Buying his own Setup

The following morning, the deliveries began arriving. A team of workers from SM Appliance and SM Home carried in the brand-new refrigerator, gas range, dining table, sofa set, and air conditioners. Lola was still shaking her head, muttering about how excessive it all was, while Leila was practically buzzing with excitement, hopping from one new appliance to another.

Inigo, however, was only half-paying attention.

Today, it was his turn to go shopping.

While the house was now filled with everything his family needed, he still lacked one important thing: a proper computer setup for game development.

His old laptop, the one he used to create Flappy Bird, was barely holding on. It lagged constantly, struggled with even basic rendering, and overheated so much that he had to place a fan next to it just to keep it from shutting down.

That wouldn't cut it anymore.

By noon, Inigo arrived at SM Cyberzone, the mall's designated tech section. It was packed with computer stores, mobile shops, and gaming accessory stalls. Rows of displays showcased the latest PC components, gaming peripherals, and high-performance laptops.

He had already done his research. 2010's best specs for game development required a powerful processor, lots of RAM, a dedicated GPU, and plenty of storage.

His goal? Build a workstation that could handle high-resolution game assets, real-time rendering, and advanced coding environments.

At PC Express, one of the leading computer shops, Inigo approached a sales rep.

"Good afternoon, sir! Are you looking for a gaming PC?" the salesman asked, eyeing Inigo's casual attire.

"Something better," Inigo replied. "I need a high-performance workstation for game development."

The salesman's eyebrows lifted in interest. "Ah, I see. What kind of specs are you looking for?"

"I need something that can handle Unity, Unreal Engine, 3D rendering, and heavy asset creation. Fast processor, at least 16GB of RAM, and a high-end GPU."

The salesman nodded, already scribbling on his notepad. "Got it. Here's what I'd recommend:"

[PC Build – Game Development Workstation (2010)

Processor: Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition (Hexa-Core, 3.33GHz)

The fastest consumer-grade processor available in 2010.

Ideal for multitasking and rendering.

Motherboard: ASUS P6X58D Premium

Supports high-speed RAM and expansion slots for future upgrades.

RAM: 16GB DDR3 (Corsair Dominator)

Most systems still used 4-8GB, but for game development, 16GB was the sweet spot.

Graphics Card (GPU): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 (1.5GB GDDR5)

One of the most powerful GPUs of 2010, great for 3D rendering.

Storage:

Primary Drive (OS & Software): Intel X25-M 160GB SSD (for fast boot-up and software loading)

Secondary Drive (Storage): Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB HDD (for game assets, projects, and files)

Power Supply Unit (PSU): Corsair HX850W

Ensures stable power delivery for high-end components.

Cooling System: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus

Prevents the processor from overheating during intense workloads.

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932

A full-tower case with excellent airflow.

]

After selecting the PC parts, Inigo moved on to peripherals.

[Monitor: Dell UltraSharp U2711 – 27-inch, 2560x1440 resolution

A high-resolution IPS display for accurate colors, essential for game development.

Keyboard: Logitech G110

Mechanical keys, programmable macro functions.

Mouse: Razer DeathAdder 3500 DPI

A precise and comfortable gaming mouse.

Drawing Tablet: Wacom Intuos4 Medium

A must-have for designing game assets.

Speakers: Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Surround Sound

Powerful sound quality for testing game audio.

Operating System: Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)

The best OS for gaming and development in 2010.]

"Alright, sir, your total comes to ₱198,000," the salesman said, glancing at Inigo.

Lola would have fainted on the spot.

Inigo, however, casually pulled out his BDO debit card and handed it over.

Swipe.

Approved.

"Sir, your build will take about two hours for assembly. Would you like us to install your OS and software as well?"

"Yes, pre-install Unity 3D, Adobe Photoshop, and Visual Studio," Inigo instructed.

"Got it, sir!"

With two hours to kill, Inigo strolled through SM Cyberzone, making additional purchases:

[Backup Laptop: Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Core i7, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD)

Inigo wanted a powerful laptop for coding when he wasn't at his workstation.

Price: ₱120,000

External Hard Drive: Western Digital My Book 2TB

₱8,000

Software Licenses:

Adobe Creative Suite 5 Master Collection – ₱125,000

Autodesk Maya 2011 (For 3D modeling & animation) – ₱150,000

Office Chair: Ergonomic Mesh Chair – ₱12,000

Comfortable seating for long hours of coding.]

By the time Inigo returned, his workstation was fully assembled and tested.

The PC tower gleamed, the cooling system humming softly. The monitor displayed Windows 7's home screen, while Unity and Photoshop were already installed.

"Sir, everything is set up! We ran some tests, and your PC is performing flawlessly," the technician reported.

"Great," Inigo said, inspecting the build.

The technician grinned. "This is one of the best setups we've built this year. Are you a professional game developer?"

"Something like that," Inigo replied with a smirk.

A few employees helped him load everything into the delivery van he had rented.

By the evening, everything was delivered and set up in his newly upgraded workspace.

His 27-inch monitor displayed Unity 3D, ready for game development. His Wacom tablet rested beside the keyboard. The MacBook Pro sat nearby for additional work.

Leila peeked inside, wide-eyed. "Brother, your computer looks like something from the future!"

Lola, standing behind her, just sighed. "I give up trying to understand you."

Inigo chuckled. "That's fine, Lola. Just know that this is an investment."

Leila grinned. "Does this mean you'll make even cooler games?"

"You bet," Inigo replied, cracking his knuckles.