High-End Gaming PC | Hardware Revolution

Not looking for a PC to play games or looking for a Budget or a Mainstream Gaming PC? See our other Computer Builds instead.

The ASRock Extreme 4 Gen3 motherboard, which comes with PCI-Express 16x 3.0 slots!

Updated on August 7th 2011.

1. Motherboards: For Tier 8, 9 and 10, the ASRock P67 Extreme 4 gets replaced by the ASRock P67 Extreme 4 GEN 3, which comes with PCI-Express 16x 3.0 slots.
2. RAM: All three Tiers: The Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600MHz?kit is currently out of stock, so it gets replaced by the Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600MHz?kit.
3. Storage: For Tier 9, the Mushkin 2.5? 240GB gets replaced by an OCZ Vertex 3.5? 240GB, which is $89 less expensive. I also added many alternatives, after publishing The Best SSDs and HDDs for your money: August 2011.
4. Cost: Tier 8 still costs $1883, Tier 9 now costs $2071 instead of $2145 and Tier 10 now costs $2409 instead of $2404.

About Hardware Revolution?s High-End Gaming Computers:

Extreme Performance at a High-End cost
Our high-end gaming computers feature parts that were hand-picked to offer the maximum bang for your buck, or in other terms: to offer the best balance of performance possible at a given price.

All of the Tiers are equipped with SSDs (Solid State Drives), to ensure that your PC boots quickly and that your games/programs load much faster. They are also equipped with two video cards, to let you play pretty much any game maxed out at 1920 x 1080, 2560 x 1600 or even 5760 x 1080 (Three 1080p monitors side by side) in most cases.

That?s not enough and you desire that, but for 3D Gaming? Not a problem, Tier 10 was designed with 3D Gaming in mind, including proper cooling for the two Geforce GTX 570 (or 580, available as an upgrade) in SLI.

Designed with reliability in mind
They feature a safe, reliable and efficient power supply, a case with several case fans and an after-market CPU Cooler, so that your PC will not overheat and to ensure that it will last you many years.

After all, what?s the point of good performance, if your PC crashes all the time due to a major design flaw, right?

Good to know too:
These Gaming PCs are powerful enough to easily do everyday tasks, such as working with photos and videos, doing web development, playing back high definition content and so much more.

Computer Builds FAQs:

I often get questions such as:

• Who are you to tell me which parts to choose?
• Can you suggest me a step by step guide to build a computer?
• Why should I build a PC instead of buying one in a store?
• And many more?

1. You will find the answers to all of these questions and more in this article: FAQ: How to Build Your Own Computer
2. Is this your first build? Here are 10 Quick Tips for 1st Time Builders to get you started.
3. Visit our forums here, where you can join our helpful community and ask questions.

How to understand the summary:

Recommended Parts:

Tier System:
Instead of having several articles that cover one specific build, there are Tiers, allowing you to pick one of several systems at broader price points.

There are three tiers in this article at different price points. You?ll find my recommended parts (In Bold) to achieve ideal performance at the Tier?s budget. The Tiers are color coded like this:

1. Tier 8: Eyefinity (5760 x 1080) Gaming: Capable of handling Gaming at 5760 x 1080 with most games, also ideal if you want to play at 1080p (1920 x 1080) and be future-proof for many years.
   
2. Tier 9: Tier 8 Performance, Optimized for low-noise: With a near-silent CPU Cooler, a Solid State Drive that is silent, an highly efficient power supply, a case with large slow fans and a GPU duct that has a fan to keep the video cards cool and silent and finally, a fan controller, Tier 9 offers top-notch performance, without the noise that usually goes with it.
   
3. Tier 10: 3D Gaming Ultra-High Performance: If you want to play in 3D, at high resolutions (1920 x 1080, 2560 x 1600 or even 5760 x 1080) with every setting maxed out, or simply want a mind-blowing system that will last you many years, this is what you want.
   

Occasionally, I?ll recommend the same part for different tiers, in which case you?ll see that part with several colors in its description, for example:

The ?Intel Core i7 2600K 3.4-3.8GHz 95W Quad-Core? would be recommended for all three tiers. Makes sense?

Wait, where?s Tier 1 to 7?

Based on a suggestion from Andrew J, Tiers numbering will be spread across all Gaming Builds, with Tier 0.5, 0.75, 1 and 2 used for Budget Builds, Tier 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 for Mainstream Builds, 8+ for higher-end builds.

It should make our life easier when we refer to the builds, on the Hardware Revolution Forums for example, you can only say that you?ve built a PC based on Tier 7 (short and easy to write), instead of saying Tier 2 from the Mainstream Gaming PC (long?to write).

Upgrades:

• You can upgrade one or as many parts as you want to.
• All upgrades, as well as parts from any Tier (within this article), are all compatible with the rest of the system, as well as other upgrades.
• You can upgrade to parts from higher Tiers (within this article).
• Alternatively, in Italic, you?ll find other upgrades and alternatives: These parts were not picked for any Tier, but can offer more performance or different features that could be interesting to you.
• In simple terms, if you want more RAM for example, pick a kit from the list of recommended upgrades that are in Italic.
• Of course, please carefully read any note(s) that I may leave in an individual part section to clarify any specific thing you need to know, to avoid any issue.

Required components:

Build your Gaming PC today!

Why should you?
For the same price, you?ll get more performance out of your custom PC, or you?ll save money while getting the same performance compared to a retail PC. Not to mention that retail PCs come with tons of bloatware and limited warranties. Why settle for less?

Stop relying on HP, Dell and other companies:
Build your own custom PC today. It?s easier than you think!

This Build includes all the parts/cables that you need and it was double-checked to ensure compatibility. Simply order your parts, set aside some time, grab a screwdriver and build your own personal PC. No worries, we?ll (the HR community) be there to assist you if you have questions or need help.

