Desktop sales have slowed due to the rise of notebooks across most manufacturers over the last few years. Despite that fact, a market remains for desktop computers -- especially those that are small and low-cost.
Acer, the third largest PC maker in the world, added a new X1200 model to its Aspire line today that is both small and cheap. The systems are very small with the case measuring 10.6-inches high x 4-inches wide x 14.4-inches long. This helps maximize desktop space and can allow the systems to fit into cramped entertainment systems for those looking to surf the web on their big screen.

Despite being a small system room for expansion is available inside the chassis with two PCI Express slots. One of the slots is an x1 design and one is an x16 slot. The X1200 has five available USB 2.0 ports, a 14-in-1 memory card reader, IEE 1394 port, and audio jacks all on the front of the PC for easy access.

Several different X1200 configurations are being offered with prices starting at $450. The X1200 which retails for $449.99 has a AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core 4850e CPU, NVIDIA 8200 on-board graphics, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 320 GB HDD, and runs on Windows Vista Premium 64.

Stepping up to $459.99 gets an Athlon X2 5000+ CPU in addition to the aforementioned specifications. For $699.99 a version using the 4850e and a 500GB HDD and shipping with a 22-inch LCD is available.

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ASUS touts the discrete graphics in its tiny desktop PC

Will all the buzz surrounding ASUS' Eee PC notebooks, it's easy to overlook other members of the family. The Eee PC range has gained attention in recent weeks thanks to the addition of the 4G-X model sporting Windows XP Home and the upcoming 8.9" Eee PC 900 model which is due in the coming months.

Today, however, it's time for a new ASUS family member to shine. ASUS is now touting its Essentio CS5110 desktop which is claims is "The world’s smallest Desktop PC equipped with a fully embedded discrete graphic card."

The CS5110 measures just 7.9" x 11.4" x 3.1" and weighs just 7.5 pounds. The CS5110 is also relatively quiet and only emits 23.9dB of noise at idle.

Despite the small dimensions, the CS5110 packs quite a punch. The desktop features an Intel G35-based motherboard and supports Core 2 Duo, Pentium Dual Core and Celeron D processors. Up to 4GB of DDR2 memory (via two SO-DIMM slots) is supported and the chassis can accommodate a single 3.5" SATA II HDD, and either a slot-loading DVD SuperMulti or Blu-ray drive.

Since ASUS touts the discrete graphics capabilities of the CS5110, it should be pointed out that the PC includes an NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics card with 256MB of memory.

Other features of the CS5110 include 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, GbE, six USB 2.0 ports, Firewire, an HDMI port, a VGA port and a 10-in-1 media reader.

ASUS gave no table for launch or a price for its new desktop PC, so stay tuned for more details.

Source from DailyTech