The ultimate gaming rig showdown

The PC industry seems to be forever at a crossroads these days. If it’s not the looming threat and popularity of consoles, it’s the rapid double-time of vicious product release cycles that can relegate yesterday’s cutting edge to tomorrow’s dumpster. Consider that, even as this test was being written, a whole new GPU core has been released by NVIDIA. Atomic has been pretty harsh when it comes to the GX2, but even we’re feeling sorry for a card that was so obviously put to market purely to keep punters happy until the next big thing.

Still, that’s the point, really. You can only ever take a snapshot of the market, as it’s simply moving too fast – too blurred by speed – to study in more detail.

So what have we learnt from this?

Well, to put it simply, $3,000 sure buys a lot more computer these days than it did even a year ago. The DCA and NRG Tornado systems are regular powerhouses, and come with almost everything you need to play pretty much every game on the market. They boast room to upgrade, and are more powerful by far than the Alienware super-system we reviewed back in issue 86. And for more than half the price!

We’ve also discovered that overclocking is pretty much common practice when it comes to performance systems – only the most budget-oriented machines were running at stock speeds. Similarly, you’ll find a lot of thought put overall into component choices and build quality these days. Quite possibly the threat of consoles is – at the moment, at least – making PC makers more mindful of the importance of delivering a solid product. Never a bad thing.

It’s also nice to be reminded that, as more and more companies are making gaming laptops, the desktop is still far and away the superior platform. Referring again to the Alienware M15X – itself $6,000 – even the cheapest machine on test in this round-up gave it a serious bench-kicking. Makes an old PC gamer proud.

But we’re also reminded of another thing – if you want a machine made your way, make it yourself. Even the cheapest machine on test here is still a far more expensive proposition than simply buying high end parts yourself and putting it together. We estimated earlier that the performance machine in our KitLog would only cost about $1600 by itself, and something like $2500 if you threw in everything else. That’s an incredible difference right there, so if you have the skills to overclock and fiddle around with watercooling, self-building is absolutely the way to go.

But if that’s too much effort, there are some great machines out there to suit almost every budget.


Mobile v. Desktop Gaming
There were a couple of vendors who wanted to submit laptops into this roundup. As far as gaming laptops have come in recent years, thanks to advances in both CPU and GPU technology, the fact remains that there is not a laptop yet built that can give a desktop machine of the same – or even cheaper! – price a run for its money.

There’s no doubting that a gaming machine you can take with you has its uses. Pro gamers, for one, could do a lot worse than an XPS or Alienware machine, and the ability to put your entire PC, screen and all, into a backpack to take to a mate’s impromptu LAN party can never be underestimated. But, for true gaming power, and for the ability to not only play the latest games at best advantage but to keep upgrading your machine for years to come, you simply cannot beat the humble (or amazingly arrogant and pimped out) desktop PC. It will always have the all important advantage in heat managemaent that is necessary to run the highest specced gear.


Build v. Buy
If you’ve ever wondered why a pre-built system can be so damned expensive compared to the last PC you put together, we’ve got one phrase you should understand – parts and labour.

Essentially, the value of a retail PC is far greater than the sum of its parts, and for good reason. Someone else has slaved over the cable management, finessed all the cards into their slots, made sure all the connections are secure, and then gone through the often tedious process of installing and testing an OS. Throw in companies that even overclock a water-cooled PC for the retail market, and you have some serious pre-sale sweat and effort.

None of this should be underestimated. As people who frequently peer inside the neon-lit interiors of high-end PCs, we know there is much to be appreciated in a fine case build. We know just how much patience is necessary to bundle all the relevant power cables in a machine, sectioned together every inch with neatly clipped cable-ties, and stowed away into the corners and recesses with military precision.

Then there’s the warranty. Any PC bought at retail should include some insurance for your expensive product. This might range from a ‘return to base’ warranty for faulty parts (though check if that returning has to be done by you), to onsite replacement and installation of faulty parts.

Of course, the counter to that argument is what value you place on that. For instance, if you run the numbers on our Performance PC in KitLog, you’ll note that for a mere $1,600, give or take, you’ll be able to put together quite a hefty little machine – so long as you’re willing to do the work of building the thing yourself.

Ultimately, this is a choice for each individual. Most enthusiasts will be quite happy to build their own system from scratch; indeed, that is part of the joy of the hobby for them. But for others, the enjoyment of owning a kick-arse PC is more in what can be done with it, than with actually building it.