UGM 2008

Ten years ago we launched ZDTV (which later became TechTV) and The Screen Savers, its most popular show. We wanted to begin with a bang, so Kate Botello and I decided to build the "Ultimate Gaming Machine" basing it on Lloyd Case's design from Computer Gaming World. In 1998, that meant a PII 400 Mhz, 128 MB of RAM, and a fabulously expensive widescreen Sony CRT (and a price tag of over $10,000). Here's what it looked like back then... There have been 9 UGMs built since then, the most recent for Attack of the Show in 2005 (which cost around $6000 and was a lot faster). Since I'm launching TWiT Live 10 years later I thought it would be fun to see what the UGM would look like these days. Only this time, we're going to let you build it. Starting Friday, June 6, we'll be inviting you to pick the parts for UGM 2008. From processors, to motherboard, to video and sound system, the choice will be yours. We'll spend a couple of hours debating the merits of each component, with expert commentary to help you decide, then when we reach consensus we'll buy it. At the end of the month we'll assemble our creation and then give it away to some lucky TWiT Live viewer. I'm not sure exactly how we'll give it away. I know I mentioned this on TWiT and proposed a crazy scheme to get me more followers on Twitter. All I can say is I must have been drunk. It won't be necessary to follow me, or Dvorak, and it definitely won't be necessary to unfollow Kevin. I'm going to check with the legal department and find a fair way to do this that doesn't require anyone to join Twitter! We'll kick things off Friday, June 6, at 3p Pacific, 6p Eastern, 2200 UTC with a processor showdown. AMD or Intel, which will it be? I'll have experts on both sides then I'll ask you to decide. June 13 it's Motherboards and Memory. June 20th, video cards and monitors. June 27th storage and peripherals. We'll finish the machine on the 4th of July, choose the best five games for it, and award it to a lucky winner. So join us Fridays starting in June as we recreate one of the most loved bits we ever did on The Screen Savers. It should be a lot of fun, and who knows, you could walk away with UGM 10!

Comments

[Bruce]

I agree, your general sense of care and honesty overrides your comment.

[Jaswinder]

You should do a contest on how many pownce followers you get

[Yeeter]

Y'know, the way they do giveaways on engadget is to have the readers comment on the pertinent blog post, then choose out of those folks...I think that's pretty simple and effective.

Keep up the good work!

[darkwing duck]

I learned more leo laporte books and call for help than tech school.

Remember kids sleep in class and you will pass with the help of leo laporte (books and Call for help and other tv shows)

pass this test with the help of leo laporte

Microsoft Certified IT Professional
Microsoft Certified Professional Developer
A+ Certification

thanks Leo for the help

[leolaporte]

Wow - but I don't take any credit for it. You're obviously a smart cookie! Thanks for the very kind words!

[leolaporte]

You bet. Watch for a Best of TWiT Live video podcast.

[DruulinZzz]

Intel BOXD5400XS Dual LGA 771 Skulltrail D5400XS Extended ATX Motherboard - Retail $659
ePOWER EP-2000P10-T3 2000W ATX12V Ver.2.2 Power Supply - OEM $649
Intel Core2 Extreme QX9775 3.2GHz LGA 771 150W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80574QX9775 - Retail $1548
Intel Core2 Extreme QX9775 3.2GHz LGA 771 150W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80574QX9775 - Retail $1548
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1800 (PC3 14400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TW3X4G1800C8DF - Retail $549
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1800 (PC3 14400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TW3X4G1800C8DF - Retail $549
EVGA 01G-P3-N897-A3 GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $619
EVGA 01G-P3-N897-A3 GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $619
BFG Tech BFGRPHYSX128P PhysX Processing Unit 128MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Physics Card - Retail $139
COOLER MASTER cosmos S RC-1100-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail $249
ZALMAN Reserator XT BK Black Reserator (Reservoir+Radiator+Water Pump) Water Cooling System - Retail $419
HP 411089-B22 300GB 15000 RPM Ultra320 SCSI Hard Drive - Retail $999
HP 411089-B22 300GB 15000 RPM Ultra320 SCSI Hard Drive - Retail $999
ePOWER EP-2000P10-T3 2000W ATX12V Ver.2.2 Power Supply - OEM $649
SONY Black and Gray SATA Blu-ray DVD-ROM Drive Model BDUX10S - Retail $21
ASUS Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E818A/A6/QT_B+W - Retail $189
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM $189
Logitech MX Revolution Black 7 Buttons 2 x Wheels USB RF Wireless Laser Mouse - Retail $79
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card (Black/Silver) (Eng) - Retail $254
Creative GigaWorks G550W 310 W 5.1 Speaker - Retail $334
SAMSUNG XL30 Black 30" 6ms(GTG) Widescreen LED backlight LCD Monitor - Retail $4599

