Well guys, that time is finally almost here. Skyrim will be released in a mere 31 hours at the time of this article being typed up. Sorry for the delay but I just wanted to build up some anticipation…Not really, on with the list! As a side note, yes I am calling this an enthusiast build but, I am not talking about an elitist jerk type of build. These are the best parts to buy for a gaming rig, we’re not talking about buying an EVGA SR-2 and 48Gbs of ram here, although that would awesome…
Computer Chassis:
Cooler Master HAF X Full Tower – $199.00+Free Shipping (189.99 After Instant Savings / 179.99 After M.I.R.)
You would be hard pressed to find a gaming case on the market today that gives you more for your dollar. Not only does the HAF X support all of the super-sized motherboards, it also boasts an impressive amount of fans (which cool quite well I might add), It gives you ample storage space for HDDs and Optical Drives. Couple all of that with the fact that it will fit any video card or CPU cooler on the market, and you have one heck of a gaming case. The biggest con to the case is the styling, not all can relate to the whole over the top gamer design.
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Motherboard:
Gigabyte UD7 LGA 1155 Motherboard – $349.99+9.48 Shipping
Is this an expensive motherboard? Yes, but quite simply put this is hands down the most complete LGA 1155 motherboard on the market. Sure, some of the other great brands have good motherboards as well such as ASUS, and MSI but, the Gigabyte takes all of the features of the other two brands motherboards and then makes it all better. I’m not a fan of a whole lot of Gigabyte products but when it comes to motherboards they definitely have their stuff together. The Gigabyte UD7 offers an extremely large set of features that many of the other LGA 1155 motherboards don’t, such as full x16 support for Crossfire and SLI. (most brands use the 8x/8x Format with LGA 1155)
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Power Supply:
Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 1200w – $269.99+Free Shipping (239.99 After Instant Savings / 219.99 After M.I.R.)
Cooler Master hands down has the best power supply’s in this price range. Most of the other big brands’ 1200w PSU’s run you around 290-350 bucks with the exact same features as this one. The best way to look at it, this power supply will power everything you can throw at it, period.
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Processor:
Core I7 2700K Sandy Bridge 3.7GHz – $369.99+Free Shipping
*gasps* I know, we’ve shifted from AMD to Intel processors’. But anybody can tell you that to build a true high-end gaming rig you have to go with Intel, sure AMD has amazing products for the low to mid-range market but when it comes to pure horsepower, nothing beats an Intel. I really like AMD’s new 8-core bulldozer processors but until they get the performance fixed for gaming I cannot recommend them to you, the reader. That is unless AMD wants to send me one so that I can test the performance for myself *winks.* 4 Cores running at 3.7Ghz add onto that the Hyper Threading which will read the CPU as an 8-Core and you’ve got yourself a Skyrim Crusher (I hope.)
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Memory:
G-Skill Sniper 8GB (2x4GB) - $109.99+Free Shipping
Yes I know, you guys are shocked by G-Skill making the list for a third time. Truth is that G-Skill makes the best memory for the price on the market. Some of you may question why I chose 1600mhz ram again instead of going up to say, 2000mhz. Simple, in my opinion I feel that RAM with super-tight timings and a good base speed outperform memory with a higher base speed and loose timings. If somebody can produce results that my theory is incorrect please inform me and I will gladly eat my words (nom, nom.)
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Video Card:
HIS IceQ Turbo HD 6970 2GB – $379.99+7.87 Shipping (369.99 After Instant Savings / 359.99 After M.I.R.)
The HIS HD 6970 is one heck of a video card. I did think about going with the GTX 570 or 580, but I couldn’t justify the price increase. Sure those cards are faster in certain instances but they also cost quite a bit more. And if you’re really going for an enthusiast build, buy two of these and put them in Crossfire, I mean seriously 4GB’s of Memory, find me a game that can utilize all of that on a single display. Also as a note, there are cheaper models of the HD 6970 but after the time I spent with the HIS HD 6870, I can officially say that their IceQ coolers are absolutely phenomenal, add in the increased clocks and the heftier price tag doesn’t seem so bad.
