Here at IwishIHadThis.com we strive to bring you the latest and greatest products in both the consumer and professional field. Now as we have grown larger we have created a new section dedicated reviewing some of those products that are available to consumers. To start this new section I felt that we should start off right by putting together the Ultimate Computer system from start to finish

Enjoy!

First off this rig will be based on the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700, almost the fastest Quad-core chip out there but as we most of us know Intel does supply high-end custom retailers with a slightly higher clocked Quad-core chip, the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800, coming in at 2.93ghz compared to 2.66 but this matters little when we simply overclock our chip to near insane speeds anyway. At a base of 2.66ghz and a price of $999.99 it will more than handle anything out there without breaking a sweat, even at stock speeds. Before i go on i would like to first address AMD and why i choose not to go with one of their high-end products. Until AMD finally gets out there “true quad-core” Barcelona processor to consumers nothing can really touch Intel at this point. It was however nice to see AMD on top awhile ago with there FX series, but hey a lil competition is always good for the consumer so we will stick with Intel for now

Next were are going to need a something to cool that power hungry chip down to reasonable temperatures, but this brings one very tough decision. Obviously we are going to overclock our system to a reasonable high level therefore we must choose between the complicated setup and dangers of a liquid cooling solution or a louder, less effective traditional heat sink and fan combination. However there is one more option that will suit our extreme cooling needs with out the hassle of a liquid cooling solution, and that is the Vigor Monsoon™ II Active TEC CPU Cooling System. The Vigor Monsoon Cooler uses a thermoelectric cooler, or Peltier Cooler, which is a solid-state heat pump that uses the Peltier effect to move heat. Basically for those of us with lees of a science background it uses electricity to effectively move heat from one place to the another. This radical method of cooling comes in at a pricey cost of $149.99 but can cool a processor nearly as effective as a liquid cooling solution. Oh and i forgot to mention it also includes a 5.25″ LCD display so that you can monitor and control the cooler directly

Ok, so were off to a good start but one of the most important components in a any PC build is the power supply. The need for a good power supply surpasses the importance of nearly every other component in my opinion (You cant run anything unless you got a stable and continuous power supply) but unfortunately it is generally one of most overlooked components in a PC build. Thats why i selected Thermaltake Toughpower 1200W power supply (W0133RU), personally i own Thermaltake’s 700W version and i can honestly say its by far the most reliable power supply i have ever owned. The 1200W is simply a higher output version and also incorporates a modular cable system allowing for a less cluttered look inside you PC that also heps with better airflow. At 1200W you are guaranteed to be able handle this generation of Quad-Core processors and power hungry graphics cards. At a price of $389.99 it will certainly be the most expensive PSU you ever purchase but then again this is IWishIHahThis.com so its all good

Now that we have selected a capable power supply we can now move on to our case selection, everyone should also remember that its always a wise idea to select you case after you choose your power power supply to ensure that you PSU will be able to comfortably fit within the case. We choose the Cooler Master Stacker 830 Evolution for its spacious interior and excellent airflow while its all aluminum construction helps greatly with weight and heat conductivity. This massive case allows us room for a pair of the incredibly long 8800 Ultra graphics cards (more on that later) and incorporates a removable motherboard tray. Personally i believe this is one of the most beautifully crafted computer cases out there and it will be perfect for our high-end build and comes in at a price of $259.99

Obviously our next step in this build must be out motherboard and i have selected the Asus Striker Extreme. I know that DDR3 memory and the P35 chipset have recently been released but its hard to justify spending so much money on a technology with such a high price and the disadvantage of providing no substantial performance gains until they can be “fully optimized” in the future. The Asus Striker Extreme uses a extremely overclockable 680i chipset that has recently become a much more stable platform due recent updates. Along with the clear advantages of the 680i chipset the board also includes three PCIx16 slots for adding a trio of graphics cards and a handy external LCD for quickly identifying common problems. Coming in at a price of $329.99 its not cheap but nothing ever is when your build a high-end gaming PC.

