Who Else Wants a Top-Notch $1500 Gaming PC?

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Recently updated Gaming PCs:
$400 Gaming Build, $500 Gaming Build, $600 Gaming Build, $700 Gaming Build, $850 Gaming Build, $1000 Gaming Build and the $1250 Gaming Build.

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I’m updating the $1500 Gaming Build today, and you’ll see the $2000 Gaming Build updated next Friday.

In March, you can updates to expect the Workstation Builds, as well as to the HTPCs Builds. I’m also planning a few updates to our popular Best PC Parts articles, where I point out which parts offers the best performance for a given price or the best value.

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About the $1500 Gaming Build:

What does this $1500 Gaming PC offer?

• Solid Performance: It will handle gaming, with modern titles, with high details, AA and AF, at a resolution up to 1920 x 1080 (1080p – Up to 22-25″ monitor) or even 2560 x 1600 depending on the games and settings. Work? Not a problem with the Intel Core i7 860 2.8GHz Quad-Core processor, which features Hyper-Threading, enabling it to handle up to 8 threads, giving you plenty of power for all kind of work, whether it’s photo/video editing, web development and much more.
• Quality and looks: The Cooler Master HAF 922 case offers a look that you can be proud of, and cooling that will keep your system cool and reliable, even after hours upon hours of gaming. The power supply is a solid Corsair 650W unit with nothing short of 52A on the 12V lines to handle the whole system without a problem.
• Plenty of upgrade choices: This system offers you the possibility of picking a Mini-tower case and build a light, small and solid system that’s perfect for LAN parties. With nothing short of ten cases recommendations and many other upgrades available, there are many ways to spin this system to your own personal tastes.

What does this enhanced version (2.0) of the $1500 Gaming Build offers compared to the previous version?

This version makes a switch from an Intel Core i5 750 processor to the faster Intel Core i7-860, which offers Hyper-Threading, an higher default frequency as well as higher frequencies with the Turbo mode.

This build also features the excellent Samsung 1TB hard drive, which is faster than the previous recommendation, the Western Digital Caviar Black and allows you to buy two of them and put them in RAID 0 for superior performance, or have secure data with RAID 1. With Western Digital drives, you have to buy their “RAID-Edition” drives, which of course, are more expensive.

There are also many more upgrades options, allowing you to customize this build to your tastes.

Computer Builds FAQs:

I often get questions such as:

• Who are you to tell me which parts to choose?
• Can you suggest me a step by step guide to build a computer?
• Why should I build a PC instead of buying one in a store?
• And many more…

You will find the answers to all of these questions and more in this article: FAQ: How to Build Your Own Computer

Also, if this is your first build, here are 10 Quick Tips for 1st Time Builders to get you started.

About Gaming PCs:

Gaming Computers are all about playing video games. Every year, new video games that pushes the boundaries of visual effects are released and demand more and more power from your computer to run. Being so powerful to handle cutting-edge video games, they are also very good all-around computers, capable of handling photo/video edition, web development, High Definition content playback and much more.

This is why our Gaming Builds Designs focus both on current performance for today’s games, as well as being ready to upgrade, to be ready to handle future games. For Gaming Builds Designs, a big portion of the budget goes to the Video Card and the Processor to ensure high performance in video games, as well as a solid power supply with a case with good cooling abilities, to ensure reliability.

Upgrades will usually focus on the processor and video card for enhanced performance, as well as on the power supply and cooling, to enhance overclocking capabilities. You may choose to upgrade the hard drive for more capacity, or change the case to get one that matches your personal preferences, such as look, cooling, size, etc.

Is this the right type of PC for me?

If you’re looking for a PC to play video games, you’re at the right place. If this is not what you’re looking for, check out our other Computer Systems instead.

