Ars Technica System Guide: December 2017

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In classic Ars system guides, we assumed that everybody wants the same thing out of a computer-the only question is how much you spend. And in that case, the beloved "Budget Box / Hot Rod / God Box" classifications made a lot of sense.

In this latest era of the guide, though, I'd like to branch out a little. System builds are getting more and more task-focused and specific-and that's not a bad thing. The modern geek doesn't just have one computer per household, or even one computer per geek.

So in our first guide for 2017, we're going to look at three separate systems anybody might want: the Thriftstation, the Workstation, and the Battlestation. They still range from least to most expensive, but they also have distinctly different foci. The Thriftstation makes a great silent HTPC (home theater) or unobtrusive, low-cost general-purpose machine. The Workstation steps things up and aims at serious office work, medium design work, and/or light gaming. And the Battlestation gets serious about FPS (c'mon) and pwning noobs.

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