions of popular PCs, from entry-level systems starting at $349 to Core i7 powerhouses.
The difference from our normal lineup of reviews is that this roundup is concerned with the specific retail models offered by brick-and-mortar stores. These are similar to those you’d be able to configure online from companies such as Dell and HP, but may have slightly different names and features. Even better, thanks to deep holiday discounts, they can sometimes be a better deal than buying direct from a PC maker.
One way to use this guide is to pick up a Sunday newspaper sales circular (which will list the retail-specific models names of computers on sale), and check here for a review before heading out to the store.
We’ve got all the entire list of models in our retail review roundup below, and we’ll update this page with ratings and live links as the systems get reviewed over the next several weeks.
(Note: Apple’s desktops and laptops, while popular holiday items, are the same whether purchased direct from Apple or in a store. You can find recent Apple products reviewed or profiled here: latest Apple MacBooks; latest Apple iMacs; latest Apple Mac Minis.)
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LAPTOPS Netbooks Toshiba NB205-N325BL HP MINI 110-1131NR Asus 1005HAGB-USBBY-BK01 Budget (up to $699) Toshiba L455/S5975 (2.5 stars) Gateway NV5207u (3 stars) Asus K60IJ-RBLX05 Dell i1545-4374PBU Toshiba T135/S1309 HP dv4-2045dx Gateway NV7802u Toshiba A505/S6980 (3.5 stars) Sony VGNNW240F/T Asus UL50AG-RBBBK05 Mainstream ($700 – $998) Sony VGN-NW270F/S Dell i1470-3282CRD HP dv7-3065dx HP dv4-1555dx Dell s1745-3691MBU Toshiba U505/S2970 Toshiba E105-S1802 Toshiba P505/S8980 HP dv6-1375dx High-end ($999 and up) Asus G60VX-RBBX05 Sony VGNFW560F/T HP dv7-3085dx HP Envy 15-1050dx |
DESKTOPS Budget Acer Aspire Revo 1600 (3 stars) Averatec D1130 All-In-One Acer Essentio CM5570-AP003 Dell Inspiron 545s-1476NBK HP Pavilion Slimline S5220Y Gateway DX4822-01 Mainstream Dell Inspiron 545s-3055NBK HP Pavilion P6210y Asus Essentio CG5270-BP004 Gateway ZX4800-02 Gateway DX4300-11 HP Pavilion P6230y High-end HP Pavilion Elite E9220 Dell Studio XPS SX8000/2361jbk Asus Essentio CG5290-BP009 |
See more news, reviews, and recommendations in our Laptops and Desktops sections.
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