APC's judges have chosen the four entrants to contest the 2009-10 Master Builder Final in the APC Labs. The finalists had to complete a special challenge, set by APC and the competition's major sponsor, ASUS.

The finalists are:

 

 

"Define an Extreme All-rounder PC that is outstanding at three things: Gaming, Video Editing/Encoding, and media centre tasks."

This was a difficult challenge. An all-rounder PC is normally good at all three areas, but not excel in any, like a specialist PC. The judges were asking for one that is equally great at all of them!

Semi-finalists could "spend" as much as they liked to meet the brief (bearing in mind they didn't actually have to physically build the PC, just define it on paper).  Entries were judged on how well they met the brief.  The only conditions were that the motherboard and graphics card in the PC configuration must be both made by ASUS, the competition's sponsor. The build's other components could be from any other vendor.

The four finalists picked by the judges to become finalists will face the supreme challenge of building a PC in our Labs later this month.



 

UPGRADE KIT

This prize was awarded to the best-performed semi-finalist. The winner is Jason Campbell, whose build, featuring dual Xeon processors, blew away the judges.
 

 

CPU: AMD 965 Phenom II Processor

AMD Phenom II is for high definition entertainment, gaming, creativity, and beyond. With AMD Phenom II processors as the foundation, you'll enjoy a new level of responsiveness and visual intensity. AMD puts high definition computing within everyone’s reach.


 

Motherboard: ASUS M4A89GTD PRO

This motherboard supports AMD AM3 multi-core processors with unique L3 cache and delivers better overclocking capabilities with less power consumption. It features dual-channel DDR3 memory support and accelerates data transfer rate up to 5200MT/s via a HyperTransport 3.0 based system bus. This motherboard also supports AMD CPUs in the new 45nm manufacturing process.
 

Graphics card: ASUS EAH5850 Graphic Card

This card comes with exclusive Voltage Tweak Technology for performance increases of up to 38%. It has a gigantic 1GB DDR5 for incredible gaming performance and  HDMI & DisplayPort output support.
 

 Hard Drive: WD Caviar Black 2 Terabyte

WD Caviar Black high performance 3.5-inch SATA hard drives combine 7200 RPM spin speed, 32 MB or 64 MB cache, SATA 3 Gb/s interface and up to 2 TB capacity with an integrated dual processor for lightning-fast performance in demanding desktop, workstation, and multi-drive systems. Rock solid mechanical architecture and enhanced reliability features help protect the drive and the data stored on it. Backed by a 5-year limited warranty.
 
 
   

Memory: Kingston HyperX DDR3

Regardless of your needs for dual channel or triple channel memory, HyperX DDR3’s comprehensive memory product lines offer the ideal memory kit that will best suit your needs. Beneath its appealing yet sturdy exterior, the kit boasts exceptional cooling efficiency to deliver unrivalled aesthetics and space management, making it the best choice for systems with or without casing.
   


These are the entrants selected by the judges for the semi-final challenge. Their entries are listed below. If your name is not listed below, don't despair. You may still win a prize through our special Reader's Choice competition (to be launched Monday, March 29). All semi-finalists will be sent a form to fill in for the Semi-final challenge.

Adrian Rundle 
Andrew Carr 
Barton Ip 
Bradley Wilson 
Braycen Jackwitz
Chris Hutcheon
Christopher Lampard 
Colin Bloomfield 
Damien Pedler 
Daniel De Vries
Daniel Valastro 
Darren Gatt
David Pierson 
Donald Connor 
Dushan Karovich-Wynne
Ho-Kyung Lee (Benjamin)
Ian Reschke
James Moffat 
Jason Campbell
John Cox
Justin Goldsworthy
Karen Conneeley & Robert Halas
Karl Stade 
Kye Nelson 
Leith Magon 
Luke Monaghan 
Mark Roper
Matt Callaghan 
Matt Witherow 
Mick Brown
Rod Petch
Samuel Reynolds
Scott Weaver
Simon Ware
Sunny Yeung
Walden Wong
 


 

 
Andrew Carr - All-rounder PC
 
Dushan Karovich-Wynne - Powerful All-Rounder/Casual Gaming
 
Rod Petch - The Ultimate All-rounder

Christopher Lampard - Gaming focused All-rounder

Damien Pedler - All-rounder PC
  Mark Roper - Allrounder PC
  Matt Witherow - All-rounder & Gaming PC
 
   

 
Matthew Hartman - "Tight ass" Quality Budget PC 

Braycen Jackwitz - Internet PC
  Ho-Kyung Lee (Benjamin) - Ultra-affordable PC
  Justin Goldsworthy - Ultra-affordable, all-round PC
  Colin Bloomfield - Budget "Experimental" PC
   
   

 
Matt Callaghan - Budget Gaming PC 
  Darren Gatt - Gaming PC
  James Moffat - Gaming PC
  Kye Nelson - Gaming & Extremely fast MSN'ing
  Ian Reschke - Gaming PC
  Samuel Reynolds - Affordable Gaming PC
  Daniel Valastro - Mid-range Gaming PC
  Scott Weaver - Gaming & Photoshop PC
 
   

 
David Pierson - Multimedia and Gaming PC 
 
Bradley Wilson - Gaming and Video Editing PC


   

  Jason Campbell - Media Centre

Luke Monahan - Movies and Music Appliance PC
  Adrian Rundle - Media PC
   
 
  Mick Brown - Windows Home Server
  Karen Conneeley & Robert Halas - NAS
   
   

 
Jason Vickery - 3D Rendering and Video Editing PC

John Cox - Video Editing PC
   
   
 
 






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