Buying advice: High-End Workstation/Gaming-PC

Published by Marc Büchel on 02.07.12

The following purchase advice is targeted at users who are looking for a High-End Gaming PC. You should be aware that this recommendation results in quite an expensive system. All the products we mention we would buy ourselves.







System components

Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 WS 366.- CHF 305.- EUR
Processor: Intel Core i7-3930K 569.- CHF 474.- EUR
Memory: G.Skill ARES 4 x 4 GB DDR3 2133 CL9-11-10-28 187.- CHF156.- EUR
Graphics card: ASUS GTX 680 DirectCU II OC 599.- CHF 499.- EUR
Solid State Disk: OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 240 GByte 581.- CHF 484.- EUR
Hard drive: Hitachi Deskstar 7K4000 7200 RPM 4 Terabyte 299.- CHF 249.- EUR
DVD/CD burner: LG BH10LS, BluRay/DVD Brenner 89.- CHF 74.- EUR

Subtotal:   2690.-  CHF 2242.- EUR

Brief description

Regarding motherboard, processor and memory we recommend Intels most recent socket 2011 combined with 4 x 4 GByte of DDR3 memory. Paired up with an Intel Core i7-3930K CPU there is plenty of performance for gaming. The motherboard supports SLI which means that in a year, if you shouldn't have enough gaming power anymore, you can simply buy the same graphics card you already own for a second time and you're back in business. As a video card we recommend a GeForce GTX 680.

Case, Power Supply, Cooling

Case: Lian Li PC-V1020B 250.- CHF 208.- EUR
CPU cooler: Prolimatech Super Mega 80.- CHF 67.- EUR
Fan: 2 x Xigmatek XLF-F1455 140mm 48.- CHF 40.- EUR
Power Supply: Seasonic P-1000 (SS-1000XP F3) 1000 Watt 263.- CHF 219.- EUR

Subtotal:   641.- CHF 534.- EUR

Brief description

With the Lian Li PC-V1020B we recommend an extravagant midi tower. Lian Li is famous for their craftmanship. Within the past years they've set one standard after another when it comes to high-end computer cases. Regarding the power supply we chose a Seasonic P-1000 (SS-1000XP F3). The thing offers 1000 Watts and it has been 80 PLUS Platinum certified. According to 80plus.org this block offers more than 92.5 percent efficiency at 50 percent load. Of course, a system like this needs an adequate and silent CPU cooler. Prolimatechs Super Mega, paired with two Xigmateck XLF-F1455 140 millimeter fans does this job really good.

Dispaly and Peripherals

Display: HP ZR2740w, 27'' LED, IPS 2560 x 1440 Pixel 641- CHF 524.- EUR
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 155.- CHF 129.- EUR
Mouse: SteelSeries Sensei 99.- CHF 83.- EUR
Mousepad: SteelSeries 9HD 44.- CHF 37.- EUR
Headset: Sennheiser PC 360 209.- CHF 174.- EUR

Subtotal:   1148.- CHF 947.- EUR

Brief description

Regarding the display we recommend a 27 inch one from HP which ships with an IPS panel and 2560 x 1440 pixels resolution. Therefore this display can also be used for professional purposes. The keyboard in this case comes from Razer. It is fully mechanical and should withstand millions of keystrokes. Mouse an mousepad are from SteelSeries. This combination allows incredibly precise aiming. Last but not least there is the headset which comes from Sennheiser. Once you wear this thing you'll know why we recommend it.
If you should be thinking about buying this entire configuration you'd have to pay CHF 4479.- The price is without obligation.

Total:   4479.- CHF 3733.- EUR


Pleas feel free to use the comment system below or our Forums to tell us what you think about this configuration. If you have ideas for improvement(s) we'd happily read them. Please always consider that the price should stay withing the given borders.


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Buying advice: High-End Workstation/Gaming-PC - Buying advice > 2012 - Reviews - ocaholic