July 25th, 2012Top StoryThe Best Gaming PC for $1500 or LessBy Alex Castle
You've squeezed all the entertainment you can out of the old Xbox 360's circa-2005 hardware. It's time to think about a new machine dedicated to real, serious, hardcore gaming. That's right—PC gaming. Whether you're in it for console-crushing graphics, massively-multiplayer gaming, or just want to play games from genres that don't end in "person shooter," the PC's the platform you should be on. It's not as cheap as getting a console, but if you buy smart now, a good gaming PC will stay on the bleeding edge for years, with only a few minor upgrades. That's why we decided to round up four $1500 gaming PCs from some of the best builders in the business. You can buy a PC for less, but you'll be forced to make compromises that will make your rig seem outdated soon. Also know that you can get a bit more performance for you money if you build your own computer from parts, but there's a lot to be said for the convenience and predictability of buying from a system vendor. Testing MethodologyMost computer sites will fill their system reviews with page after page of Powerpoint benchmark charts, sometimes stretching a single review across 10 pages or more. We're not going to do that, for two reasons: First, it's overkill. If you're the type that likes to pore over 25 different benchmark bar graphs, you probably already know where to find them. Second, because the four systems we reviewed are all pegged closely to the $1500 price point, they have very similar core hardware, and are going to perform very similarly. So we looked at performance, using the PCMark 7 and 3DMark 11 benchmarks. But instead of obsessing over 5% differences, we also took a look at the factors that would actually affect you every day if you bought the system. That's things like size, noise, form-factor, looks, and—importantly—how easy it will be to keep these systems updated, so you can keep gaming for years without shelling out for another $1500 rig. With all that out of the way, let's get to the systems.  Fourth Place: Puget SystemsPuget Systems is the smallest vendor in the competition-a distinction that comes with positives and negatives. On the plus side, the whole process of buying a Puget PC has a personal touch, letting you keep track of your system online as it's built. When you place your order a website is generated where you can follow along as the Puget staff builds your machine, tests it and benchmarks it. All the rigs came with a step-by-step work log, but Puget Systems set itself apart with online photos and thermal scans of the system before it shipped. This test used Puget's Spirit configuration. The computer's black mid-tower case isn't nearly as flashy as any of the other competitors, but it's definitely practical. There's enough room inside that dropping in a new video card or swapping out some RAM will be a breeze, but the whole thing is still a reasonable size and able to fit comfortably under any desk. But as we said earlier, there are drawbacks to going with a "boutique" vendor like Puget Systems. Because they don't deal with the same kind of volume as a bigger PC maker, they can't squeeze their margins quite as much, meaning you just don't get the same hardware for your money. Where the other systems have identical processors and graphics cards, the Puget system features a slower CPU, video card and RAM, as well as the puniest hard drive of any of the systems. The system will still play any modern game with maxed out settings at a standard 1080p resolution, but if you've got a 30-inch panel or want to game on multiple monitors, you'll start to see the difference. And even if you're only interested in gaming at 1080p, the fact is that this system's going to show its age faster than any of the others. Puget Systems specializes in higher-end gaming computers, and as you get into the $2000 and up range, the performance different should go away. Unfortunately, at the $1500 level, we just can't recommend this build.
 Third Place: MaingearMaingear's entry into this Battlemodo is the Potenza Super Stock, a full-powered gaming rig in a crazy-small custom chassis. This is the only PC of the bunch that you couldn't build on your own, since the tiny case isn't sold separately. And even if it were, fitting all the hardware inside looks like the PC-building equivalent of solving the puzzle box from Hellraiser. Don't let the small size fool you, though—Maingear's system uses the same powerful internals as even the biggest competitors in the roundup. The Potenza has enough power to play Battlefield 3, Skyrim or Batman: Arkham City at 1920 x 1080 with settings maxed out and framerate to spare. The Potenza is also stocked with a 30GB SSD caching drive, which works with the main 500GB hard disk to give you high-speed transfers on commonly used data. This means that Windows feels more responsive, and boots very fast—from powered off to the desktop in under 30 seconds. The main drawback to the Potenza is the same as its biggest strength: size. The system's hardware should be good for top-quality gaming for at least 2 years, but when it does start to get behind the times, updating it is going to be a massive pain. The tightly-packed hardware looks like a nightmare to replace even for a veteran PC builder, and some video cards simply won't fit in the space available. Additionally, the Micro-ATX motherboard only has two slots for RAM, so if you want more memory, you'll have to completely replace the 8GB that comes with it. There's also no room for a sound card, if that's your thing.
Second Place: Digital StormNow [i]this[/i] is a good, old-fashioned gaming PC. Just look at that white Corsair Graphite 600T case-it's absolutely huge, totally ostentatious, and looks vaguely like a Stormtrooper. It's got a window, for Christ's sake. A window, so you can see the aftermarket lighting. This is the kind of case that will make you the coolest kid at the LAN party, if you don't throw your back out getting it there. The hardware's about the same as you find in the Potenza, although it forgoes the SSD caching for a single 1TB hard drive. It boots slower, but if you're the downloading type, the extra 500GB could come in handy. The CPU is also overclocked to a healthy 4.4GHz, and the case has tons of room to drop in extra memory, storage, and additional cards. The GTX 670 video card is great for running in SLI mode, which means that you can add a second copy of the same card for a big boost in performance. This can be a perfect way to extend the life of your computer without paying too much, and the Digital Storm system is the only 670-sporting PC in our list that's got enough room to double up. The case has a full complement of USB, audio and Firewire connections right in front, and it never gets too loud. It's so convenient that you almost wonder why everybody doesn't use cases like this. Until you remember exactly why everyone doesn't use cases like this: It's frickin' huge. The PC is far away the largest and heaviest of the bunch. If your desk has a designated cabinet or alcove for a computer, this system won't fit in it. If you put the system on top of your desk, either because it doesn't fit underneath or you just really want to show off the custom lighting, you can kiss your peripheral vision goodbye. This Digital Storm system is powerful, looks great, and will be easy to keep updated for years to come, but if you're thinking about buying one, bust out the measuring tape and make sure you've got room first.
BESTMODO! OriginIf you got a sort of Goldilocks/baby bear/papa bear vibe from the last two systems, you're not alone. The best system in the test splits the difference. Its compact case is small enough to sit unobtrusively on top of your desk, but spacious enough that you should be able to upgrade parts without having to find your Operation tweezers. The Origin Bitfenix Prodigy system also has something notably lacking from every other system: a real solid-state drive. You can probably blame it on vendors trying to maximize performance for the price, but we would never build a $1500 system these days without an SSD—the drive is just a great way to improve the overall experience of using your PC, even if it doesn't affect your Battlefield 3 frames-per-second. An SSD means faster boot times (the Origin system had the fastest boots of the bunch, at 27 seconds), games with much quicker load times, and just generally a faster experience in the OS. Despite being the second-smallest PC in this competition, the Origin had the overall best performance scores, helped out by its speedy SSD and heavily-overclocked CPU. The system still has some of the drawbacks of the smaller Maingear-–although it's more spacious than the Potenza, you can still expect any updating to be more difficult than in the Puget Systems or Digital Storm rigs. And, it lacks space for an additional video card or sticks of RAM. The system can also get quite loud, and the plastic arches on the top and bottom of its Bitfenix Prodigy case are flexible, so plugging in a USB device to one of the side ports causes the computer to jiggle disconcertingly. Despite those inconveniences, the Origin system is just the best deal for the money, with impressive performance, a much-needed SSD, and a very cool form factor.
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