Best Gaming Computers

Gaming rigs for demanding players

While it's possible to spend upward of $5,000 or even $10,000 on a top-gun rig, few people -- with the exception of the most competitive or status-conscious gamers -- need or can justify spending that much for a system. Fortunately, there are more reasonably priced gaming computers that provide nearly as much performance at a fraction of the cost.

Gamers on a budget might want to consider the Velocity Micro Edge Z40 (*Est. $950 and up) , which earns an Editors' Choice award from both PCMag.com and CNET as an entry-level gaming desktop. "The Edge Z40 has the power to decimate the competition at this price point, and includes a feature set that used to take thousands of dollars to achieve," Joel Santo Domingo writes at PCMag.com. Velocity Micro specializes in custom-built PCs, and the Velocity Micro Edge Z40 comes with enough options to make your head spin. You can spend more for higher performance, but reviewers say the base configuration offers plenty of pep for most gamers. It comes with a quad-core Intel Core i5-2300 processor, a 1 TB hard drive and 4 GB of RAM. Most critics, however, review a $1,200 configuration that includes a quad-core Intel Core i5-2500k processor that has been overclocked to 4 GHz and a bump up to an EVGA superclocked Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti graphics card.

Like most gaming rigs, the Velocity Micro Edge Z40 has plenty of expansion options, including empty bays and connection slots for more RAM, hard drives, optical drives and graphics cards. Reviewers also praise Velocity Micro for shipping the desktop without any bloatware, which is a rare find these days. Although the Edge 740's performance can't match pricier desktops, the mixture of the overclocked CPU and the superclocked graphics card in the most-often reviewed configuration delivers results that are unmatched by other entry-level gaming PCs. CNET gets 75 frames per second (fps) playing "Crysis," a very intensive first-person shooter, at 1,280-pixel-by-1,024-pixel resolution, which is comparable to some gaming PCs with much higher price points. PCMag.com achieved an ultra-smooth 105 fps with the same title. Frame rates drop if you bump the quality up, but are still more than playable, with the PC pumping out frame rates between 30 fps and 59 fps when "Crysis" is played with all the bells and whistles enabled.

However, CNET reports that the Velocity Micro Edge Z40 chugs when faced with the computer-crushing DirectX 11-based "Metro 2033" at very high quality levels, offering less than 20 fps depending on the resolution setting. "We don't demand that capability from a PC in this price range, though," reviewer Rich Brown writes. "We expect that you won't find any game this PC can't play at more reasonable quality settings, and for its price the Edge Z40 delivers one of the best PC gaming experiences available." Performance for other tasks, including multimedia applications, is very smooth and reviewers report few hiccups.

If reviewers have one complaint, it has to do with the desktop's support for multiple graphics cards. Adding additional cards is a configuration option, but the motherboard only offers CrossFireX support, which means that if you want multiple cards, you'll need to switch to the AMD Radeon brand (as CrossFireX is an AMD technology). It's impossible to double up on Nvidia cards in the Velocity Micro Edge Z40 since the motherboard doesn't offer Nvidia's card-linking technology, known as "SLI." Additionally, the motherboard's second PCI x16 slot only offers x4 bandwidth, so while you'll definitely get a performance boost by running dual graphics cards, it wouldn't be as great as it would if the second slot included full x16 functionality.

The Digital Storm BlackOps Enix (*Est. $1,145 and up) garners awards at PCMag.com, PC World, ComputerShopper.com and HotHardware.com, albeit in configurations that run around $3,500 and include an overclocked quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, two SLI-enabled Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 graphics cards with 1.5 GB of RAM each, 8 GB of RAM, a 128 GB solid state drive and a 1 TB hard drive. The liquid-cooled, monolithic tower has a black matte exterior accented by a bright red top and side grate, and the power cables and fans inside are the same vibrant color. All that gear makes the PC tip the scales at a whopping 42 pounds.

The award-winning $3,500 configuration of the Digital Storm BlackOps Enix is much more expensive than the Velocity Micro Edge Z40, but you get much more 3D gaming performance as well. The PC posts benchmark scores that stun many reviewers, even at incredibly large 2,560-by-1,600 resolutions; at that size, it delivers 212.8 fps in PC World's "Unreal Tournament 3" tests with the highest graphics settings enabled. It also delivers 171 fps in ComputerShopper.com's "Far Cry 2" tests, and an impressive 53 fps in "Alien vs. Predator," which ComputerShopper.com reviewer Bill O'Brien says "is one of the most grueling for a PC to run that's currently available." The desktop also achieves high frame rates in ComputerShopper.com's "exceedingly demanding" DirectX 11 test, although a couple of PCs that packed in a third graphics card scored higher overall. It breezes through productivity benchmarks, beating some very well regarded competing gaming computers in the process, in PCMark Vantage benchmarks at HotHardware.com.

