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You want the ultimate in computing experience but how do you achieve the ultimate computer? Is it just a matter of getting together the best components, fastest drivers, BIOS optimisations, Windows tweaks, and perhaps a bit of over-clocking?
'Afraid not.
The ultimate computer varies depending on what YOUR needs and YOUR priorities are.
If you're looking for the ultimate gaming PC it's going to be a lot different from the ultimate video editing PC which is again going to be a lot different from the ultimate silent PC. Then there are ultimate PCs from the point of aesthetics or size. You can get them to match the colour of your hi-fi components or to match the colour of your wallpaper. And the ultimate rugged PCs for use in industrial environments. You get the point...
So can you build your own ultimate PC? Possibly, possibly not. Anybody can kick a ball, but making the English f'ball team is another matter. A professional f'baller stands a better chance. (to make the English team - NOT to build your PC. That wouldn't be advisable :-))
If you're looking for the ultimate gaming PC you want a PC that, among other things, provides not just simply outstanding graphics but the best graphics possible with today's technology, you want it to capture every movement, keep up in speed, provide the high resolution output you want in full 32 bit colour, and run at a respectable refresh rate. That requires a keen understanding of BIOS settings and graphics benchmarks, optimisations and tweaks, plus a familiarity with how different graphics cards interact with various other components in the PC. You'd also benefit from practical experience of how different versions of the graphics drivers affect performance (latest drivers are not necessarily the best). It does help if you have a variety of graphics cards, drivers and motherboards to do all the testing. And that's just the graphics. You need to keep up to date on all the latest releases of all the BIOSes, drivers and tweaks for all the parts in your PC.
If you are looking for the ultimate quiet PC, it's not just a matter of buying a load of Zalman products you've seen advertised on an overclocking site. Professionals building quiet PCs for a living know about calculating and controlling airflow through the PC depending on the type of components you have, the case the PC is built in etc. They even take into consideration the general temperatures you are likely to see in the country it's being used in.. They know how many cfm of air needs to pass through the PC for a given room temperature to keep the PC's internals from overheating. They can calculate the minimum wattage of PSU needed to run the listed specs safely (generally speaking, high wattage PSUs generate more heat and need faster - and usually louder - fans to cool them). And various other little bits. They would also be knowledgeable about all the specialist products available to control PC noise.
The same applies whether you are looking at ultimate PCs for video editing ...or any other application/need. If you want a no compromise system speak to the people who cater specifically for your particular market.
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