Then you?ll be able to say, ?See that computer over there? Yeah, I built that.? Talk about being proud of a job well done.

Building this System, Got a Question, Need Help?

Computer Builds FAQs:

I often get questions such as:

• Who are you to tell me which parts to choose?
• Can you suggest me a step by step guide to build a computer?
• Why should I build a PC instead of buying one in a store?
• And many more?

You will find the answers to all of these questions and more in this article: FAQ: How to Build Your Own Computer

Also, if this is your first build, here are 10 Quick Tips for 1st Time Builders to get you started.

Finally, if your newly built computer won?t start, I invite you to read Help me: Why won?t my newly assembled PC start or boot?

Free Assistance

If you have any question(s) about the build, simply head over to the forums and our community will be there to assist you.

No worries, there are no stupid questions here on Hardware Revolution. We all started from scratch and learned through our mistakes. We?ll just help you make sure to avoid those mistakes

If you want to have your final build double-checked and get my opinion on it before ordering, or for anything else, don?t be shy, just post a thread on the forums.

Tier 8, 9 and 10:

Why did I pick this motherboard:

In my opinion, the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen 3 has the best set of features overall, many of which that I consider very important for the High-End Gaming PCs:

1. PCI-Express 16 3.0 support: Currently the only motherboard (as of August 9th 2011) that supports Generation 3 PCI-Express 16x slots, which means that it?s more future-proof as it won?t be a bottleneck to future generation of video cards that demand more bandwidth.
2. Two slots worth of space between the two main PCI-Express 16x slots, which gives the top video card some space to ?breath? in order to stay at a reasonable temperature.
3. A PCI-Express 1x slot that is located above the top PCI-Express 16x slot, allowing for a dedicated sound card without reducing the airflow to the top video card.
4. Nothing short of six fan connectors (Two 4 pins, four 3 pins)
5. A USB 3.0 header and an included 2 x USB 3.0 bracket that can installed in an external 3.5? bay or on a free PCI bracket.
6. PS/2, FireWire, E-SATA and USB 3.0 ports, as well as a Clear CMOS button, are all located on the back of the motherboard. The Clear CMOS button alone is hugely useful when you overclock and need to clear the CMOS. No more need to move a jumper, which is a pain compared to using a simple button.
7. Power and Reset buttons on the motherboard, allowing you to easily test your PC outside your case.

Ports, expansion slots, features, what?s included in the box, etc.

• Ports on the back: 2x PS/2, 6x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0 (Two more are included with the USB 3.0 header + 2 x USB 3.0 bracket), FireWire, E-SATA, 10/100/1000 Mbps RJ-45 LAN, 5 audi0 ports (for 7.1 sound), Coaxial + Optical S/PDIF Out and finally, a Clear CMOS button.
• Expansion slots: Two PCI-Express 3.0 16x slots (single at 16x or dual at 8x/8x), one PCI-Express 16x 2.0 (running at 4x), two PCI-Express 1x and two PCI slots.
• Other connectors/features on the motherboard: Six fan connectors (Two 4 pins, four 3 pins), four SATA 6.0Gb/s, four SATA 3.0Gb/s, FDD, power and reset buttons, 4-pin Molex connector for additional power for the PCI-Express slots, USB 3.0 header (to be used with included bracket), three USB 2.0 headers (for up to six USB 2.0 ports coming from the headers in total), FireWire header, LED debug, SLI/Crossfire support (obviously) and support for LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156 CPU Coolers.
• Included in the box: Motherboard, four SATA cables, two Molex to SATA power cables, 3.5mm audio cable, SLI dongle, USB 3.0 3.5? bracket (as well as an included PCI bracket, if you prefer to put the USB 3.0 ports in a free PCI bracket.), FDD cable, manual and CD.

Z68: About Intel?s QuickSync and SSD Caching:
Z68 allows you to access the IGP from the CPU, which allows you to take advantage of Intel?s QuickSync, a technology that lets you use the IGP in your CPU to accelerate video conversion (amongst other things), allowing you to convert video faster than with just a CPU.

However, the drawback is that the quality of converted videos is lower than if they are converted with a CPU. This is subjective though, so the loss in quality might be an acceptable drawback for you, if you value the time than you gain.

As for SSD Caching, AnandTech has two excellent articles on the subject:

1. Intel Z68 Chipset & Smart Response Technology (SSD Caching) Review
2. Z68 SSD Caching with Corsair?s F40 SandForce SSD

In short, while SSD caching is an interesting technology, you?re better off using your SSD as your boot drive and manually managing where your applications and games get installed (SSD or HDD), if you want the best performance possible, all the time.

Alternatives:

1. $180 -?ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z LGA1155 Z68 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0 Micro ATX ? The interesting part of this motherboard is that it?s a Micro-ATX board and yet, it still does support two video cards, meaning that you can choose to build an ultra-powerful Gaming PC in a smaller case. One big con though is that you?ll be stuck using onboard sound, as the two video cards will take all four slots worth of space.
2. $210 -?ASUS SABERTOOTH P67 P67 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0 ATX ? The Sabertooth is well known by enthusiasts due to its unique ?Thermal Armor? which ASUS argues that it improves the airflow/cooling to various motherboard components. It also features great monitoring software and much more. If you pick it, I highly recommend a 50mm fan to put in the middle section to help with cooling.
3. $225-?ASUS P8P67 DELUXE P67 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0 ATX ? An higher-end motherboard with dual LAN, Bluetooth and other great features.
4. $350 -?GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 LGA1155 Z68 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0 ATX ? When you want nothing but the best. Two PCI-Express 16x slots that actually run at 16x/16x (or four PCI-Express 16x slots at 8x,8x,8x,8x), Dual LAN, a boatload of connections on the back, 24 phase power delivery, etc.

