The Most Powerful Gaming PC

2012 was a fantastic year for PC gamers. With more developers making use of quad-core CPUs and DirectX 11 videocards, improvements in PC gaming image quality weren't merely limited to higher resolutions and frame rates. We saw more ports making use of PC specific features like hardware tessellation, high definition ambient occlusion and PhysX. As a result, many PC games approached levels of detail that were only possible In Pixar flicks Just a couple of years ago.

As all manner of garners flocked back to the premium gaming platform that is the PC, the resurgence In mods — largely attributable to the incredible success of DayZ (PCPP's own 2012 Game of the Year) once again highlighted the benefits of an open platform. Combined with the maturation of digital distribution, some of the year's biggest hits were built by talented amateurs in their bedrooms.

Powering these killer gameplay experiences was the most powerful PC gaming hardware we've ever seen. Stiff competition in nearly every component category saw prices plummet, resulting In kick-arse PCs that cost less than the launch price of a PS3.

This source taken from various sites. They spent the year installing, benchmarking, and tweaking the year's biggest products to find out which ones were deserving of our loyal readers' attention. Throughout it all, we couldn't help but be impressed by such cutting edge technology. All of this testing has left us In the unique position of being able to select our picks for the best PC gaming hardware of 2012. Read on to find out which pieces of technological wizardry impressed us most.



Here's the Most Poweful PC Games

MONITOR: BenQ XL2420T Gaming Monitor

BenQ surprised everybody with the XL2420T, and not just because of the wallet-scorching price tag. Designed with the assistance of pro Counter-Strike PC garners, this 120Hz display was tailor-made for people like us. Using the second version of NVIDIA's 3D Vision tech, It delivered incredible 3D quality with less ghosting. If you didn't want to wear chunky electronic sunglasses indoors, it also shredded the competition at 2D performance.

Its older TN panel technology didn't hold it back in the slightest, with colour and contrast reproduction that the chaps at Technicolour would approve of it. The icing on the cake was a special controller that allows for rapid switching between colour profiles, while the eQualiser made It easier to see enemies in dark areas without screwing up the overall brightness. It's been on the market for a year now, and there's still no 24-incher that comes close.

HEADPHONES: Audio Technica ATH-A500X

The ATH-A500X headphones don't come In a box emblazoned with cybernetic ninjas fighting giant dragons, as would typically signify "gaming" headphones. There's not even a cheap $5 microphone on an extendable boom — if you want to use VOIP with these babies, you'll need to shell out $10 extra for a clip-on microphone. So why are they getting our best gaming headphones of the year? It's simple really — they make games sound amazing.

Built by the leading manufacturer of Japanese audiophile ear warmers, these relatively cheap headphones reveal a level of detail in gaming soundscapes that you've never heard before. The crisp, clear high-end is as comfortable to listen to as the booming bass, and the wide sound field makes directional audio work perfectly. The only problem is you'll need a decent soundcard to make the most of these headphones, as their high quality reveals the hissing flaws of today's onboard audio.

SSD: OCZ Vertex 4

OCZ was the first company to get on board the SandForce bus. Rather than be part of the me-too crowd, OCZ then bought out a company called Indllinx, which allowed it to build a proprietary, non-SandForce SSD controller called the Everest 2. It might have been based on hardware built by Marvell, but the injection of Indilinx technology delivered a level of performance that took six months to match.

At the time of its release the Vertex 4 blew the competition into tomorrow, an even now it still rates as one of the fastest drives on the market, a remarkable achievement considering how quickly SSD performance continues to grow. Best of all, performance was well-rounded handling both small and large file sizes with aplomb. Throw In a dece price tag and a generous warranty, and you've got an SSD worthy of the Beast.

