Consumer Tech: Play along while I build a powerful PC

(Editor's Note: This article has been changed. More items were added to the core system price list, which changed the subtotal and grand total. Also, the Ballistix series was spelled incorrectly in the original version of this article.)

The idea was to build a new gaming PC every year. My goal was to balance value with high performance.

While a yearly schedule might seem unnecessary, the dizzying rate of hardware advancement necessitates regular tuneups. The next newer, mightier processors and graphics cards are always on the horizon, along with the screaming-edge games that demand them.

If you don't have the desire or budget to play along at home, take the pieces you want and leave the rest. The beauty of PC building is that it's a modular endeavor; an update here and a tweak there go a long way to improving system performance.

CPU: Two cores or four?

Any PC build starts with the central processing unit. Intel and AMD offer dual and quad core processors. More cores are better, with an important caveat: Software needs to be optimized to take advantage of all four cores. Because developing multicore games and applications is considerably more complicated, it's still far from common.

A quad-core CPU will make running several applications at the same time noticeably smoother (a virus scan, Web browsing and downloading files, for example) and with only a slight price premium over dual core it's a solid choice for future-proof computing.

AMD and Intel have their dyed-in-the-wool loyalists. Lately, Intel has been leading in performance while AMD offers the most bang for the buck. For this year's build I chose AMD's Phenom 9600 Black Edition quad core CPU ($200, amd.com). Even novices can tweak the 9600's 2.3GHz clock speed with AMD's OverDrive utility. Be advised, CPU prices fluctuate more than a NASDAQ tech stock, so don't be surprised.

Don't skimp on the graphics card

A few years ago, lousy performance issues in PC games were likely linked to an overwhelmed, underpowered CPU. However, the dazzling, photo-realistic graphics of today's games such as "Crysis" and "Call of Duty 4" localize the strain on a system's graphic card.

There are graphics solutions involving two, three, even four cards running simultaneously. ATI and NVIDIA, the two big boys in the field, each have multicard configurations, called CrossFire and SLI, respectively.

I decided to go with ATI's new HD 3870 X2 (ati.com), with 1 GB onboard memory, for several reasons. For about $400, the 3870 X2 has two of ATI's already powerful 3870 series cards in a single enclosure. The cost is a little less than for two separate cards, but most important (for this system, anyway) is that it occupies only one PCI-E slot on the motherboard.

Center Stage: The motherboard

The motherboard, or mobo, is the large panel where the CPU, graphics cards, wireless network adapter and more reside. I wanted space to install a LinkSys WPN300 wireless-N adapter ($80, linksys.com) and Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer sound card ($100, us.creative.com). The complex surround-sound in games deserves a dedicated card, though the mobo's onboard audio will do in a pinch. Each of these expansion cards needs a free PCI slot on the mobo.

Two graphics cards take up more than their fair share of space on a motherboard because their wide cases overlap adjacent PCI slots. Even though my motherboard for this project, MSI's K9A2 Platinum ($160, www.msicomputer.com) has four PCI-E X 16 slots (the special flavor of PCI for graphics cards), the layout could only accommodate one video card if I wanted to install the WiFi and sound cards.

When you're shopping for a mobo, make sure it has the right socket for your CPU (AM2+ for my Phenom) and will have room for any other expansion cards. Fortunately, motherboard companies such as MSI and Asus have detailed images of their products on their Web sites.

Storage, RAM and power

Call me superstitious, but I'll continue sticking with the same companies for hard drives and RAM forever. I've heard all the horror stories about lost data and precious videos resulting from hard drive failure (uh, back it up people!), yet I've never had an issue with Seagate's ever-dependable drives. I'm using a 1 TB, aka 1,000 GB, Barracuda ($270, seagate.com) so I'll never run out of room. Because this is a gaming PC, I'm also including a Western Digital 150 GB Raptor hard drive ($170, wdc.com). The Raptor spins at 10,000 RPM, compared with the standard of 7,000 RPM, so game load times are faster.

Crucial RAM also has never failed me. Its Ballistix series is a favorite with gamers and a total of 4 GB ($144, crucial.com) goes into this system. Only 3 GB will be recognized by the 32-bit version of Vista Ultimate I'm using, but RAM always functions best when it's installed in pairs of the same capacity.

This year's PC is powered by Corsair's 750 watt TX750W ($160, corsair.com) which has a competitive price, plenty of power for the monster video card and a reasonably quiet fan.

A case of perfection

I've been lusting after Lian-Li PC cases (yes, I'm a geek) for years, but this is my first build with its product. The ArmorSuit PC-P60 ($300, lian-li.com) is costly, but worth every penny. The midtower enclosure is composed completely of black anodized aluminum alloy. The reassuring weight and exacting fit of the parts are signs of a carefully crafted case.

Features abound: three 12 cm fans illuminated with understated blue LEDs on the front and a 14 cm fan on top to keep the internal components cool, a removable washable air filter behind the front fans and special dampening gaskets and rubber case feet to reduce system noise. The removable motherboard tray allowed me to install all the components outside the cramped confines of the case.

You're going to be looking at a computer chassis for a long time -- it may as well be gorgeous.

Extras, extras

I've focused on the core parts of a gaming PC so far, but this year I also upgraded almost every peripheral, too.

My much-loved Saitek Eclipse II keyboard ($70, saitekusa.com) stayed -- I can't imagine a keyboard that feels better. I took advantage of the price drops in monitors, ditching an Acer 22 inch in favor of a lovely 24-inch widescreen NEC LCD24WMCX ($500, necdisplay.com). Games look jaw-droppingly great on the speedy 5 ms response, 1920 x 1200 display.

If I had the money, the very next purchase would be Razer's Mako 2.1 speaker system ($400, razerzone.com). I'd never seen anything quite like the overgrown pucks that make up the left and right speakers. Razer co-developed the system with THX Technologies; sound is omnidirectional, fired down and over the desk surface for a full, detailed sound field. The system, all bulbous and black, looked and sounded so delicious next to the Lian-Li case that it pained me to return it.

Razer also makes the Destructor ($40, razerzone.com), a classy mouse pad designed to improve tracking of laser mice by 37 percent. I'm not sure about the results, but I'll take any gaming edge I can get. Speaking of mice, I finally found a reason to retire my battle-scarred Logitech G5 laser mouse. It's called the Logitech G9 ($100, logitech.com) and it fully satisfies my mouse fetish. Check these features: adjustable LED lighting, weight tuning, swappable chassis for different grip styles and the best scroll wheel I've ever scrolled.

Until next year, I'll be watching the technology horizon and saving my money.

HOW TO BUILD A KICKIN' GAMING PC

CORE SYSTEM	PRICE
AMD Phenom 9600 BE processor	$200
ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics card	$400
Seagate 1TB Barracuda hard drive	$270
Western Digital 150 GB Raptor hard drive	$170
Crucial Ballistix RAM, 4 X 1 GB	$144
Corsair TX750W power supply	$160
Used Lite-On DVD recorder	$20
Lian-Li PC-P60 case	$300
Microsoft Vista Ultimate for system builders	$170
MSI K9A2 Platinum motherboard	$160
LinkSys WPN300 wireless-N adapter	$80
Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer sound card	$100
SUBTOTAL	$2,174
PERIPHERALS	PRICE
Saitek Eclipse II keyboard	$70
NEC LCD24WMCX 24-inch monitor	$500
Razer Mako 2.1 speaker system	$400
Logitech G9 mouse	$100
Razer Destructor mousepad	$ 40
SUBTOTAL	$1,110
GRAND TOTAL	$3,284

NOTE: Last year's system cost $3,214 (see goto.seattlepi.com/302272).