Tier 8, 9 and 10

For the High-End Gaming PCs, I now recommend the best CPU available on the market, when it comes to performance in video games and in most scenarios.

It only gets outperformed in a few very well multi-threaded programs by the six-core Core i7 990X, which costs over three times more and which performs no where as well within video games.

Why am I recommending the Core i7-2600K over the Core i5-2500K?

1. The Core i7-2600K runs 100MHz faster both at its base frequency and in Turbo modes, than the Core i5-2500K
2. The Core i7-2600K comes with Hyper-Threading, unlike the Core i5-2500K. While Hyper-Threading does not improve performance in the vast majority of games, it helps with your system responsiveness and it clearly improves performance in multi-threaded programs, such as video conversion, 3D rendering, etc.
3. Finally, the Core i7-2600K comes with 8MB of L3 cache, compared to the 6MB of L3 cache for the Core i5-2500K. It?s not a big difference, but cache size do affect performance in some video games, in a significant way in some cases. This is a case of more is better.

A recap on SandyBridge:

Intel new generation of CPUs, known under the codename SandyBridge (SB from here on) is here. Replacing Intel?s LGA1156 Clarkdale (Known as Core i3/i5/i7 3xx, 5xx and 8xx) CPUs, the LGA1155 based SB CPUs (Known as Core i3/i5/i7 i21xx, i23xx, i24xx, i25xx and i26xx) bring in a 10%-50% performance improvement and lower power consumption, compared to the previous-generation of LGA1156 Clarkdale CPUs.

New Socket: LGA1155
SB uses a new socket (LGA 1155) and chipsets (H67, P67 and Z68) and thus is incompatible with older motherboards/chipsets.

CPU Coolers compatibility:
However, CPU Coolers that are compatible with the LGA1156 socket are also compatible with the LGA 1155 socket. Some LGA1155 motherboards support LGA 775 CPU Coolers too. The recommended ASRock Z68 Extreme 4 does support LGA775 CPU Coolers.

Chipsets:
Currently available are the H67, the P67 and the Z68 chipsets.

• H67 supports the integrated GPU found in the CPU and thus allow for video output without a discrete video card. However, it does not support overclocking via the CPU multiplier (more on this later).
• P67 does not support the integrated GPU found in the CPU, but does support overclocking via the CPU multiplier.
• Z68 brings the best of both worlds. It supports the integrated GPU (for QuickSync) and overclocking at the same time.

Overclocking: Get the most performance out of your PC!
The Core i7-2600K is fairly easy to overclock and I actually recommend that you overclock it, in order to unleash the full power of your PC.

With the previous generations of Intel CPUs, to overclock, all you had to do was to raise the BCLK (baseclock) or FSB frequency, until you reached the limit of your CPU and/or motherboard and/or cooling solution.

With SandyBridge, this is no longer the case: the 6-series chipsets integrate the clock generator. What once was a component on the motherboard, the PLL is now on the 6-series chipset die. The integrated PLL feeds a source clock to many other controllers (e.g. SATA) to the CPU itself. The problem will that is if you if you raise the BCLK frequency, you will also raise the frequency of many other controllers and that will cause your PC to crash. So forget overclocking via the BCLK.

To overclock, you?ll want to raise the CPU multiplier. Here?s an excellent guide on how to overclock the Core i7-2600K (It was written with the P67 chipset in mind, but the process is the same with the Z68 chipset).

The Core i7-2600K vs the competition:

Now that I?ve quickly explained SandyBridge (See AnandTech full review of SandyBridge for more details) to you, let?s compare the Core i7-2600K to the competition.

Compared to the competition:
AMD?s fastest quad-core CPU is the Phenom II X4 980BE 3.7GHz and their fastest six-core CPU is the Phenom II X6 1100T 3.3. I went with the Core i7-2600K for the following reasons:

1. The Core i5-2600K destroys the Phenom II X4 980BE in pretty much every test, including every game test, according to AnandTech.
2. As for the Phenom II X6 1100T: While it?s much more competitive than the Phenom II X4 980, it?s still no match for the Core i5-2600K, especially when it comes to gaming as you can see here at AnandTech.
3. The Core i7-2600K has a lot more overclocking headroom than the Phenom II X4 and X6 processors, allowing it to distance itself even more when you take in consideration overclocked performance.

V.S. the previous generation:
Curious to see how Sandybridge performs compared the previous LGA1156 and LGA1366 CPUs top-performers? Check out those charts from AnandTech:

A few important recommendations and notes regarding video cards:

• Get the latest version of the video card drivers directly from AMD or Nvidia. That way, you?ll be sure to get the latest bug fixes as well as the best performance possible from your video card(s).
• To confirm whether Crossfire or SLI is working or not, use GPU-Z which will show that information to you in the last field at the bottom of the program.
• SLI Guide: How to enable SLI, check if SLI is enabled, actually working in your game and what to do if it?s not is a great guide from the Notebook Review forums. If you know of a similar guide that covers Crossfire, let me know, I?ll make sure to add it to the article.
• When using two or more video cards in Crossfire or SLI, you want to connect your monitors into the top video card, i.e. the video card that is the closest to the CPU.
• Most video cards require one or two PCI-Express 6 or 8 pin power connector(s) to be plugged into them to function properly. Make sure that your power supply comes equipped with enough 6 and/or 8 pin connectors for your video cards. Of course, I double-checked that already for the recommendations in this article, I simply mention it if you decide to modify a build to your own taste.

Tier 8 and 9:

While they cost about the same as the Geforce GTX 580, two Radeon HD 6950 2GB will decimate it when it comes to performance.

