Karl Stade's semi-final build that got him into the final of the Master Builder competition.
"Essentially this build
uses the best available products on the market to create the ultimate
all-rounder machine, capable of smashing through any task given to it
while looking amazing and being a pleasure to use at the same time.
This system is the stuff of dreams."
Karl Stade The build
CPU: Intel Core i7 980X (3.33GHZ, 12MB CACHE, 6.4GT/SEC QPI)Hot off the silicon press, this is hands-down the fastest (and most expensive) consumer-grade CPU in the world. The Intel Core i7 980X is armed with six physical processor cores and 12 processing threads and will absolutely chew through any task thrown at it, and still be ready for more!
CPU COOLER: Cogage Arrow (with extra fans)I had considered listing a LCS (Liquid Cooling System) for this rig, considering it is an unlimited budget affair and the CPU is worth over a grand. However, for ease of installation, a high quality CPU air cooler was selected instead, which will still keep temperatures nice and low. Add a couple of Scythe S-FLEX 120mm (1200RPM) fans to the Arrow and you're looking at a high-performing CPU cooler that shouldn't sound too much like a jet engine is taking off inside the case.
ASUS (SPONSOR) MOTHERBOARD: Rampage II Extreme (X58)Supporting the Core i7 980X, the ASUS Rampage Extreme is one of the best consumer grade motherboards that money can buy. Made for gamers and performance enthusiasts who want all the features and the best performance possible, the Rampage is the best choice if money is no object. This board supports a whole lot of tweaking and performance-enhancing technology, too many to list, just let me say that if you want the best this is pretty much it - sponsor or no sponsor!
ASUS (SPONSOR) GRAPHICS CARD: ASUS Radeon HD 5970The latest and greatest GPU on the market by ASUS. Supports DirectX 11, great overclocking potential, powerful gaming performance. Also supports ATI Eyefinity Technology that allows you to play over multiple screens, as well as ATI Stream technology which allows GPU assisted acceleration of compatible applications. Since there are no budget restrictions, I considered going CrossFire with these cards, however the fact of the matter is that, apart from certain benchmarking programs, there is almost
nothing that will be able to hinder even
one of these 5970s. This card is one of the best gaming and consumer grade graphics cards on the market right now. Even when playing the latest games on maximum settings and on a high-resolution screen the 5970 will be more than competent. If by some amazing chance the 5970 did need extra grunt, adding another 5970 in CrossFire would seal the deal.
MEMORY: OCZ OCZ3P1600LV12GS 12GB (6 x 2048mb) DDR3 1600 RAM KitOCZ has long had the reputation of providing high quality and performing memory. This kit consists of six 2GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM modules, which will provide an impressive 12GB total memory, more than enough for some serious number crunching, multitasking, virtual machines and gaming all at once!
HARD DRIVE 1: Corsair Force Series SSD 200GBUsing the latest Sandforce controller, the Corsair Force Series SSD is what most SSD enthusiasts dream of. It might cost quite a lot, but the performance is blazingly fast. This part will play one of the biggest roles in making the computer extremely fast, responsive, not to mention quartering boot times. Using the standard SATA II interface, this SSD should pull a maximum read speed of 285 MB/s and write speed of 275 MB/s. This SSD should be the primary OS drive to be most effective, with slower but larger capacity HDDs as secondary storage.
HARD DRIVE 2: 3x Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TBThe Samsung F3 is the best performance HDD on the market. Known to be one of the fastest traditional HDDs, quieter than WD Caviar Blacks, its solid 1TB capacity provides plenty of storage space, solid build quality/reliability and is still competitively priced. Throw in a few of these into your computer as secondary storage and running out of space should never be an issue again.
OPTICAL DRIVE: Pioneer BDR-205BK (OEM)The Pioneer BDR-205BK (as well as the retail equivalent 205BKRP) is one of the best Blu-ray, DVD, CD optical drives you can buy. Allowing 12x Blu-ray write speed, as well as full read/write functionality of DVDs, CD and DVD-RAM disks, this drive is the ultimate optical drive for the ultimate gaming/HTPC computer system.
PSU: Enermax Revolution85+ 1250wMany novice PC builders do not understand the importance of a high quality and suitably powered PSU for their system. A cheap, underpowered, generic PSU will often be the cause of many system errors, failures, noise, overheating and instability. It is imperative that a high quality and suitable PSU is chosen for the respective system. The Enermax Revolution85+ 1250W is known by many extreme PC enthusiasts as being one of the highest powered and reliable PSUs on the market. 1250W rated power, 100% modular design, 85+ efficiency and future-ready design make this the best choice for this ultimate all-rounder rig. The system itself wont need all 1250W, however it does allow plenty of headroom for adding one (or a few) extra graphics cards down the track without any hassles.
CASE: Lian Li TYR PC-X2000The TYR PC-X2000 is an amazing case, not only in features and cooling performance, but in sheer beauty. Despite its large stature you would be more than happy to have this baby in your lounge room housing the ultimate gaming/HTPC computer. Built entirely from aluminium in typical Lian-Li style, it features three separated heat zones to ensure effective cooling of your components, a full filtration system, full I/O options and heaps of space to house multiple large graphics cards, six internal HDD bays and more. This case will last multiple upgrades.
MONITOR: 3x Dell 3008WFP (UltraSharp 30" Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor)If you have an awesome, high-powered computer system why would you want to skimp on the monitors? Three Dell 3008WFP monitors at 2560x1600 resolution, running at once using ATI Eyefinity would be an amazing, immersive visual experience. This monitor is the ultimate all-rounder, perfect for gaming, watching movies, editing and general use. It also looks awesome with brushed aluminium housing.
KEYBOARD/MOUSE: Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500 Revolution (combo)The Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500 Revolution is the ultimate in wireless performance. Featuring ergonomic design, long battery life, Bluetooth support, integrated LCD and more. This is the ultimate wireless keyboard/mouse package, perfect for all tasks from gaming to browsing the web, and everything in between. This comes with a Bluetooth USB receiver module that can also function as a Bluetooth hub. No need to buy anything extra.
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 7 Ultimate x64The latest and greatest OS from Microsoft and they seem to have gotten it right this time (not that Vista was really that bad anyway). Great features, security, ease of use, performance, DX11 support for the latest games, media centre for HTPC use, easy networking and file sharing, plus more. The 64-bit version is well supported, stable and basically the only sensible choice if you have a modern computer with 4GB+ of memory.
TV TUNER: Compro VideoMate Vista E900F PCIeAccording to multiple online reviews and peer feedback, the E900F is one of the best-value, feature-rich, reliable, functional and well supported TV tuners currently on the market. Full of features, too many to list really, this is the ultimate TV tuner solution for your gaming grade HTPC. Software and drivers are solid for this as well. This package bundles a certified Windows Media Centre remote with it. It also have WHQL certified drivers and software for Windows XP/Vista/7 x86/x64 editions, so it's good to know it will all work perfectly.
SPEAKERS: Edifier M2600 5.1Very popular 5.1 surround speakers, due to the great performance, sound quality and competitive price. The Logitech X-530 speakers are also another potential option if you can’t find the Edifier M2600 locally at a decent price.
SLEEVING KIT: MDPC Sleeve-Kit + Pin-Remover by MOLEXIf you're going to have a top-of-the-range, custom-built computer, you would be raving mad not to spend a little extra time and money to sleeve you cables with the best that money can buy, MDPC sleeving. As anyone who has seen some of the systems on the MDPC website, this stuff looks amazing, is extremely durable, protects your cables and turns that unsightly rats nest of cables into a beautiful work of art. You know you want to.
