Warren Chisholm - ASUS Master Challenge Top 10

NOMINATED ASUS MOTHERBOARD:   Maximums III Gene

 NOMINATED ASUS GRAPHICS CARD:   ASUS EAH5850


CPU: Intel Core i5 750
By staying a step behind the bleeding edge, you can still be competative, while saving some dollars in the process :). That is why I chose the i5 over the i7. As seen the the APC review in the Oct 09 issue on p.42, although not as powerful as the i7, it packs enough punch to be the basis for a great gaming PC. The good thing about the ASUS motherboard is that it supports both i5 and i7, allowing you to upgrade in the future.

CPU COOLER: Stock cooling
To save some bucks, I'm sticking with the stock cooler. I am sure the sound dampening features of my chosen case will be sufficent not to warrant a quiter cooler.

MEMORY: 4GB, Corsair Dominator Memory Kit
CMD4GX3M2A1600C8, DDR3, 1600 MHz
I'm a fan of Corsair. Corsair have a reputation for producing solid RAM. The RAM I have chosen has Latency of 8-8-8-24 for maximum reliability and performance. With a stylish heatspreader, looking at this RAM you know it demands some serious respect.

AUDIO: Onboard
My chosen ASUS board has SupremeFX X-Fi built-in. This is awesome enough - with "unique audio innovations for gamers to spot enemies in 3D environment during game play."

HARD DRIVE: 2x Western Digital VelociRaptor 3.5", 300GB 10,000 RPM
For gaming, you want a fast hard drive. 2x300GB WD VelociRaptor 10,000 RPM in RAID 0 (Striped). Nuf said.

OPTICAL DRIVE: ASUS DRW-24B1LT
For gaming any old DVD drive will do really. This drive has all the features you could want: a SATA interface, fast 24X write speed, Nero8 buring software, lightscribe technology and a cool energy saving feature that automatically closes drive applications when not in use.

PSU: Corsair HX450W
Did I say I was a fan of Corsair? A massive power supply isn't needed here. With the i5 rated at 95W and the maximum usage of the 5850 at 151 Watts, the Corsair HX450W is totally capable of handling the power requirements of this build. It's 80 Plus certified, quiet and modular. This means it will produce a reliable system, with a clean, unclutterd case that will be cool and quiet.

CASE: Antec Mini P180
I love the look of this case. I'm not one for those monolith cases with the glowing fans and windowed side panels. This is a mATX case that is perfect for the ASUS Maximus III GENE. The power supply resides in a separate chamber to isolate heat from the system and lower system noise. The side panels are also designed to dampen noise. Fans at the front to keep those fast HDDs cool, and a HUGE fan at the top to extract out the heat from the CPU. One more handy feature is the inclusion of an e-SATA front port.

MONITOR: BenQ E2200HD
This monitor has featured in APC mags Best Builds section for a while now. So I'm going with this one for my pick.

KEYBOARD: Logitech G15
The programmable "G-keys" and 'GamePanel" LCD on this keyboard can enhance your gaming performance and the backlit keys can help visibility for those late nights :)

MOUSE: Logitech G500
With superior sensitivity, onboard memory and weight tuning, it is the perfect gaming "sidearm".

OPERATING SYSTEM: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
I went for the latest Windows - Windows 7. For the latest games it's the best. The 64 bit version allows full use of the 4 GB of RAM.