PC Buying Guide The Enthusiast's PC

The Enthusiast's PC

• Excellent performance • Heavy multitasking and everyday computing • Perfect for gaming

The Enthusiast's PC incorporates the perfect blend of both the Entry-Level Rig and Luxury System, making this our most harmonious build. Our intent is to keep this system within the grasp of the average computer enthusiast, essentially offering a fully loaded PC minus some of the unnecessary bells and whistles that could set you back another grand or two.

Component	Product	Price
Motherboard	ASRock P67 Extreme4	$160
Processor	Intel Core i5 2500K	$225
Memory	2x2GB G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 1600MHz	$50
Graphics	Radeon HD 6870	$205
Sound	HT Omega Striker 7.1	$90
Storage	Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB + Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB	$135 + $70
Optical	Lite-On iHAS124-04 + Lite-On iHOS104-06	$20 + $60
Power	Corsair Enthusiast Series 650TX	$100
Case	Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced	$160
Monitor	Asus VE276Q 27"	$300
Speakers / Headset	Logitech's Z-2300 / Sony MDR-V6	$120 / $70
Peripherals	Logitech G500 + G110	$60 + $65
	Core System Total	$1,275
	Core System + Monitor and Peripherals	$1,795

Motherboard, Processor, Memory

In our recent review, we found the second generation of Core processors (codenamed Sandy Bridge) to offer more performance while consuming less power than their predecessors. The $225 quad-core Core i5 2500K absolutely smokes our previous pick, the quad-core Core i5 750. It's worth mentioning that the i5 2500K has an unlocked multiplier so it's easier to overclock, but if you don't plan to take advantage of that feature, the standard i5 2500 is a little cheaper at $210.

LGA 1155 motherboards are making it back into circulation and most models in the $150-$180 range have nearly identical specs. We believe ASRock currently offers the best deal with its P67 Extreme4, featuring three PCIe 2.0 x16 slots, four SATA 6Gb/s and two USB 3.0 ports, fancy Japanese caps, and onboard power/reset/CMOS clear buttons. Based on our internal testing of the ASRock P67 Extreme6, the Extreme4 should offer an incredible value for $160.

Graphics, Sound

Although we found Nvidia's newly released GeForce GTX 560 Ti to be around 9% faster than AMD's Radeon HD 6870, it's $25 more expensive and consumes 24% more power. We currently favor the Radeon HD 6870 for the average build, but the GTX 560 Ti has more overclocking potential if you intend to go that route. If you're running low on funds, the GTX 460 is still perfectly viable and equally tempting at its new sub-$200 price point as is the Radeon HD 6850. Meanwhile, the GTX 570 and Radeon HD 6970 are equally worthy of your cash if you can stretch your budget by another $100.

Despite its grasp on the computer audio market, Creative's sound cards and drivers have left a bitter taste in the mouths of many. For that reason, we've selected HT Omega's Striker. Some people still prefer a card that's more mainstream or simply need support for the latest EAX titles, in which case the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer should be suitable. Asus' Xonar DX is also an attractive option with its emulated EAX effects.

Storage

With the launch of Intel's LGA 1156/1155 platforms, there is now plenty of headroom for an SSD along with a hefty storage drive. An SSD will still set you back more than $200 though, so Seagate's hybrid drives might be more your speed. Not only will the Momentus XT offer performance on par with a 10k RPM VelociRaptor for far less cash, they scale up to 500GB so you can potentially ditch the dedicated storage drive and save a few bucks.

As great as Seagate's hybrid solution is, we're inclined to spring for the complete package: a 64GB Crucial RealSSD C300 with a secondary storage drive. The 64GB RealSSD C300 should provide ample storage for a fresh copy of Windows 7, standard applications and a few games if you disable things like Windows' hibernation mode to conserve space, while Western Digital's 750GB Caviar Black houses your media. More capacious hard drives are constantly on sale, so keep an eye out for deals on 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB drives.

We've chosen to pair a standard DVD burner with Lite-On's affordable Blu-ray reader to give your Enthusiast's PC that extra mile of functionality, but if you want to save $25, feel free to drop the spare drive. Likewise, if you have no use for a Blu-ray reader, exclude it from your purchase. Blu-ray writers start at $160.

Power, Case

While the 550W Corsair CMPSU-550VX is a great choice for $10 less than our chosen 650W unit, 550W could be cutting it close on some multi-GPU configurations, so spending more now to have headroom later makes the most sense to us.

We reviewed the Cooler Master HAF 932 when it first launched and immediately fell in love. With the new HAF X now available, the HAF 932 is more affordable than ever at $160 and has recently received a minor update to add a black interior and USB 3.0 connectivity. Key features include a tool-free assembly, three 230mm fans (front, top and side), one 140mm fan (rear), five available 5.25" drive bays, five internal 3.5" bays, and much more.

If a full-tower chassis is too large for your taste, the CM HAF 922, Antec Nine Hundred are worthy purchases -- though they're a bit showy and that's a deal breaker for some folks. For something a bit tamer, see Antec's Three Hundred orLian Li's cases.

Monitor, Speakers, Peripherals

It's our opinion that a 24" monitor should be the absolute minimum for the average enthusiast system. Although TN-based displays start at about $210, we strongly encourage you to splurge on an IPS panel for the added color depth and overall higher quality image, and if you're a graphics professional, this is a must. Both HP and Dell offer great products in this category (LP2475w and U2410), while ViewSonic and NEC each have solid 23" IPS screens for around $300.

Those are all fantastic monitors, but we're guessing you're accustomed to something just a tad larger. We've found the so-called "sweet spot" to be in the 27" range, and they're actually more affordable than you might think (at least the TN models). LG, HP, Asus, ViewSonic and many other brands currently offer 27" displays in the sub-$350 territory. Most have virtually identical features with a few minor differences (slightly varying response times, different warranty terms, and there's even one LED-backlit model in the mix).

We've opted for the Asus VE276Q as it's cheaper than the competition at $290 and the company is generally quick about cross shipping a replacement unit should yours be defective. Our second choice would be the ViewSonic VX2739WM. It's an extra $50 and ViewSonic has a less forgiving warranty program, but the display supposedly has less input lag based on scattered reviews. That probably won't matter for the average user but it might affect your decision if you're relying on the display for hardcore gaming sessions.

Speakers are a tricky component to shop for because a higher price and wattage doesn't necessarily equal better sound accuracy. As long as you don't expect studio-quality reproduction or to rattle your neighbor's walls, the $40 CA-3602should be fine (also recommended for the Entry-Level Rig).

If your budget allows it, Logitech's Z-2300 200W 2.1 speakers have collected countless positive reviews over the last few years and are the next step up. Fair warning though, the model is slowly being deactivated across etailers and we have a hunch a refresh might be coming.

More of a headset kind of person? The Sony MDR-V66 and MDR-V7506 have stood the test of time and are a personal favorite.

Even if you're not a hardcore gamer, Logitech's G500 mouse is an excellent choice at $60, and the G15 keyboard is somewhat of a de facto among gamers. The G500 is in a sweet spot as far as price for performance goes, but if you need something less expensive take a look at our Entry-Level Rig or our recent round-up review of twelve popular gaming mice.

Other gaming-oriented keyboards include Razer's mechanical BlackWidow and Arctosa, OCZ's Sabre OLED (read our review here), Logitech's G110, SteelSeries Merc Stealth, and Microsoft's SideWinder X6.

Those of you working long hours in front of your computer will want something more ergonomic. The Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 has been used by some of the TechSpot staff for years and can be found for less than $40these days. Popular mechanical keyboard brands include Filco, Leopold, Ducky, Deck and Das.