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So I've Started On a New Build

that's not only sexy but kicks major ass

By on February 7, 2014 7:36:15 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

starkers

Join Date 05/2004
+983

Yup, it's that time of year again, but this time it's not a PC upgrade but rather a complete new build... starting with a real sexy case...

     

Now this is a full tower and has oodles of room inside for lots of fantastic shit... accommodating extra big graphics cards, enormous CPU coolers and even a magical leprechaun who can fix stuff when it's broken.  Orright, maybe not the leprechaun, but it is fechin' huge inside.  And what's more, to make it even more fancy, it has keys to get into it... so nobody's stealing my graphics card in a hurry... the innards of the beasty are quite secure.

Orright, so maybe it's not that secure, but there are lots of things to like about this case. For example, the 'hot swap' hard drive bays and the 'daisy chained' power connecters so that only one SATA plug from the PSU is required. Then there's the great ventilation, easy access to everything and the sexiest appearance ever.

Anyhow, enough of all that, let's talk about the innards...

PSU....   Silverstone 1200w 80 Gold

Mobo.... Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD5H [has 10 SATA 3 ports and 10 USB3 ports]

CPU....   Intel i7 4770K @ 3.5ghz [but highly overclockable]

Cooler... Corsair H60 Liquid CPU Cooler.

RAM...   G-Skill Trident DDR3 2400mhz x 32GB

SSD...    Samsung 840 Evo series 512Gb

GPU...    Gigabyte Radeon 7970 GV-R797WF3- 3GD.

Well that's all I got in it for now, but it has been a long, hard day and I've had enough, it's bedtime and the rest will have to wait 'til tomorrow.

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February 7, 2014 7:46:06 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

I don't know a lot about the inside of computers. However I know enough to say WOW. I'm sure it will all come together for you and wish you the best. 

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February 7, 2014 8:46:23 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Now this is a full tower and has oodles of room inside for lots of fantastic shit...

 

I'll say! You sure there's room under yer desk for it?

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February 7, 2014 9:59:28 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Quoting DaveBax,

I don't know a lot about the inside of computers. However I know enough to say WOW. I'm sure it will all come together for you and wish you the best. 

Thanks Dave, your best wishes are much appreciated... given this build is a bit of a challenge compared to others I've done.  While the case is a beauty, I've worked with easier ones, as in some inner areas are not as accessible.  Thing is, it's not impossible and a deft hand, short tools and a bit of determinartion got the job done. After the mobo is screwed in everything else is pretty much tool-less, except the front USB3 plate, which needed fixing with screws to stop it being pushed in... and what a darned fiddly job that was.

After working with AMD and air cooling for the last few years, I wan't too sure about installing an Intel CPU and liquid cooling.  However, it wasn't the challenge I thought it might be and it all fell into place nicely... and the rear exhaust fan [which had to be removed to make way for the coolant radiator] was recycled and used on the bottom of the case as an intake fan.

And so much for bedtime earlier on.  My niece turned up and it just never happened.  Oh well, sh!t happens. 

Anyway, despite this case not being the easiest I've ever had to work with, I am quite chuffed with some of the cool features, and in particular the hot swappable drives, which just slide in and link up with the fitted SATA and power connections, with no leads to worry about.  As I said earlier, the power connectors for this are daisy-chained on a bracket, and in using this principle I have done a similar thing with the SATA cables, which looks really neat, even if I do say so myself. 

I don't have a proper camera around the place anymore, but I'll try the one in my phone and upload some if the pics turn out somewhere near reasonable.  Hopefully I can get some half decent shots to show what I'm talking about.

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February 7, 2014 10:18:33 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Quoting DrJBHL,
I'll say! You sure there's room under yer desk for it?

Nope, this beauty has to stay out in full view so it can be fully appreciated and admired.  I mean, even its backside is a pretty sight, though I may not think so - say that when there's a heap of cables hanging off it.

As for fitting under the desk, well it would in the leg cavity underneath the keyboard drawer, but definitely not in the tower recess. Not only is it too wide, but it's too tall as well.  Never mind, the plan wasn't to put it in there anyhow.  I have fashioned a platform to keep it off the ground and will sit beside my desk... then I can make more room on my desktop by using the tower recess to rehouse my drive bays, etc.

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February 7, 2014 10:28:17 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Thought it had a special arrangement for the cables? Did in the pic I saw, anyway.

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February 7, 2014 10:56:25 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Quoting DrJBHL,
Thought it had a special arrangement for the cables? Did in the pic I saw, anyway.

Yeah, all the interior cables have cable management to keep things tidy... and in the Level 10 Full Tower it is better than any Thermaltake case I've worked with before.

