Christopher Lampard builds a Gaming focused All-rounder
Being a gamer, Christopher Lampard is constantly tinkering and tweaking his system. He spends a lot of time on research, to ensure he gets the best performance for the buck. He says: "in keeping with my gaming blood I know I will upgrade and want the best, as all gamers do," He normally goes for "medium-high ranked equipment", not all top-end. He says there is always something something better to blitz top-end equipment (.eg ATI 5 series).
"I also like to future-proof if possible and where possible. For example Windows 7 and ATI 5 series card and, of course, the Core i5. It will still match a high-end older Core Duo system with only medium priced parts and a good tweak. Knowledge of what you are buying will save you money and give you more of an idea what you as the consumer want."
CORE SYSTEM
CPU: Intel Core i5 750 (Overclocked to 4GHz)- $245I went for this i5 option as it has plenty of over-clocking potential and will easily outperform a standard variant of the i7 series once over-clocking has been performed. Also at the price its a bargain !
COOLING: Zalman CNPS10X Extreme CPU Cooler - $85I went with the Extreme as when overclocking you can never be too careful and that extra $90 on the cooler can save you a lot of headaches down the track - and also money !
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS MAXIMUS 3 GENE - $349Why you chose this motherboard I went for the gene 3 over the maximus as being a gamer i normally am only using a 2.1 speaker setup or a headphone setup so it isnt a need, also i chose the gene 3 over the P7P55D Deluxe as it has the esata/USB combo ports on the back instead of just USB.
GRAPHICS: SAPPHIRE HD5850 1GB x 2GDDR5 - $362 x 2I went for a Crossfire setup of the 5850 as it works out about $100 more than one single 5870 also these cards are DirectX 11 -ready, contain all the needed gaming support for the next year at least and two Gig of gaming memory is enough to power a 1920x1080 TV and a 1920x1080 24" screen synchronously. Also their power use at idle would almost shame the GTX 295 with only one of the 295's.
RAM: G.SKILL Twin Pack RIPJAWS 2x2gig (4gig Total) DDR3 2000MhzCL9 - $179I went with the Ripjaws as they are excellent value for money, look good to boot and also are quite fast. Also at $179 for 4gig they aren't a bad option to upgrade, so you can leave a few slots empty.
HARD DRIVE 1: G.SKILL 128GB FALCON - $479I went with the Falcon as it performed above average in the recent reviews over other SSDs while still retaining a respectable and affordable price tag. Well done G.Skill.
HARD DRIVE 2: WD 2TB 7200rpm SATAII DS 32meg Cache GREEN POWER WD20EADS - $265I basically went for the best cost per GB and went for as large as I could get in a single drive - that being 2TB, which is perfect for dumping all the multimedia files not needed on the super fast SSD.
OPTICAL DRIVE: PIONEER BDR-205BKRP BLU-RAY BURNER Includes CyberLink Software - $289Since they have dropped enough in price I put in a Blu-ray burner just to take full advantage of the 24" Full HD screen and the multiple HDMI outputs.
PSU: TAGAN 900watt Power Supply TURBO JET Series Model: TG900-U95 - $339I went with the Tagan as they are renowned for the consistent quality of their parts and also their performance. I also like the briefcase style case it comes with as it's good for storing all the leftovers of the system build in, for example CDs, manuals and cables. You will never run out of cables again though.
CASE: CoolerMaster Stacker 830 RC-830-KKN2 BLACK - $309I went with the Coolermaster stacker as it is quite large in dimension, meaning inside airflow and space will always be good. Also, it's quite nice to look at and the blue LED lighting will pair up with the blue CPU cooler and fans in the case. I would run it with only three fans although it has space for nine, so if that is not sufficient, I can add more. Also if you're feeling brave there is a liquid cooling option available for this case which can easily be installed.
Core System cost: AUD $3, 263
EXTRAS
MONITOR:24inch BenQ M2400HD Full HD - $249Why you chose this monitor Of late Benq has done nothing but surprise me with their monitor's quality and pricing and as owning one of these already i would highly reccomend it as a perfect entrance to 24" Full HD Gaming.
KEYBOARD: LOGITECH G19 Gaming Keyboard with Colour GamePanel LCD Display - $319Why you chose this keyboard/mouse Sticking with the best again heres a keyboard you can view youtube video's on while your waiting to respawn in whichever FPS world your immersed in. Also has one of the best stroke feels ever and sensitivity is almost perfect.
MOUSE: RAZER MAMBA Wireless Laser Gaming Mouse - $175Recently my choice of mouse swayed from Logitech to Razer and let me say this is the only reason why The Mamba, it is fully capable of wireless game-play and almost any surface with fair battery life and the chorded play is even better so even when you find your desk is cluttered and want to ditch the chord it wont affect your fragging !
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit DVD Edition OEM - $I went with the 64-bit of windows 7 ultimate over the 32bit as i am a future proofer as i stated before plus the RAM is already at 4gig which is basically the wall for 32bit windows operation systems as they can only use 3327mb of it so running 64bit you will get the full 4gig and also any upgrades are covered as it supports upto 16gig RAM in 64bit trim. Windows 7 also provides the necessary Direct x 11 software we need to take full advantage of the dual 5850's.