Now we all know that a that the best processor and graphics card wont do a damn thing unless you have some quality RAM to help everything out. Thats why i have chosen the largely popular Corsair Dominator series for their low latencies and extreme ability to overclock beyond reasonable levels. (Aided by the fact that a powerful clip-on fan comes with every set of RAM to ensure proper cooling) Theses sticks run at 4-4-4-12 at 2.4v with a speed of 1111mhz! And can things can take the abuse of a highly overclocked system with ease but at a price of $229.99 for 2 X 1GB sticks they are not cheap but thats more reason for use to double up with 4GB’s so we can tackle the next generation of DX10 games and HD content with ease

As i mentioned before were need this beast to perform well with the upcoming DX10 titles coming out later this year. (And by that i mean Crytek’s Crisis) So were are going to need something pretty impressive to pump out the pixel-perfect landscapes DX10 will offer and the perfect card for this build is the insanely fast Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra. Before i dive to deep into the cards specifics i want to address why i choose to go with the G80 instead of the newly released R600 based ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT. Now i know the ATI card has some pretty impressive tricks up its sleeves but in basic performance the 8800GTS 640MB is more of a direct competitor to the 2900 XT than the 8800GTX or the 8800 Ultra. ATI does have the 2900 XTX with 1GB of RAM but it has yet to be released.

The Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra is simply the fastest graphics card on the planet and has a price tag to match ($800+) We choose the eVGA version of the card due to eVGA’s outstanding quality and warranty. The card features 768MB of GDDR3 RAM, core clock of 612mhz with a memory clock of 2160mhz, and thats BEFORE we overclock it. However we all know two is always better than one so we have decided to run a pair of these cards in SLI to ensure they can handle the massive 30″ 2560×1600 monitor we chose but more on that later.

Next up is our hard drive selection, I choose to go with 2 x Western Digital Raptor X 150GB HDD running in Raid 0 to ensure blazing fast speeds for our operating system and programs. These drives operate at 10,000RPM with a SATA 3.0Gbps interface for so they can pretty much access anything at nearly light speeds. Also the top left picture HDD is the Raptor X drive with a clear plastic top so you can watch your drive operate (Not gonna make it faster but it is sure cool to look at running at full speed). Unfortunately like everything in this build everything comes with a hefty price and at $219.99 they aren’t cheap but damn are they fast.

As you already have figured out those drives are not nearly large enough for file storage and for that i choose the Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular recording) 750GB HDD. At a whopping 750GB this drive can hold quite a few “legally” downloaded movies and plenty of HD content. I am aware Hitachi currently supplies a 1TB drive but i much prefer Seagate and their 7200.10 series HDD’s due to their excellent warranty and long lifetime. At their current price of $239.99 they are much more expensive when compared to 500GB drives but hey this is IWishIHadThis.com so we just gotta have the best

Ok, so now we finally have nearly all of the major components selected, except for the sound card. Honestly a lot of people skimp on this area and i still can’t figure out why. Personally i don’t understand how people can pay $500+ for a video card but end up using the integrated sound on their motherboard. Nothing completes a movie or gaming experience without great sound. Therefore i choose the Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Fatal1ty sound card. Creative’s line of X-FI sounds cards are amazing and set the benchmark for gaming and provide up to a 7.1 surround sound system. In addition to that the Fatal1ty edition card includes 64mb of X-ram to help improve performance during gaming. Along with a remote and a 5.25” drive bay that includes nearly every audio connection available the Sound Blaster X-FI Fatal1ty sound card is the perfect choice and at a price of $179.99 its well worth every penny.

Obviously we need an optical drive and i have selected 2 x Lite-On 20x SATA DVD Burners with lightscribe. The choice was very simple, fast SATA connection, 20X speeds and lightscribe, honestly this is the perfect drive that combines speed and versatility. Also included in the package is a face plate to easily change the front cover of the drive (trust me this can come in handy). Also at a price of $39.99 its the perfect choice.

