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System Builder Marathon, Q1 2013: System Value ComparedFeb 28, 2013 - in Reviews
We've long claimed that the sweet spot for value was somewhere around $800. So, we narrowed this quarter's System Builder Marathon from $600 to $1,000. Which one of our three configurations gives us the most performance for our budget?
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System Builder Marathon, Q1 2013: $1,000 Performance PCFeb 27, 2013 - in Reviews
With his budget cut in half, Thomas is trying to take the value crown by building the highest-end PC in this quarter's System Builder Marathon for $1,000. Can he out-do the value of Paul's $600 config or Don's $800 effort using solid-state storage?
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System Builder Marathon, Q1 2013: $800 Enthusiast PCFeb 26, 2013 - in Reviews
Last quarter, Don had $1,000 to spend on a mid-range enthusiast-oriented PC. This time around, we challenged him to build something better with $800. Is that even possible? Our System Builder Marathon continues, as we benchmark three hand-picked setups.
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System Builder Marathon, Q1 2013: $600 Gaming PCFeb 25, 2013 - in Reviews
After one quarter after another of Pentium-based budget-oriented gaming builds, Paul Henningsen is ready to put together something a little more potent. We gave him an extra $100 and asked him to show us how to spend that money. He obliged, gladly.
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System Builder Marathon, Q4 2012: $500 Gaming PCDec 3, 2012 - in Reviews
We were hoping to kick this quarter's System Builder Marathon off with AMD's new Athlon X4 750K. But a lack of availability compels us back into the arms of Intel's dual-core Pentium. Happily, an affordable Radeon HD 7850 promises great performance.
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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, June 2012: $2000 Performance PCJun 3, 2012 - in Reviews
After a little inflation over the past few quarters, we chop $600 off of the most recent build. Is there such a thing as more performance from a smaller budget? Thanks to Intel's Ivy Bridge architecture and GeForce GTX 680, the answer is: sometimes.
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System Builder Marathon Bonus: Newegg Customer Choice PCMar 29, 2012 - in Reviews
We've shown you our three System Builder Marathon picks. Now it's time for something new. Using Newegg's user ratings as a guide, we picked the site's most celebrated components, built a PC, and overclocked it. Can this "Customer Choice" setup compete?
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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: $2600 Performance PCMar 27, 2012 - in Reviews
At four times the budget of our cheapest PC, today's build minimizes compromise in the name of delivering unparalleled quality, performance, and features. Thomas takes the opposite approach as Paul and Don, beefing up on his CPU. Was it the right call?
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System Builder Marathon, March 2012: $1250 Enthusiast PCMar 26, 2012 - in Reviews
Using the same sort of approach as Paul did yesterday, Don picks the parts for his System Builder Marathon machine with a bias toward gaming. How much performance can you expect from a mid-range PC sporting a $550 Radeon HD 7970? It's time to find out!
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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: $600 Gaming PCDec 20, 2011 - in Reviews
You've already seen our first two System Builder Marathon configurations, both of which are more expensive than last quarter's. Our entry-level build costs a bit more too, but we think it's a much more capable collection of parts.
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System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2011: $2400 Performance PCDec 18, 2011 - in Reviews
Lessons learned over the past two quarters have helped us build one of our fastest PCs yet. But is it really worth the extra $400 over the previous high-end System Builder Marathon PC? The benchmarks will answer that question.
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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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Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: November 2011Nov 27, 2011 - in Reviews
November was a busy month in the CPU world, with the introduction of Intel's LGA 2011 platform and the Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition CPU. The Core i7-3930K and Core i7-2700K processors also made it to online retailers, in addition to AMD's FX-4100.
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Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: October 2011Oct 25, 2011 - in Reviews
AMD's long-awaited FX-series CPUs arrived in October, and we discuss the impact that the company's Bulldozer architecture has on gaming. AMD also introduced other products into retail, including its Phenom II X4 960T, A4-3300, and Phenom II X2 270.
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Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: September 2011Sep 27, 2011 - in Reviews
AMD's Zambezi processor isn't here yet. But Intel is keeping us busy with 16 new Sandy Bridge-based CPUs, all of which are covered in this month's update. AMD shows us a couple of new Llano-based chips, and we get our hands on Intel's Core i7-3960X.
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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: $1000 Enthusiast PCSep 20, 2011 - in Reviews
This quarter's $1000 enthusiast-oriented PC gets a new lease on life with a 30 GB solid-state drive and a couple of GeForce GTX 460s. Does that make a difference over the last build and its conventional hard disk and Radeon HD 6850 CrossFire setup?
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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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Best Graphics Cards For The Money: September 2011Sep 13, 2011 - in Reviews
This month we're talking about the disappearance of Nvidia's GeForce GT 240 and GeForce GTX 460 graphics cards. Additionally, we consider the implications of our micro-stuttering investigation on the dual-card configurations we recommend.
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System Builder Marathon, June 2011: Alternative $2000 PCJun 26, 2011 - in Reviews
You spoke up in the first story from this quarter's System Builder Marathon, and we listened. Today we compare that first $2000 build to an alternative system based upon a flood of your recommendations. Call it the people's choice, if you will.
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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, June 2011: $2000 Performance PCJun 20, 2011 - in Reviews
The launch of Intel's Z68 Express platform affects our build in a way we aren't benchmarking. But can we still put together a better configuration than last quarter's stunner? Will we achieve even better high-end value? The answer is a resounding yes.
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System Builder Marathon, March 2011: $2000 Bonus BuildMar 29, 2011 - in Reviews
We used our second chance opportunity to hand-pick a $2000 PC with even more graphics power, at a lower cost. Getting more powerful GPUs means compromising elsewhere to maintain the same budget, though. Will that decision affect this config's value?