Hardware 2.0 'Very Best Kit List' for May/Jun 09

Welcome to the updated and revamped Hardware 2.0 "Very Best Kit List" for May/Jun 09. Here I've put together a list of the best high-end and mid-range and budget components currently available. So if you're thinking of buying, building or even upgrading a PC, this list is a must-read for you!

These components are on this list because I firmly believe them to be the best either in terms of performance or price - although I'm ready to admit, as always, that there's room for debate and some choices "go with the gut" more than others.

NOTE: Each time I come out with a list of kit I always end up fielding a few emails and comments from people wondering if companies have "bought" space on the list. Let me tell you now that the only way for a product to get on this list is to be the best - period. Manufacturers, vendors and PR companies have zero influence over this or any other recommendation that I make.

Also note: I'm looking to expand this list by adding more categories and components. If you'd like to see anything added, let me know!

Final note: All prices are approximate ... shop around for the best deals!

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CPU

Extreme - Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition - Quad-core, 3.2GHz

The Core i7 processors represents a new era in architecture for Intel. Gone is the LGA 775 socket, instead replaced by the larger Socket LGA 1366.

With the Core i7 Intel has also reintroduced Hyper-Threading, giving the desktop CPUs the power of eight virtual cores. You also get the brand new X58 chipset and support for DDR3.

Additional info - What you need to go Core i7!!!

Price: $1000

Mid-range - Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 - Quad-core, 2.5GHz

Gone is the aging Q6600 from the list (one of the best CPUs Intel has ever made), replaced this time by the Q8300. This 45nm piece offers 2.5GHz of quad-core power for well under $200, making it an ideal part for those looking for good bang for the buck..

Price: $190

Budget - Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 - Dual-core, 2.93GHz

The E7500 is an excellent CPU. It's a 2.93GHz part based on Intel's 45nm Wolfdale architecture. But that's not the reason I've chosen the E7500 for this package. I've chosen it because it is highly overclockable.

You can get this CPU up to 4GHz easily (Google is your friend) where it will run 100% stable. This puts an enormous amount of power at your disposal!

However, to get the most from the E7400, you'll need a motherboard that offers you plenty of overclocking potential. But don't worry, I've chosen one that's perfect for the job!

Price: $135

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Motherboard

Extreme - Asus P6T Deluxe/OC Palm

The Asus P6T Deluxe is, without a doubt, the best motherboard to match up with the Core i7. There are cheaper boards, and there are now boards that cost more, but the P6T Deluxe/OC Palm is the best. It's a fast, stable board that's packed with features and settings for the enthusiast and overclocker.

Excellent board!

Price: $330

Mid-range - BioStar TPower I45

The BioStar TPower I45 is a great mid-range board because it combines rock-solid features with the ability to handle overclocking so you can unleash the hidden potential of your other hardware. I'm now amazed how many lower-speced boards offer very sophisticated overclocking features.

Another well laid out, fully-featured board from BioStar. Keep an eye on this company over the coming year, I expect to see more good things from it!

Price: $160

Budget - BioStar TP45HP

The TP45HP a good all-round board that offers plenty of options in the way of USB, SATA, Ethernet and so on. It's also another example of a rock-solid board that shouldn't give you any problems in day to day usage.

But the main reason I've picked this particular board for this package is that it's a great board for overclocking. In fact, I'd go as far as to call it an overclocker's dream board.

Price: $110

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RAM

Extreme - Corsair Dominator TR3X6GB1600C8D 3x6GB

6GB of high-performance DDR3 RAM with loads of overclocking potential - what more could you ask for!

• DDR3 rating - PC3-12800
• Freq - 1,600MHz
• Timing - 8-8-8-24
• Bandwidth - 12.8GB/s

Price: $215

Mid-range - OCZ Platinum PC2-8500 2x2GB

Fast, reliable RAM with plenty of over head. This replaces the Reaper HPC modules that were previously on the list which had wierd heatspreaders on them that made them tricky to fit in some systems. 