A lot of you out here may be wondering why i did not choose a Blu-Ray or HD DVD drive for this build. Well the answer is simple, they are way to slow to be able to be effectively used as a way to back up files. That and honestly if your gonna spend the money you might as well get Blu-ray or HD DVD player for you living room, not your computer.

With all this computing power it would be a waste to hook anything less than Dell’s UltraSharp 3007WFP-HC. This 30” giant boasts a 2560×1600 resolution, 1000:1 contrast ratio, media card ready, USB ports, and with numerous available connections the UltraSharp 3007WFP-HC is the perfect choice. There are however several competitors in this segment including HP and Apple, but the media card slots on the side of the Dell are extremely practical and help slightly ease the pain of spending $1,499.99 on a computer monitor.

Since this PC has some high-end gaming components its only right to include the best gaming mouse ever built, the Logitech G5. With the easy flick of a button you can change the dpi of the mouse for different applications, all the way up to an ultra high 2000dpi. Included with the mouse is also a set of weights so you can adjust the mouse for the proper feel and comfort. This is one of the best mice i have ever used and at price of $69.99 its actually a damn good bargin

For a keyboard Ive selected the Logitech Bluetooth Wireless Slim diNovo Media Desktop. While this build contains a large amount of gaming hardware i felt that many of the gaming keyboards currently available fall short of being both comfortable and versatile. The Logitech diNovo Media Desktop it is able to handle much more than a purpose built gaming keyboard thanks to its Bluetooth wireless connectivity and slim form factor. The keypad is also detached from the main keyboard and showcases a LCD that can be used for countless media applications. Also included in the bundle is a Logitech MX wireless laser mouse. The addition of a wireless mouse in this build as a secondary mouse helps greatly because there will always be situations were wireless is better. At a price of $149.99 its not the cheapest keyboard/Mouse combo but it servers it purpose very well.

Well were just about finished but like i stated earlier, sound is one of the most import aspects in movies and gaming therefore we are going to need some serious speakers to go along with our powerful sound card. I choose the Logitech Z-5450 Digital 5.1 Speaker System for this task. These THX certified, 315-watt Z-5450 Digital 5.1 system includes a digital hardware decoder and dual wireless rear speakers. The additional Digital Sound Touch Control Center supports Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks, and includes digital and analog inputs for connecting just about anything. At a price of $329.99 they aren’t cheap but will deliver great sound even after we replace our high-end build in a few years

Well there you have it the Ultimate High-End Computer system, unfortunately were are going to be unable to actually put it together and and benchmark it. (However we would be more than happy to build it if someone could supply the components). All the components in this build have been carefully chosen by their high quality and incredible performance and I fully believe if built this would be one of the fastest computer systems out there. Hopefully you have enjoyed this build and we will have more reviews, more in-depth articles, more how-to guides and in the near future were are going to have a full build using some of the technology posted above and put it through its paces to see how it really performs

Posted below is a breakdown of the price of the total build: (MSRP)

1. Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core 2.66 GHz QX6700 Processor - $999.99

2. Vigor Monsoon™ II Active TEC CPU Cooling System - $149.99
3. Thermaltake Toughpower 1200W power supply - $389.99
4. Cooler Master Stacker 830 Evolution - $259.99
5. Asus Striker Extreme - $329.99
6. 2 x Corsair Dominator series RAM 2GB - $458.99
7. 2 x Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra - $1659.99
8. 2 x Western Digital 150GB Raptor X 10000RPM - $438.99
9. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 - Hard drive - 750 GB - 7200 rpm (Perpendicular recording) - $239.99
10. Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS Card - $179.99
11. 2 x Lite On 20X DVD+/-RW SATA Burner Drive - $79.98
12. DELL 3007WFP-HC 30″ ULTRASHARP LCD - $1,499.99
13. Logitech G5 Laser Mouse - $69.99
14. Logitech DiNovo Cordless Media Bluetooth Desktop - $149.99
15. Logitech Z-5450 Digital 5.1 Speaker System - $329.99
    

Total Cost : $7,237.99

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