Building a $12,000 Gold-Plated PC in Taipei Tech Mall

The Quest for a Sultan's Throne

• 👑 Linus returns to Taipei's tech mall to commission a custom PC build worthy of an $8,000 RTX 5090 Dhahab Edition GPU with 24-karat gold.
• 🎯 The goal is to find a builder who can deliver both performance and aesthetics for a top-tier gaming system, while also seeking a decent deal.
• 💬 Three shops are approached, each asked to provide a quote and a portfolio, with the builder needing to convince Linus with their concept and artistry.

Evaluating the Builders and Concepts

• 💰 Quotes ranged from $3,000 to $4,000, with significant variations in specs and cooling solutions.
• 💡 One builder, the 'OG', proposed a 16-core processor, high-end memory, a large SSD, and a surprise water cooling setup.
• 🎨 Another builder offered an 8-core processor but included a $1,300 custom cooling loop with a gold paint job and a unique diorama theme.
• ⚖️ The decision was difficult, balancing specs, cost, and creative vision, ultimately leaning towards the builder with the more elaborate custom theme.

The Build and Its Challenges

• 🛠️ The chosen builder, 'Builder 2', was tasked with creating a PC to match the gold GPU.
• ⚠️ Pickup day revealed potential issues, including expo problems with four RAM sticks on an AMD platform, raising concerns about system stability and transport.
• 📦 The PC was described as extremely fragile, with specific instructions on how to carry it to prevent damage, leading to worries about a potential giveaway.

Unboxing and Performance

• ✨ The $12,000 PC build featured a Dark Flash case with custom paint, a gold GPU mount, and a themed water cooling loop with oil-like fluid and sand.
• 🚀 Components included an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, 64GB G.SKILL Trident Z5 Royal RAM, and a T-Force CARDEA Z540 NVMe SSD.
• 📈 Despite running RAM at CL36 instead of CL28, the system achieved over 150 FPS in Cyberpunk at 4K with ray tracing.
• 💻 The ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Hero motherboard provided extensive I/O, including 2.5Gb and 5Gb networking, and multiple USB-C ports.

The Grand Giveaway

• 🎁 The entire $12,000 PC was given away to a lucky fan who helped Linus transport it.
• 🎮 The recipient, a CS2 player struggling with low FPS, was thrilled to receive a system capable of hundreds of frames per second.
• 🤝 ASUS is also hosting a charity auction for a limited-edition RTX 5090 Dhahab Edition signed by Jensen Huang.