Custom PC & Bit-tech Award Winners Announced

Custom PC & Bit-tech Award Winners Announced

As the year starts to draw to a close and retailers start telling us that it's almost Christmas even though it clearly isn't, it's time to once again reveal which companies our readers were the biggest fans of this year. There was some stiff competition this year as companies competed for awards such as 'Best Motherboard Manufacturer' and 'Best Retailer'.

What's more, we also videoed the event for the first time ever, so if you've ever found yourself wondering what the awards ceremony is like then you can finally find out in the video below. We even took the time to interview some of the winners and ask them what we can look forward to next year.


If, on the other hand, all you care about is the awards themselves - and you should, since you voted for them - then gaze below at the short list!

Best Motherboard Manufacturer - Asus

Asus won the award for best motherboard manufacturer, beating both EVGA and Gigabyte to the punch after a year of strong releases. One of Asus' latest products, the Sabertooth X58, left us particularly impressed this year - check out our Sabertooth X58 review for more information on that!

Best Graphics Manufacturer - Sapphire

The award for best graphics manufacturer is one of the most coveted prizes we give away and this year was gladly claimed by Sapphire, who edged out Asus and XFX in our reader voted awards. Sapphire's Bill Donnelly was on hand to collect the award, so check out the awards video above to see what he had to say about winning.

Best Memory Manufacturer 2010 - Corsair

It's been a busy year for Corsair, which has branched out in to audio products for the first time with the Corsair HS1 Headset. That hasn't affected the companies performance in the memory market however, with Corsair beating Crucial and OCZ to win this year.

Best PSU Manufacturer - Corsair

We said it had been a busy year for Corsair and we really meant it, as the company had to find the time to collect an award for best power supplies, as well as best memory. Corsair's VP of Marketing, Jim Carlston, came over from the US to collect the award - check the video for a hint of what the company will be up to in the coming months.

Best PC & Laptop Manufacturer - Asus

Asus' second reader-voted award recognises the companies work in the manufacture of whole PCs and laptops, an area the company has enjoyed enormous success in thanks to the strength of the EEE brand. Asus just managed to beat Scan and Alienware for this award too - check the video to see what Asus' Iain Bristow had to say about that.

Best Retailer - Scan

Winning the best retailer award for the second year running, Scan managed to beat both Amazon and Ebuyer this year. Scan Director Elan Raja picked up the award on behalf of the company and also took the time to talk about the delayed Dream PC that the retailer has been working on and hopes to have ready for next year.

Overclocking & Cooling Award - Cooler Master

Cooler Master managed to trounce both Arctic Cooling and Corsair this year. Cooler Master's new range of HAF cases have been especially popular, with the Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus winning a recommended award earlier this year. Taiwan correspondant Richard Swinburne has been following the HAF range closely.

Best Modding Manufacturer - Thermaltake

Thermaltake managed to pip both Dremel and Zalman to the post and grabbed this award for the way it has supported the modding community this year. Thermaltake's products can be seen in some of the most impressive mods this year too and, with the Mod of the Year competition on the horizon, there's never been a better time to check out our Modding Index.

Best RMA & Service Award - Scan

Scan's excellent customer service was probably a contributing factor in it winning the Best Retailer award, so it's no surprise to see the company win again here. In fact, Scan even runs its own support forum on bit-tech, which no doubt helped in its second victory over Amazon and Ebuyer.

Breakthrough of the Year - Xigmatek

Xigmatek wins recognition for the fantastic Utgard PC case this year, which picked up an Excellence Award in our review back in April and quickly became one of our favourite chassis. It's one of the readers favourites too, as Xigmatek bested Fractal Design and Sandforce.

Best PC Game Developer - Activision-Blizzard

Activision hasn't enamoured itself greatly to PC gamers recently, with the lack of dedicated servers in Modern Warfare 2 being an especially sore point. Thankfully though, Blizzard's StarCraft 2 and upcoming World of Warcraft expansion have done a lot to repair that rift, allowing Activision-Blizzard to win against Electronic Arts and Valve.

Editorial Award for Technical Innovation - Electronic Arts

The first of two awards decided by the staff, the Technical Innovation Award this year went to Electronic Arts, who won for the way the Frostbite Engine allows level destruction in Bad Company 2. EA won against Danamics (liquid metal cooling), Intel (Clarkfield), Nvidia (Fermi) and Sandforce (SSD controller).

Editorial Award for Elite Hardware - Dell U2711 Monitor

This award, which is decided by the editorial team, is given to the one piece of kit we'd buy if money wasn't an issue. Dell won this year for the superb U2711 monitor, though there was fierce competition from Crucial (C300 SSD), EVGA (SR-2 Motherboard), Haleia (HC-500A Chiller), Intel (i7-980X Extreme Edition) and Silverstone (FT02R-W Case).