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Hard Drive:
Western Digital Black 2Tb 6.0Gbps Sata III – $249.99+7.28 Shipping
Western Digital makes the most reliable hard drives hands down. I still actually own a Western Digital Black 80GB IDE Hard Drive that runs like a champ that’s in my nephew’s computer now. 2TB’s of Storage space (for those who don’t know 2TB is 2,000GB’s) 64MB’s of On-board Cache, 7200RPM, SATA III. Please note this is a Bare-Drive and you will need to purchase a SATA III Cable.
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CPU Cooler:
Corsair H100 CPU Cooler – $119.99+Free Shipping
Corsair is so impressive to me. You take a company that has been one of the market leaders in memory and then decide to branch out into PC Cases, Headphones, Mice, Keyboards, CPU Coolers, and instantly become extremely successful in all those fields as well. The Corsair H100 is a dual 120mm Fan Water Cooler. Fear not, I’m not asking you to give yourself the headache that is true enthusiast water cooling. The Corsair H100 is a maintenance-free water cooler, that’s right, all you have to do is install it. The performance from the H100 is far superior to anything even remotely in its’ price range.
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Optical Drive:
Samsung Blu Ray Drive – $59.99+Free Shipping
This gorgeous Samsung Blu Ray drive not only will let you read all of your favorite media types such as DVD+R/-R, DVD-RW +R/-R, but will also allow to finally venture into the realm of playing back Blu Ray movies on your PC. Please note that this is an OEM drive and you will need to purchase a SATA Cable.
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TOTAL: $2,059.91 Before Mail in Rebates And Shipping
($38.51 Shipping and and $40 In Mail In Rebates Respectively.)
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Items You May Not Have.
Monitor:
Dell UltraSharp 30″ Monitor – $1,599.99+Free Shipping (1,399.99 After Instant Savings)
What, no Eyefinity? No. Eyefinity is great and all but nothing compares to a single 2560×1600 resolution monitor for gaming. The picture is so sharp, and the monitor is the perfect size. Plus if you REALLY wanted to, you could do eyefinity down the road with three Dell UltraSharps’. *salivates*
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Keyboard:
Mionix Zibal 60 – $149.99+8.50 Shipping
Mionix is an up and coming brand that has yet to release a bad product. This keyboard supports LED back lighting, Black Cherry MX Mechanical Key Switches, Six Key Rollover, and “rage proof durability”, seriously.
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Mouse:
Mionix NAOS 5000 – $89.99+1.99 Shipping (84.99 After Instant Savings)
Yup, another Mionix product. Like I said above they have yet to release a bad product. This mouse has got everything you need and then some; adjustable weight, LED illumination, 5040 DPI, 128kbs of internal memory for storage, and ergonomically designed (A big plus for somebody ambidextrous such as myself.)
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Speakers/Headset:
Seinnheiser PC350 – $229.95+Free Shipping (179.95 After Instant Savings)
I know, I know. You’re all clamoring for a fancy virtual 7.1 Headset, but in reality this is hands down one of the best gaming headsets on the market. Sure it doesn’t support Virtual 5.1 or 7.1 natively (that’s what sound cards are for anyways.) But what you do get is one of the, if not the, best sounding stereo headphones on the market for the PC. The clarity and quality that Seinnheiser brings to the table is unmatched.
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Logitech Z906 500w 5.1 – $399.00+Free Shipping (330.99 After Instant Savings)
Was there any question what speaker set would fill this vacancy? The Logitech Z906 are the next generation of Logitech’s High-End 5.1 Systems for the PC. With this set they have lost a bit of bass and punch, but more than made up for it with an all-around better sounding speaker system for your PC needs.
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Total: $1814.92 With Headset Before Shipping (26.51 Shipping)
Total: $1965.96 With Speakers Before Shipping (43.82 Shipping)
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Thank You For Reading.
Please CLICK HERE To Go Back To The Entry Build. Or CLICK HERE For The Mid-Range Build
