Vista ready: Computers and laptops

HP dv9000t Notebook and Dell XPS 700 Desktop  
Hewlett-Packard and Dell
From $1,049.99 and from $1,999      
www.hp.com and www.dell.com

Microsoft’s new Windows Vista is just around the corner, so if you’re buying a new notebook or desktop PC, make sure it can handle the new and beautifully improved operating system. HP’s dv9000t is ready for Vista, but even before it arrives the notebook is a beautiful performer.

(MSNBC.com is a Microsoft-NBC joint venture.)

Powerful enough to replace a desktop, the HP’s 17” widescreen can handle anything you throw at it, from DVD movies, to high-res action games like F.E.A.R. or Splinter Cell Double Agent.

For desk-bound die-hard gamers, Dell’s XPS 700 is a screamer, maxed out with one thing in mind: To give the best game possible. And like the HP, the XPS 700 is ready for Vista when it starts shipping in the new year.

— Joe Hutsko

MORE FROM TECH GIFT GUIDE

Tech Gift Guide Section Front

With consoles, it's all about the games Give the gift of game this holiday season Cingular's smartphone contender Capturing life's moments in high-definition New MacBook still tops Holiday decorations vs. Wi-Fi Hot headphones for your holiday gift list Lovitt: Perfect gifts for globe-trotters World phones just in time for Christmas GPS navigates onto holiday wish lists Tech Gift Guide Section Front   Add Tech Gift Guide headlines to your news reader: