Introduction

As shown in System Buyers Guide: PCs for Under $800 you can now build a decent entry level PC for around $500 - including a true 1080p LCD monitor and the Vista Home Premium OS. If you already have a monitor and OS, or use one of the free operating systems like Ubuntu or another Linux variant, you can get your desktop system cost down to a bit over $300. We don't recall a time when so much power was available in the computer industry for so little money. Of course that $500 machine, while surprisingly capable for basic computer tasks, is certainly not the paragon for gaming, graphics, or raw computing power.

As you move up the price scale you gain in all of those parameters. We started to beef up those areas with systems costing closer to $800 in the last Entry System Buyers Guide. The next ladder rung is broadly defined as the midrange. Most of our readers are looking to buy in the midrange, which generally provides the most performance for the dollar, and computing solutions with some staying power in the market. We were ready to post our midrange recommendations early last week, but with significant new video card introductions scheduled for late last week the guide was delayed a few days. This made it possible to include the latest video offerings in our performance midrange systems.

The slow worldwide economy and fierce competition has had their impact on even the definition of midrange. Today we define our midrange guide as starting as low as $800 and extending up to around $1800, which gives a lot of flexibility in terms of choosing components. With generally declining prices and increasing value, the midrange also covers a wider area than in the past - just as we saw in the under $800 Entry segment.

New architectures have been introduced in the past few months, so the definition of high, mid, and entry have been shifting as the Intel Core i7 and Phenom II settle into our computing space. Several Core i7 X58 boards are now selling for around $200 or less, which allows a decent Core i7 build with the cheapest Core i7 CPU at around $1800. That represents the very top of the midrange price spectrum, and some would argue we should limit Core i7 to the high-end and limit midrange to perhaps a $1600 cap. That argument has merits; however, it is hard to ignore the Core i7 920 with a cost of less than $300 for an upper midrange recommendation. Similarly, Phenom II processors are priced from $125 to $225. Since Phenom II, built on 45nm, is faster and much more overclockable than other recent AMD processors, we how consider the Phenom II the CPU of choice for any midrange AMD system. Anything less is an entry AMD PC.

For today's midrange guide, we will put together two Intel systems and two AMD systems. The first value pair are targeted at a base system price of around $800, with a complete system price of around $1150. This means our complete system recommendations in the midrange are now some $350 less than the value systems detailed in our last midrange guide published just 3 months ago. These $1150 systems represent the best-bang-for-the buck in the midrange. The speed at which even the best value component prices are dropping is remarkable right now. Price drops are a given in the computer industry, but there are the first signs that "bad economy" reductions may be slowing or stopping, as a few of the component prices actually increased since the last guide.

The second pair of systems target midrange performance. At about $500 to $650 more than value midrange, these $1650 to $1800 complete systems invest that extra cost in performance improvements and upgraded peripherals. The midrange performance segment is built around a powerful Intel Core i7 CPU or the fastest Phenom II you can currently buy. Both are very high performance for the money - and high performance by almost any other measure.

Without the 26" monitors and OS, the performance midrange systems would cost around $1100 to $1250. This price spread is a result of the firm pricing for the Intel Core i7 and the release of greater value components in the last three months for Phenom II. It is not the result of DDR2 versus DDR3 as memory prices for 2 and 3 are getting closer. In fact, DDR3 memory prices have dropped significantly across the board since our last midrange guide.

These new midrange system recommendations also include the most recent introductions in the GPU or video card market. For performance midrange you will find AMD 4890 video cards. We would also include the NVIDIA GTX 275 as an equal recommendation, but you cannot yet buy a GTX 275. In the coming weeks, once those parts begin to show up, those who prefer NVIDIA over AMD can make such substitutions. For more details on our video card recommendations, you should take a closer look at our Video Card Buyer's Guide - Spring 2009 and the follow-up HD 4890/GTX 275 review.

Intel Value Midrange
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  • garbageacc3 - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - link

    retard, that was my GPU score, not VANTAGE score. learn to read.

    and offical vantage score = physx OFF

    where on earth do you get that 4870 512 > 260gtx 216 ?

    only retards think that.

    260 gtx 216 = 4870 1gb

    each wins at some games


    my 260 is clocked at 810/1620/1323. i'd like to see his wimpy ass 4870 512 beat it in any game (@1080p res which i game at)
  • mesiah - Thursday, April 9, 2009 - link

    Dude you are pathetic. All the guy said was he wishes he waited to build his system but he is still happy with it and it is still plenty fast for him. Then you come in flexing your E-peen talking smack about his component choices and how your computer would crush his because you ran some benchmarks and think you are the sh!t. Give it a break, nobody cares are your piece of junk 260 gtx or your benchmark scores. there are plenty of better ones out there. So, 2 things.

    1.) In a mid-range computer build its not about having the fastest thing in town, its about having a computer that does everything you want it to smoothly, and still not breaking the bank.

    2.) Normally when people get so excited by their computers that they feel the need to touch themselves, its because of whats on the screen, not whats in the box. So put it back in your pants romeo.
  • Sunsmasher - Thursday, April 9, 2009 - link

    HaHaHaHaHa!
    Great comeback!
  • ifkopifko - Thursday, April 9, 2009 - link

    Maybe... you should get some help, man...
  • just4U - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - link

    I like his system as well. He picked a great motherboard. Not to pricey but not the cheap P5Q with the cheezy heatsinks.
  • Depeche - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link

    I personally like his rig. Don't you have anything better to do that criticize people?
  • Depeche - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link

    That's a (than) not a that.

    Correction: I personally like his rig. Don't you have anything better to do than criticize people?


    Wish I didn't say that though :O
  • garbageacc3 - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - link

    i don't mind crappy spelling or crappy grammar, but one thing i do care about is syntax.

    DOUBLE CORRECTION:

    I personally like his rig. Don't you have anything better to do than to criticize people?
  • chrnochime - Thursday, April 9, 2009 - link

    And I'm sure few if any care about what you have either.
    Does that make you feel better? LOL
  • chrnochime - Thursday, April 9, 2009 - link

    BTW, my comment was in response to garbageacc3.

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