Hardware Revolution

$2000 Gaming PC: Who else wants a 128GB SSD?

Mathieu Bourgie | March 5, 2010 | View Comments

The Kingston 128GB SSD: The star of this system

When I started to consider which parts to recommend for this build, I took a look at the $1500 Gaming Build and asked myself the following: “Which parts should be upgraded in order to offer the most perceivable performance boost? What will offer you (the reader) the best bang for your buck?”

I then looked at every part, one by one. I stop and asked myself if the cost of upgrading a part would bring any real-life benefit. Could the money be invested on another part instead, that would give you a better experience overall?

The choices that I made in my recommendations for this build will reflect that way of thinking. This build, in my opinion, is the pinnacle of what you can get for a $2000 Gaming Build. Enjoy!

Raising Funds for Hardware Revolution's New Workstation PC

Mathieu Bourgie | March 4, 2010 | View Comments

My current “workstation” from which I manage Hardware Revolution and write articles on, an HP tx1000 tablet laptop, has been plagued with problems for the last few months and could now fail at any time. Despite various attempts to fix it, the problem remains.

My solution is to build a new Workstation PC from scratch, based on a mix of the $500 and $1000 Workstation Builds.

Starting today and until the end of March, I’ll be raising funds toward building this new Workstation in order to replace my failing laptop and to help me keep improving Hardware Revolution for you.

My goal is to raise $1000, which will cover the build, a monitor, shipping and taxes.

If this website helped you before, this is your chance to return the favor and help me this time.

Who Else Wants a Top-Notch $1500 Gaming PC?

Mathieu Bourgie | February 25, 2010 | View Comments

Featuring nothing short of Intel’s Core i7 860 processor and two Radeon HD 5850 in Crossfire, this PC will handle gaming, with modern titles, with high details, AA and AF, at a resolution up to 1920 x 1080 (1080p – Up to 22-25″ monitor) or even 2560 x 1600 depending on the games and settings.

New case upgrades gives you the possibility of building a remarkable and small gaming machine, perfect for LAN parties if you’d like. Of course, you can choose to go to the other end and get a full tower case to have a lot of space to work with, as well as top-notch ventilation.

Build A Top-Notch Gaming PC Designed for Overclocking for $700

Mathieu Bourgie | February 23, 2010 | View Comments

Who said that a budget build was boring and couldn’t offer good performance?

New and Updated Web PC

Mathieu Bourgie | February 10, 2010 | View Comments

Today, I’m presenting to you the new and updated Web PC Build. This build was conceived for people who want an inexpensive functional PC that is capable of basic tasks such as internet browsing, Word, Powerpoint, Excel, playing and burning CDs and DVDs, listening to music, playing movies/tv shows.

With a price of only $250, this is the most affordable build featured on Hardware Revolution. However, don’t get me wrong: I didn’t cut any corners to get down to that price. Keep reading to see the parts that I recommend to build a good inexpensive and functional Web PC.

The Best 10 Posts of Hardware Revolution in January 2010

Mathieu Bourgie | January 31, 2010 | View Comments

The first month of 2010 is already coming to an end, which means it’s time for a recap on what I published here, on Hardware Revolution, in January 2010. Here are my Best 10 Posts that I published in January 2010…

Building My First PC #2: From Mike Keenan

Mathieu Bourgie | January 17, 2010 | View Comments

Mathieu: Today, I’ll be sharing with you the story of Mike Keenan, who built his first PC based on our $700 Gaming PC Build. In this story, we’ll see how it went, what went wrong, what Mike did to fix it as well as some personal pointers and his general feeling about it.

If you’re thinking of building your first computer, this should be a great source of inspiration for you!

Help me: Why won’t my newly assembled PC start or boot?

Mathieu Bourgie | January 10, 2010 | View Comments

PC won't boot and you're left with a black screen? This is the post for you.

This is the last of three posts written specially for people who have built their computer but need help because it won’t power on or won’t boot.

FAQ: How to Build Your Own Computer

Mathieu Bourgie | January 9, 2010 | View Comments

This is the second of three posts written specially for people who are considering building their first PC or who are ready to, but have a few questions that they need answers to.

10 Quick Tips for 1st Time PC Builders

Mathieu Bourgie | January 8, 2010 | View Comments

This is the first of three posts written specially for people who are considering building their first PC or who are ready to, but need some advices.

1. Friday, Jan. 8th: 10 Quick Tips for 1st Time PC Builders
2. Saturday, Jan. 9th: Building Your own Computer FAQ
3. Sunday, Jan 10th: Help me: Why won’t my newly assembled PC start?

