What’s the most expensive PC money can buy? I decided to find out.
The rules were simple – pretty much any component counted, whether or not it would actually work with the other components. So basically just like building a regular desktop PC. To maintain the strictest, most rigorous scientific credibility, I cross-checked component prices across multiple online vendors and other reputable tech sources to obtain the most outrageously inflated and/or misprinted prices.
Video – Nvidia Quadro Plex 7000
Technically, the Nvidia Quadro Plex isn’t a regular video card, it’s an external GPU system packing two 6 GB Quadro FX 6000s that connects to a host PC via a special PCI Express card, and supports up to eight displays. It also weighs about 10 kilos. Will it run Crysis? Probably not, because it’s designed for big enterprise 3D rendering, but that’s not the point. Besides, I’m sure enough complaints on HelloPeter will persuade Nvidia to release a software update to add support for Crysis. Maybe.
Price: R127,500
RAM – IBM 8 GB DDR3
This is almost definitely a misprint, but rules are rules, and this is the most expensive RAM I could find for sale. So it totally counts.
Price: R440,000
According to the page info, these are actually also refurbished. But maybe these were refurbished with weapons-grade titanium and their own Bavarian castle.
CPU – BAE Systems Electronic Solutions RAD750
Designed and built for high-radiation environments, the RAD750 was most recently added to the Mars Curiosity rover’s tech loadout. If it can process the unfathomable infinity of space, it can launch Steam. Or not, because it has a clock speed of just 200 MHz.
Price: R1.7 million
Curiosity rover sold separately.
Motherboard – Asus M5A88-M EVO
This way overpriced motherboard is definitely not going to be compatible with our RAD750, so maybe factor in another couple of million for repairs and replacements.
Price: R60,000
Try more solder – 0.02% of the time, it works every time.
Hard drive – HP 320GB IO MLC Accelerator
Unfortunately, the $30,000 ANDRA sapphire hard drive was disqualified because you can’t actually buy one, which is rather a shame because it also has an estimated lifespan of 1 million years. Fortunately, this Hewlett-Packard 320 GB solid state drive four-pack bundle was even more expensive.
Price: R408,000
You might want to double up on them, though – 2 TB is pretty much a minimum these days.
Monitor – NEC MultiSync LCD8205 82″ display
Since our GPU system supports up to eight displays, it just makes sense to get eight of these.
Price: R4,248,000 (R531,000 x 8)
Farmville is gonna look so epic.
Case – Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
Because, you know, why not? If you’re going to spend this much money on parts, I think it’s only appropriate to put them in a stealth jet. Anything less would be skimping. I mean, you could build you PC inside a R300 plastic case, or you could fly your PC over entire cities, dropping bombs and screaming bloody vengeance at every person who ever told you your old Genius sound card was crap. I’m sure we all know which is the more impressive option.
Price: Approximately R8.5 trillion
There’s probably space for a beer fridge too.
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