Ars Technica has just unleashed their April 2005 Ars System Guide. Boring? I don’t think so.
We are not concerned with what you should be buying your 500-person company for your next mass upgrade. These are the systems that we, your fellow enthusiasts, either have, plan to have, or would love desperately to have. 🙂 We know how you think, ’cause we think that way, too.
Now, when recommending products, you’ve got to take two main factors into account: available funds and performance. Some lucky bastards have unlimited funds; some have to pinch every penny. Most of us are somewhere in between. So, when you say something is the “best thing out there,” it’s important to ask, “Best for whom?” In recognition of this fact, our recommendations come in the form of three hypothetical computers.
At the top, there’s the God Box. This is for the guy who has just won the lottery, or whose company is funding the purchase (same thing). Of course, this doesn’t imply adding stuff for the hell of it. Even on this spec, we don’t want to be wasting money. It will be, however, generally beyond the range of mere mortals.
Uh, yeah. Before you get too attached to this machine, be aware that it runs $10,661.15, not including shipping and handling. Yowzah! The Budget Box, on the other hand, checks in at a very reasonable $804.95, sans operating system. You can probably find something between those two extremes.
(Via jkOnTheRun)
Ed Bott 