What is the PC Perspective HW Leaderboard? The PC Perspective Hardware Leaderboard is going to become the first place you look to find the components that will make up your next computer. On this page you will find our editor's combined opinions on the best systems you can build based on three different budgets. You can expand each of the systems (High End, Mid-Range and Budget) to show you all the components that we believe represent the best products in their price ranges.

Why a Leaderboard? We like the idea of a Leaderboard because it presents a no non-sense way of looking at the best hardware available. On this page, you won't find paragraph after paragraph telling you why this processor is better than that processor. Instead you'll find the quick and dirty on our editor's choices for the best hardware you can get. No beating around the bush here. Of course, if you still want to get our full and detailed opinions on various hardware, you can look through our reviews page. But the HW Leaderboard is going to give you our final decisions in one quick look.

Updated Oct 18, 2009:

Along with the PCPer HWLB its self, you can also head to the PCPer Hardware Leaderboard forum! This forum is where you can discuss my selections and offer your own suggestions.  It is also the place for you to talk about the new system build you are working on even if it's NOT based on anything here.

Our Dream System has kept the same processor and motherboard combination for quite a while and as you can't find a faster processor on the market right now, the i7-975 stays. The MSI Eclipse Pro still stays, it won a Gold Award thanks to its long list of features and serious overclocking potential.  The pair of GeForce GTX 295 from BFG are gone now that AMD's Evergreen has arrived.  Three HD 5870s in triple Crossfire offer better frame rates as well as DX11 support and a chance to play with three LCDs.  The Intel X25-M 80GB solid state drives continue to have supply problems but thankfully the price is starting to stabilize around the MSRP.  It will take a little searching on your own to find the best deal of the day from a dealer that has them in stock.  It may even pay to visit brick and mortar stores as well.  You will need a large storage drive but make sure you pay less than $90/TB.  Previously I recommended overclocking 12GB of DDR3-1800 as it was about half the price of 6GB of DDR3-2000 but that is no longer the case.  Time to try out DDR3-2000!

The High End System has moved to new technology as well except for the Eclipse SLI motherboard. The almost extinct Core i7 940 has been replaced by the much more common Core i7 950 and offers a small speed boost as well.  Just as with the Dream System, the HD 5870 powers the graphic subsytem allowing you to enjoy all the same benefits, if not the full horsepower.  Lastly the RAM has switched to 6GBs from 3GBs as the price of DDR3 continues to fluctuate.

Our Mid-Range System recommendation has undergone some changes with the advent of Lynnfield, which moves the PCIe controller onto the chip allowing for a significant savings on the motherboard.   Don't think that means that the motherboard lacks features, the MSI P55-GD65 still sports solid capacitors, 7 SATA and an eSATA plus MSI's DrMOS.  If you are planning on using more than two video cards, then an LGA1366 board and processor might make more sense, but at that point you are really building a high end PC and should plan accordingly.  The move to a P55 board also necessitates a change in DDR3 choice, in this case OCZ provides 4GB of dual channel Platinum Edition PC3-10666.  The biggest change to the system also gives it a jump in performance, the HD 5770 gives a drop in price along with the exact same benefits as the HD 5870.

Finally, the Budget Leaderboard now sports a Quad core processor thanks to the release of the Athlon II series from AMD.  An Athlon II X4 640 appears to power a budget PC that should handle just about anything you want to try.  Josh's favourite value AM3 board, the Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P stays, the 785G chipset is great if you are not planning on buying a discrete graphics card and you won't be as even the Budget System takes advantage of AMDs newest GPU. This month it is the HD5750 in the Budget Rig, perfect for surfing or an HTPC and even some light gaming!  Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC3-12800 memory will keep that Athlon II working hard and 1 TB of storage should let you build quite a media collection.

That's it for this month readers! Don't forget to drop by the Hardware Leaderboard forum to share your comments!

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Dream System Leaderboard

Estimated Cost: $3767

High End System Leaderboard

Estimated Cost: $1889

Mid Range System Leaderboard

Estimated Cost: $967

Budget System Leaderboard

Estimated Cost: $530