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True Value, with regard to idealism is based on more then performance, more then price & performance. In fact, every piece of hardware we sell is evaluated based on 10 core performance values. A motherboard that stacks up well with regard to each category is what we will generally use in nearly every system from low end basic workstation to a mission critical Rendering Workstation or Workgroup File Server.
For example, the Asus M4A88TD-M Scores well and is our current favorite due to it's excellent performance with a 6 core AMD CPU, DDR3 2100 memory, SATA 6 and USB 3 support. It falls a bit due to it's higher street price but nicely makes up for this by placing very well in the Stability, Durability, Warranty, Energy Efficiency, Future Proof, Layout and Multi-Environment Flexibility.
EI-PC 10 Core Values:
Performance (as little waiting for anything as possible)
Price (it's got to be financially feasible for the common man)
Stability (it's got to be as solid as Windows 7 can possibly be)
Durability (it should be really solid even under the most demanding conditions for a long time)
Warranty (it should have 3 or more years of warranty support on all core components)
Energy Efficiency (though very fast it should not add much to my energy bills)
Upgradeability (it should be CPU, video, memory & storage upgradeable
Future Proof (with upgrade path including 6 core CPUs, this will still be fast & fun in 3 years!)
Layout / Look & Feel (Properly designed things always look and fit better)
Multi-Environment Flexibility (works super well as Professional workstation or for Home entertainment)
Exceptionally Idealistic
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Personal Computing