In short: They are unbeaten in performance unless you go with two Geforce GTX 580 in SLI (which costs $1000+ and consume way more power.) or two Radeon HD 6970 in CF.

Finally, you should know that you can manually control the speed (and noise) of the fans, via the Catalyst Control Center (CCC). Simply enable the Advanced View in the CCC, go to the Performance Tab, then the Overdrive Tab.

Enable AMD Overdrive, then enable Manual Fan Control. Then adjust your fan speed. Just keep an eye on the GPU temperature while playing video games, you want to keep it under 90C.

You can also use MSI Overdrive to control fan speeds and to overclock your video cards.

Upgrades Tier 8-9 Video Cards for Higher Performance under Eyefinity (3840 x 1080 or 5670 x 1080) or for Future-Proofing

Alright, here?s the deal: At 1920 x 1080, two Radeon HD 6950 are way more than enough to play pretty much any game maxed out. So unless you intend to play at an higher resolution ( 2560 x 1600, 3840 x 1080 or 5760 x 1080) or intend to future-proof your system, there?s very little reasons to upgrade to more powerful Radeon cards.

You should also keep in mind that upgradin those video cards depend a bit more power, so you?ll need a beefier power supply than the recommend one for Tier 9. Also, they will most likely end up being noisier than the two Gigabyte Radeon 6870 in Crossfire.

Nonetheless, $680 ? Two MSI Radeon HD 6970 2GB in Crossfire offer quite a bit more performance at 5760 x 1080 (Three 1080p displays in Eyefinity) than two Radeon 6950.

As a matter of a fact, two Radeon HD 6950 in Crossfire will outperform both two GTX 570 in SLI and two GTX 580 in SLI at 5760 x 1080 (8x AA, Ultra Settings) in Formula 1 2010, according to Hardware Heaven. Of course, two Radeon HD 6970 in Crossfire are even faster.

If you intend to game at 5760 x 1080, without 3D, $680 ? Two MSI Radeon HD 6970 2GB in Crossfire are the best solution.

Change Tier 8 or 9 video cards to optimize your Gaming PC for 3D gaming:
If you intend to play in 3D (with a 3D monitor and 3D glasses that is), for Tier 8 and 9, I recommend going with $490 ? Two MSI Hawk Geforce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC in SLI as Nvidia offers a much 3D solution than AMD.

Tier 10:

When it comes to 3D Gaming, Nvidia currently has a much better solution than AMD (who requires you to go through a 3rd party software?), hence why I recommend two Geforce GTX 570 in SLI to play in 3D, either at 1920 x 1080 or 2560 x 1600.

Upgrade for Tier 10 ? Ultra-High 3D Gaming Performance

If you desire even more performance for 3D Gaming at higher resolutions (i.e 3840 x 1080 or 5760 x 1080), or if you want to be a bit more future-proof, I recommend that you go with $900 ? Two EVGA Geforce GTX 580 in SLI in SLI.

Do note that if you intend to play at very high resolutions (i.e 5760 x 1080), but not in 3D, going with two Radeon HD 6950 or 6970 in Crossfire is a better option, as they offer higher performance at such resolution.

Also do note that while the Tier 10 PSU can handle the upgrade to two Geforce GTX 580 in SLI, you?ll need to upgrade the PSU if you decide to overclock those two GTX 580 in SLI.

Tier 8, 9 and 10:

Games are starting to take advantage of more than 4GB and this trend will only continue in the future, which is why all the High-End Tiers come with 8GB of RAM now.

Here we have 8GB (2 x 4GB) of RAM, which is enough to ensure optimal performance within games and demanding applications.

Maximum amount of RAM: All the motherboards in this guide support four sticks of RAM, for a maximum of 32GB (4x8GB) of RAM.

Faster or More RAM?
Can?t decide between getting faster (Higher frequency) RAM, or more (More GB) RAM?

I recommend going with more RAM, as this will allow your PC to be more future-proof and it will improve its responsiveness when you?re using a lot of demanding programs/games.

In short: More RAM will give you more performance, in the long run.

Other Upgrades:

If you want faster RAM and/or more than 8GB, here are my recommended upgrades:

Important: RAM can require manual configuration within the BIOS to reach its full potential or function properly!
By default, some RAM kits will boot at lower frequencies than they are rated for. This is perfectly normal, it does not mean that your RAM is defective.

You simply have to go within the BIOS (The first thing that you see when your PC starts) and enable XMP, for your RAM to function at its rated speed. If XMP is not available or doesn?t work for some reason, you can adjust the RAM settings manually, such as frequency (In MHz, usually linked to the CPU, look for a CPU:RAM ratio), voltage (e.g. 1.65v) and timings (a series of numbers, such as 9-9-9-24). Refer to your motherboard manual and your RAM specifications for more information.

• Quick tip: Get the most performance out of your SSD, by selecting AHCI in your BIOS/EFI options. Unless you use two SSD or HDD in RAID 0 or 1 that is, in which case you want to select RAID.
  

Tier 8:

Of course, with an High-End Gaming PC, you have the right to expect an high-end storage solution. A long time ago, I asked you in a poll what would be the minimum acceptable capacity for a SSD for you in a build. The majority of you said 160GB.

Now that the prices of SSDs are going down and that their reliability is going up, I feel comfortable with recommending them for the high-end Gaming PCs.

With 180GB, this SSD is above the minimum acceptable capacity for a SSD that most of you want and is enough to handle Windows and many games.

More reliable alternative:
If you value reliability over absolute performance, I recommend the?$295 ? Intel 320 Series 160GB SATA II SSD.

Who are SSDs good for?

SSDs are for you if don?t mind paying more for:

• Much faster OS boot, Shutdown, Sleep and Hibernation
• Much faster program and game loading, meaning that you don?t have to wait as long for your program or your game to load.

