Buyer's Guide 2024: Ultimate Systems

Mac Pro Desktop
Apple’s professional desktops are not only beautiful to behold, but they boast some of the best specs in the industry as well. Featuring two Dual-Core Intel Xeon 64-bit processors—that’s the equivalent of four processors—the Mac Pro can be custom configured up to a massive 16 GB of RAM and 2 terabytes of storage. There are also two optical drive bays if you want to add a second SuperDrive.

Base Configuration
Processor: Two 2 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon (Quad)
Memory: 1 GB   
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256 MB
Hard Drive: 60 GB; 7200 RPM  
Optical Drive: SuperDrive (CD/DVD burner)
Ports: FireWire 800 (2); FireWire 400 (2); USB 2.0 (5); DVI
Networking: 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports (2); Airport (WiFi) and Bluetooth optional
Price: $2,124 (as configured; monitor not included) 

Dell XPS 700 Desktop
Dell has made a real effort to break out of the beige-box mold with its top-of-the-line consumer desktop, and it does look slick. Though billed as “heavy ordnance” for “next-generation gaming,” the specs are also quite good for intense Photoshop work. Customize your XPS 700 by selecting one of Intel’s dual-core processors, add up to three hard drives for a total of 1.5 terabytes of data storage and expand your RAM to a max of 4 GB.

Base Configuration
Processor: 3 GHz Intel Pentium D Dual-Core
Memory: 2 GB
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS 256 MB
Hard Drive: 250 GB, 7200 RPM
Optical Drive: CD/DVD burner 
Ports: FireWire (2); USB 2.0 (10); DVI and S-Video
Networking: 10/100/1000 Ethernet 
Price: $2,100 (as configured; 20-inch LCD included)