Monstrosity-i7 (New Build)

Layback Bear said:

I took a look at the 750D. Very nice and a 280 radiator should work great in the top.
You will like the ability of moving the drive cages around. With todays use of SSD's you can also just leave out the the drive cages out.

I can't even count the number of case reviews I went through before I settled on the 750D.. Naturally, I skipped all the alien spaceship lookalikes, the plan from this start was to make this a crisp and clean looking build.

Absolutely love my 600T and I've had a chance to fiddle around inside a few other Corsair cases, so if my personal experience with them is anything to go on, I doubt I'll have any regrets there.. :)

For the record though, the TT Water 3.0 Extreme is only a 240 RAD. The case will allow for a 240, 280 or 360 in the top, but since I'm not planning any major OC, I'm opting for the more compact route to save on weight. Besides, I still need to leave some leeway to attach a handle...

Got some very sad news though.. Apparently the Phanteks I'm after are incredibly rare in SA, so unless I can find a good online deal with international shipping, I may have to use something else. Then again, the fact that they're so rare just makes me want them even more!

smarteyeball said:

Good to see more people switching to mechanical keyboards :)


~3 yrs ago options were rather limited by comparison to today. Especially backlit and/or macro enabled. Now there are heaps to choose from.

There's really no reason not go for a mechanical board these days.

One of the most helpful checks for me when trying to find the right mechanical board was watching board comparison videos on YouTube. Other than the technical aspect of how much force the keys need, whether they're "clicky" or linear, etc etc, they're all useful to know... But the way a board sounds tells a lot more about how it's going to feel.

The only minor gripe I have with the K95 is the height of the keys. I would have much prefered slightly lower keys, perhaps even with a slightly shorter stroke (3mm instead of 4mm). But with that said, I've never used a more smooth or stable keyboard in my life before, definitely can't complain.

Lady Fitzgerald said:

The more I see that keyboard, the more I wish I had gone for it instead of the G510s.

I don't have any experience with the G510s, so I can't really compare them.. But unfortunately from the reviews I've seen online, that seems to be the all round consensus. Personally I don't have any need for a display on the keyboard or for different colour options, so those weren't really factors for me in picking a board.

paulpicks21 said:

It's a real beauty isn't it! I would even go as far as to say its the nicest looking keyboard I have ever laid my eyes on.

Thanks Paul, it most definitely is gorgeous. But the brushed aluminium recess behind the keys shows every tiny hair and spec of dust that falls, even more so when the keys are lit. A good blowing does get it all clean again with minimal difficulty though. The keys themselves don't show up fingerprints at all, so that's a nice bonus there. The palm rest on the other hand, well.. Lets just say I know exactly when I need to go wash my hands. Combined with my bad smoking habit, let's just say I find myself getting some good lung exercise these days. :)

I have to be honest, it's far from perfect. The LEDs are insanely bright, so I spend most of my time with it at the lowest brightness (33% according to the software) and my "default" profile only lights up the standard typing and numpad keys. Still, I'm glad Corsair gave the option of different brightness levels and selectable lit keys, very nice touch.

I should also note that the cable is extremely thick and difficult to lay flat on a desk. Once you get it to the point where you're happy with where it wants to lie, you pretty much never want to move it again. It's a bit of a trade-off though, because having a USB pass-through port on the back is incredibly useful, especially with how short some external drive cables are these days.

Yay... Update time.

This morning I received two nice big boxes of goodies (a whole 45KG's worth, mind you). And in my excitement I accidentally cut my hand getting all the wrapping off... Nothing bad, but it will teach me to be a bit more gentle next time round.

Anyways, the boxes contained three gorgeous 27" LG monitors, one incredibly sexy Obsidian 750D, and a surprisingly heavy ThermalTake Water 3.0 Extreme. These pics plus a few more have also been added to the galleries linked in the OP.







Had a small problem with the 750D though... To simplify shipping, the TT Water 3.0 was packed inside the case with bubble wrap to pad everything, but I think it was a bit too tight a fit, because the back of the case bent out ever so slightly.



However, a bit of creative pushing and pulling straightened it out perfectly, so fortunately there was no lasting damage. It's gone back in it's box for now though, it will still be a little while before I start building everything.

These monitors blow my mind though! I feel almost like that hotel guy from Fifth Element when he meets the Diva in the hallway... "Welcome to.. wow.. tall.. uh.. your room is.." Suffice to say I've found a monitor that makes a two seater couch look small.



...and makes my Graphite 600T look even smaller. (excuse the missing front cover, I haven't fixed the front 200mm mounting problem just yet). Naturally I couldn't resist the urge to test a monitor, so I think I'll be running one of the 27" beasts on my current rig in the meantime. My 24" can be packed away safely in it's box until it's needed again.



Right, so.. I think it's now time to get myself a bigger desk.

Lady Fitzgerald said:

I wish I had room for three 27" monitors! Lookin' good!

Hehe.. Thanks, must admit it's nice to finally be joining the ranks of the elite with their monstrous rigs, rather than looking at pictures of them and drooling all over my keyboard.. Now thanks to the bigger monitor, I can sit further back while I drool.

I can't wait to get all three hooked up side by side, but all in good time. Right now I'm still somewhat blown away by only one of them. Dodging oncoming traffic in NFS is incredibly easy all of a sudden. Who knew there would be such a difference between a 24" and this..

Lady Fitzgerald said:

I would test all three monitors, one at a time, while you still can return them to the vendor if one is wonky.

I'm planning to do just that first thing tomorrow morning. :)