Most of the Pentium 4 systems that we've tested have turned in very similar performances, with the choice of operating system sometimes making the biggest difference. So how does a manufacturer make a PC stand out from the pack? Compaq's Presario 7000T-1.7 with MyMovieStudio aims to grab the attention of budding filmmakers by offering an out-of-the-box home DVD production studio in addition to all of the usual high-end bells and whistles.

It's the inclusion of Pioneer's new DVR-A03 DVD-R/RW drive that makes the 7000T stick out from the crowd (as Sony does with its Sony Vaio PCV-RX490TV Digital Studio). This supposedly consumer-priced (it'll set you back about a grand if purchased separately) drive will write to DVD-R and DVD-RW discs in addition to CD-R and CD-RW media. This means that you can create home movies or amateur films and share them with anyone who owns a DVD player.

Given the GeForce3 graphics card and its 64MB of DDR SDRAM, it's no surprise that this version of the 7000T scored high on 3D benchmarks, trailing only the Alienware Area 51 system. However, scores on application tests trailed most other 1.7GHz P4 systems that we've reviewed.

Along with the DVD-R/RW drive, Compaq equips the MyMovieStudio package with three IEEE 1394 ports--two in the rear and one conveniently placed on the front, next to the floppy drive. Alas, this is purely a digital solution, as there are no composite or S-Video inputs for digitizing analog video.

The DVD support software targets consumers rather than pro video editors. With Pinnacle Systems' Studio DV, grabbing video clips, splicing them together using a variety of transitions, and adding titles and sound effects is much simpler than with pro packages such as Adobe Premiere. Sonic Solutions' DVDit LE lets you copy a series of MPEG-2 videos to DVD and comes complete with a full-blown custom DVD menu interface. Both packages are a pleasure to use and offer plenty of power for creating professional-looking transfers of your personal or business videos. (Note that neither the bundled software nor the Pioneer drive supports copying commercial DVD movies.) There's no software included for copying data files to DVD-R, so you'll have to use lower-capacity CD-R/RW discs for data backup.

The 7000T can do a lot more than just burn DVDs, of course. Our test unit came loaded: 256MB of memory, a 75GB 7,200rpm hard drive, a Sound Blaster Live Value sound card, a 48X CD-ROM drive, a 56kbps modem, a 10/100 Ethernet card, and a 10mbps HomeFree Phoneline Home Network card. Hopefully, all of this equipment will meet your needs, because all five PCI slots are filled. Two open drive bays--one 5.25-inch and one 3.5-inch--are the only room for internal expansion, although there are always the four USB ports (two on the front and two on the rear). Compaq's bundled CV935 monitor sports an 18-inch tube and a fairly sharp picture, but it didn't quite compare to the flat-screen monitors on similar P4 systems. The included speakers, Klipsch's ProMedia 4.1, are among the best multimedia speakers available.

Our only real annoyance with the system was that it forced you to go through the sign-up process for Compaq's bundled Internet services before going online--even if you're using your own ISP. Also, the standard warranty offers only one year of coverage, although extended plans are available. Compaq will even install the system in your home for $129, but setup was so easy that even novices should save their money.

• Can burn just about any kind of digital media
• Superb gaming performance
• Bundled editing software is very easy to use

• Only one year of warranty coverage standard
• No software for burning data to DVD-R, just video
• Must go through Internet setup even with own ISP