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Z87 Hits The High End: Four Sub-$300 MotherboardsOct 2, 2013 - in Reviews
Situated barely below the priciest premium boards, which typically exceed $300, high-end Z87 Express-based motherboards offer enthusiasts almost everything they could want except for three-way SLI support. We put four of these platforms to the test.
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System Builder Marathon, Q1 2013: $1,600 Alternative PCMar 6, 2013 - in Reviews
Informed buyers are always looking for more information, and we were fortunate enough to plan for some of those requests. Today’s build adds quietness, storage capacity, and extra gaming finesse to the parts found in our “high-end-on-a budget” PC.
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System Builder Marathon, Q4 2012: $2,000 Performance PCDec 5, 2012 - in Reviews
Last quarter, our highest-end build put an emphasis on host processing. This time around, we're setting our sights on gaming performance. That's not to say any part of this $2000 build suffers. It sports Radeon HD 7970s in CrossFire and a Core i7-3770K.
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System Builder Marathon, Q4 2012: $1,000 Enthusiast PCDec 4, 2012 - in Reviews
Tired of seeing Intel CPUs dominate our System Builder Marathon? Finally, we have a processor from AMD able to go up against the fastest Core i5. We give its new FX-8350 a chance to distinguish itself in our final System Builder Marathon of 2012.
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Six Socket FM2 Motherboards For AMD's Trinity APUsNov 25, 2012 - in Reviews
After just one generation, Socket FM1 is dead. We test six Socket FM2-based motherboards able to take AMD's newest APUs built using the Trinity architecture. Can any of these platforms, armed with AMD A85X Fusion Controller Hubs, get us to upgrade?
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System Builder Marathon, June 2012: System Value ComparedJun 7, 2012 - in Reviews
Frugality returned in this quarter's System Builder Marathon, tipping the balance towards less-elaborate gaming rigs. Does cutting deep into the budgets end up hurting our lower-cost build too much for it to compete, or is its value enhanced instead?
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System Builder Marathon, June 2012: $500 Gaming PCJun 6, 2012 - in Reviews
After stripping $150 from his already frugal budget, Paul is forced to make a tough gamble in order to hit his build goals. Will the decision to spend big on graphics bite him in the rear when he has to cut back on everything else, or is the choice sound?
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System Builder Marathon, March 2012: System Value ComparedMar 28, 2012 - in Reviews
Three different builders took two different approaches this quarter. Paul and Don struck out in search of more graphics performance, while Thomas gave up some GPU horsepower in favor of a stronger CPU. Whose strategy paid off? It's time to compare!
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System Builder Marathon, March 2012: $650 Gaming PCMar 25, 2012 - in Reviews
This quarter, we're starting our System Builder Marathon with a little experiment. Paul wanted to build a gaming PC for $650 that'd target smooth performance at 1920x1080. He had to make a couple of sacrifices in the process, but the result is compelling!
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Seven $260-$320 X79 Express Motherboards, ReviewedJan 11, 2012 - in Reviews
With 40 lanes of PCIe 3.0 connectivity to host all of our high-bandwidth devices, LGA 2011 certainly qualifies as a premium processor interface. Today we examine seven X79-based motherboards that offer high-end features at a more palatable price.
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System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2011: System Value ComparedDec 22, 2011 - in Reviews
A 20% budget boost for this quarter’s machines gave every builder room to fix former foibles, yet only the cheapest system showed big performance gains. What effect will those big and small changes have on price-per-performance proficiency?
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System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2011: $1200 Enthusiast PCDec 19, 2011 - in Reviews
We mix things up with a $1200 budget, a brutally powerful Radeon HD 6950 CrossFire combo, and AMD's new FX processor in the final mid-range System Builder Marathon PC of 2011. The results are predictable in some ways, but surprising in others.
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Tom's Hardware's 2011 Gift Guide: Part 1, For System BuildersDec 12, 2011 - in Reviews
Welcome to Part 1 of Tom's Hardware's 2011 Holiday Gift Guide. This first installment is geared toward system builders planning to pool some Christmas cash to build a new performance- or value-oriented system. We have something for everyone this year.
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The Radeon HD 6950 Sweet Spot: Five 1 GB Cards Rounded-UpOct 17, 2011 - in Reviews
AMD’s 1 GB Radeon HD 6950s are certainly cheaper than their 2 GB predecessors. But are they really a better value? In theory, the Cayman GPU runs out of steam before 2 GB is needed. So, we're comparing five custom 1 GB cards to the 2 GB part to find out.
