Multimedia Computer Review

Why Buy a New Multimedia Computer?

Your computer can be the best tool for managing all of your media. From editing photos, movies and music to creating DVDs and the ultimate multimedia library, you can do it all on your multimedia computer. Along with several gaming features, multimedia computers provide the tools to make editing music, photos and movies a much smoother process. And they feature some of the most advanced editing software to make these processes a breeze.

These computers provide excellent tools for organizing, saving and even recording certain media. The best multimedia computers allow you to burn DVDs or CDs for any music, photos and movies you create. You will find many computing devices that feature excellent software applications for organizing your media and allowing you to store hundreds of images and movies on the device. Some desktops also allow you to record music, TV shows or even movies.

We've done the research, and we've produced articles on multimedia computers, along with a side-by-side comparison to help you make the best decision based on your needs and wants. But be sure to check out our top multimedia computers: Dell Inspiron 560, ASUS Essentio CM1630 and the HP TouchSmart 610xt.

At TopTenREVIEWS We Do the Research So You Don’t Have To.™

Multimedia Computers: What to Look For

While looking for the best multimedia computers on the market, we looked for computers with high-quality components. Multimedia computers are used for some difficult and daunting tasks, and we looked for the tools to ensure that the best features and tools were available to handle large projects.

Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate multimedia computers.

Design
Multimedia computer are available as an all-in-one PC or as a standard desktop computer. The best computing devices are compact to save you space on your desk. They also offer lower power consumption and are ENERGY STAR qualified.

Performance
The performance of your multimedia computer is crucial to performing certain tasks on your device. The highest-ranking computing devices feature a faster processor and are much better at running multiple applications simultaneously. The operating system must also be user-friendly, and a strong video card is essential, especially if you plan to do extensive gaming on the device.

Feature Set
The best multimedia computers offer a wide variety of features to enhance your media experience. Look for multimedia computers with a DVD burner/reader or even a Blu-ray player, a variety of inputs and a large number of USB ports.

Memory/Storage
It is crucial your multimedia computer features a large amount of memory. The larger amount of memory available on your device, the more you can store and perform on your computer. The best computing devices offer at least 500GB of hard drive memory and at least 4GB of RAM. A strong video memory contains at least 512MB of memory, but many of the higher-quality devices offer up to 1GB.

Support/Warranty
You never know when something can go wrong and so it is important to have excellent customer service available. Contacting a customer service representative through email, telephone or even live chat are excellent resources. Several manufacturers’ websites offer a user forum that provides additional feedback and assistance from other users.

With all of these elements combined, you will have a multimedia computer that will wow and amaze. You will not have to wait anymore for an application to open or for your document to save. You can edit, design, game and much more on one of these entertainment-loving devices.

 
 
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Electronics » Computers » Multimedia Computer
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Rank #1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10
10-9  Excellent
8-6    Good
5-4    Average
3-2    Poor
1-0    Bad
Dell Inspiron 560 ASUS Essentio CM1630 HP TouchSmart 610xt Dell XPS 8300 Lenovo IdeaCentre B510 HP Pavilion Slimline s5z ViewSonic VPC221 Dell Inspiron One 2205 Apple iMac ViewSonic VPC220T
Dell Inspiron 560 ASUS Essentio CM1630 HP TouchSmart 610xt Dell XPS 8300 Lenovo IdeaCentre B510 HP Pavilion Slimline s5z ViewSonic VPC221 Dell Inspiron One 2205 Apple iMac ViewSonic VPC220T
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Ratings
9.48
9.38
9.13
8.83
8.65
8.50
8.23
8.13
8.10
8.00
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
9.38
10.00
8.75
9.38
10.00
7.50
10.00
10.00
10.00
8.75
10.00
8.75
8.75
8.75
10.00
5.63
10.00
8.75
10.00
10.00
6.25
10.00
8.75
8.13
10.00
6.25
10.00
8.75
7.50
9.38
9.38
8.75
8.75
6.88
5.00
9.38
7.50
7.50
7.50
10.00
8.75
8.75
8.75
6.88
5.00
8.75
8.75
8.75
6.25
5.00
 
Design
Form Factor Tower Tower All-in-One Tower All-in-One Tower All-in-One All-in-One All-in-One All-in-One
Depth 17.44 in. 16.53 in. 4.06 in. 17.9 in. 3.9 in. 4.43 in. 20.8 in. 3.54 in. 7.42 in. 20.2 in.
Height 14.8 in. 16.14 in. 17.72 in. 16.02 in. 17.2 in. 12.24 in. 18.3 in. 16.54 in. 17.75 in. 17.8 in.
Width 6.93 in. 6.8 in. 23.02 in. 7.31 in. 22 in. 15.91 in. 9.8 in. 22.44 in. 20.8 in.. 20.2 in.
Weight 17.4 lbs. 25.3 lbs. 26.7 in. 22.4 lbs. 22 lbs. 18.74 lbs. 20.6 lbs. 18.74 lbs. 20.5 lbs. 20.16 lbs.
Power Consumption 300 watts 300 watts 180 watts 460 watts 200 watts 220 watts 135 watts 90 watts 205 watts 135 watts
Energy Star Qualified
 
   
Performance
Audio Integrated Integrated Integrated Integrated Integrated Integrated Integrated Integrated Integrated Integrated
Video Card AMD Radeon HD 6450 ATI Radeon 3000 AMD Radeon HD 6450A AMD Radeon HD 6450 ATI Mobility Radeon 5450 AMD Radeon HD 6450 NVIDIA GeForce 310M ATI Radeon HD4270 AMD Radeon HD 6750M NVIDIA GeForce 310M
Processor Speed 3.2GHz 3.3GHz 3.1GHz 3.4GHz 3.2GHz 3.2GHz 3.08GHz 2.8GHz 2.5GHz 3.06GHz
Processor Intel Pentium E6700 AMD Athlon II X2 Intel Core i5-2400 Intel Core i7-2600 Intel Core i3-550 AMD Athlon X4 650 Intel Core i3 AMD Athlon II 240e Intel Core i5 Intel Pentium E6600
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium Windows 7 Home Premium Windows 7 Home Premium Windows 7 Home Premium Windows 7 Home Premium Windows 7 Home Premium Windows 7 Home Premium Windows 7 Home Premium OS X Lion Windows 7 Home Professional
Feature Set
Optical Drive
Media Card Reader
HDMI Interface
  
USB Ports 6 10 7 8 6 6 6 6 4 6
Memory/Storage
Memory 8GB 4GB 6GB 16GB 4GB 4GB 4GB 4GB 4GB 4GB
Hard Drive 1024GB 750GB 1024GB 2000GB 500GB 1024GB 500GB 1000GB 500GB 320GB
Video Memory 1GB 1GB 1GB 1GB 1GB 0.5GB 0.5GB Integrated 0.5GB 0.5GB
Support/Warranty
Warranty 1 year 1 year 2 years 1 year 1 year 1 year 1 year 1 year 1 year 1 year
Phone Support
Email Support
 
User Forums
 
 
Live Chat Support