Don't go back to school without the HP Compaq Presario S4000T. This powerful, feature-packed system can handle years of Web research and term papers as well as photo and MP3 management—all for less than $1,200. For its versatility, low price, and impressive performance, it wins our Editors' Choice for desktops.

The S4000T has everything you'd expect from HP. On the front panel are two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire port, plus headphone and mic jacks, making it easy to plug in digital cameras and camcorders without fumbling. Four more USB 2.0 ports and another FireWire port are located in the back. Multimedia capabilities are good overall, though the lack of photo-editing software is a bit of a drawback.

Like the Dell Dimension 4600, the S4000T has similar top technologies, which garnered similar Winstone scores, but because the S4000T has an ATI Radeon 9200 rather than the better ATI Radeon 9800, it came in second on the 3-D tests—fine for those not into heavy gaming or serious graphics editing. Its use of Hyper-Threading enhances performance, too. For example, you can run a virus scan and download MP3 files at the same time.

With its conveniently placed features and top performance, the S4000T is a fantastic choice. Add the reasonable price and you've got yourself a deal.