SSD vs two hard drives in RAID 0:
Two Samsung F3 1TB can reach sequential reads of close to 300MB/s, which is higher than the 285MB/s of a 1st generation SandForce SSD, such as the Corsair Force, or OCZ Agility/Vertex 2. So that must mean that two hard drives in RAID 0 are just as good/fast as a SSD, right?

No, not even close. See, sequential reads are best case scenarios, like when you?re copying a file from one hard drive to another (Assuming that you?re not bottlenecked by a USB 2.0 connection here). In that best-scenario case, two HDDs in RAID 0 can match a SSD speed.

However, in real-life, what matters the most are random 4K reads, which represents typical OS loading, program loading, game/game level loading. In those cases, a SSD can easily be fifty times as fast as a single Velociraptor HDD, considered by most as the fastest consumer HDD, scoring 52.1MB/s Random 4K Reads for a Vertex 2 SSD, vs 0.7MB/s for the Velociraptor, according to AnandTech. Needless to say, even with two Samsung f3 1TB in RAID 0, the figure for the HDDs wouldn?t increase much beyond 1.5-2.0MB/s.

That is why two hard drives can seem like a match for a single SSD on paper (due to often advertised sequential transfer rates) and why they really are not match for a SSD in real-life situations (due to the more real-life usefulness of 4K random reads/writes).

Tier 9:

For Tier 9, you gain an extra 60GB of storage capacity.

Get top-notch performance by upgrading to the latest generation of SSDs
If you want a faster SSD, without spending $149 more to get the best of the best (see below), the $400 ? OCZ Agility 3 2.5? 240GB SATA III SSD is an excellent upgrade for $69 more.

If you don?t mind spending $149 more to get the best of the best SSD, go with the $480 ? OCZ Vertex 3 2.5? 240GB SATA III SSD.

Tier 10:

Thought that a single SSD was fast? Wait to see how fast two are!

That?s exactly what you get with Tier 10, with transfers rates up to 570MB/s in Read and a total capacity of 360GB.

Reliable alternative
If you don?t want to mess with RAID 0 and would rather have a single reliable SSD, I recommend the $580 ? Intel 510 Series 250GB SATA III SSD.

Larger storage capacity alternatives
If 240/250GB isn?t enough for you, there are two good alternatives:
The $790 ? Crucial m4 512GB SATA III SSD offers great performance at an excellent price of $1.65 per GiB.

If you want the best of the best, then the $1200 ? OCZ Vertex 3 2.5? 480GB SATA III SSD is what you want.

What about TRIM support?
TRIM is not supported with RAID, however the Sandforce controller in these SSDs have their own TRIM-like internal system, meaning that performance suffers very little, if at all, in the long-run.

All those three SSDs are based on a SandForce controller, which currently offers some of the best overall performance and capacity for the price.

Note that the Agility 2 and the Vertex 2 SSDs are 3.5? drives, so you don?t need any bracket to install them.

Alternatives, more information on SSDs:

If you want more than 360GB of storage, you can easily upgrade to 480GB with $820- Two Mushkin Callisto 2.5? 240GB SATA II SSD RAID 0, Capacity: 480GB.

Alternatively, if you want 480GB of storage space, but with even better performance, get $998- two OCZ Vertex 3 2.5? 240GB SATA III SSD RAID 0, Capacity: 480GB

For other options and more information on SSDs, I recommend that you read our own The Best HDDs and SSDs For Your Money article.

Tier 8, 9 and 10:

The Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB is a top-notch hard drive and what a drive it is!

For a mere $55, you get one of the fastest hard drives currently on the market, with nothing short of 1TB of storage capacity, plenty to handle your games, video/music collection and all your programs. It uses the SATA II interface and comes with a 3 years warranty.

1TB isn?t enough for you?
One option is to simply add a second drive, with $120- Two SAMSUNG F3 1TB. Then you can go with RAID 0 (2TB), which combines the capacity and performance of your two hard drives, but with the risk of data loss if one of the two drives fails.

If you prefer a single larger hard drive, to reduce the risk of a hard drive failure (the more drives that you have, the more prone you are to a drive failure, hence why a single drive is less likely to fail than two or more.), I recommend the following drives:

1. $100- Western Digital 1.5TB Caviar Black
2. $150- Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Black

Need more reliability?
An option available to you, that is $110- Two SAMSUNG F3 1TB in RAID 1 (1TB), which gives you the performance and capacity of a single drive, but protects you against data loss if one of the two drives fails.

To learn how to implement RAID 0 or 1, read your motherboard manual, which will explain the procedure. Just make sure that you have enough SATA cables: Motherboards include two or SATA cables (simply check pictures on the motherboard on NewEgg, one of them will show how many SATA cables are included). Keep in mind that you?ll need one SATA cable for your optical drive too.

Tier 8, 9 and 10:

This drive is able to read and burn CDs and DVDs. Silent, compatible with all major formats including DVD-RAM.

The motherboard includes four SATA cables (One will be used for the SSD, one for the hard drive and one for this DVD Burner), so no need to worry about cables.

Also, seeing as DVD Burners often go out of stock, here are a two alternatives that you can use to replace it. All are SATA based.

1. $23- LITE-ON Black 24X SATA Black CD/DVD Writer
2. $25- HP Black 24X SATA 24X CD/DVD Writer ? Retail

Upgrades:

If you?d like to watch BluRay movies or TV shows, this $69 ? ASUS Black 12X BD-ROM SATA Blu-ray will do the job. However, note that it can only read CDs, DVDs and Bluray disks, not burn any of them.

