As with the other configs, we have some additional suggestions for modifying our Sweet Spot spec.

Processor
AMD's Phenom processor manages to sneak into our Sweet Spot alternatives once again, although we'd probably still get the Core 2 Quad Q9300 (or the cheaper Core 2 Quad Q6600) for ourselves. Still, the Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition's low price makes it a competent alternative to Intel's quad-core CPUs, and an unlocked upper multiplier makes overclocking a snap. AMD's OverDrive utility, which is compatible with our recommended 790FX-based motherboard, even lets you run the Phenom's four cores at different speeds via independent multiplier controls.

Motherboard
MSI's K9A2 Platinum is one of the cheapest motherboards based on AMD's 790FX enthusiast chipset, and we've had a good experience with it in our labs. The 790FX chipset offers full support for PCI Express 2.0, HyperTransport 3.0, and all of the Phenom's fancy power management features. This mobo's multiple PCI Express x16 slots also support our alternative graphics recommendation. (The Spider platform lives on!) The K9A2 Platinum's BIOS overclocking options aren't as extensive as we'd prefer, but that doesn't matter much thanks to our recommended Black Edition CPU's unlocked multiplier.

Graphics
If a CrossFire profile is available for the game you're playing, and if the game works well with multiple GPUs, dual Radeon HD 4850s will often deliver higher frame rates than the single 4870 in our primary sweet spot config. In fact, a Radeon HD 4850 CrossFire setup will often outperform Nvidia's flagship GeForce GTX 280 for $250 less. If you're willing to deal with the additional power draw, sacrifice some room inside your case, and live with the potential game compatibility hassles associated with a dual-GPU setup, this is the setup for you. You may want to beef up your case cooling to accommodate such a setup, though; the 4850 runs quite hot with the stock cooler.

Storage
We have three storage suggestions in our alternatives list, the first being more of a different configuration than a different product. We reckon some folks may feel like grabbing two 640GB Caviar SE16s, either for their combined capacity or to build a RAID 1 array. RAID 1 can improve read performance, but more importantly, it offers a measure of redundancy, allowing a system to survive a single drive failure with no data loss. Having a real-time mirror of the contents of your system's hard drive is a potentially huge time saver in the event of a drive failure. At least two of TR's editors run RAID 1 in their primary desktops.

We don't expect you to trade our recommended 640GB drive(s) for a speedier one that only has 300GB of capacity, but we do think Western Digital's 300GB VelociRaptor can nicely complement slower, higher-capacity drives. Thanks to its 10,000-RPM spindle speed and high-density platters, the latest Raptor delivers excellent performance with random I/O seek loads (not to mention impressively low response times), making it an ideal operating system and application drive.

LG's GGC-H20L Blu-ray combo drive wraps up our storage alternatives, combining Blu-ray reading and DVD burning capabilities at a fairly reasonable price (for a high-definition drive, anyway). The GGC-H20L has great reviews on Newegg, and now that Blu-ray has won the format war, we feel safe in recommending a high-definition drive.

Sound
Asus' Xonar D2 is a nice step up from the Xonar DX for audiophiles with a little more cash to spend. Both cards use essentially the same audio chip, so they have similar capabilities. However, the D2 features higher quality DACs and ADCs, LED-backlit ports, and comes with a truckload of extra cables. The D2 also has a standard PCI interface, but if you prefer PCI Express, you can opt for the D2X for a few bucks more.