$1500 Gaming computer hardware parts recommendations, short version:

Explanation:

• In the left column, you have the component type, such as the Processor, Video Card, etc.
• In the middle column, you have the specific brand, model and a quick look at specifications for that part.
• In the right column, you’ll find the best price that I found after double-checking at various trustworthy online sellers such as Amazon.com, NewEgg.com, Buy.com and others.
• In Bold, you’ll find my recommendations for the parts that you should buy in order to have the best overall performance while fitting the overall budget.
• In Italic, you’ll find the best possible upgrades if you have money to spare. These are the parts that offer better features or more performance, while still being relatively affordable in regard to the overall budget.
• In simple terms, if you want a more powerful CPU or video card, pick it from the list of recommended upgrades that are in Italic.
• All upgrades are compatible with the rest of the system, as well as other upgrades, meaning that you can choose one or many upgrades without a problem.
• If upgrades just don’t cut it, visit the Gaming PCs page, where you’ll find our other gaming computer custom build designs.

Components	Make, Model and Specifications	Price
CPU/Processor	Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz Quad-Core + HT 1156 95W Intel Core i7-870 Lynnfield 2.93GHz Quad-Core + HT 1156 95W	$280 $540
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4 1156 P55 MicroATX Crossfire8x/8x ASUS P7P55D PRO: LGA1156 Intel P55 ATX Crossfire 8x/8x ASUS P7P55D-E Pro 1156 P55 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0 Crossfire8x/8x ASUS Maximus III Formula P55 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0 Crossfire8x/8x	$150 $170 $190 $250
RAM	G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1.5V DDR3 1600 Dual Channel 2x G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1.5V DDR3 1600 Dual Channel for 8GB	$105 $210
Video Card	Two XFX Radeon HD 5850 1GB in Crossfire Radeon HD 5970 2GB 512(256 x 2)-bit GDDR5 DirectX 11 * *Requires one of the larger cases, as it’s a longggg card Two Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 DirectX 11 in Crossfire	$620 $650 $798
Hard Drive	SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s Two SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s RAID 0 or 1 Kingston 64GB 200(R)/110(W) MB/s 2.5 SSD Kingston 200(R)/160(W) MB/s 128GB 2.5″ SSD Required for SSDs: ICY DOCK 2.5″ to 3.5″ SSD & SATA Adapter	$90 $180 $140 $250 $20
Optical Drive	LITE-ON Black 24X SATA CD/DVD Burner LITE-ON Black 4X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA Reader LG 10X Blu-ray, 16X DVD, 48X CD SATA Burner	$24 $62 $149
Power Supply	Antec TruePower 650W CrossFire/80 PLUS BRONZE Modular Seventeam 850W CrossFire/80 PLUS Bronze Certified	$80 $120
Case	LIAN LI PC-K62 1x 120mm, 3x 140mm case fans Mini Towers for a LAN party PC: LIAN LI PC-A05NB Mini Tower 2 x 120mm SILVERSTONE SG04B-FH Mini Tower w/ handle Other “regular” case alternatives: Antec Nine Hundred 3 x 120mm, 1 x 200mm case fans Antec Nine Hundred Two 3 x 120mm, 1 x 200mm case fans COOLER MASTER HAF 922 – 1x 120mm 2x 200mm fans * Antec Twelve Hundred 5x 120mm, 1x 200mm case fans * COOLER MASTER HAF 932 1 x 140mm, 3 x 200mm case fans * SILVERSTONE KUBLAI KL03-BW 2 x 120mm case fans * COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 4 x 120mm case fans * * The Radeon 5970 will only fit in those cases	$100 $100 $160 $100 $110 $110 $160 $160 $170 $180
Cooling	COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus 120mm CPU Cooler ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound CORSAIR All-in-One Water-Cooling CPU Cooler Rosewill 120mm Case Fan Scythe 120mm “Slipstream” Case Fan	$35 $8 $78 $4 $9
Sound	8 channels sound card: Integrated on the motherboard	Free
Network	Ethernet RJ-45 10/100/1000 Mbps: Integrated on the motherboard	Free
Total price	Not Including OS, Shipping nor handling. Within -/+ 5% of Budget	$1492

$1500 Gaming Computer Hardware parts recommendations, detailed version:

Motherboard:

Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4 1156 P55 MicroATX Crossfire8x/8x

This is a Micro ATX sized motherboard based on the Intel P55 chipset, that supports Core i3/i5/i7 processors with the LGA 1156 socket.

