Computer Components

Diamond Viper Radeon HD 4850
AMD's new ATI Radeon HD 4850 is a solid midrange 3D card that will run pretty much anything, and it boasts some forward-looking features to boot. It might be worth waiting for the price to drop just a bit, at which point this card will become much more attractive.
Specs: ATI Radeon HD 4850, 2560 x 1600, 512 MB, PC, 2

Asus ENGTX280
Nvidia's new GTX280 graphics chip brings fast 3D performance and exciting new possibilities for speeding up certain kinds of multimedia applications. We'd be more enthusiastic about this card if the software was available to take advantage of the new features.

Zogis GeForce 9800 GTX
Nvidia's new GeForce 9800 GTX chip is fast enough, but if your PC is SLI-capable you can spend just a little more and get a significantly better high-resolution gaming experience. Consider your options carefully before upgrading to this card.
Specs: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX, 2560 x 1600, 512 MB, PC

AMD Phenom X4 9850 (2.5GHz)
AMD's new Phenom X4 9850 is overpriced and outclassed compared with its Intel-based quad-core competition. If PC vendors can use this chip to make cheap systems (as they did with older Phenoms), we might have nicer things to say, but as a DIY part at this price, we can't recommend AMD's latest quad-core CPU.
Specs: Processor, AMD Phenom X4 9850

Asus EN9800GX2
Nvidia's new flagship 3D card delivers almost all the performance we expect for its price. If you can live with "almost," at this price range, then this is a solid PC gaming option. We also wouldn't blame you Crysis fans for waiting to see what's in store later this year.

Asus EN9600 GT
Nvidia's new GeForce 9600 GT graphics chip gives the Asus EN9600 GT some of the best bang-for-the-buck we've seen in a midrange 3D card. If your goal is reliable frame rates in the latest PC games, you should pick this card up as soon as you can.
Specs: NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT, 2560 x 1600, 512 MB, PC, 2

ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2
The 3D graphics card market changes too rapidly for us to get bullish about a card with premature driver software. The ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 shows promise, even outscoring Nvidia on many PC games, but we would still wait until AMD works out the kinks before handing over your $450.
Specs: ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2, 2560 x 1600, 2 GB, PC

Asus EN8800GT
Asus and Nvidia have teamed up for a compelling midrange 3D graphics card with this EN8800 GT. It doesn't completely dominate a less expensive card from ATI like we'd hoped, so players of certain games should stay away. But if you can find this card for a good price, we recommend it, especially if you intend to use two of them.
Specs: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, 2560 x 1600, 512 MB, PC, 2

AMD Phenom 9600 (2.3GHz)
AMD's new Phenom quad-core CPU has little to recommend it over competing chips from Intel. The Phenom is marginally less-expensive, but not enough to make up for its subpar performance. Unless AMD drops prices more aggressively, it looks like Intel will maintain its grasp on the CPU market for the foreseeable future.
Specs: Processor, AMD Phenom X4 9600

AMD Phenom 9500 (2.2GHz, OEM)
AMD's new Phenom quad-core CPU has little to recommend it over competing chips from Intel. The Phenom is marginally less expensive, but not enough to make up for its subpar performance. Unless AMD drops prices more aggressively, it looks like Intel will maintain its grasp on the CPU market for the foreseeable future.
Specs: Processor, AMD Phenom X4 9500