If you want the ability to burn Blu-Ray disks as well, then the $80 ? LG Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE SATA is what you want.
Regarding Blu-Ray playback:

As far as I know, you still require a specific software to playback Blu-Ray disks on a PC.

Based on various reviews and feedback on various forums, PowerDVD 11 3D Ultra is the software that I recommend to you.
It is fully compatible with Windows 7 and shouldn?t give you any problems.

Tier 8:

For Tier 8, I went with the Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced, a case that a lot of people like for its looks. I personally recommend it because it offers outstanding cooling, allowing you to use an overclocked CPU and two video cards without worrying about overheating. Also, since the fans are on the large side, they don?t need to spin very fast to move a lot of air, keeping them relatively quiet.

• Cooling wise, this case includes three 230mm and one 140mm case fans, insuring proper cooling for your Gaming PC.

Features wise, you get:

1. Mesh design with dust filters.
2. 4x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0, 1x FireWire, 1x eSATA, Audio out, MIC in at the top
3. An hole on the back panel, to easily install after-market CPU Cooler without having to remove the motherboard from the case.
4. Various holes and space to route and hide your wires.

Tier 9:

I picked the HAF X for its GPU duct, which requires a fan: I recommend/include in the budget the $16- Panaflo 120mm x 38mm fan, rated for 103.8 CFM @ 2500 RPM, 41.5 dBA.

Remember that it will be hooked up to a fan controller, allowing you to slow it down for less noise. This GPU duct and the fan in it will help keep the video cards cool, allowing you to reduce their fan speed, allowing for less noise, which is the whole point of Tier 9, remember?

Cooling wise, this case includes two 240mm, one 200mm and one 140mm case fans.

Features wise, you get:

1. Mesh design with dust filters.
2. 2x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 1x FireWire, 1x eSATA, Audio out, MIC in at the top
3. An hole on the back panel, to easily install after-market CPU Cooler without having to remove the motherboard from the case.
4. Various holes and space to route and hide your wires.

If you?d prefer a version that comes with fans with blue LEDs instead of red LEDs, get the $190- CM HAF X Blue LEDs 1x140mm 1x200mm 2x240mm + GPU Duct instead.

Tier 10:

Tier 10 features two Geforce video cards in SLI, so I figured, why not go with a Nvidia themed Cooler Master HAF X case, which comes with a GPU duct fan (Unlike the standard CM HAF X)

Of course, if you don?t like it, you can simply go with the standard Cooler Master HAF X, just remember to pick a fan for the GPU duct.

• Cooling wise, this case includes two 240mm, one 200mm, one 140mm and one 120mm (GPU Duct) case fans.Features wise, you get:
  
  1. Mesh design with dust filters.
  2. 2x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 1x FireWire, 1x eSATA, Audio out, MIC in at the top
  3. An hole on the back panel, to easily install after-market CPU Cooler without having to remove the motherboard from the case.
  4. Various holes and space to route and hide your wires.

Alternatives
Alternatives for Tier 8, 9 or 10 as they are:

1. $340 -LIAN LI PC-X900B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower
2. $350 -?SILVERSTONE Temjin Series TJ07-BW Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower
3. $400-?LIAN LI PC-P80NB Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower
4. $400-?LIAN LI PC-X500FX Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower
5. $415 -?LIAN LI PC-V2120X All Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower
6. $500-?LIAN LI PC-X2000F Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower
7. $660 -?SILVERSTONE Temjin Series TJ11B-W Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower

Alternatives ONLY if you pick a Micro-ATX motherboard. Not compatible with ATX boards:

1. $70 -NZXT Crafted Series Vulcan Micro-ATX
2. $99 -?SILVERSTONE Temjin TJ08B-E Black Aluminium MicroATX
3. $110 -?LIAN LI PC-A04B Black Aluminum MicroATX
4. $150 -?LIAN LI PC-V354B Black Aluminum MicroATX
5. $250 -?LIAN LI PC-V600FR Red Aluminum MicroATX

Tier 8:

This power supply is capable of delivering up to 750W, not that you should rely on this information only as I often point in posts such as Warning: 6 Surefire Ways of Blowing Up Your Computer Due to an Inadequate Power Supply, but more importantly 62A on the 12V line, the most important factor when it comes to choosing a power supply for a gaming computer.

It is 80 PLUS Silver certified, to insure good efficiency, a lower power bill, less heat and noise, compared to a less efficient and/or lower quality power supply.

Modular power supply?
A modular power supply is one that allows you to only plug in and only use the power cables that you actually need, instead of being stuck with a bunch of unused power cables that you need to hide somewhere in your case, that are resulting in less of a cable mess.

Tier 9:

Capable of delivering 750W and 62A on the 12V line.

This Power Supply is 80 PLUS GOLD certified, to ensure that it exhaust as little heat and creates as little noise as possible too.

This is a modular power supply, allowing you to only plug in and only use the cables that you actually need, resulting in less of a cable mess.

Tier 10:

This is an outstanding power supply, capable of delivering nothing short of 1000W and 80A on the 12V line.

This Power Supply is 80 PLUS Silver certified, to ensure that it exhaust as little heat and creates as little noise as possible too.

This is a modular power supply, allowing you to only plug in and only use the cables that you actually need, resulting in less of a cable mess.

Want a more efficient power supply?
Go with the $210- NZXT HALE90-1000-M 1000W SLI/CF/80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular which is 80 PLUS GOLD Certified.

Need more power so you can overclock your video cards?
Then get the $290- SILVERSTONE Strider Gold ST1200-G 1200W SLI/CF/80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular, which is capable of delivering 100A(!) or 1200W on the 12V line.

