Mid-range system - August 2006
Mid-range system
The best choice in hardware when looking for a mid range configurationn
Configuration
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Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 | Processors |
| For a long time the AMD Athlon 64 X2 was the processor of choice for high-end systems, until Intel recently introduced their new line of Core 2 Duo processors. This brand new generation of chips is much faster than all other CPU's on the market and proves to be very energy efficient. Even though AMD radically reduced their pricing, the Core 2 Duo offers the best price/performance ratio. For the mid-range system we choose the Core 2 Duo E6400, with a 2.13 GHz clockspeed and 2 MB cache. | ||
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Zalman CNPS7700-AlCu | CPU coolers |
| What is more annoying than a very noisy PC? Zalman has proven to be a true expert on silent CPU coolers. Their CNPS-7700 line of CPU coolers is on the market for quite some time and is now available for very low prices. The cooler has a flower-design, with numerous thin fins around a 12 centimeter fan. Our tests results prove that even when we run the fan at the lowest speed, the cooling performance is still sufficient to cool a fast processor. At 1000 rpm the fan is virtually inaudible. At the highest speed (2000 rpm) the cooler is still pretty silent and offers great overclocking headroom. For the mid-range system we choose the affordable 7700AlCu version, which is half copper and half aluminum. | ||
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1 GB (2x 512 MB) DDR2-800 | Memory modules |
| The P965 chipset on the mainboard we've chosen offers support for DDR2-800, which automatically makes this the kind of memory we choose. For a mid-range system we recommend a capacity of 1 GB. Be sure to buy modules from an A brand, to make sure that you get high quality memory chips. | ||
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ASUS P5B (Intel P965 chipset) | Mainboards |
| Together with the Core 2 Duo processors, Intel introduced the new 965 chipset series. The 965 is the successor of the 945 chipset, which was the chipset of choice for mid-range Intel systems for a long time. Besides support for Core 2 Duo, the 965 offers DDR2-800 memory support and a new ICH8 south bridge, with six SATA 300 connectors. Based on our test results of the first main boards based on the P965 - the version of the chipset without integrated graphics - we recommend the ASUS P5B, an excellent main board that offers all features of the 965 chipset together with great performance and stability. | ||
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nVidia GeForce 7600 GT | 3D chips |
| Some time ago nVidia finally introduced a new generation of mid-range 3D chips based on the technology of the GeForce 7 series. The GeForce 7600 GT literally crushed ATI's Radeon X1600 XT and offers far better performance for a similar price. Our tests prove that a GeForce 7600 GT is fast enough to play all current games at more than reasonable quality at the 1280x1024 resolution of 17" and 19" monitors. Because almost all GeForce 7600 GT cards are identical it is up to you to choose the brand you like. | ||
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Multifunctional cardreader | Cardreader |
| An internal card reader is a cheap and very convenient addition to your computer; with the popularity of digital cameras it is very convenient when you can insert your memory cards directly into your PC. There is no point in including a 3.5" disk drive in a mid-range system nowadays. | ||
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Hard disks (internal) | |
| In our last roundup test of SATA2 harddisks, the Samsung P120S came out as the best all-round hard disk. The drive performs very well and is also very affordable. For the mid-range system we choose the 250 GB model. | ||
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Samsung SH-D162 16x DVD-ROM | Optical drives |
| The Samsung SH-D162 is a great 16x DVD-ROM drive with good performance and relatively low noise. Of course we choose the version with a black bezel for this system. | ||
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Samsung SH-S182D | Optical drives |
| The Samsung SH-S182 is one the first DVD writers that can burn DVD discs at a maximum speed of 18x. According to our tests the avarage writing speedof this drive surpasses 13x. Only a few types of DVD+R and DVD-R discs can be written on this high speed, but the Samsung drive still proved to burn all other DVD+R and DVD-R discs we have tested at 16x. When we average all our benchmarks, the Samsung SH-S182 turns out to be the fastest DVD writer currently available. With an average quality score of 58.6 points in our tests, the drives performs better than most other DVD writers. To make your choice even easier, the price tag of the SH-S182 is very low, which means that the Samsung drive has an unbeatable price/performance ration. | ||
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Creative Inspire T6060 5.1 speaker set | Speaker sets |
| The Creative Inspire T6060 speaker set offers 6 channels, and good audio quality for a very reasonable price. The speakers are great for music, movies and games. | ||
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Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 | Mouse and Keyboard |
| The Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 is an affordable combination of a great wireless keyboard and wireless optical mouse. The quality is as you can expect from Logitech. | ||
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BenQ FP91V+ | Monitors |
| With the steep price drops of 19 inch monitors, there is no point in choosing a 17 inch model for a mid-range system. In our recent tests the BenQ FP91V+ scores great results for response time, brightness and contrast. An ideal choice for a mid-range system. | ||
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Procase Zirco | Cases |
| The Procase Zirco casing combines a nice design with great ease of use, enough room for all your hardware and a very reasonable price tag. | ||
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Antec SmartPower 2.0 400W | Power supplies |
| For the mid-range system we recommend the Antec SmartPower 2.0 400 W power supply. This PSU proved to offer the best price/performance-ratio in our recent roundup of 62 power supplies. | ||
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Click here for the detailpage of this product. |
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3D chips
All-in-ones
Barebones
Case fans
Cases
CPU coolers
Game controllers
Graphics cards
Hard disks (external)
Hard disks (internal)
Keyboards
Mainboards
Memory cards
Memory modules
Mice
Monitors
Mouse pads
NAS devices
Notebooks
Optical drives
Power supplies
Powerline adapters
Printers
Processors
Routers
Servers
Sound cards
Speaker sets
Storage controllers
Systems
USB flash drives
Video card coolers
Webcams