• DDR2 rating - PC2-8500
• Freq - 1,066MHz
• Timing - 5-5-5-18
• Bandwidth - 8.5GB/s

Price: $70

Budget - Corsair 2X2048-6400 2x2GB

Solid product with a decent backing. Also offers some overclocking potential. Great value for the price.

• DDR2 rating - PC2-6400
• Freq - 800MHz
• Timing - 4-4-4-12
• Bandwidth - 6.4GB/s

Price: $50

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Graphics card

Extreme - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295

There’s a lot to like about NVIDIA’s latest powerhouse graphics card. The GTX 295 is the fastest, most powerful single card solution currently available, boasting the very best 3D performance currently available.

The GTX 295 is a dual-GPU solution, but since the two GPUs are integrated onto the single card, and the software drivers handle all the SLI stuff, getting dual-GPU power is now easier than ever.

Price: $500

Mid-range - Radeon HD 4770 

Can't spring for a GTX 295, but still want a graphics card that can pump out the pixels at a rate to keep the current game lineup running smoothly? You need the Radeon HD 4770. This is a wonderful card which redefines the sweet spot when it comes to price.  

What’s interesting about the HD 4770 is that it is, as far as most gamers are concerned, the highest-end graphics card they need. Why? Because if you are playing your favorite games (Crysis, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, Call of Duty 5 …) at screen resolutions of no more than 1600×1200 or 1920×1200 (or the equivalent in wide-screen) you can get all the gaming power you need for under $99!

A great card and a fantastic price.

Price: $99

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Hard disk

Extreme - SSD - Intel X-25M

There’s no doubt that solid-state SATA hard drives (SSDs) are the future. You get fast transfer speeds, improved battery life on notebooks, and quicker boot times. The only downsides - cost per gigabyte.

Also worth remembering is that these drives are 2.5? form-factor, so you need to take that into account if fitting them into desktop systems.

Price: 80GB, $325 | 160GB, $630

Extreme - High-speed - Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB

The Western Digital Raptor/RaptorX has given way to a new hard drive - the VelociRaptor.

I'll be honest with you that the Velociraptor isn't as thrilling as the Raptor was, and it's not so easy to actually see the performance gains you are getting, but they are there. If you want the fastest drive going in your PC, you need the VelociRaptor.

Price: $230

Extreme - High-capacity - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB

Want the largest capacity SATA drive going? then you want the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB drive. Yes, you read that right - 1.5TB!

The spec on this drive is pretty good:

• Spindle speed: 7,200 rpm
• Average latency: 4.16 msec
• Random read seek time: <8.5 msec
• Random write seek time: <10.0 msec
• Cache: 32MB

Price: $130

Mid-range - Samsung Spinpoint F 500GB

Good drive at a fantastic price. Ideal for those looking for a second drive.

Price: $60

Budget - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 160GB

Great starting point. Can't go wrong with this drive at the price it's going for now.

Price: $42

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Sound card

Extreme - Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro

Without a doubt the best sound card for a gaming or home entertainment system.

Price: $140

Mid-range - Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer

Great mid-range sound card.

Price: $80

Budget - Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE

If you motherboard doesn't feature sound then this will rectify that. However, if your motherboard has onboard sound then you'll be just fine with that.

Price: $30

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PSU

Extreme - Enermax Galaxy EGX1000EWL

A high-end system is going to need a high-end PSU, and they don’t come much better than the Enermax Galaxy EGX1000EWL. This is capable of delivering 1KW of power in a stable way but without the noise associated with other PSUs. Sure, you need your own personal fusion generator but it’s worth it for the bragging rights.

The Galaxy EGX1000EWL has a whopping five 24A 12V power rails, which allow you to build a stable system. Oh, and the modular cabling system means less cable mess. Oh, and it’s also 80% efficient, so it doesn’t harm the sky … much.

Note: Do people really need a 1KW PSU? I doubt that many do, but there’s no doubt that these high-output PSUs are popular among performance enthusiasts, hence my reason for including one.

