Build Your Own

AMD's socket AM1 is notoriously slow and gloriously inexpensive. Contributor Joe Trott tunes his machine in an effort to answer the question: Can this low-energy platform meet the most-basic needs of a performance enthusiast?

Now that we’ve built four PCs with matching budgets, which builder, and which machine, owns the title of best performance for $1600?

Because you asked for it, we put an Intel Core i5 and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 into a mini-ITX case. But how does it perform compared to its larger twin?

For this quarter’s SBM, we built a gaming PC with a GeForce 980 paired with a Core i5. Can it keep up with our i7-based builds from previous SBMs?

We’ve seen how far I can push a six-core Haswell-E in our full-sized performance build, but can the same performance level fit into a mini cube?

This month’s high-end build looks lighter than its predecessor, yet includes a six-core Haswell-E CPU. Will the shift away from graphics kill its gaming cred?

Can an extra $150 eliminate the compromises of last quarter’s high-end build? We attempt to answer that while following your most-requested recipe for performance supremacy!

Our first mid-range enthusiast System Builder Marathon configuration of 2015 turns out to be a solid, capable and powerful system with no obvious weak spots.

This quarter, value-oriented builder Paul Henningsen benefits from a more generous budget that lets him explore faster host processors and graphics cards. Can he put the extra money to good use?

Today we put a Pentium G3258 in a cheap H97 motherboard, overclocked it to 4.4 GHz, added a GTX 750 Ti, then tossed in tons of new Deepcool gear.

We’re revisiting an age-old question with a modern twist: can you build a balanced gaming PC with a sub-$100 CPU and not be limited by graphics performance? When you pick the right parts, a capable machine is easily within reach for very little money.

For many folks, the most beautiful sound that a PC can make is no sound at all. How close can Tom's Hardware get to a zero-decibel configuration and still lend up with a compact, functional machine capable of mainstream gaming, without breaking the bank?

We set out to build a PC with completely customizable LED lighting. And when we say the PC, we mean the whole thing. The mouse, keyboard, gamepad, enclosure, memory, fan controller, and even power supply are loaded with configurable color controls.