Bit-tech and Custom PC Awards Winners Announced

Custom PC & Bit-tech Award Winners Announced

The last year has been a pretty stellar one for PCs and PC gaming, but just which manufacturers and developers were leading the charge? You, our loyal readers, have voted and last night the winners were revealed at the the Bit-tech and Custom PC Awards 2013.

With gongs such as 'Best Modding Manufacturer', 'Best Motherboard Manufacturer' and 'Best Retailer' up for grabs, the competition was fierce. So without further ado, here are the winners of the Bit-tech and Custom PCs Awards 2013, as voted for by you!

Best Motherboard Manufacturer - Asus

Asus picked up the first award of the night, bagging itself the best motherboard manufacturer prize, beating Gigabyte into second place. Asus has picked up this award several years running now and it's showing no signs of letting up on its dominance. It may not be the most famous quote of all time but when Lincoln Chafee said "Trust is built with consistency", he clearly wasn't wrong.

Best Nvidia Graphics Partner - EVGA

EVGA has been a stalwart of Nvidia graphics partners for many years, with it known for churning out some of the most premium and non-more-black cards on the planet, so it was no surprise to find it high up in our reader poll. But, it was a close run thing with Asus narrowly missing out on another gong, and instead having to settle for second place.

Best AMD Graphics Partner - Asus

While Asus may have been pipped to the post for Nvidia graphics partner it managed to turns things around when it came to AMD cards, picking up the gong for best AMD graphics partner. With monstrous cards like the Asus Ares II, it's not hard to see why. This time it was the turn of Sapphire to feel the simultaneous joy and frustration of picking up second place.

Best Memory Manufacturer - Corsair

Corsair may have seriously diversified its product range in the last few years but it would seem it still knows a thing or two about making great memory, a fact clearly not missed by you guys. The runner up spot this time went to Kingston.

Best SSD Manufacturer - Samsung

Samsung has enjoyed a dominant year with its SSDs, using its advantage in NAND manufacturing to full affect. But, putting up stiff competition again was Corsair who this time had to settle for second place. Check out our latest SSD roundup to see just what Samsung's SSDs have to offer.

Best Case Manufacturer - CoolerMaster

Another endorsement for consistency, CoolerMaster has been churning out great cases for as long as we can remember and this year it has duly been rewarded the best case manufacturer prize. Who grabbed second spot? Well, it's that name Corsair again.

Best PSU Manufacturer - Corsair

With its second prize of the night, Corsair showed how it has made a great success of its efforts to branch out in recent years, picking up the title of best PSU manufacturer. In a reversal of fortunes it was this time CoolerMaster's turn to be pipped to the post.

Best Cooling Manufacturer - Corsair

Yup, it's that name again. Further cementing its position as a provider of quality hardware for nearly all PC components, Corsair was your choice for cooling manufacturer of the year. Particularly notable are its excellent line in all-in-one water cooling solutions such as the Corsair H80i - one of our top rated coolers of the last 12 months. Again, it's the turn of CoolerMaster to nab a well deserved second place.

Best Networking Manufacturer - Synology

With its superb line of low-cost yet feature rich NAS devices, such as the DS212j, Synology was your winner of the networking manufacturer prize. But, putting up a good fight was Edimax with its excellent range of networking accessories.

Best PC Manufacturer - Scan

Scan may be best known as a great place to find components at competitive prices but it's also has a rather spiffing line in PCs, ranging from the basic to the bombastic. And, it would appear you guys noticed too, voting it the best PC manufacturer of the last 12 months. Narrowly missing out on top spot was Overclockers UK.

Best Laptop Manufacturer - MSI

Long known for its powerful but affordable gaming laptops in particular, MSI has long been a favourite of PC gaming buyers. And as such it has dutifully been voted as the bit-tech and Custom PC readers' choice for best laptop manufacturer. With a commendable second place, though, came Asus.

Best Modding Manufacturer - Thermaltake

Another consistent winner, Thermaltake was pipped to the post by Zalman at last year's awards but this time the roles have reversed with the big T once again grabbing the glory. Zalman slipped to second place while destroyer of all things case-related, Dremel, picked up third spot.

Best Monitor Manufacturer - Samsung

Bagging its second prize of the night, Samsung showed its panel producing prowess by picking up the best monitor manufacturer award, due in no small part no doubt to the superb Samsung Series 9 monitor. Showing it has still got it where it counts, though, was Dell with a hard fought second place.

Best Retailer - Overclockers UK

Although it was pipped to the post by Scan for Best PC manufacturer this year, Overclockers got its own back with our readers' voting it the best retailer of the last year. It was a close run thing, though and second place went to non other than Scan.

Best PC Gamer Developer/Publisher - Bethesda

Bethesda missed out to EA in last year's awards but has again shown that consistency is key, pushing its way to the top of the charts this time around, thanks in no slow part to the Bafta award winning Dishonored. Meanwhile Valve managed to snag second prize.

Best Peripheral Manufacturer - Razer

Razer may have a peculiar penchant for all things serpentine but it clearly knows exactly what it's doing when it comes to manufacturing gaming peripherals, grabbing the most votes from our readers and picking up the best peripheral manufacturer award. Narrowly missing out on top spot was Logitech.

Congratulations to all the winners and runners up. And thanks again to our readers for voting!