TommyNation Gamer Rig

Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl

November 2011 update:
The Gaming Rig page will be updated with some exciting new features very soon.

Here’s a list of my personally trusted quality components for building an awesome gaming rig.

Last update: July 25th, 2011
1. Added Dustin home as a choice for Norwegians.
2. Changed the graphics card for Norway (Komplett.no) to the Gainward GeForce GTX 570 as the ZOTAC card was discontinued there.
3. Added footnotes. Only one footnote so far (see the CPU section), but I will add more soon. The footnotes contain additional information about – and explanation of – the choices of hardware in the setup. Footnote text is shown when you hover over it with the mouse pointer.

Please note that I have not included a DVD/BR player/burner, monitor, or peripherals such as the keyboard, mouse, headset or speakers, as this is much more a matter of personal taste (- let me know if you still want recommendations on those).

These components are definitely not just random picks, they are actually selected because they offer an optimal performance boost combined with stability, at a very good price/performance ratio.

I have also taken into account the noise factor (which is very important to me), the ease of installation, and there’s ample room for overclocking.

US: Load the pre-configured rig on Newegg
Norway: Load the pre-configured rig on Komplett or Dustin home

Note: Optional components must be added manually! Use the Buy links

Motherboard: Newegg Komplett Dustin home
ASUS P8Z68-V, Socket-1155ASUS P8Z68-V PRO, Socket-1155, Intel Z68
(SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0, ATX form factor)		 Buy Buy Buy
CPU (processor):
S-1155 Core i5 unlockedIntel Core™ i5 Quad Processor i5-2500K[1]
(3,3GHz, Socket LGA1155, 6MB, Boxed)		 Buy Buy Buy
RAM (memory):
Corsair XMS3 DDR 1333Mhz 4x2GB kitNewegg/Komplett: Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1333MHz 8GB CL9
(Kit w/4x 2GB XMS3 modules, CL9-9-9-24, for Core i5 and i7, 1.5V)
Dustin home: Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600MHZ 8GB CL9
(Kit w/2x 4GB XMS3 modules for Core i5 and i7, 1.5V)		 Buy Buy Buy
Power Supply (PSU):
Corsair HX 650W PSUCorsair HX 650W PSU
(ATX 12V V2.2, 80 Plus Bronze, Modular, 4x 8 (6+2)-pin PCI-Express power, 9x SATA)		 Buy Buy Buy
Hard Drive #1 (System drive):
Corsair SSD Force Series™ 3 120GB
(SATA3.0, 550MB/510MB/s read/write, SandForce® SF-2281, 2,5″)		 Buy Buy Buy
Video Card (Graphics Card):
Zotac GeForce GTX 570 1280MB AMP!Newegg: ZOTAC GeForce GTX 570 1280MB AMP!
(PCI-Express 2.0, GDDR5, 2xDVI, native-mini HDMI, 780MHz)
Komplett: Gainward GeForce GTX 570 1280MB PhysX
(PCI-Express 2.0, GDDR5, 2xDVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, 732MHz)
Dustin home: ZOTAC GeForce GTX 570 1280MB (+ Game)
(PCI-Express 2.0, GDDR5, 2xDVI, native-mini HDMI, 732MHz)		 Buy Buy Buy
Chassis:
Fractal Design Define R3 Black PearlFractal Design Define R3 (Black Pearl)
(Noise isolated and easy to set up. Also available in Titanium Grey and Arctic White)		 Buy Buy Buy
Optional: Hard Drive #2 (Storage drive):
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB
(7200RPM, SATA 3.0 Gbps, 3,5″, 32MB Cache, 8.9ms)		 Buy Buy Buy
Optional: CPU Cooler:
Noctua NH-U12P SE2 CPU Cooler
(1300 RPM, 92.3 m³/h, 19.8 dBA, 2x 120mm fans)		 Buy Buy Buy

  • Nitin Pant

    impressive

  • http://www.gamingrig.com Gaming Rig

    That Gainward video card sure looks good, yet I would rather drop the Noctua cooler and for that price tag maybe get some CPU water cooling seeing as pricing is pretty high on Noctua coolers. Besides, I feel that there are better variants for less money which deliver very similar performances, but overall it looks like one killer setup :)

  • http://www.tommynation.com Tommy

    Thanks for the feedback!

    Replacing the Noctua cooler for a prefabricated closed system water cooler such as the Corsair H50 or H70 (or similar products) should be fine*.

    In Europe, these water coolers cost about the same as Noctua air coolers, so I recommend Noctua because there’s no risk of a water leak, and they perform about the same too.

    *Water leaks are rare with these water coolers, but after having read a few reports about them happening, causing at least parts of systems to become damaged/useless (such as the expensive graphics card right beneath the cooler), I know that they do happen to a small percentage of buyers and that’s why I personally can’t recommend them. I own an H50 myself, but it’s been shelved because the air cooler performed a little better.

    I will be revising this system setup shortly, and continually every month, so thanks for helping to make it better.