Dell XPS x8300-5215NBK

Dell XPS x8300-5215NBK

In the back and forth battle for the power users' hearts, the Dell XPS x830-5215NBK ($1,099.99 list at Best Buy) wins the title of best mainstream multimedia desktop. It has a fairly high-end graphics card, plus a high-end second-generation Intel Core i7 processor under its championship belt. If you have a user in your family who wants to see if they can do more with their photo or video hobby, go to Best Buy and pick up one of these bad boys. The x8300-5215NBK is a glossy black mid-tower, just like its predecessor, the Dell Studio XPS sx8100-2777NBC ($1,149.99 list, 4 stars). In fact, aside from the word "Studio" embossed on the older model, you'd be hard pressed to tell the two apart at a glance. The newer x8300-5215NBK has the same backward lean to the chassis, which helps users access the optical drive. Inside, there's room for two additional hard drives, an optical drive, and two PCIe x1 cards. One PCIe x1 card slot is blocked by the dual-width ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card, but that's okay, since the desktop already has built-in WiFi. There are only two SATA ports free on the motherboard, but that's plenty for an optical plus one hard drive. One notable plus is the card retention bracket clamped to the top of the Radeon 5770 card.