It features the following:

• Ports on the back: Nine USB 2.0, one E-SATA/USB Combo, one Firewire, one PS/2, LAN, 8 channels HD audio and 1 x Optical, 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF outputs.
  Expansion slots: Two PCI-Express 16X 2.0 (One at 16x or Two at 8x), One PCI-Express 4x, one PCI slot
  Storage ports: Seven SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports, one IDE with support for two devices and one floppy.

I picked this board as it offers the best features for its low price. It supports Crossfire in a compact format (Micro ATX), giving you the possibility of building a remarkable and small gaming machine, perfect for LAN parties if you’d like. All you need to do is pick one of the two Mini-Tower type of cases that are offered as upgrades within the cases recommendations.

However, if you prefer a bigger board allowing for more expansion slots or would like SATA 6.0Gb/s and USB 3.0 support, check out the upgrade options below:

Recommended upgrades:

• ASUS P7P55D PRO: LGA1156 Intel P55 ATX Crossfire 8x/8x – This is the full-size ATX alternative, with more expansion slots.
• ASUS P7P55D-E Pro 1156 P55 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0 Crossfire8x/8x – This is the more future-proof choice, as it offers support for upcoming SATA 6.0 Gb/s hard drives/SSDs as well as upcoming USB 3.0 devices.
• ASUS Maximus III Formula P55 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0 Crossfire8x/8x – This is the enthusiast/overclocker’s choice. If you want all the features and/or push your computer to its limits, this is the way to go. Good to know: It includes a Supreme X-Fi sound card, which is a nice step-up from onboard sound. However, it does not feature SATA 6.0Gb/s nor USB 3.0.

CPU:

Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz Quad-Core + HT 1156 95W

The other contenders in the same price range would have been the AMD Phenom II X4 965BE or Intel’s own Core i7 920. I picked the Intel Core i7 860 over them simply because it is faster than both of them when it comes to gaming, according to AnandTech. They also said this about the Core i7 860 vs the Core i7 920: “In terms of cost effectiveness, the Core i7 860 is the way to go. With cheaper motherboards and higher operating frequencies than a Core i7 920, for the majority of users the 860 will be the better pick.”

I couldn’t agree more with that statement. I also have to mention that the Core i7 860 consumes only 95W instead of 130W for the Core i7 920 and that its turbo frequencies are much higher: Bloomfield processors (Core i7 920 and other socket 1366 Core i7) are limited to a 133MHz boost with 4 active cores or 266Mhz with a single active core. Meaning that the Core i7 920, which at stock runs at 2.66GHz, won’t go any faster than 2.93GHz.

The Lynnfield based Core i7 860, which starts at 2.80GHz, also gets only an extra 133Mhz with 4 or 3 actives cores, up to 2.93GHz. However, things get interesting with 2 active cores will hit 3.33GHz or even better, 3.46GHz with a single active core. If you consider that most programs, especially video games, still only use one or two cores, this is where the Lynnfield based Core i7 860 shines.

Recommended upgrades:

1. Intel Core i7-870 Lynnfield 2.93GHz Quad-Core + HT 1156 95W – While it’s only 133MHz faster at stock, the Core i7-870 main advantage over the Core i7-860 is its even higher turbo frequencies. With three or four actives cores, it hits 3.20GHz (333MHz more than the Core i7 860), with two cores 3.46GHz and finally, with a single core, nothing short of 3.60GHZ (133 MHz more than the Core i7 860).

Video Card:

Two XFX Radeon HD 5850 1GB in Crossfire

Note: By Two, I mean Buy the card twice, so you can link the two cards using the Crossfire Technology.

Second only to the Radeon 5970 or the Radeon HD 5870 in Crossfire, faster than Nvidia’s best single GPU video card, the Geforce GTX 285. This setup is also faster than Nvidia’s best card, the dual-GPU Geforce GTX 295.