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS Maximus V Formula/Thunder FX

Most expensive motherboards are stuffed to the gills with features that are Irrelevant to the average PC gamer. Not so this behemoth. Sure, it's got a range of overclocking options that would make a tweaker hot under the collar, but it's the other bits and pieces that we love. Three full-length PCIe slots allow for triple graphics cards, and there's even onboard wi-fl and Bluetooth. The onboard audio for this slab of gaming goodness is phenomenal, using a beefed up version of Realtek's ALC898 chip to deliver audio quality on par with ASUS's excellent sound cards. There's even a large headphone amplifier box powered by USB, which would go nicely with the ATH-A500X headphones we love so much.

It might cost an arm and a leg, but unlike most motherboards there's not a single gaming-focused featu missing on the Maximus V Formu Thunder FX, making it our obvious Motherboard of the Year.

MEMORY: Patriot Viper3 Intel Extreme Master 8GB DDR3 2133MHz

To be frank, reviewing memory is about as exciting as playing Kinect Sports; the first few times you do it is ok, but you soon realise you're basically doing the same thing over and over again. Yet when we plugged this kit into our testbench we knew we were onto a winner, and not just because it was so ridiculously affordable for an 8GB kit.

Where many memory kits need a bit of nursing to reach their full potential, Patriot's decision to bring Intel onboard for the development of this kit makes It so easy to overclock that even our Editor could do it... well, maybe with our Tech Editor talking him through it on Skype. Simply plug it In, select the relevant XMP profile and you're humming away at 2133MHz. Even better, It maintains this speed a relatively low voltage, lowering any risk to your CPU and making the owner feel better about their carbon footprint.

CASE: Cooler Master Cosmos II Ultra Tower

Where most PC cases are merely boxes that you put your bits into, the Cosmos II Is a memorable sculpture that just happens to be a PC case. Just look at it. The beautifully curved lines swing open to reveal a cavernous Interior, and the thick durable material it's built from can handle a battering, while also keeping fan noise masked. A comprehensive range of ports and controllers are hidden behind a smoothly retracting door that smoothly swooshes open like a door on the USS Enterprise, though it doesn't have the cool sound effect.

You can easily fit an XL-AD( board Inside this behemoth, along with a decent sized water cooling loop, with room left over for your kid brother when he's annoying you. Sure, it's twice the price of regular cases, but price is no obstacle for people who want a case like this.

KEYBOARD: Razer BlackWidow Tournament Edition

There's no greater seal of approval than when one of the PCPP staff ends up using a product as part of their personal gaming rig. And so it was with this keyboard from Razer, which at first glance looks downright ordinary. So why is It the preferred weapon that I choice?

For starters there are the Cherry MX Blue switches, which can be activated Just by sneezing on them thanks to their 2mm range of motion. There's the incredibly deep macro-recording software. But it's the removal of the numpad that gets our nod. Considering most PC gamers never go near the numpad, the removal of it allows for a less cluttered gaming surface without sacrificing key size, and it's perfect for couch-based PC gaming. If only it had fully backlit keys, it'd be damn near perfect. Still, it's freakishly cheap for a mechanical keyboard, not to mention a Razer product. Nice.

MOUSE: SteelSeries Sensei [RAW]

Compared to other gaming mice which often bristle with more buttons than a shirt factory, the Sensei [RAW] is a simple critter. There are only seven buttons in total, and the scroll wheel doesn't even tilt sideways. How pathetic, you sneer. And yet, It has made its way into the homes of more than one our writer.

There's a good reason for this — when it comes to precision and accuracy, using the Sensei [RAW] versus another mouse Is like using an M4A1 with a red dot sight versus iron sites. The gaming-grade laser is accurate enough to slice Individual pixels, turning players into headshot maestros. The SteelSeries software allows for a customisation of the sensor beyond anything else on the market, tailoring it to each gamer's specific needs. Throw in one of the most affordable price tags for a mouse of this quality, and there's simply no competition.

POWER SUPPLY: Corsair AX1200i

$400 is a rather high price tag for a 1200W power supply, especially when you can buy quality 1500W units for less. Corsair can command such a premium because this is the first ever digital PSU for the consumer market, bringing technology usually found in NASA's data centres to your nearest gaming den. Courtesy of Corsair's handy Link software, it's possible to monitor exactly how much power your PSU is using. In fact, you can even drill down to the level of each PCIe connection, so you'll see just how much of a gas guzzler your graphics card truly is.

