Here we have a screaming-edge machine lacking any virtual price cap -- a dream machine that is down to earth in terms of both price and configuration. Every component in the Luxury System guide is thoroughly scrutinized to ensure it packs the most horsepower for your greenback. If a component's premium price isn't justified, it simply doesn't make the cut. In nearly all of our selections, we've chosen components that are either the best available, or just a notch below.

Motherboard, Processor, Memory

This is somewhat of an awkward time to build a high-end machine with Ivy Bridge and Kepler only months away. That said, there's always something better around the corner and you can't necessarily go wrong buying parts today with Sandy Bridge, Sandy Bridge-E and AMD's flagship Radeon HD 7000 series card available. The Core i7-2600K was our default pick for the better part of a year and although it's still a perfectly viable solution for this build, the new Core i7-3820 is probably a better investment overall.

The i7-3820 provides similar, and in many cases, superior performance to the i7-2600K and i7-2700K (the most notable exception is gaming, but you're generally talking about a few frames). At the same time, it offers a few additional features, such as additional L3 cache, support for PCIe 3.0, more PCIe lanes as well as more than 32GB of quad-channel memory. The drawbacks: slightly weaker memory bandwidth performance and a limited unlocked configuration -- neither was a big problem in our testing.

One might also argue that the i7-3820's higher platform cost (quad-channel RAM and an X79 motherboard). This isn't really a problem either, at least not for the Luxury build. If you have ~$3,000 to drop on a PC, you likely won't care about spending an extra $50 on RAM or splurging on a high-end motherboard (regardless of the platform). What's more, in our testing, you don't lose performance running SB-E with dual or even single-channel RAM (in fact, you gain some) if you truly can't afford quad-channel RAM.

Again, the i7-2600K and its brethren are still viable, we just give the edge to SB-E for a top-end build.  In our review, the i7-2600K was faster than the i7-975 Extreme Edition while consuming 44% less power. The i7-2600K has an unlocked multiplier so it's easier to overclock, but if you don't plan to take advantage of that feature, the standard i7-2600 is a little cheaper at $300. Meanwhile, if you're willing to allocate another $50+ to a processor, the i7-2700K gets you a 100MHz boost over the stock i7-2600K.

If you're going with the i7-3820 or another LGA2011 chip: In our recent five-way X79 roundup, the ASRock X79 Extreme9 made an extremely compelling case. At $345, it wasn't the cheapest board we tested, but it was the most feature rich with support for four GPUs (all four cards running at x8) and tons more. As the cherry on top, its aced our overclocking tests. The Asus P9X79 Deluxe is also a solid pick, though it's a bit pricier at $380, it has less features and worse quality audio than the X79 Extreme9.

If you're going with the i7-2600K or another LGA1155 chip: It seems our previous pick, the Gigabyte's GA-Z68X-UD7, is being yanked off shelves with limited availability and abnormally high pricing around the Web. Fret not, though, Luxury builders. Asus' Maximus IV Extreme-Z is an equally fine specimen, carrying four PCIe x16 slots (x8, x16, x16 for three-way SLI or Crossfire), eight rear-panel USB 3.0 ports, two eSATA ports, dual-Gigabit LAN, four SATA 6Gb/s ports and a slew of in-house Asus features.

Most people won't tap 4GB during standard use, but if you're looking to spend over $3,000 on a desktop PC, you probably aren't a "standard" user. Having 8GB of RAM is likely the current "ideal" for heavy gamers and power users, but if you're building with SB-E, you might as well go to town with 16GB (four 4GB modules -- preferably in a single kit). In doing so, you'll sleep better knowing you're using the chip's quad-channel memory controller and again, we're talking about a fraction of the total system cost.

Graphics, Sound

Although the Radeon HD 6990 and GeForce GTX 590 are damn fast, they're a poor value when compared to cheaper, more efficient dual-card configurations such as two HD 6950s or GTX 570s. We've found two GTX 570s to be cheaper and faster than the dual-GPU GTX 590. That value is also seen when comparing the GTX 570 to the GTX 580: the former is about 14% slower and 30% cheaper, putting it in somewhat of a sweet spot. The landscape is expected to shift in early 2012 as the next-gen cards arrive, with the Radeon HD 7970 due on shelves any day and it'll likely displace our SLIed GTX 570s -- at least until Nvidia counters with its flagship.

