The Fastest Retail Computers
- Apple's Mac Pro desktop is the most powerful computer Apple sells. It can be customized with up to 12 cores of processing power and can be fitted with up to four 512GB solid-state hard drives, which, with no moving parts, boot quickly and far exceed the speed of traditional hard drives. The Mac Pro's graphics card is also up to five times faster than other those of other computers.
- The Intel Core i7 Extreme computer has a multicore CPU -- up to six cores can be added to the unit. Each core can be used for different high-performance activities, including gaming and streaming high-definition video, without causing a slowdown in operation. The Intel Core i7 processor offers eight-way multitasking ability and an L3 cache -- it is the fastest available processor as of 2011.
- CNET product reviews rave that the Origin PC Genesis system has the fastest gaming performance on the market. The system begins at about $5,000, with extra customizable features available for additional fees. Former employees of the perennial gamer community favorite Alienware founded Origin PC, which offers custom-built configurations for consumers seeking speed and power in their desktop computer.
- Another super-fast desktop computing system is the Maingear F131, which costs approximately half of the Origin Genesis system. Whereas the Origin Genesis is geared to appeal to gamers, the Maingear was designed more with productivity software in mind, so that photo editing, 3-D modeling, video editing and animations applications can run without slowdown or crashing. The Maingear also features more traditional desktop PC features that may be missing from systems like Origin, such as USB ports.