Are Cheap Desktop computers Available For The Back To School Crowd?

Want to be a movie star?  It is easy.  All you need is a way to record video, a computer and a link to the internet. Then you head for YouTube and you are in business.  Thanks to the popularity of user-generated content, plus cheap cameras, cheap desktop computers, and recording equipment, it's gotten easier and easier to express yourself. But all that creativity can push your hardware to the limit. If you've outgrown your old system, you'll want to take a look at a media-centric PC that can handle your appetite for movies, TV, and music, while also giving you enough power to produce your own. It is difficult to find a cheap media computer but it can be done, depending on your definition of "cheap".

Ideally, a good multimedia system should offer plenty of hard drive space, a myriad of connectivity options, enough RAM to keep you in business (we like to see at least 2GB), and a Blu-ray burner so that you can take your creations with you. Everything else, like included software suites, fancy remotes, and removable hard drive bays, is just gravy.

Beyond the extreme multimedia machines a professional might seek out (with outrageous price tags to match), we've looked at a few more mainstream systems recently that still offer the power and speed you need to manipulate your media.If you need to sacrifice, give up the blu-ray recorder.

Besides the basics, the Dell XPS42 offers some unusual features. It's the first Windows SideShow–equipped desktop we looked at. It boasts a MiniView display for SideShow, where you can view your images and webcam feeds, for instance, or monitor your system's health using SideShow's downloadable gadgets. The XPS 420 can also come with  the Dell Xcelerator option, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 accelerators that take the strain off the CPU when you're transcoding video. Last but not least, the system boasts a 13-in-1 media card reader with Bluetooth, a comprehensive media-creation software suite, and more. This fully loaded PC doesn't have the fastest benchmark test scores on the block, but it's certainly capable enough to handle most of your multimedia needs.

HP has updated its Pavillion Elite M9040m, which is a PC Mag Editors' Choice pick, with the m9200T, which features a newer processor, an HD optical drive, and even more powerful graphics. This model is a real power performer, clocking in at an impressive 25 seconds on a Photoshop CS3 test, one of the fastest times seen in the PC Mag testing. The m9200t also offers HP's one-touch backup on its dual removable Pocket Media Drive cartridges, which can total up to 320GB of storage space if you opt for the larger-capacity cartridges. Unfortunately, this elite PC is saddled with an unconscionable amount of bloatware, but even so, it has a lot to offer to multimedia buffs.

You needn't pay an arm and a leg for a solid multimedia machine. The Velocity Micro Vextor Campus Edition goes to the head of the class with its great media and gaming scores, as well as an ample feature set, which earn it an Editors' Choice. Whether you're shopping for a student or a "student of life," the Vector Campus Edition is ready to help you excel.

And if you're looking to go pro, or at least produce more serious projects, the Cerise Quad-Core Work Station is the machine for you. It costs $3,000, therefore a hefty investment, but you get a powerful quad-core processor; a RAID 5 array for safe, quick storage; and a ready-for-work attitude. The system comes with no bloatware, but it offers the speed and storage to keep your projects on track.

Take your summer earnings and put them toward one of the new gadgets and be the envy of your buddies, or alternatively, you could fill your gasoline tank, maybe.