August Extreme Gaming PC Buyer's Guide

Introduction

The months have passed on by, but it's finally time for another edition of the Extreme Gaming PC Buyer's guide. In keeping with the tradition in previous Extreme guides, where money is almost no object, we're once again armed with $4000 in cold hard cash to piece together an Extreme Gaming Machine of epic proportions. Expect to see the cream of the crop hardware, and what we feel are the best parts to satisfy the power hungry games of today, and provide the power for upcoming games as well.

As in any of our Buyer's Guides, we still have a set budget ($4,000 in this case), so we will not be able to go overboard with SCSI-RAID systems, dual-processor Xeon configurations, or presentation-sized plasma monitors. However, we feature the components that would make any extreme gamer proud, while staying within the $4000 price structure. Have you ever asked yourself this question: If I had $4,000 burning a hole in my pocket, what would I buy?

Extreme PC Budget: $4000

PC Case: Lian Li PC-68 USB w/ 430W Antec "True Power" PSU

Current Cost of Case: $135
Current Cost of PSU: $73
Months on List: New
Price Change: N/A

The Lian Li PC-68 is getting a bit long in the tooth, but here at SE, we've grown quite fond of this classic aluminum case. It offers a tough to beat combination of great style, design, and upgradeability. To this date, the PC-68 still stands out as a very attractive case, and despite being a standard sized unit, it is still fully capable of housing a large amount of components to satisfy even the most extreme user. With four external 5.25", three external 3.5", and four internal 3.5" bays, it'll be quite difficult to use up all of the expansion options.

The motherboard tray slides out to allow easy access and installation, something that is a virtual requirement for any serious computer user. The case ships standard with three internal 80mm fans; there are two fans at the front for air intake, and Lian Li was kind enough to include a 3 phase switch to control the speed and noise level of the intake fans. The PC-68 also has a rear exhaust for an 80mm fan to aid in the removal of the hot air trapped inside the system. The Lian Li PC-68 has some nice extra features like all-aluminum construction, which makes it a nice light case for increased mobility, and is a real plus for frequent LAN party-goers. For increased connectivity there are four USB ports at the front of the case, and this location means connectivity to game controllers, digital cameras, and mp3 players is much more convenient.

Lian Li cases are generally shipped without a power supply included in the package price. In terms of power supplies, name brands such as Enermax and Antec come to mind. Our personal preference is the Antec True Power line of PSUs, and the 430 Watt model is more than enough for an Extreme Gaming Machine. 300 Watts is generally enough for most systems, but the 430 Watt model will provide some extra assurance that system stability, overclocking and expansion options won't suffer from any lack of power.