Hardcore tweakers can change the way it distributes power, making it one of the most advanced PSUs on the market. There's still nothing else like it out there, but give it a year or two and every premium PSU on the planet will be digital. And it all started with the AX12001.

CPU: Intel i5 3570K

When we first checked out Intel's newest CPU design, we were less than gushing. The Integrated GPU performance was boosted dramatically. However, it was still a long way behind AM's integrated GPUs. Secondly, lw Bridge had undergone a die shrink down to 22nm from Sandy Bridge's 32nm. This is great news for laptop owners, but again it didn't mean much to PC garners, who have power and thermal dissipation to spare.

So why does the Ivy-Bridge-based 15 3570K get our nod for best CPU of the year? For starters, it absolutely whips anything AMD released In 2012. It might only make a difference in the 20% of games that aren't GPU-bottlenecked, but you will notice it when it matters. Just ask PlanetSide 2. Also, Ivy Bridge is anywhere between 7% and 13% faster than its predecessor — enough to ensure it's the best gaming chip around. Finally, we have the 3570K's overclockability. With a base speed of 3.4GHz, boosting up to 3.8GHz under load, it can easily hit 4.5GHz with a minimum of fuss. Some folks have even extracted the magical 5GHz number out of this $220 CPU, and at this speed it runs rings around Intel's $1000+ Extreme Edition chips. If you've already got Sandy Bridge, there's not much point in upgrading to this chip, but if you don't, you need to scratch up $220 ASAP!

GRAPHICS CARD: Gigabyte GV-R797TO-3GD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Windforce

When we reviewed this card, you probably didn't even realise we'd done so. You see, this is the card we used for our feature review of AMD's GHz update to the Radeon HD 7970. We often use third party cards for reviews of major GPU releases, but don't mention the brand of the graphics card, as we're testing the technology within, not the implementation of it. Obviously, we ensure the card is running at the exact same speeds as the reference version so that performance is identical.

We're happy to admit that we basically got it wrong with our review of this Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition. Back when we covered it, we recommended NVIDIA's competing products instead, as they were quieter and slightly faster. We've since backflipped, but it's not our fault that we've had to change our opinion for our silicon equivalent of the Oscars; it's the product that has changed, not our original review. You can read our overall Gaming Tech of the Year award to see what we mean, but in the meantime this is our favourite implementation of the Radeon HD 7970 GHz edition. With a fantastic proprietary cooler that keeps things chilly while lowering fan noise, not to mention a very approachable price tag, this is the Radeon HD 7970 GHz card to buy.

POWER: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690

When It comes to sheer, balls-to-the-wall power, we were spoilt for choice in 2012. However, there was one product in particular that caused our wallets to shriek in terror the loudest, while our not-so-Inner nerdlings jumped for joy: the GeForce GTX 690. At the time, this was the fastest graphics card ever made.

It was also one of the rarest. We've yet to see one of these cards in the wild, and there are rumours that you still have to sacrifice a goat during the waning crescent of the moon to have your GTX 690 order processed. Packing two slightly tamed GTX 680 GPUs onto a single board gave this graphics card more than enough muscle to slam through any game at 2560 x 1440, which Just happens to be the native resolution of the exotic 30" displays that only rich people can afford.

Unlike prior dual-GPU cards, the GTX 690 doesn't sound like a space shuttle lifting off, as the energy-sipping Kepler GPUs employed within remained relatively quiet under load. Unfortunately, it was still encumbered with the insane price tag that NVIDIA slaps onto all of its dual GPU products, and is still retailing for over $1200.

Thankfully, price Is no barrier when it comes to the most powerful PC's; it's all about raw performance, and in that regard the GTX 690 is a most worthy winner for 2012's Powerful PC's.