Dell and Gateway, the two computer companies that specialize in selling custom-built computers online, have been going head-to-head in television commercials.

Consumer reporter Becky Thompson teams up with Consumer Reports to help you sort through the hype.

Dell's commercials for years have starred Steven, the Dell dude. He's always saying "Dude, you're getting a Dell." Now Gateway has responded saying PC World has listed its computer as the best overall value. The commercial taunts, "Dude, you still getting a Dell?"

Consumer Reports just tested both a Dell and a Gateway computer. They were configured the same way. They have a CD burner, a DVD player and a 17-inch monitor. They have 256 megabytes of ram and an 80-gigabyte hard drive.

"We chose this configuration because it allows for the vast majority of things people want to do with computers, including burning CDs, playing games, going on the Internet," Dean Gallea said.

The two computers were evaluated the same way. One test measures how fast the computers run various applications. Testers also check the speed of graphics and analyze the quality of the monitor.

"We found some minor differences between the dell and the gateway, but overall they both scored at the top of our ratings," Gallea said.

Their prices are pretty close too: $990 for the Dell and $1,055 for the Gateway. But Consumer Reports did find a difference when it looked at the repair history of computers bought in the last fpur years.

"In the most recent survey of our consumer reports readers, Dell had a significantly better repair history than Gateway," Gallea said.

Dell's repair rate was among the best at 20 percent; Gateway was near the bottom with 28 percent needing repairs.

Consumer Reports says if you are in the market for a desktop computer, now is a good time to buy.

There's lots of price-cutting going on; and if you buy one before December 31 you may be able to claim a tax deduction -- possible if your employer requires you to have a computer, if you have a home business or if you use your computer for investing.