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Best PC hardware list (Summer 2016)

There's a lot of great PC hardware out there. Let's take a look at the best of the best.
By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributing Writer
Intel Core i7-6950X Extreme Edition
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Intel Core i7-6950X Extreme Edition

Intel's new Core i7-6950X Extreme Edition is a 3.0GHz (3.5GHz with Turbo Boost) desktop CPU, and is the first to boast 10 cores. The CPU features 25MB of cache, and 40 PCI-e 3.0 lanes, and supports DDR4-2400. All this comes with a very reasonable TDP of 140W.

The price - you probably need to be sitting down - is $1,723. This is more than $700 more expensive than Intel's previous top-of-the-line CPU.

More details.

4TB Samsung 850 EVO
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4TB Samsung 850 EVO

This drive will set you back a whopping $1,499. That sounds like a lot, but it works out at less than $0.38 per GB, which is actually pretty reasonable for a high-end SSD. That said, compared to the 500GB version of the 850 EVO, you are paying a premium of about $0.05 per GB.

According to the spec sheet, this drive is capable of read and write speeds of 540MB/s and 520MB/s, respectively, making it the perfect choice for anyone who has to juggle a lot of data.

More details.

10TB Seagate Barracude Pro
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10TB Seagate Barracude Pro

The new Barracuda Pro is the first consumer desktop drive to hit the 10TB mark. The data is crammed onto seven platters, and it has a rotational speed of 7,200rpm, giving it a sustained transfer rate of 220MBps. Impressive for a hard drive, but it's nothing to write home about when it comes to the performance offered by SSDs.

The drive is also energy-efficient, consuming just 6.8W during seek operations and 4.5W at idle.

The $534.99 drive also comes with a five-year warranty.

More details.

Nvidia Titan X
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Nvidia Titan X

The GeForce GTX 1080 didn't get to be king for long before being dethroned by the Titan X. Featuring more than 1,000 CUDA cores, 12GB of GDDR5X RAM, and a maximum boost clock of 1,531MHz, this $1,200 Pascal-powered GPU is the new king of the hill.

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/10series/titan-x-p...

More details.

Nvidia Quadro P6000
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Nvidia Quadro P6000

If it's a workstation graphics card you are looking for, look no further than the Nvidia Quadro P6000.

This card has 24GB of GDDR5X RAM, 12 teraflops of single-precision performance, and packs enough power to drive four 4K displays at 120Hz each.

More details.

AMD Radeon RX 480
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AMD Radeon RX 480

If you don't want to take out a second mortgage or sell a kidney or two for a new graphics card, then the AMD Radeon RX 480 is well worth a look. At around $200 to $250 dollars, depending on how much on-board RAM you want - you get a card that's perfectly at home delivering 1080p gaming.

More details.

34-inch Philips BDM3490UC Quad HD curved display
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34-inch Philips BDM3490UC Quad HD curved display

For many, $1,000 is too much to spend on a display, but if you have that sort of cash laying about, the 34-inch Philips BDM3490UC is a display worth taking a look at.

Featuring a 34-inch 21:9 AH-IPS LED monitor with a resolution of 3440 x 1440, the curved screen provides a pleasant yet subtle immersion effect, focusing on you at the center of your desk.

More details.

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