Monstrosity-i7 (New Build)

Well hi SF, long time no see...

I don't see many new PC build logs around here (...and OC.net has way too many), so I thought I'd be daring and try break tradition for a change..

This here is my dream machine in the making. No skimping this time round. Period.

Some of the parts may seem overkill, but each one plays a vital role in the end result of this beast. However, as in any good PC build, I am still leaving space for other options later when the need arrises...

...and thus computers are built.

The Parts List

• The Guts
  
  • [got it] Processor: Intel i7-4960X
  • [got it] Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Black Edition
  • [got it] RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB (4 x 8GB) 2400MHz C10
  • [got it] Graphics: 2x MSI GTX 780Ti 3GD5 (might replace with GTX 8xxs later...)
  • [got it] PSU: CoolerMaster V1000 (with custom sleeved black cables from modDIY on their way)
  
  
• Cold Storage
  
  • [got it] OS: Crucial M500 120GB
  • [got it] Games: Crucial M500 480GB
  • [got it] Mass: 2x Seagate Barracuda 3TB (ST3000DM001)
  • [got it] Optical: Asus DRW-24D3ST
  
  
• The Windows
  
  • [got it] 3x LG 27" (27MP65HQ)
  
  
• Plugin Babies
  
  • [got it] Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K95 (CH-9000020-NA)
  • [got it] Mouse: Logitech G700S
  
  
• Peripherals
  
  • [got it] Case: Corsair Obsidian 750D
  • [got it] CPU Cooling: Thermaltake Water 3.0 Extreme
  • [got it] Fans: 4x Corsair AF120 Performance , 7x Corsair SP120 Performance (I plan to mix and match these, so I will have spares..)
  
  

Finishing Touches

The side panel will have the PC name embossed into the perspex, I'm aiming for a "sandblasted" look that will glow when the interior lights up in a nice cool blue. Essentially, I'm going for a black/white colour scheme, enhanced with ice blue lights. It would be nice to mod the green lights on the 780's as well, but I'm still somewhat undecided on this point.

Interior lights will be on a separate switch, not included in the fans.. Nothing worse than a bright glowing box next to the monitor when you're trying to watch movies or play games in the dark. (: I'm thinking two LED strips or cold cathode tubes, but I'm not sure yet which will give me the effect I want.

I'll be getting a custom curved handle milled out of aluminium, anodized and dyed to match the black of the case.

I will also need to get an extra 120mm fan is for a GPU wind tunnel; running front to back with an "intake" fan near the front of the tunnel. The tunnel itself will be folded out of clear perspex.

This gives me another idea for the case branding... Perhaps the name would work better on the side of the GPU tunnel rather than the side panel. O.o Hmmm...

Photos

Just to keep things simple for sharing pics in different places, I'm using a Dropbox gallery to keep photos of this build as it goes along.

Bandwidth-friendly | Hi-res

ZaLith,
Good luck with this dream machine. May I toss out another excellent choice and some of the if not the best value going in Ram. I used this in my mini-ITX i5 build and I'm freaking over the moon. Don't limit yourself with 1600-1866 Mhz ram when Haswell and the Z87 mobo will take extreme speeds.

Team Xtreme 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model TXD316G2400HC10QDC01 - Newegg.com

Also get 2666 Mhz same price.

The processor says it only supports up to 1866.

For about half the price, you could go with a i7-4930K. You'd loose only 100Mhz of processor speed and 3MB of cache. The difference between 12MB and 15MB of cache probably isn't noticeable on a gaming machine.

This is a good read as well:

Team Xtreem LV TXD38192M2800HC11RDC-L - Does High-Speed DDR3 Help AMD's FX? Four 8 GB Kits, Reviewed

carwiz said:

The processor says it only supports up to 1866.

For about half the price, you could go with a i7-4930K. You'd loose only 100Mhz of processor speed and 3MB of cache. The difference between 12MB and 15MB of cache probably isn't noticeable on a gaming machine.

Good catch I was assuming this was Haswell and Z87....my bad.

Hi ZaLiTH,

I have the i7 4930K in my rig, I must say it is an excellent CPU and mine runs at a daily OC of 4.6GHz @ 1.25V. If you really must have the absolute best then yeah go for the 4960X, at near to double the price of the 4930K personally I don't think it is worth the money. It certainly does not have double the performance or even near for the extra money but that's your choice.

Motherboad wise, the Rampage IV Extreme Black edition seems to be the most popular choice at the moment, I believe it is an excellent board.

Regarding RAM, I have 2400MHz stuff in mine and although it will run it at full speed after vigorous testing I notice the RAM performance drops with anything over around 2200MHz speed so I have mine running at 2133MHz with tighter timings instead.

GPU wise, I would always go with the newest available at the time so I would recommend the 780TI, however depending on how quick you plan on building it may be worth waiting for the 800 series as I believe they will be released in the next couple of months.

Paul.

ZaLiTH said:

carwiz said:

The processor says it only supports up to 1866.

To the best of my knowledge, that only applies to the system "standard" speeds. Selecting an XMP profile for RAM is effectively a form of overclock. :)

carwiz said:

For about half the price, you could go with a i7-4930K. You'd loose only 100Mhz of processor speed and 3MB of cache. The difference between 12MB and 15MB of cache probably isn't noticeable on a gaming machine.

Hmmm... Wouldn't you consider that "skimping" on the build? To be honest, I'm not entirely against the idea of going with a i7-K instead of an i7-X. But at the same time, this build doesn't really have a fixed budget, so the cost doesn't really matter all that much..

Hey, you're the one that started out skimping. If there's no budget then why fool around with a single processor MB?

Package this MB w/8 Quad channel slots: Motherboards - Z9PE-D8 WS

With TWO of these 8/16 Xeons and be done: Intel® Xeon® Processor E5-2600 Product Family

And quit messing with that cheap stuff. :)