Power Consumption:

How to calculate power consumption:
I recommend using the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator. Here are the settings that I used:

• Core i7-2600K overclocked to 4.5GHz, 1.4v Vcore voltage (fairly realistic and safe), 90% TDP
• Video Cards depends on the Tier, make sure to select Crossfire or SLI
• Two sticks (or four if you upgrade) sticks of DDR3
• Two regular SATA + 1 Flash Drive
• 1 DVD-RW/DVD+RW Drive
• Sound Blaster PCI Card (which represents the dedicated sound card)
• 4 USB Devices
• Fan Controller
• 2 x 120mm regular fans, 6 x 120mm LED fans
• System Load: 90%
• Capacitor Aging: 20%

A quick note about the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator:
While this is the main tool that I use to estimate power consumption, do note that sometimes, I?ll do some additional research on my own to verify these numbers. This is why you may notice that the numbers that I give below may or may not match what the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator gives you. In doubt, stick with my numbers or ask us on the forums.

Give your power supply some overhead:
While you can match a 650W PSU with a 630W requirement, it is good practice to add at least 100W of overhead, so that your PSU doesn?t run at full capacity all the time, as that will reduce its lifespan, increase its chance of failure, increase its heat output and its noise output.

Estimated Power Consumption, per Tier:
According to the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator, with the settings that I described above, it is estimated that this system will require at load (peak usage), the following numbers. The minimum requirements are in Italic, while my recommendations (including overhead) are in Bold:

1. 620W/750W with the Core i7 2600K (4.5GHz/1.4v) and two Radeon HD 6950 in Crossfire. 750W recommended
2. 750W/850W with the Core i7 2600K (4.5GHz/1.4v) and two Radeon HD 6970 in Crossfire.
3. 650W/750W with the Core i7 2600K (4.5GHz/1.4v) and two Geforce GTX 560 Ti in SLI.
4. 800W/900W with the Core i7 2600K (4.5GHz/1.4v) and two Geforce GTX 570 in SLI.
5. 860W/1000W with the Core i7 2600K (4.5GHz/1.4v) and two Geforce GTX 580 in SLI.

Overclocking your video cards?
Add 100W if you don?t touch the voltage of the video cards, 200W if you do raise the voltage. Keep in mind that overclocking your video cards will raise their temperatures, even more so if you increase the voltage, so make sure to monitor your video cards temperature!

CPU Cooler:

Tier 8:

Overtaking my previous recommendation, the Zalman CNPS10X Performa, is the Corsair A70.

Featured in our The Best CPU Coolers For Your Money article, not only is it cooler than the Zalman, but it?s also about the same price, making it a better value.

For the price, it offers great cooling, nearly as good as the best.

I highly recommend this for anyone who wants great performance but doesn?t want to go all-out on a cooler.

Tier 9 and 10:

Cheap? Nope. Light? Nope. Small and easy to install? Nope.

So why am I recommending this huge, hard to install and expensive CPU cooler?

Because it excels at one thing: It offers outstanding cooling performance, while making very very little noise.

Fan Controller, Tier 9 and 10

For Tier 9 and 10, the $38- Lamptron Fan Controller, 6 Channels, Up to 45W each will allow you to control up to six fans (I recommend controlling the case fans + GPU duct fan, since the fans on the CPU Cooler are pretty silent already and can controlled separately already.)

This fan controller is capable of handling six channels (with several fans by channel if you daisy-chain them), with 45W available per channel.

GPU Duct Fan, Tier 9 only:

For Tier 9, you?ll want to use the $16- Panaflo 120mm x 38mm fan for the GPU Duct, to keep the video cards temperatures (and noise!) under control. Remember to hook it up to the fan controller, in order to slow it down for lower noise and once in a while, if necessary, speed it up to cool down the video cards.

Do note that you don?t need it for Tier 10, since the Nvidia themed CM HAF X includes a fan for the GPU Duct already.

Thermal Compound, Tier 8, 9 and 10:

I recommend using the $20- Indigo Engineered Thermal Interface Kit , to further drop the CPU temperatures, which is crucial when you?re overclocking.

For $20, this engineered thermal interface kit is considered to be one of the best on the market, but most importantly, it is fool proof and will work properly, unlike thermal paste, which you not apply properly (resulting in higher temperatures and a waste of time removing your CPU Cooler, removing the thermal paste, re-applying it and putting back the CPU Cooler)

Note: The CPU Coolers that I recommend already include thermal compound, so you technically don?t need to buy any, it?s just that my recommendation is the best thermal compound, instead of the average, thermal compound included with CPU Coolers.

Tier 8, 9 and 10:

While integrated sound cards have gotten much better in the last few years, they are still no match for a dedicated sound card when it comes to delivering the highest sound quality, hence why I recommend a dedicated sound card here.

After all, who wants the best in graphic quality with sub-par sound quality?

Alternatives:

Compatibility wise, since you?ll be using dual video cards setups, I only recommended PCI-Express 1x cards, that will fit above your video cards (with the ASRock Z68 Extreme 4 motherboard). PCI sound cards are to avoid, since they?ll get either very close to a video card (resulting in higher GPU temperatures) or because there simply isn?t a PCI slot for them.

Ethernet RJ-45 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN: Integrated on the motherboard

Integrated with the motherboard, this network adapter will allow you to access your local network and Internet, using a standard LAN cable.

If a LAN network is not an option or if a wireless network is preferable for you, know this before you use wireless for a Gaming PC:
The problem with wireless is that:

• It?s not as reliable as LAN, with signals dropping out, interference and the like.
• It induces additional latency compared to LAN, which is the last thing that you want when you?re playing online, especially with first-person shooters.

In short, for reliability and getting a low ping, LAN is simply superior (and cheaper!).

If you understand that and still want to go with wireless, here are my suggestions:

I recommend either the $15- Rosewill 802.11b/g 54Mbps USB2.0 Wireless 2dBi Antenna for a simple, inexpensive USB 2.0 Wireless G 54Mbps dongle, which will be fine as long as you are not too far from the router.

