Even With Unlimited Funds, Reason Applies

Any discerning computer parts shopper knows its not really about buying the most expensive parts, but getting the parts that maximize your money.

This applies even when you’re working with an unlimited budget. Even if you’ve budgeted several thousand dollars for your dream gaming PC, it still makes sense not to spend on what you really don’t need, right?

Take for instance the sub-$2000 gaming PC shared by Tom’s Hardware forum member tecmo34. While it spends top dollar on what’s now the most powerful consumer-level graphics card on the planet (the ATI Radeon HD 5970), it’s still content to spend “just” $290 for the Intel Core i7 920, not spending a thousand on the higher-end i7 975.

That’s because in terms fo performance, you get more by spending on the 2.66GHz i7 920, then simply overclocking it to clock speeds close to the i7 975’s 3.33GHz. Ultimately, extreme gaming performance depends more on your video card, not on your processor, no matter what Intel’s marketing tells you. At the same time, why would you bother spending top dollar on a Blu-Ray burner, when a $30 DVD rewriter is all you need for now?

Extreme Enthusiast Gaming Build

Without further ado, here’s tecmo34’s Extreme Enthusiast Gaming Build:

	Component	Item	Cost
	CPU	Intel Core i7-920 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor	$289
	Motherboard	ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 ATX Intel Motherboard	$289
	RAM	OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory	$164
	Heatsink Fan Assembly	XIGMATEK Intel Core i7 compatible Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler	$45
	Solid State Disk	Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5″ 80GB SATA II	$290
	Hard Disk	SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5″ SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive	$85
	GPU	SAPPHIRE 100280OCSR Radeon HD 5970	$625
	PSU	Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power “compatible with Core i7″ Power Supply	$120
	Optical Drive	Sony Optiarc DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B	$32
	Case	Antec Twelve Hundred Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window	$150
	Thermal Paste	Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound	$7
Total			$2096

There you have it, “only” $2096 for the most powerful PC gaming hardware money can buy. You can spend a whole lot more on parts that are technically more powerful, but the law of diminishing returns plays more of a role beyond this level. The build above obviously doesn’t include a display, other peripherals, and even the OS, so let’s cover that below.

Display

With such a powerful gaming build at your disposal, it’s an utter waste to settle for small displays that have a resolution less than 1920 x 1080. Heck, the 5970 is powerful to drive six different displays. I am not kidding.

Anyways, if your budget was nearly drained by the build above, there’s nothing wrong with settling for “just” the Hanns·G HG-281DPB, a $300 27.5″ display with a resolution of—you guessed it—1920 x 1080. To maximize the video card however, you need to get at least two.

However, if you really want to go all the way, while still maximizing your money, then why not get an LED TV? Paying $2800 for a computer monitor sounds a bit extreme, but there’s no easier way to equip your setup with a large display.

Peripherals

If you do opt for the LED TV display above, you’d better get a wireless mouse keyboard combo like the Logitech Pro 2800 Cordless Desktop ($65), so that you can keep yourself an appreciable distance away from the TV. For a more conventional mouse-keyboard setup however, the Logitech Black Internet 350 USB Keyboard and Microsoft D66-00066 Black Wired Optical Mouse cost $12 each.

Operating System

Without a doubt, you should get Windows 7. Unless you need advanced network management and file encryption functionality, there’s no reason to opt for the pricey Ultimate Edition. With 6GB of RAM in the build above, you’ll need Windows 7 Professional edition, 64-bit ($140).

Suggestions

Got anything to add here? Feel free to leave ‘em below.

Source

Post from: The Gadget Blog