Booseek's
Colossus Build
Processor: Intel Core i7-3930K ------
$593.05
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme X79 ------
$417.79
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 16 GB, 2133, CAS 9 (4 x 4 GB) ------
$154.99
Graphics Card: ASUS GTX 590 3GB x2 in SLI ------ $726.17 x 2 =
$1452.34
Storage 1: Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240 GB x3 in RAID 0 (720 GB) ------ $399.99 x 3 =
$1199.97
Storage 2: Seagate Barracuda 2 TB ST2000DM001, 7200 RPM, 64 MB Cache ------
$142.04
Case: Cooler Master HAF X ------
$169.95
Power Supply: ENERMAX MAXREVO 1350W, Modular, 80 PLUS Gold ------
$249.99
CPU Cooling: Thermalright Silver Arrow ------
$74.99
Case Cooling 1: Cooler Master Megaflow 200mm, 110 CFM/19 dBA ------
$11.47
Case Cooling 2: Cooler Master SickleFlow 120mm, 70 CFM/19 dBA ------
$5.58
Case Cooling 3: SilverStone FN83 80mm, 32 CFM/20 dBA ------
$4.99
Cooling Accessories: Thermalright Silver Arrow Screw Set for LGA 2011 ------
$5.99
Optical Drive: ASUS 12x Blu-Ray Burner, 8 MB cache, BW-12B1ST ------
$90.31
Card Reader: Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 Internal Card Reader ------
$16.99
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar Essence STX, 24-bit, 192 KHz, Hi-Fi Headphone Amp ------
$167.14
Amplifier: Lepai Tripath TA2020 ------
$21
Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 ------
$149.99
Other: Metro Vacuum ED500 DataVac Electric Duster ------
$49.82
TOTAL: $4979
*The rules do not disallow out-of-stock items from reputable merchants so I have included several.
Since the adjective "ultimate" can be interpreted in several ways, I chose to go the more balanced and reasonable route, choosing not to skimp on any part, and refusing to select a slightly more powerful component at the expense of another more important component. In this build, everything is important -- gaming, entertainment, work, speed, storage, silence, diverse capabilities, and efficiency. Thus, it was easy to choose between the powerful
Intel Core i7-3930K and Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition CPUs; the latter offers too little extra performance for nearly a 40% increase in price. The socket 2011
ASUS Rampage IV Extreme motherboard offers quad-channel memory support, which the very fast
2133 MHz/CAS 9 G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series (16 GB) utilize with 4 x 4 GB modules. It is also possible to go for 32 GB, but at what cost (or benefit) to the rest of the system?
Because we are playing at beyond HD resolutions with this $5000 build, two
ASUS GTX 590 cards will be used in Quad-SLI. This is the most powerful and stable combination we can use for under $1500, and anything more would be overkill at the expense of something else. If we view the "ultimate" computer as exceptionally future-proof, two GTX 590s will do it.
Since we chose to go with a Core i7-3930K instead of the Extreme Edition CPU, we have enough money to get three
240 GB Mushkin Chronos Deluxe (720 GB total) SSDs in RAID 0,
one of the fastest SSDs available. This RAID solution is both faster and cheaper than one 720 GB SSD and offers more than enough space to fit all of our games, programs, and Windows installation. The
2 TB Seagate Barracuda HDD offers even more storage for our seldom-used files. Spinning at 7200 RPM and with 64 MB cache, it should be one of the fastest traditional hard drives on the market today.
The
Cooler Master HAF X offers massive room and even more massive cooling, having no other competition other than the HAF 932 that it recently usurped. The beautiful and rugged look of the HAF X communicates just how powerful this build is, while the raw cooling performance allows you to overclock our already-powerful system even further. The case comes with a 230mm front fan, 200mm top fan, 200mm side fan, and a 140mm rear fan, all rated at ~20 dBA for ultimate silence. We will add another
Cooler Master Megaflow 200mm 110 CFM/19 dBA fan to the top, a
Cooler Master SickleFlow 120mm 70 CFM/19 dBA fan to the VGA duct, and a
SilverStone FN83 80mm 32 CFM/20 dBA fan to the VGA holder, increasing the already-great airflow and maintaining the low ~20 dBA noise levels.
According to many review sites, the
Thermalright Silver Arrow slightly outperforms even the Corsair H100 Liquid Cooler with much lower noise levels and at a lower price point. In fact, it may even be the most powerful and efficient air cooler available. A
Thermalright Silver Arrow Screw Set for LGA 2011 is included in the build.
An
ASUS 12x Blu-Ray Burner, a
Rosewill 74-in-1 Card Reader, and the
top-rated ASUS Xonar Essence STX 7.1 Channel with Headphone Amp Sound Card are also included in this full-featured build. To connect (and get the most out of) our legendary
Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speakers to our ASUS card, a
Lepai Tripath TA2020 T-Amp is included. The award-winning
ENERMAX MAXREVO 1350W Modular PSU powers this build, and with an 80 PLUS Gold certification, does it with ultimate efficiency. A
Metro Vacuum ED500 DataVac Electric Duster will keep this build much cleaner than canned air.
those werent suppose to be 560 tis! no wonder i had so much money to work with, those werent 580s! 
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