Price: $350

Mid-range - Antec EarthWatts 500W

Nice mid-range PSU. Efficient, reliable and provides ample power.

Price: $70

Budget - Antec EarthWatts 380W

Probably the best budget PSU you can find.

Price: $55

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Cooling

Extreme - Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme 1366

I just love this cooler.

It's highly efficient at cooling pretty much any CPU you can throw at it (including the monster Core i7 965), it's quiet, it's low-profile so it doesn't look like you've jammed a car radiator inside your PC, and it's also cheap enough that it won't break the bank (if you're spending $1,000 on a CPU, less than $100 on a cooler is peanuts).

Price: $85

Mid-range - Cooler Master RL-EUL-GBU1-GP Aquagate S1

One of the best liquid CPU coolers (best in terms of price, performance, ease of use, quietness and reliability) is the Cooler Master RL-EUL-GBU1-GP Aquagate S1.

This system’s not elaborate and you don’t get enough radiators to heat your house, but for approximately $80 you get everything you need to cool most CPUs down, even if you overclock them.

Price: $75

Budget - Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro

What can I say about this cooler other than it’s quieter than the Intel stock cooler and a heck of a lot more efficient. It’s also easy to fit and remove and tends to fit well into cramped motherboards. No matter what other air cooler I look at, I always come back to this one. It’s also pretty cheap.

One of the best air cooler available ... certainly the best for the price!

Price: $35

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Case

Extreme - Cooler Master RC-1100 Cosmos S ATX Full-Tower Case

High-end cases don’t get any better than the Cooler Master RC-1100 Cosmos S. Externally, the beautiful yet robust aluminum construction offers rigidity without too much of a weight penalty. Internally, the case offers bags of room - 7 exposed 5.25-inch drive bays, 4 hidden 3.5-inch bays (converted from three 5.25-inch bays), and 7 expansion slots. All bays are tool-free (and the good quality sort of tool-free, not the cheap and nasty variety).

The I/O panel offers four USB ports, IEEE1394 FireWire, eSATA, microphone, and audio.

The only downside - price.

Price: $200

Mid-range - Antec Nine Hundred

Nice, all-round mid-tower.

Price: $150

Budget - Antec Three Hundred

Nice, small, cheap and cheerful case.

Price: $60

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Monitor

Extreme - 30" - Dell UltraSharp 3008WFP

Monitors don’t come much better (or more expensive) than the Dell UltraSharp 3008WFP.

• 2560 x 1600 Native Resolution
• 3000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio
• TrueHD 1080 with an integrated HDMI connection
• Seven connection options: VGA, DVI-D with HDCP, HDMI, S-Video, Component, Composite and DisplayPort

If you don’t have the desk space for a dual-panel setup then this might be the solution for you (of you want to spend $2K on a panel).

Price: $1,999 (with instant savings on Dell.com I've seen this as low as $1,339)

Mid-range - 22" - Samsung T220

The Samsung T220 is a nice panel that not only displays a really sweet image, it also looks good in any setting.

• Display Type: Widescreen LCD
• Pixel Pitch: 0.258 mm
• Input Video Signal: DVI-D/VGA
• Dynamic Contrast Ratio: 20000:1
• Brightness: 300 cd/m²
• Response Time: 2 ms
• Horizontal Viewing Angle: 170 degrees
• Vertical Viewing Angle: 160 degrees
• Maximum Resolution: 1680 x 1050

Price: $299

Budget - Acer V173

A very nice budget screen that supports 1280 x 1024.

Price: $119

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Keyboard/ Mouse

Extreme - Gyration GO 2.4

Probably the best keyboard and mouse setup that you can find. The wireless keyboard has a traditional look but packs state-of-the-art technology. The in-the-air mouse is also the very best you can buy.

Price: $285

Mid-range - Logitech MX5500

The MX5500 is probably one a great all-round keyboard and mouse combo. Ideal for a home/office/gaming system.

Price: $150

Budget - Microsoft CA9

About as cheap and cheerful as you can get!

Price: $16

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