$15,859 Total

Seem like you can trim a lot of fat but, then it wouldn't be an ULTIMATE GAMING PC!

Am I missing anything?

[leolaporte]

Yeah. My checkbook. OUCH!

[Zoyx]

??

[bellasera]

This will be fun to see the results of. I saw the first UGM created back then and can't wait to see how this one turns out. Best of luck with it Leo. It'll make the summer interesting to watch and listen to while I'm working. :)

[jerichobp]

leo, don't know if you saw, but you made valleywag over all this kevin rose twitter dealings
http://valleywag.com/391808/leo-laporte-drunk-and-out-of-control-calls-for-kevin-rose-boycott">http://valleywag.com/391808/leo-laporte-drunk-a...

[diazamet]

Wow, that 1998 UGM is probably out performed by a lot of mobile phones today!

[leolaporte]

It's kind of sad what passes for gossip these days.

[jerichobp]

I guess when you base your site on tech gossip, you've pretty much started at the bottom of the barrel.

[jerichobp]

Here's my specs for the UGM
https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/P...

its a $21 000 machine, but if you only want one monitor (but who doesn't want 3 30" monitors), you can get it down to around $12 000

also not counting cables and accessories

[jerichobp]

only 1 30" monitor? i thought this was supposed to be ultimate :)

[MarkH]

Leo, great idea! Really looking forward to the speccing and assembly of this box. Is there a way to record a stickam stream so I can view it on my schedule? I'm not usually home on Friday afternoons. I'd like a Tivo for web streams. Also, what can we do to ensure the success of Twitlive?

[guess1235]

I'm looking forward see the show but unfortunately I live in Australia have to work and sleep wee hours,not able to watch live.

[ijohn]

Leo! Man I loved The Screensavers! It was one of my favorite shows of all time! Bring it back!

[jarydf]

You mean I joined the twitter lunacy for nothing?

[Krewell]

Wow. A blast from the past! Back then it was all about the Pentiums.
I know you set the start date for June 6th, but keep a sharp eye out for new anouncements coming out of Computex.
My suggestions (as of today):
NVIDIA SLI (2-way or 3-way) 9800GTX or 9800 GX2 graphics (of course)
Vista 64-bit version with 4-8GB of DDR2 or DDR3
Core 2 Duo E8500 (3.16GHz) Yes I say Duo, not Quad, for most machines. If you want to get insane, then it's the QX9770
Bluray R/W drive
Setup up boot from one 10,000 RPM drive and then set up a RAID drive with 2-4 drives for content and applications (easier O/S installation and upgrades)
1KW power supply (I just like saying one kilowatt)

Test with Crysis - the most demanding game on PC systems.

[leolaporte]

Kevin you're on our list to talk about CPUs (I'm going to recuse you on the video card section though)!

I thought it would be fun to have you and Michael Slater help us choose the right CPU. You can do it via Skype. Friday, June 6 work for you? Say 3p Pacific?

[leolaporte]

I've contacted Newegg to see if they'd like to sponsor this. If they do - hey why not 3 x 30" !

[Matt]

Listening to NAN - figured i'd test out your comment

[ChrisGilmore]

Nice... just refreshed my subscription in iCal ;)