I hope to update this page with the latest parts for best performance for the money, until I hit the trigger and build my PS2 dream machine either a month away from release, or if I get an invite to the beta.
Update: I purchased the rig and all its parts on Dec 23, 2011 when notice of the beta signups were out. I built it Jan 1, 2012. As of Aug 15, 2012 I have verified all parts are working great together and put them through good stress testing of every capability. No issues. This system is amazingly fast and should meet your needs for the next decade with appropriate upgrades after a few years. This original post will be updated with prices every week until PS2 Release Day 1. Now if you want me to build you one too... pms work great, but I encourage you to build your own as well. Pictures here.
The purpose of this build is to be able to play PS2 at max settings at release, with an eye towards maximum upgrade-ability, and a neutral color scheme from which to add VS/NC/TR color switchable led bling.
This will be my first computer build as I see it as a much cheaper alternative than buying a pre-built machine.
My budget is $2190 including monitor, keyboard, mouse, everything. After all, I am moving away from a 10 year old P4 1GB, and 17" tube.
The PS2 Gaming Rig: (newegg prices)
Case:$120
NZXT Phantom Black ATX Full Tower
PSU: $210
Corsair Pro Series Modular HX1050W (for future upgrade to 2 gtx 580s)
Mobo: $140
ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3
CPU: $290
Intel i7 2600K
Cooler: $34
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
RAM: $92
Corsair Vengeance 16GB
SSD: $95
OCZ Agility 3 120 GB SATA III SSD
GPU: $500
EVGA GTX 680 2 GB
BR Burner: $90
Pioneer Black 12X BD-R
Rig Total:$1571 (newegg wishlist)
EXTRAS:
Monitor: $205
ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" LED LCD
Keyboard: $24
Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000
Gaming Keypad: $60
Logitech G13 USB Advanced Gameboard
Mouse: $75
Logitech G9x Black Two modes scroll USB Wired Laser 5700 dpi Gaming Mouse
Headset: $25
KOSS SB45 3.5mm Connector Circumaural
System Total : $2033
-$40 (Current Rebates and Promos, ($15) SSD and ($25) Monitor)
PS2 Gaming Rig Grand Total: $1973
EDIT 12/31/11: GTX 580 3GB price dropped to $550 the next business day. Newegg customer service was kind enough to bypass their standard policy when I asked, and gave me a one-time exception refund for the diff! Awesome Newegg! I'll definitely be buying stuff from them again in the future.
EXTREME BUILD: Add in a 2TB or larger WD Caviar Black HDD, switch out the Hyper 212 EVO with a Corsair H100, add LED bling, and add a second GTX 680 2GB in SLI.
PS2 Gaming Rig Benchmarks (stock settings):
Boot from Power On (cold) to Firefox Google loaded: 18 seconds
Warm Restart Back to Google: 14 seconds.
Temps (using SpeedFan to measure)
Idle CPU temp: 26C
Max CPU temp: 34C (gaming in Tribes Vengeance and World of Tanks)
GPU (GTX 580 3GB) Max temp: 72C (gaming in Tribes Vengeance and World of Tanks)
(Ambient temp is about 70F)(CPU cooler mounted using Arctic Silver 5, large center dot method)
GTX 580 3GB FPS (frames per second on ultra high settings maxed, @ 1080p):
Planetside 1: 218 fps
Planetside 2: excellent fps (NDA prevents disclosure, but you can tell based on what Higby uses in his videos)
World of Tanks: 86-128 fps
Tribes Ascend: 90-110 fps