The Utility Player
Value without major compromises

Our Utility Player build packs a fast triple-core processor, one of the speediest mid-range graphics cards out there, and some nice extras—all for just under $750. As affordable as this system is, it should be an excellent choice for playing the latest wave of PC games that cropped up during the recent holiday season.

Processor
Wait, what? A triple-core Phenom as the primary choice for a TR system guide build? No, we haven't slipped into a parallel universe. Rather, as we pointed out in our review, the Phenom II X3 720 exhibits a unique combination of good single-threaded performance (thanks to its high core clock speed), good multi-threaded performance (thanks to its third core), and easy-as-pie overclocking (thanks to its unlocked upper multiplier). In a nutshell, this chip is competitive with Intel's pricier Core 2 Duo E8400 in single-threaded apps, and it's generally quite a bit faster in both multi-threaded apps and multi-tasking scenarios. Also, it's far easier to overclock—we managed to get ours to a very respectable 3.5GHz with a modest voltage boost.

There's something to be said about the AMD platform, too. Intel's future mainstream dual- and quad-core processors based on the Core i7 architecture will use a new, yet-unreleased socket, leaving LGA775 with little to no upgrade path. By contrast, all AMD Socket AM3 processors that come out through 2010 should be compatible with AM2+ mobos like the one we've chosen here.

If you'd rather get an Intel platform anyway or pay a little-more for a quad-core CPU, check out our alternatives section on the following page.

Motherboard
Gigabyte's GA-MA790X-UD4 has almost everything you'd want for a build like the Utility Player: two physical PCI Express x16 slots with CrossFire support, six Serial ATA ports with RAID support, Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire, and an SB750 south bridge with Advanced Clock Calibration, which should help raise the overclocking headroom on older Phenom processors (Phenom IIs have ACC built-in).

This board is cheaper than the 790GX model we recommended last time because it lacks integrated graphics, and it apparently has fewer PCI Express lanes for multi-GPU configs. However, the GA-MA790X-UD4's Serial ATA port placement doesn't interfere with dual double-wide graphics cards, so it actually seems better suited to CrossFire configs.

Memory
Kingston has some of the cheapest memory available on Newegg right now, so we keep going back to it. The firm's 4GB DDR2-800 kit costs around $40, which we think is a steal for four gigs of speedy DDR2 RAM from a reputable company that offers lifetime warranty coverage. With Windows Vista and most newer games guzzling as much memory as they can get, 4GB of RAM is by no means over-indulgent, either.

Here again, you'll want to run a 64-bit operating system to take full advantage of four gigs of RAM. Check out our OS section on the second-to-last page for more.

Graphics
Recent price drops have made the Radeon HD 4870 512MB surprisingly affordable, so we can comfortably include one in the Utility Player without going over-budget. This XFX offering isn't the cheapest 4870 by far, but it's the only one we could find with all three of the following: lifetime warranty coverage (double lifetime, as a matter of fact), a "factory overclocked" GPU speed, and a stock AMD cooler.

We've run into problems with non-standard graphics coolers recently, and we're not too thrilled about the flimsy-looking contraptions on many of the cheaper 4870s. We like the way AMD's default Radeon HD 4870 cooler keeps noise levels low while exhausting hot air out of the back of the system—and, you know, how AMD probably spent considerably more time tuning it for the 4870 than any of its partners did with their third-party solutions.

Storage
As we pointed out earlier, this Caviar Black is the fastest member of Western Digital's 640GB line, and it's also the only 640GB hard drive we know of with five-year warranty coverage. The Black should be pretty quiet, too. That makes it a great value proposition for both the Econobox and the Utility Player.

We're sticking with the Samsung SH-S223Q as our optical drive. DVD burners have become commodity items these days, so we're not terribly inclined to get something fancier just because we have a more generous budget for this system.

Audio
When we published our last guide, some readers questioned the wisdom of pairing a $90 discrete sound card with an $800 system. Ask any of us, and we'll happily pay up for the better analog sound quality and extra little perks, like EAX effects in games. We realize many of you simply don't care, though, which is why we've relegated our sound card recommendation to the alternatives page. If you have nice analog speakers or headphones, then we strongly recommend the upgrade. Otherwise, you'll probably be just as happy with integrated audio—and an extra $90 in your pocket.

Enclosure and power
The Antec Sonata III costs more than the NSK 4480 we selected for the Econobox, but it has several advantages: a beefy 500W power supply with an 80% efficiency rating, a clean layout with sideways-mounted hard drive bays, and a host of noise reduction features. Antec even slaps an eSATA port on the Sonata's front bezel, should you wish to plug in a fast external hard drive without crawling behind the system.