Critics do have a few bones to pick with the BlackOps Enix, however. While there are a few expansion options available, reviewers say the case's vertical build and tightly-packed interior make upgrading components a pain. "I can't understand why you would want to go into the system, as there's no room for expansion and really no need to expand," Natalie Shoemaker writes at PCMag.com. The $3,500 configuration, with its dual graphics cards and overclocked 4.7 GHz CPU, also generates a lot of heat. The upright case includes a liquid-cooling system and is designed to allow heat to rise up and out of the grate on top -- aided by several fans inside -- but it still concerns some critics. At AnandTech.com, reviewer Dustin Sklavos worries that the 4.7 GHz overclocking of the CPU could generate too much strain on the processor in the long term, but notes that Digital Storm says the boost is ideal for the processor and backs up the claim with a 3 year warranty.

Those looking for a desktop that performs well regardless of which configuration you choose might want to look at the Origin Genesis (*Est. $1,340 and up) . Although the base configuration starts at a reasonable price and About.com's Matt Kyrnin reports good results with an $1,800 build, most experts say that serious gamers should start by upgrading to the Intel Core i7-2600k processor, pumping up the graphics card (or possibly adding a second), and upping the hard drive and memory to 1 TB and 8 GB, respectively. Suddenly you're looking at a price closer to $2,500. Many reviewers test configurations similar to this, and are impressed. "The new Genesis Midtower stands out, delivering the expected high-tier experience at a price tag that quite honestly feels like a typo," Nate Ralph writes at PC World.

What you get for your money is one blazing fast machine. The Intel processor is overclocked and reaches speeds of 4.7 GHz, and the Origin Genesis posts first- or second-place times across the board in CNET's multimedia and encoding tests, sometimes beating out systems that cost much, much more. Exact gaming performance numbers depend on your configuration, but are very good overall: CNET tests a configuration with a single GeForce GTX 580 card and reports achieving 102 fps for "Crysis" at 1,280-by-1,024 resolution -- the best of any PC tested -- and 148 fps playing "Far Cry 2" at 1,920-by-1,200 at very high graphical settings. It also achieves a respectable 27 fps while playing the challenging "Metro 2033" at 1,920-by-1,080 resolution with the highest graphics settings enabled, although bumping that up to 2,560-by-1,536 dropped that by half.

PC World tests a version that drops the Core i7 processor down to a Core i5, but includes dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti graphics cards working together in SLI mode. With a resolution of 2560-by-1600 and graphics settings set to the maximum, the Origin Genesis achieved frame rates of just over 100 fps in "Far Cry 2" and "Dirt 2," and 193 fps in the "Unreal Tournament 3" benchmark. It also does very well in intensive games like "Stalker: Call of Pripyat," In AnandTech.com's tests, which involved a build that contained both a Core i7-2600k and two Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti graphics cards in SLI, the PC posted graphics scores at or near the top of the list in every category. Overall, it achieved similar results to a Digital Storm BlackOps Enix rig that costs around $1,000 more.

If money is no object, even pricier builds of the Origin Genesis receive just as many accolades as the $2,500 configurations. PC World and DigitalTrends.com review configurations ranging in cost from roughly $5,500 to $6,400, and both sites report excellent results. For that price you can expect all the extras, including a Core i7-2600k processor overclocked to an amazing 5 GHz, 12 to 16 GB of RAM, tons of storage space in the form of both solid state and traditional hard drives, and no fewer than three separate Nvidia graphics cards working in cohesion thanks to SLI technology. Performance is nothing less than spectacular, critics say. PC World reports frame rates of 47 fps in "Just Cause 2" and 101 fps in "Stalker: Call of Pripyat," games that give most computers fits when set to the highest quality graphics. The high-end Genesis broke benchmark records for both sites. "You can bet that this behemoth won't be bested any time soon," Nate Ralph writes for PC World. Keep in mind, though, that gamers who aren't trying to play games at full clip across multiple 30-inch monitors will probably be able to find good performance in a Genesis configuration that costs thousands less.

Nitpicks are few and far between for the Origin Genesis, but there are some. Regardless of which configuration you buy, critics say the fans run loudly -- a common complaint for gaming PCs -- and upgrading the machine can be a little tricky thanks to the liquid cooling tubes snaking throughout the interior. If you plan on adding multiple beefy graphics card, reviewers remind users to upgrade the 500W power supply as well.

Though the desktops discussed above stand out for their performance and value, a number of other gaming machines earn recommendations as either value choices or high-end screamers for those with deep pockets. The Maingear Shift (*Est. $1,945 and up) is one top pick for hardcore gamers, but most reviewers test units costing nearly $7,000. A performance-boosted version called the Maingear Shift Super Stock (*Est. $2,920 and up) also receives praise, as does the Maingear Vybe Super Stock (*Est. $1,700 and up) , although that computer doesn't perform as well as the $2,500 Origin Genesis build in PC World's benchmark testing. Falcon Northwest offers the Mach V (*Est. $2,500 and up) and the FragBox (*Est. $3,975 and up) , which score very well with reviewers but have very high starting sticker prices. If you have the cash, all of these systems should be able to play pretty much any game in your library without issue. We also saw some recommendations for the Digital Storm ODE Level 3 (*Est. $2,340 and up) , a fixed-configuration gaming computer that holds its own against -- and sometimes beats -- pricier mid-level user-customizable gaming rigs.