Sony PlayStation 2

(2000)

Sure, the Nintendo 64 and Sega Dreamcast were fun machines, but Sony's PlayStation 2 bought gaming to whole new level. Thanks to its 128-bit "Emotion Engine" CPU and Graphics Synthesizer, the PS2 introduced a dramatically new form of realism, setting the standard for other systems such as Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube. (See PC World's original review.) The PS2 also had things you wouldn't expect from a game console, such as the ability to play DVD movies. Despite a $300 price tag (twice that of competing systems), it quickly became the console of choice, and not just for gamers: In 2003 the US National Center for Supercomputing Applications used 70 PS2s to build a supercomputer capable of half a trillion operations per second. That's one hot gaming system.