When you put two of them in Crossfire, the Radeon 5850 offers a LOT of performance for the price asked. With these cards, can this PC play Crysis, with full details at 1080p? You bet it can, it is not a problem with these cards. For more details on Radeon 5850 Crossfire Performance and how they compare to Nvidia’s cards, see this article from AnandTech.

The Radeon 5850 supports DirectX 11 and it is perfect for gaming at 1920 x 1080 (1080p) or even 2560 x 1600, with high details, AA and AF. It also has a 1GB of memory buffer on each card, to handle games such as GTA: 4.

Finally, it is HDCP Ready and will handle Blu-Ray and other 1080p content playback, with audio over HDMI as well, with most audio setup (2.1, 5.1, 7.1, etc.).

Note that all the recommended motherboards support Crossfire.

Recommended upgrades:

Note that a power supply upgrade is recommended or required in order to upgrade to the following video cards:

1. Radeon HD 5970 2GB 512(256 x 2)-bit GDDR5 DirectX 11- If you can find it in stock, the dual-GPU Radeon 5970 is a good alternative to the two Radeon 5850 in Crossfire. This card is basically two Radeon 5870 in Crossfire on one card, although with reduced frequencies, giving you higher performance than two Radeon 5850 in Crossfire, while consuming less power. This is the perfect solution if you don’t want to spend more for a motherboard upgrade.However, due to its length, you’ll need to upgrade the case to one that supports its length. See the Case section lower for more details on that.
2. Two Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 DirectX 11 in Crossfire - If you want to run Crysis: Warhead maxed up at 1920 x 1080 or simply want a future-proof solution, this is the way to go.This is faster than the Radeon 5970 as you get two Radeon 5870 with their full frequencies here.

Quick tip: Remember to attach the Crossfire cable to the two video cards and to download the latest drivers, which can be found here.

RAM:

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1.5V DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel

4GB of RAM is pretty much mandatory to handle the latest video games along with Windows and background background such as your anti-virus, web broswer, music/video player, etc.

Considering the price of RAM these days and the ever-expending memory use of games and programs, 4GB of high-speed DDR3 memory is a no-brainer.

I went with G.Skill for their lifetime warranty, high reliability and compatibility with the majority of motherboards. I chose these particular sticks as they only require the standard 1.5V to run at 1600MHz, resulting in lower power consumption, but more importantly, because they are user-friendly as they don’t require to increase the voltage for stock settings and make your life easier if you need to troubleshoot your computer.

Note: This RAM may not run at 1600MHz to begin with. This is normal, you simply need to adjust your BIOS settings to reach that speed.

In my opinion, there is little incentive to move to faster frequency RAM, as it brings only a small performance increase (According to Tom’s Hardware ) for a much higher price. DDR3 1600MHz is the sweet spot, costing about the same as lower speed, offering good performance and overclocking headroom.

Hard Drive:

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s

In Tom’s Hardware latest hard drive article, the SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB finishes on top of all transfer rates benchmarks, even ahead of what used to be my recommendation, the Western Digital Caviar Black. Considering that it’s faster and less expensive, there’s no reason for me to not recommend this drive from now on.

This drive offers 1TB (1000 GB) of storage, plenty enough to handle your video/music collection and all your games. This drive comes with 32MB of cache and a 3 years warranty.

Recommended upgrades:

1. Two SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s RAID 0 or 1 – If one of these top-notch hard drive doesn’t offer enough performance and/or storage, you can simply pick two of them and put them in RAID0 for enhanced performance, but with two hard drives in RAID0 come greater chance of losing your data, as in if either drive fails, you lose all your data . To prevent that, to keep your data more safe, you may choose to go with RAID 1, which however will give the capacity of only one of the two drives, as the other will be used to backup your data in real-time.
2. Kingston 200(R)/110(W) MB/s 64GB 2.5 SSD – This SSD from Kingston brings the SSD well-known performance (200MB/s Read – 110MB/s Write transfer rates, not to mention the nearly instant access times, that are light-years ahead of the best hard drives), along with TRIM support with Windows 7, at a new low price of $149 for this 64GB model, which is even lower than the previously recommended OCZ SSDs, on top of offering a few additional precious GBs. (The previously recommended OCZ SSDs are $174, or $154 with the mail-in rebate for the 64GB model and $315/$285MIR for the 128GB model).
3. Kingston 200(R)/160(W) MB/s 128GB 2.5″ SSD – At $250 for 128GB, this is the first SSD that I can recommend with a price of less than $2/GB ($1.95/GB to be exact). It also comes with improved write speeds compared to the 64GB edition: 200MB/s Read, 160MB/s Write. In a few words, this drive offers superior performance at a great price point for a SSD.
4. Required for SSDs: ICY DOCK 2.5″ to 3.5″ SSD & SATA Adapter – Keep in mind that SSDs come in the 2.5″ form factor, with most cases supporting only 3.5″ drives, so you’ll need one of these adapters to use a SSD.
   

Optical Drive:

LITE-ON Black 24X SATA CD/DVD Burner

This drive is able to read and burn CDs and DVDs. Silent, compatible with all the main formats, including DVD-RAM.

The motherboard includes four SATA cables (One will be used for the hard drive and one for this DVD Burner), so no need to worry about cables.

Also, seeing as DVD Burners are often go out of stock lately, here are two alternatives that you can use to replace it. All are SATA based.

1. LITE-ON Black 24X SATA Black CD/DVD Writer
2. HP Black 24X SATA 24X CD/DVD Writer – Retail

Upgrades:
What if you want more than just a DVD Burner? No problem.

1. LITE-ON Black 4X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA Reader – This drive will allow you to read CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray disks, for the price of only$62, which is really inexpensive if you remember how much Blu-Ray readers were going for recently. However, note that this drive cannot burn any type of disks, it is exclusively a reader. To burn disks, see the next upgrade below.
2. LG 10X Blu-ray, 16X DVD, 48X CD SATA Burner – If you want to burn CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray disks, this is the best deal right, at $149.

Case:

LIAN LI PC-K62 1×120mm, 3×140mm case fans

This is a solid case, from Lian Li, known for the quality of their craftsmanship. It looks good, offers plenty of cooling, tool-less installation and best of all, the PC-K62 features cable management clips for the bottom-mounted power supply, helping you keep your build clean.

Interesting Fact: 96% of its buyers on NewEgg gave it either a 4 egg ratings (14%) or a 5 eggs rating (82%), a testament to how satisfied the buyers of that case are.

1. LIAN LI PC-A05NB Mini Tower 2 x 120mm – If you’re looking for a case to fit a powerful gaming rig that is light, solid and portable enough to carry around to LAN parties, take a look at this case.
2. SILVERSTONE SG04B-FH Mini Tower w/ handle – Another good choice for LAN gamers, this Mini Tower has enough space for this system (except for the Radeon 5970 upgrade option) and best of all: It comes with a big, solid handle on top of the case to carry it around.
3. Antec Nine Hundred 3 x 120mm, 1 x 200mm case fans – Who hasn’t heard of the Antec Nine Hundred really? One of the most popular cases of all time (as far as I know), a favorite amongst gamers.
4. Antec Nine Hundred Two 3 x 120mm, 1 x 200mm case fans – The successor to the Nine Hundred, which brings improvements such as adjustable fan speeds on the back of the case, the inside of the case painted in black and more.
5. COOLER MASTER HAF 922 – 1x 120mm 2x 200mm fans* – Cooler Master’s answer to the Antec Nine Hundred, this is an excellent alternative that I like recommending due to its look (which you either love or hate) and most importantly because you can install a Radeon 5970 video card, currently the longest video card on the market.
6. Antec Twelve Hundred 5x 120mm, 1x 200mm case fans * Meet the Antec 900’s big brother, the Twelve Hundred. Make no mistake, this is a full-size tower case, which means there’s a lot of ventilation and space for all your parts.
7. COOLER MASTER HAF 932 1 x 140mm, 3 x 200mm case fans * The Cooler Master HAF 932 is the HAF 922 bigger and meaner version, with more space and more ventilation.
8. SILVERSTONE KUBLAI KL03-BW 2 x 120mm case fans * – If you want additional cooling for your video card(s), look no further. With slots for 120mm fans on the side  (you need to buy the fans unfortunately) dedicated to the video card(s), this is ideal to push your video cards to the limit when overclocking. This case is really targeted to users with long video cards, as it comes with six adjustable fingers to hold peripheral cards in place. When you have long (and heavy) cards it is somewhat common for them to lift a little bit out of their slots during transportation, even if they are correctly screwed to the case, so this is a nice touch from Silverstone.
9. COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 4 x 120mm case fans * If you’re looking for a case that’s easy to use, has plenty of space and a unique design, look no further. Best of all: The case was designed with sound suppression in mind, for example, the side panel is equipped with sound dampening material.