However, what i meant about cables hanging off it was the monitor and USB cables, the audio/visual cables for the sound card and TV tuner... and as tidy as I try to keep them, the cables coming from the back of a PC are never pretty.

BTW, how did you know I had a Superman suit... and when to catch me wearing it?

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February 7, 2014 11:07:01 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Quoting starkers,
BTW, how did you know I had a Superman suit... and when to catch me wearing it?

Doc has a drone. Keep you're eyes open.

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February 7, 2014 11:21:53 AM from Elemental Forums Elemental Forums

PSU seems like a huge overkill, even if you'd want to expand with another GPU later on? I love the look of that case, I just got a new computer and it just looks boring compared to this ;(

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February 7, 2014 11:43:11 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Looking good.

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February 7, 2014 11:48:48 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Quoting starkers,
BTW, how did you know I had a Superman suit... and when to catch me wearing it?

The "S" stands for Starkers, of course...besides, not getting much Ps inspiration lately, sad to say.

As for my drone? Nonsense. I have no knowledge of such a thing, and if you find it, I'll deny any and all knowledge of such things.

 

 

 

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February 7, 2014 11:59:33 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

HOLY........very not bad Mark. You're gonna be the PC king of OZ pretty soon. Best of luck to you.

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February 7, 2014 12:40:17 PM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Quoting DaveBax,


Quoting starkers, reply 6BTW, how did you know I had a Superman suit... and when to catch me wearing it?

Doc has a drone. Keep you're eyes open.

That'd be right, can't pee on nextdoor's overgrown bushes to try kill 'em off, and not him know about it.  hehe.

Quoting Heavenfall,
PSU seems like a huge overkill, even if you'd want to expand with another GPU later on? I love the look of that case, I just got a new computer and it just looks boring compared to this ;(

Thing is I haven't finished adding components yet... have a high-end sound card and TV tuner to go in yet, plus more HDDs  When done, this rig will have 12 SATA3 ports and 14 USB3 ports, not to mention the 10 USB2 ports, so I believe the potential for hardware expansion warrants the 1200w PSU...then there's the x4 2TBs hooked up to the rear eSATA port.  True, I probably will never use all those expansion ports at once, but if I'm doing video stuff for the extended family, there's a very good chance I'd use most of them.

Furthermore, I will be overclocking the CPU as far as I can safely take it... which should be quite high given the liquid cooling... and that will draw additional power just in itself... and as they say, better have more than ample than not enough at all.  Besides, it's a PSU I already had, and I saw no need to buy another, thus I saved money which was better spent on RAM, etc. 

And yeah, ain't it just the sexiest case.... took one look and I fell head over heels in love for it.

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February 7, 2014 1:22:03 PM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Quoting Island Dog,

Looking good.

Yeah, it sure is.  No cutting corners this time. I had a pretty good idea what I wanted and I went for it.  the switch to Intel meant I was spending more, but AMD had nothing that came close to any Haswell i7, and I got the highest rated one I could get.  There is a 4970 in the 1150 socket, but as yet it is not available in Australia.  It was suggested that I go with a 2011 socket 6 core with even more power, but then the cost would have spiralled well beyond the fairly loose budget I formulated.  Besides, I'd heard nothing but good things about the 4770K and I'm more than happy with my purchase.

And did I say that I'm totally, madly and deeply in love with this case?  No? Well I'm totally, madly, deeply......

Quoting DrJBHL,
besides, not getting much Ps inspiration lately, sad to say.

Bollocks!!!  I'm all the inspiration you need.

And you can deny the drone all you like.  I know that was you spying on me as I peed on nextdoor's overgrown bush.  Been doing it a couple weeks now, it's starting to die.  Well it fechin' well should!  Besides the copious cups of tea, I've been drinking the cabbage water lately, so it's doomed if not dead yet..

Hehe, that reminds me of me dear old dad. He used to drink the cabbage water with every Sunday roast... reckoned that's where all the goodness was after being boiled... and he was right, of course.  But that was back in the day... when I was young enough to know it all... and he was a silly old bugger cos I didn't like cabbage or its bi-products.  How times change.  My kids/grandkids have watched me drink the cabbage water... and they probably think the same as I did way back then.

And Uvah, I sure am the PC King of AU... just not saying what the AU stands for in this case.

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February 7, 2014 3:10:41 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

I've looked at that case before, it's definitely nice.  I'm going to upgrade within the year but I haven't decided whether to buy or build this time.

 

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February 7, 2014 3:18:57 PM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

"Shakes head..."

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February 7, 2014 5:01:38 PM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Where's that rattling coming from? 

