The Ultimate Gaming Computer
By Jeffrey | May 30, 2007
I’ve been putting together a couple systems today and while I was at it I got a little bored and decided to experiment.
Doing some quick browsing I put together a list of the absolute most top-of-the-line computer I could possibly build, money being no object.
Unfortunately, in real life, money is an object. But hey, we can dream.
The Case - Thermaltake Shark ($160)
I actually have dealt with this case before and I love it. Enormously spacious inside and a great screw-design.
Perfect for allowing air-flow and cable management.
Keyboard & Mouse - Logitech G15 and Razer Copperhead ($130)
The Logitech G15 gaming keyboard provides 18 programmable keys, each with a shift key, so you can assign up to 54 keys to any macro function within a game. In addition, you have a separate GamePanel LCD screen on the keyboard for critical in-game information, making this a killer choice for the dedicated player.
The Razer Copperhead “Anarchy Red” mouse is ambidextrous, scanning at 2000 DPI for better aim, with 1000 Hz Ultrapolling, and 1 ms response time to respond to your movements with the greatest precision. Its 32 KB onboard memory will retain any game’s individual settings and personal configurations.
Speakers - GigaWorks S750 ($430)
These 7.1 THX-certified speakers pump out a combined 700 watts and upscale 5.1 and 6.1 sound.
More than enough to keep your neighbors awake and you hearing-impaired.
Headset - Plantronics Gamecompro1 ($50)
This 32 bit digitally-optimized headset features real-time equalization performed by DSP chip, freeing your PC’s resources for faster game play and maximum system performance.
It also comes equips with a noise-canceling microphone, enabling you to yell any epithets you please at your middle-school opponents.
Monitor - (2) Planar 26″ Widescreen LCD ($2000)
Dual-screen in style, with a 5ms response time, 1920×1200 resolution, HDCP flat panel setup.
Destory your opponents, and watch Talladega Nights in high definition at the same time.
Processor - Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Quad-Core ($968)
Wow, it feels good to type that.
Four processing cores make up the Quad-Core Intel Core 2 Extreme processor.
It’s a multitasking monster, delivering twice the performance on highly-threaded applications, taking your desktop PC experience into a completely new realm of mega power.
If you’ve ever wanted to take Quake 3 over 1000fps, this is the chip to do it.
More importantly, the developers of Crysis have been quoted as saying that the game will require four cores to run at max settings, so that’s reason enough to pick this up.
Motherboard - ASUS Striker Extreme SLI ($330)
No top-of-the-line computer would be complete without a top-of-the-line motherboard, and this is the one to accomplish that.
It will support LGA775 based processors including the new Quad-core, and the DIMM slots will support up to 8GB of DDR2-800 memory for maximum gaming power.
Also, the 3, yes THREE, PCI-E x16 slots will support 2 GPU cards at x16 and a physics card at x8 speeds.
It also includes 6 SATAII ports, which is important for the next component…
Hard Drive - (4) Seagate Barracuda 750GB ($1120)
Powerhouse games, lossless music collections, and video storage would all be wasted without the perfect setup of space to store it on.
750gb is overkill for a computer, I think. As such, I felt it important to multiply that by 4 and give the ultimate computer a total of 3tb, or 3000gb if you prefer it that way, of space for it all.
To imagine how spacious that is, that will hold roughly 1,200,000 MP3s, 120,000 lossless audio tracks, or 3000 hours of video.
There will now be no reason to leave the house ever again.
Memory - 4gb Patriot eXtreme DDR2 800 ($285)
You never have enough memory - no matter what a misquoted Bill Gates might say - so we might as well follow that guideline.
This high-performance memory features bladed aluminum heat shields to improve module stability and operates at a wonderful timing of 5-5-5-12.
Strangely enough, that’s 10 times the amount of storage space I had on my first PC.
Video Card - (2) GeForce 8800Ultra 768MB ($1660)
Seeing as how a gaming computer is meant to play games - courtesy of your friendly Captain Obvious - you’re going to need some power behind them.
Cue the king of the video cards, the GeForce 8800Ultra, with a whopping 768mb of GDDR3 memory, operating at 384-bits.
This thing is so powerful I’ll let one NewEgg customer illustrate: “I’m playing Battlefield 2 on one monitor, and Oblivion on the other, both max settings, no lag whatsoever.”
Let’s leave aside the question of why one would feel the need to play those two games simultaneously, and focus on the fact that you can.
In fact, let’s get two.
Physics Card - BFG Tech PhysX Processing Unit ($145)
Oh sure, the 8800Ultra should be powerful enough to deal with physics on its own, but we don’t want to take any chances, so let’s throw in a dedicated physics card that may or may not actually do anything.
Sound Card - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite ($260)
The motherboard with this machine includes onboard sound, but that won’t satisfy our craving for ultimate power, so we’ll go with the ultimate sound card.
The card’s X-Fi 24-bit Crystalizer will make your game audio more dynamic and realistic while improving both low and high frequencies giving you smoother, cleaner sound. Creative’s CMSS-3D technology is able to remix your stereo audio into surround soundâ€â€even through stereo headphones.
EAX Advanced HD 5.0 further improves game audio tracks providing a more immersive experience. There’s 64MB of onboard RAM as well, freeing up demands on your PC’s memory and increasing overall gaming performance.
Let’s Game!
The total cost (including cables, a floppy drive, and other not-worth-mentioning components) comes to around $8100.
So if anybody has that amount to spare, I’d love to put this together for you. Or, you know, for me…
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You really blew it on the headphones, speakers, mouse keyboard and case. Not even CLOSE to the ultimate gaming machine.
And - PUH-LEASE - two lousy 26 Inch LCDs? That’s lame.
Get real! It’s possible to spend another 20K$ on the ultimate gaming rig.
What you have there is a gaming rig for the budget conscious buyer. :P
Posted by: Mobius on May 30th, 2007 at 4:27 pmActually, you’re exactly right.
I kind of fell between budget, and really extreme, but I wanted to try to keep it in the realm of possibility.
Spending upwards of 10k for a computer really would be overkill, since a new one would be required every 2 years.
However, 8k is much more reasonable. *laugh*
Posted by: Jeffrey on May 30th, 2007 at 5:04 pm[...] course if you’re into gaming you’ll needs something a little [...]
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