Storage

**Recent flooding has dented hard drive production. Prices have skyrocketed and unless you're in desperate need of new storage, we recommend delaying your HDD purchase. Perhaps you can reuse an old device or treat yourself to a new SSD.

Although OCZ's Vertex 3 proved itself as the drive to beat, competitors didn't hesitate to answer that call. Crucial's M4 is a solid budget-conscious choice that doesn't sacrifice much performance over the Vertex 3, Intel's new 520 Series drive is a premium offering with competitive performance and proven reliability, while Samsung's 830 Series offers a blend of the two. The reality is, you'd be well served by any of them, but we're siding with Intel's offering. It scored impressively on our real world tests and again, the company has an impeccable track record for reliability and firmware fixes. You'll pay extra for both of those attributes, but this is a Luxury System after all.

This wouldn't be much of a Luxury computer without a Blu-ray burner, and at under $100 the LG drive we've chosen is among the most affordable you'll find.

Power, Case

Corsair's HX Series 850W PSU ought to supply your dream PC with enough juice. Noteworthy specifications include a 140mm thermally-controlled fan, 70A on a single +12V rail, 80 Plus Silver Certified, and lengthy cables with connectors for 12 SATA drives, six PCI-E graphics cards, and 12 peripheral devices. What's more, the unit features a modular cable design, so you'll be able to keep your system free of unnecessary clutter.

Although the HAF 932, HAF X and CM Storm Trooper are fully capable of housing top-notch hardware (all three have served in our Luxury System guide at some point), we think the throne rightfully belongs to Cooler Master's Cosmos II. We're still waiting on a review unit, but based on everything we've seen, the jumbo-sized chassis is well worth its $350 asking price for hardcore system builders.

Other worthwhile aggressive looking chassis include the Antec's Twelve Hundred and Lanboy Air Corsair's Obsidian 800D0D. Meanwhile, if money is no object, the Thermaltake Level 10 is among the most unique (and expensive) PC cases available.

Monitor, Speakers, Peripherals

At a breathtaking 30-inches, the Dell UltraSharp U3011 is nothing short of excellence. Displaying 1.07 billion colors at a native resolution of 2560x1600, it has a contrast ratio of 1000:1, 370 cd/m2 brightness, 7ms gray-to-gray response time, .2505mm pixel pitch, viewing angles of 178/178-degrees and is backed by Dell's premium panel guarantee. It also has five USB ports, along with two HDMI, two DVI, one VGA, one DisplayPort, component connectors, a 7-in-1 card reader, and sits atop an adjustable base (height, swivel and tilt).

As sweet as the U3011 is, $1,500 is a lot of bacon to drop on one monitor, though it shouldn't be too difficult to snag one for $1,300 or less if you're patient as Dell runs semi-frequent sales. We realize 30" monitors aren't for everyone, and there are countless worthy alternatives in the 24" to 27" ($200 to $600) range. If you have the cash, we'd suggest opting for a display that boasts an IPS panel such as HP's LP2475w or Dell's U2410.

There aren't many 5.1 computer speaker systems around and although Logitech's Z-5500 has been a favorite among gamers for years, the set is being rapidly phased out by the company's new Z906. Unfortunately, the Z906 has received has received a lukewarm response from consumers, but the audiophiles over at Soundnews.ro has given the set two thumbs up for movies and gaming. Meanwhile, headsets don't get much better than Sony's MDR-V7506 unless you're going to spend hundreds or thousands more. Frankly, if you require better audio quality than the MDR-V7506 can provide, you probably already know what you're looking for.

Between the number of possible keyboard and mouse combinations in the high-end price range, and the various uses you could be making of this system it's virtually impossible to recommend a single component. That said, we think Logitech's G500 mouse and G19 keyboard are suitable for just about any build, but if you prefer something more sleek, the Logitech diNovo Edge or the Logitech MX Air Silver mouse may be worth investigating. Other popular keyboards include the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic 4000 and Logitech's recently launched G510.

If you're looking for a mechanical keyboard, Filco, Das, Leopold, Deck, XArmor, and SteelSeries offer respected options. Razer recently introduced the BlackWidow which combines gaming and macro features. Be sure to read up on the difference between each keyswitch before making a purchase. Geekhack.org offers a fantastic resource on the subject if you're interested.

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