Acer Veriton 7700G

Acer's 7700G series of PC is based on the Intel 915G chipset and can be supplied with a Pentium 4 CPU ranging from 3GHz to 3.4GHz. The machine we reviewed was the base model 7700G, with 3GHz CPU. The $1799 price makes it the most cost-effective solution for a small-to-medium business looking for an everyday workhorse. It has integrated graphics and sound, and comes with 512MB RAM, a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive and 80GB hard drive as standard. A 19in LCD monitor (again, standard) really makes the 7700G a sweet deal.

This system scored 88 in our World Bench 5 benchmark, which means it offers swift office application and multitasking performance. It was also very reliable during testing.

Graphics performance was on par with the other test machines that have integrated graphics, but the 7700G's PCIe slot will let you upgrade easily if you want more "grunt" for digital imaging or video applications. There is also ample room in the mid-tower case for extra hard drives, should your storage needs increase.

Acer backs the 7700G with a three-year on-site warranty, which includes next business day response time, if you are within 80km of an authorised Acer on-site service provider. The LCD monitor has a first year on-site swap warranty, while the second and third years are return-to-base.