The Best Media Desktop Computers

• Computers optimized for media offer more power and flexibility.sot/Digital Vision/Getty Images
  
  Desktop computers optimized for multimedia applications offer more power and flexibility, with ultra-fast processors, the largest hard drives and the fastest and most capable graphics cards.
  
  In recent years, the line between high-end multimedia desktops and gaming machines has been blurring. It's increasingly common for gaming machines to be able to handle advanced multimedia and digital content creation tasks as well as nongaming machines.
  
  Here, in order of capability, are the five best media desktop computers for 2010.
  
  

Apple Mac Pro

• A favorite with musicians and video producers, Apple's Mac Pro is optimized for media production, with two 2.66 GHz, 12-core processors. Apple claims that the Mac Pro offers graphics performance that is five times faster than competing media computers.
  
  The Mac Pro can also be configured with 32GB of RAM, and hard drives as large as 8TB. The case of the Mac Pro is designed to allow easy upgrades without tools.
  
  

HP Pavilion Elite HPE-490t

• HP's newest powerhouse, the Pavilion Elite HPE-490t, offers 64-bit architecture and 9GB of system memory. It can also accommodate two large hard drives and up to 24GB of RAM.
  
  Also included is an integrated high-definition audio system with 7.1 surround sound and a high-speed Blu-ray DVD writer and player.
  
  Unlike many multimedia computers currently on offer, the HPE-490t offers an optional TV tuner and personal video recorder.
  
  

Origin Genesis

• Custom computer maker Origin's Genesis desktop handles intensive gaming and multimedia. It uses a liquid-cooled AMD Phenom II 3.4GHz CPU that can be overclocked.
  
  Origin claims that the Genesis uses the fastest memory available in any desktop computer --- up to 12TB of tri-channel RAM with a clock speed of 2,000 MHz.
  
  

Gateway FX6800-05

• While aimed mainly at gamers who want maximum gaming power, Gateway's FX6800 desktop incorporates a top-of-the-line Intel i7 six-core processor running at 2.93 GHz and 6GB of RAM. In addition to having a 1TB hard drive, the FX6800 has an 80GB solid-state drive, making it one of the first multimedia desktops to use a solid-state drive.
  
  The FX6800 also offers eight USB ports and the latest DDR3 system memory.
  
  

Dell XPS-9100

• One of the first high-end Windows 7 multimedia machines, the Dell XPS-9100 comes with either an Intel i7 six-core or a quad-core processor, and it can handle up to 4TB of hard drive space using three hard drive bays. 24GB of system memory is standard, and it can be configured with either ATI or nVidia high-performance graphics cards.