 

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February 7, 2014 5:32:29 PM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Mobo.... Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD5H [has 10 SATA 3 ports and 10 USB3 ports]

Yummy

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February 7, 2014 6:15:15 PM from Sins of a Solar Empire Forums Sins of a Solar Empire Forums

The HW is fine, but the case is anything but sexy.

Swap that shit for something from Fractal Design, Antec or Lian Li. 

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February 7, 2014 7:04:43 PM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Quoting Island Dog,

I've looked at that case before, it's definitely nice.  I'm going to upgrade within the year but I haven't decided whether to buy or build this time.

 

For mine it has to be build.  While there are some nice pre-builds out there, I don't think you can can harness the same kind of power that a home/self-build can offer, not unless you go the custom-build route, but then you pay handsomely for that service when dealing with major manufacturers such as Alienware, etc. However, I got my local PC store some years ago to build me a custom P4 machine, and while it was nothing spectacular in terms of speed or performance, by today's standards, it was quite a nice unit that rivaled most pre-build machines of the day and it cost me a 100 bucks less than any retail equivelant of the time.... $489.00 as opposed to $599.00 best price.

The reason I prefer building myself is being able to hand pick all the parts to get the best bang for the buck/budget while selecting the best parts for the job... and by researching and shopping around, there's always the chance of a real bargain, meaning you can spend more within the budget to purchase a higher rated CPU or RAM or case, which is what I did.

Had I purchased the case through a local PC store with high overheads, I would have paid $499.95, but I shopped around and found one for $265.00.  With that saving I went for the best CPU I could get, allowing $450 as top price.  I got the 4770K for $379.00, so I was then able to boost the RAM.  Instead of 1866mhz, I was able to afford 2400mhz, which was on special 90 bucks off.  Now you can't do that with an off the shelf PC, not unless you pay the going price then spend more to upgrade it later on... if you can, but it don't make sense.

Moreover, I've lost count of how many times I've read/heard about off the shelf PCs having bottlenecks, such as in the motherboard or CPU, the RAM or graphics card... and to make the tragedy worse, they're non-upgradeable, so you're stuck with it... an $800.00 paperweight.  The fact is, the major manufacturers need to pump out as many machines as possible for the least cost, hence the bottlenecks and inferior parts, and by the time you've paid the retailer his due, you've paid nearly a grand for a less than optimum PC that likely has a shorter lifespan than one you could build yourself for less.

To date, this current build has cost me just over a grand in new parts... the case $265.00; mobo $259.00; CPU $379.00; RAM $199.00; CPU cooler 89.00... $1201.00 all up.  The other parts: GPU; SSD; PSU; sound card; TV tuner card, and storage drives will be purloined from this machine, which will be rebuilt using parts I've accumulated from previous upgrades.  So all up, new and purloined parts, I suppose the new build comes in around two and a bit grand, which isn't bad considering a bit over half was spread out over 2 or 3 years.

So, have I made the case to build not buy?

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February 7, 2014 7:34:57 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

I've built many before, just don't have the time or desire to go through all of what you described.

Who knows though.

 

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February 7, 2014 7:40:23 PM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Looks like fun...but we NEED pictures...

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February 7, 2014 7:41:59 PM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Quoting kona0197,
"Shakes head..."

Why, kona?  Is there something you want to say here but aren't to sure if you should?

Thing is, mate, I'm a big boy now and I can take it.  If you wanna berate me for not going AMD, go right ahead... I sort of feel a bit like a traitor who's forgotten about loyalty, so yeah, berate me 'til it hurts.

If it's about money, I gave up heaps of stuff, and not just the bad shit to save my tush off to get that much.  To say I'm frugle doesn't even come close.  No, when it comes to spending on anything that doesn't thrill me/light up my life, like PC parts, then I'm as tight as a duck's bum, and that's watertight. 

I'm so tight with money, and I see where somebody has superglued a 5 cent coin to the pavement, I'll go back with a chisel, won't even wait 'til dark, and I'll chisel that bastard right off of there and pocket it... i got no shame, and if the bloke's still in reaching distance I mug him of his last 5 cents so he don't do it again.

Anyhow, all jokes aside,

I do save hard when I want/need something, and I will sacrifice things many wouldn't to reach my goal

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February 7, 2014 7:52:47 PM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Quoting starkers,
To say I'm frugle

Sounds like something you blow.....with a lisp....

'frugal' is the word you're looking for...

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February 7, 2014 8:26:20 PM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Quoting Jafo,
'frugal' is the word you're looking for...

It was but he didn't wish to waste the energy looking it up.

That's how they spell it in Scotland.

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February 7, 2014 10:11:53 PM from Sins of a Solar Empire Forums Sins of a Solar Empire Forums

Great specs, and a good price to... boot. (cough) Just a heads-up for future purchases, there are cheaper SSDs out there (see here and here).

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