* The Radeon 5970 video card upgrade will only fit in the cases marked with an asterisk (*)

Power Supply:

Antec TruePower 650W CrossFire/80 PLUS BRONZE Modular

This power supply is capable of delivering up to 650W, not that should rely on this information only as I often point in posts such as Warning: 6 Surefire Ways of Blowing Up Your Computer Due to an Inadequate Power Supply, but more importantly 54A on the 12V line, the most important factor when it comes to choosing a power supply for a gaming computer.

Its 80 PLUS Bronze certification helps this power supply stay cool, silent and keep your electricity bill reasonable.

Power Consumption:

According to the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator, it is estimated that this system will consume at load (peak usage):

• ~ 400W with the recommended Core i7 860 and the two Radeon 5850 in Crossfire, at stock.
• ~ 450W with the recommended Core i7 860 heavily overclocked and the two Radeon 5850 in Crossfire (Or the Radeon 5970), at stock.
• ~ 500-550W with the recommended Core i7 860 heavily overclocked and the two Radeon 5850 in Crossfire (Or the Radeon 5970), overclocked as well. While not necessary, I recommend upgrading the power supply at this point, for more stability and overclocking headroom.
• ~ 550-600W with the recommended Core i7 860 heavily overclocked and the two Radeon 5870 in Crossfire, overclocked as well. At this point, you’ll need to move up to the upgrade option for the power supply.

This goes to prove how efficient these new Radeon 58xx cards are, especially compared to the older Radeon 48xx series.

Upgrades:

Seventeam 850W CrossFire/80 PLUS Bronze Certified - If you haven’t heard of Seventeam before, don’t be afraid. While they are not a well-known company such as Antec or Corsair, they make power supplies of a quality that matches Antec and Corsair power supplies. Moving on to about this power supply: 850W, 65A on the 12V lines and 80 PLUS Bronze certification. With such specs, this power supply will handle the higher-end video cards upgrades available in this build as well as heavy overclocking. For $120, this is a bargain for such a powerful and reliable power supply.

Cooling:

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus 120mm CPU Cooler

Tom’s Hardware recently compared ten CPU cooler for the socket 1156, and declared that the Cooler Master Hyper 212 offered the best performance for the price, or the best value.

The reason for that is that it cools relatively well and costs only $30, a bargain for a good heatsink.

If you have something more high-end, consider the CORSAIR All-in-One Water-Cooling CPU Cooler. Many say that if performs just a well as a custom water-cooling system that you’ve built from separated parts, while obviously being much more simple and less expensive, at $80. Being an all-in-one kit, it requires nearly no assembly, doesn’t require any messy fill up and is surprisingly easy to install.

Also to consider:

1. Thermal Compound: Use the ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound either with the stock cooler or better, with the upgraded CPU cooler to lower your CPU temperatures further more. For $8, this is a wise investment.
2. Case cooling: You usually can add up at least one additional 120 mm fans in any of the recommended case and I highly recommend that you add one on the side, to help keep your video card cool, but the best is to get two. Obviously, double-check with the case that you choose first before buying any additional case fans. If you’re on a tight budget and don’t mind a bit of noise at 29.3 dBA, the Rosewill 120mm Case Fan is a good choice. Go for the Scythe 120mm “Slipstream” Case Fan if you’re looking for a higher-quality, more silent fan. This particular model is relatively silent at only 24dBA.