If you rather have a faster adapter and/or if you?re pretty far from the router, I?d then recommend the $25- Rosewill RNX-N180UBE Wireless USB 2.0 Dongle 802.11b/g/n w/ 5 dBi Antenna, which also connects in a USB 2.0 port. It comes with a base, so that you can move it away from the PC for better reception and a 5dBi external antenna to improve reception further more. It support 802.11b/g/n, with transfer rates up to 300Mbps.

The operating system cost, if there?s one, is not included in the total cost. The two reason for this are:

1. The budget only considers hardware.
2. You may be able re-use a previous license, go with an open-source OS such as Linux or, if you?re so inclined and are aware of what you?re doing, use torrents.

If you decide that you need an OS, here are some recommendations:

Windows 7

Despite Linux gaining more and more support, Windows still is the platform of choice for compatibility at the moment. Considering that you?ll have 4GB of RAM or more, along with a dedicated video that also has memory (512MB or 1GB), you?ll need a 64-bit version, as 32-bit is limited to 4GB of memory for the entire system, which is not enough now, nor in the future if you decide to upgrade.

Windows 7 is by far better than Windows Vista, looks better, more functional, less annoying, consumes less resources and brings DirectX 11 to the table.

Three Available Versions:

1. Windows 7 Home Premium: The basic edition, with all the looks, most of the functionality and DirectX 11.
2. Windows 7 Professional: If you want the virtual XP mode, you?ll need at least the Professional edition. Also required if you want to backup to a network, using the built-in backup mode in Windows. Also good to know: You?ll need at least the pro version to take advantage of Remote Desktop Connection.
3. Windows 7 Ultimate: To help protect data on your PC and portable storage devices against loss or theft with BitLocker and to work and switch between 35 languages.

OEM vs Retail:

The OEM version allows you to only install it once on a computer. You cannot transfer the license to another computer in the future and you do not receive support from Microsoft. It?s the same type of license you get when you get Windows on a desktop or laptop that you buy from Dell, HP and such. It?s less expensive, but gives less flexibility. Ideal if you intend on keeping your computer for many years.

The Retail version is the full version, which allows you to transfer the license to another computer in the future and you can call Microsoft if you need any form of support. Ideal if you intend on upgrading/changing your computer down the road.

Other than that, you get the same features on both, only the license differs. The price between the two differs obviously.

OEM Versions:

1. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM SP1 ? $99
2. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM SP1 ? $150
3. Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit OEM SP1 ? $180

Retail Versions:

1. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Retail ? $173
2. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Retail ? $200
3. Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Retail ? $270

Linux

A lot of people these days boot more than one OS. Linux is a wonderful choice: powerful, cool, and cheap. Take your pick of distribution and have fun! For Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, Slackware, and Mandriva, try Distrowatch.com, Cheapbytes.com, LinuxQuestions.org or one of the many others.

While Linux does not offer the wide compatibility of Windows with video games, gaming on Linux is still possible, through projects such as Wine, Cedega and Crossover. For more on the topic of Linux Gaming, I invite you to read this excellent article from AnandTech: Linux Gaming: Are we there yet?

What about Word processing, Excel and other Windows-based programs that you need? Linux, being an open platform, has many free alternatives for you. For Word/Excel and such, try OpenOffice.

Cost: Free

What do you think of the latest version of the High-End Gaming PCs?

Let me know if you have any suggestion to improve this article and let me know your opinion by leaving a comment below.

Don?t agree with my choices? Have a suggestion to improve this build?

However, I do realize that even if I took a year to write this guide, it wouldn?t be perfect and it wouldn?t cover every possible software/scenario.

This is why if you don?t agree with one or several of my choices, think that you can come up with a way to improve this build, have requests, comments, etc. by all means, please let me know by leaving a comment below.

You might just be right and upon further research, if I agree with you, I?ll update the build as necessary.

Would you like to see an additional feature? Let me know.

One or several parts are out of stock?

Simply drop a comment below to let me know. I?ll personally recommend to you an equivalent alternative and I will update the build shortly after.

What do you think?

What?s your opinion on this build?
Did you find a typo or error in this article?
Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Building this PC?

If you build this system, I invite you to share your experience on how well it runs: What applications do you use, what type of work do you do, how well does this Workstation performs, is there anything that slows it down? Your feedback will help other people make an informed decision on what to buy for their own needs.

Do you need a guide on how to build a computer, need help or do you have some questions?

Join us on our forums!

I hope that you?ve enjoyed this article, feel free to leave a comment below and remember, you can join us on our forums to discuss with everyone else the build that you?re planning to build, ask your questions and join our helpful community!

Join our Facebook Page!
If you?re more of a Facebook fan, we also have an Hardware Revolution Facebook fan page, which you can ?like? to get updates only when we publish new articles. We won?t spam your newsfeed with updates every 5 minutes, we only post an update only when we publish new articles or to ask your feedback.

Automatically receive our future articles for free via RSS or Email:
I hope that you?ve enjoyed this article, feel free to leave a comment below and remember, you can get our future articles, such as the upcoming Workstation Builds, Best Of articles, updates to the Gaming PC Guides, automatically and for free via RSS or Email. That way, you never have to check the site for updates again because you get the latest and greatest articles delivered automatically in your RSS reader or Email inbox around 7PM EST, every day that I publish an article.

If you?re not familiar with RSS technology, here an article that explains What is RSS? If the fact that y

Source: http://www.hardware-revolution.com/high-end-gaming-pc-august-2011-v250/

chernobyl carolina panthers michael jackson thriller arizona cardinals jesse james project runway season 9 project runway season 9