My Top 3 Netbooks

Mathieu Bourgie | January 6, 2010 | View Comments

Wondering which netbook is the least expensive? Offers the best battery life? Or offers the best balance of performance, battery life and price? Check out My Top 3 Netbooks.

Why Netbooks are not on their way out, but Atom Netbooks Are.

Mathieu Bourgie | January 6, 2010 | View Comments

Are netbooks here to stay? Will they get replaced by touchscreen tablets and e-readers? Or will they stay around, but with a different processor than the lackluster Intel Atom? Here’s my take on this, which I invite you to read and give us your opinion on.

Planning the Direction of Hardware Revolution for 2010

Mathieu Bourgie | January 3, 2010 | View Comments

After reviewing my work here on Hardware Revolution in 50 Questions and Answers: Review of Hardware Revolution in 2009, today is the time to let you know what I plan to do in 2010 to improve this blog, by presenting to you the direction that I intend to take with Hardware Revolution this year.

50 Questions and Answers: Review of Hardware Revolution in 2009

Mathieu Bourgie | January 2, 2010 | View Comments

Now that 2009 is over, I decided that it would be a good time to review my work here on Hardware Revolution by answering 50 Questions to Ask to Review Your Blog, based on an article from Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.net.

I’m doing this to do a reflection of my work here on Hardware Revolution in 2009, see what worked, what didn’t work, what can I do and so on. My goal is to be a better blogger and to improve your experience reading this blog.

However, instead of answering on my own, I figured that I would share the questions and answers here with you, for that you might learn a thing or two about me, what I’m trying to do here and how you could benefit from that. Enjoy!

Happy New Year 2010 from Hardware Revolution

Mathieu Bourgie | January 1, 2010 | View Comments

From Hardware Revolution to all of my fans, readers, friends, families, peers, and colleagues: Happy New Year. May 2010 bring us all success, peace, happiness, and joy.

Now You Can Have a Dual-CPU Workstation Without Getting a Mortgage

Mathieu Bourgie | December 16, 2009 | View Comments

Two Quad-Core CPUs with Hyper-Threading capable of handling up to 16 threads, 12GB of RAM in Triple-Channel, Dedicated Video Card ready for two monitors/Gaming/HDCP Content, Two Hard Drives in RAID 0, Dedicated Audio and much more…
Are you drooling over the specifications, yet are thinking that you’ll never be able to afford such a powerful rig? Think again: You can build this system for under $2000!

Build a $1500 Computer for Web/Photo/Audio/Video/3D Workloads that You Can Be Proud Of

Mathieu Bourgie | December 15, 2009 | View Comments

Nothing short of 12GB of DDR3 1600MHz RAM set in Triple-Channel

Featuring an Intel Core i7 920 Quad-Core Processor with Hyper-Threading, capable of handling up to 8 threads, 12 GB of DDR3 1600MHz RAM in Triple-Channel, a 80GB Intel SSD along with two 500GB RAID-Class hard drives set up in RAID 0 and much more, the $1500 Computer for Web/Photo/Audio/Video/3D Workloads is a powerful computer, ready for your demanding work.

Discover the $1000 Computer for Web/Photo/Audio/Video/3D Workloads

Mathieu Bourgie | December 15, 2009 | View Comments

Featuring an Intel Core i7 860 Quad-Core Processor with Hyper-Threading, capable of handling up to 8 threads, 8 GB of DDR3 1600MHz RAM, two 500GB RAID-Class hard drives set up in RAID 0 and much more, the $1000 Computer for Web/Photo/Audio/Video/3D Workloads is an outstanding computer, ready for the most demanding tasks.

Who else wants a $500 Computer for Web/Photo/Audio/Video/3D Workloads?

Mathieu Bourgie | December 8, 2009 | View Comments

The Athlon II X4 die, the core of this system

The $500 Computer for Web/Photo/Audio/Video/3D Workloads is designed for a person who uses a computer mainly for:
-Web development
-Editing photos, with programs such as Photoshop
-Edit/convert Video or Audio
-Rendering or working with 3D (Autodesk for example)
and who’s looking for a powerful computer, capable of handling such tasks quickly, without lagging behind, with a reasonable price tag too that is.

The Top 3 Gaming Laptops From $1000 to $2000

Mathieu Bourgie | November 28, 2009

Discover the Top 3 Best Gaming Laptops From $1000 to $2000. In this Price Range, there are great mainstream gaming laptops, equipped with great hardware such as the latest Intel Core i7 720QM Quad-Core Processor with Turbo-Mode and Nvidia Geforce GTX 260M.