Sound Card: 8 channels sound card: Integrated on the motherboard

Integrated with the motherboard, this sound card will handle many different sound setups, including headphones, a microphone and more. While integrated audio on a PC used to be absolutely horrible, it has gotten much better in the last few years, thus why I have no trouble recommending it.

Note: The ASUS Maximus III motherboard upgrades come with a Supreme X-Fi sound card.

Network: Ethernet RJ-45 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN: Integrated on the motherboard

Integrated with the motherboard, this network adapter will allow you to access your local network and Internet.

Recommended operating systems:

The operating system cost, if there’s one, is not included in the total cost. The two reason for this are:

1. The budget only considers hardware.
2. You may be able re-use a previous license, go with an open-source OS such as Linux or, if you’re so inclined and are aware of what you’re doing, use torrents.

If you decide that you need an OS, here are some recommendations:

Windows 7

Despite Linux gaining more and more support, Windows still is the platform of choice for compatibility at the moment. Considering that you’ll have 4GB of RAM or more, along with a dedicated video that also has memory (512MB or 1GB), you’ll need a 64-bit version, as 32-bit is limited to 4GB of memory for the entire system, which is not enough now, nor in the future if you decide to upgrade.

Windows 7 is by far better than Windows Vista, looks better, more functional, less annoying, consumes less resources and brings DirectX 11 to the table.

Three Available Versions:

1. Windows 7 Home Premium: The basic edition, with all the looks, most of the functionality and DirectX 11.
2. Windows 7 Professional: If you want the virtual XP mode, you’ll need at least the Professional edition. Also required if you want to backup to a network, using the built-in backup mode in Windows.
3. Windows 7 Ultimate: To help protect data on your PC and portable storage devices against loss or theft with BitLocker and to work and switch between 35 languages.

OEM vs Retail:

The OEM version allows you to only install it once on a computer. You cannot transfer the license to another computer in the future and you do not receive support from Microsoft. It’s the same type of license you get when you get Windows on a desktop or laptop that you buy from Dell, HP and such. It’s less expensive, but gives less flexibility. Ideal if you intend on keeping your computer for many years.

The Retail version is the full version, which allows you to transfer the license to another computer in the future and you can call Microsoft if you need any form of support. Ideal if you intend on upgrading/changing your computer down the road.

Other than that, you get the same features on both, only the license differs. The price between the two differs obviously.

OEM Versions:

1. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM – $105
2. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM – $140
3. Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit OEM – $180

Retail Versions:

1. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Retail – $180
2. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Retail – $269
3. Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Retail – $292

Linux

A lot of people these days boots more than one OS. Linux is a wonderful choice: powerful, cool, and cheap. Take your pick of distributions and have fun! For Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, Slackware, and Mandrake, try Distrowatch.com, Cheapbytes.com, LinuxQuestions.org or one of the many others.

While Linux does not offer the wide compatibility of Windows with video games, gaming on Linux is still possible, through projects such as Wine, Cedega and Crossover. For more on the topic of Linux Gaming, I invite you to read this excellent article from AnandTech: Linux Gaming: Are we there yet?

What about Word processing, Excel and other Windows-based programs that you need? Linux being an open platform, there are many free alternatives that will answer your needs. For Word/Excel and such, try OpenOffice.

Cost: Free

Conclusion

What do you think of this version 2.0 of the $1500 Gaming PC?

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Building this system?

Do you need a guide on how to build a computer or do you have some questions?

Consult our: FAQ: How to Build Your Own Computer

Also, if this is your first build, here are 10 Quick Tips for 1st Time Builders to get you started.

Finally, if your newly built computer won’t start, I invite you to read Help me: Why won’t my newly assembled PC start or boot?

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