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System Builder Marathon, Sept. 2011: System Value ComparedSep 25, 2011 - in Reviews
Big changes to a few components radically alter the performance profile of every machine in this quarter's competition. We’ve already seen how these changes affect the value of each machine, but how will they compare to each other?
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System Builder Marathon, Sept. 2011: $2000 Performance PCSep 19, 2011 - in Reviews
Falling memory prices make it easier to spend our $2000 budget on the fastest available components. How much faster is a pair of GeForce GTX 580s than two Radeon HD 6970 cards? Noticeably. But is the value any more compelling? You're about to find out.
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The Brazos Round-Up: Eight AMD E-350-Based MotherboardsJul 3, 2011 - in Reviews
AMD’s Brazos platform, driven by the Zacate APU, offers a lot of performance per watt. It comes up short on features, though. Eight manufacturers try to change that perception by adding slots, controllers, and even overclocking in a couple of cases.
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System Builder Marathon, June 2011: Value ComparedJun 23, 2011 - in Reviews
With so little happening in the hardware world since the beginning of this year, our second-quarter System Builder Marathon sees only minor hardware changes. But each builder unquestionably comes closer to dialing in ideal setups at each price point.
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System Builder Marathon, June 2011: $1000 Enthusiast PCJun 21, 2011 - in Reviews
This quarter, we're keeping the Core i5-2500K processor from our previous build, but we're adding a pair of Radeon HD 6850s in CrossFire. How will those two boards stand up against the modified Radeon HD 6950 we used last time? The answer is within!
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System Builder Marathon, March 2011: Value ComparedMar 28, 2011 - in Reviews
Day 4 of our System Builder Marathon compares performance achieved to money spent. With outright speed the top priority, can either of our high-end systems beat the low-cost build when it comes to value? Or will the middle machine strike the best balance?
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System Builder Marathon: TH's $2000 Hand-Picked BuildDec 26, 2010 - in Reviews
The first $2000 build in this quarter's SBM series provided astonishing performance overall, but a few disappointments forced us to consider alternative parts. Today, we see how much improvement we can make when we hand-pick the configuration, TH-style
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System Builder Marathon, December 2010: Value, ComparedDec 19, 2010 - in Reviews
New benchmarks, new test methods, and new hardware mark exciting updates to this month’s System Builder Marathon. Today, we cover the most exciting part of all: the value competition. Remember, we're giving all three systems away, so enter to win them!
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System Builder Marathon, March 2010: System Value ComparedMar 19, 2010 - in Reviews
Budget enhancements to this month’s SBM finally reflect last year’s price increases, allowing the return of liquid cooling at the high-end and Core i7 for the mid-priced systems. With big improvements to its bigger brothers, can the low-cost PC still win?
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System Builder Marathon, March 2010: $750 Gaming PCMar 18, 2010 - in Reviews
The last machine in this quarter's System Builder Marathon, Paul's $750 Gaming PC certainly isn't least. A triple-core Athlon II X3 didn't necessarily overclock well, but a fourth-core unlock gives this system a huge efficiency advantage in our suite.
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System Builder Marathon, March 2010: $3,000 Extreme PCMar 16, 2010 - in Reviews
We loosened the leash on our budgets a little this month in order to pack all of your most requested features into a system that's accessible to more than just affluent enthusiasts. Will this build be complete enough to avoid previously noted regrets?
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System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2009: System Value ComparedDec 25, 2009 - in Reviews
Our mid-priced and high-end systems are ready to challenge the notion of value supremacy for low-cost parts. Will Intel’s latest architecture provide enough performance to break the $700 machine’s value winning monopoly? How do ATI's new GPUs factor in?
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Tom's Intl. $750 Cheap Computing ChallengeJan 22, 2009 - in Reviews
Given $750, we embarked on a mission to build the most efficient, best-performing PC we possibly could. Then, the French, German, and Italian offices did the same, trying to beat our results with their own components. Meet our contender.
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System Builder Marathon: $625 Gaming PCDec 29, 2008 - in Reviews
Unsurprisingly, hardware prices have dropped since our System Builder Marathon last month, which means we have access to more processing power at our same $625 entry-level price point for gamers. Come check out the configuration Paul put together!
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Tom's Holiday Buyer's Guide 2008, Part 4Dec 2, 2008 - in Reviews
Welcome to part four of our Holiday Gift Guide coverage. This time around, the Tom's Hardware staff picks its favorite components for your wish list rounding out 2008.
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System Builder Marathon: Performance & ValueOct 30, 2008 - in Reviews
Three dramatically different builds face off in a show of performance, defining the real value of each. Our mainstream system is designed to meet the needs of most users. Who should spend more and who can live with less?