Build of the Week 3/26

Black & White

Hello again readers!  I'm back again with a Build of the Week after a two week hiatus.  This time around I'm going with an AMD gaming system themed around the colors black and white.  I really like this theme and there are a lot of parts that fit the criteria.  However there is only one pure white GPU, the Galaxy Geforce GTX 770 Hall of Fame Edition.  This is easily my favorite version of the 770 and it is wicked fast.  The budget for this one is in the $1200 range making it a very capable 1080p powerhouse gaming rig.  Not only will it rock in games, but it will also look awesome, while maintaining quiet operation and low temperatures. 

CPU:  AMD FX-8320

To start things off I am going with the FX-8320 CPU from AMD.  This is an eight-core chip that has really solid gaming and multitasking performance.  Expect to be able to play your favorite games, while running your voice chat programs like Skype, simultaneously without a hitch.  Clocked in at 3.5 GHz this is an unlocked chip, meaning that it can be easily overclocked with proper cooling.  When it comes to price/performance, this is the forerunner.  For a low price of $140 this is an amazingly good CPU for anything you might need it for.  

Cooler: Silverstone Tundra TD02 w/Bitfenix Spectre Pros

 Since the CPU in this system is an easy overclocker and tends to give off more heat than its' Intel counterparts I have decided to go with an aftermarket cooling system.  This is an AIO, or all-in-one liquid cooling unit from Silverstone called the Tundra TD02.  Coming in at $119, this is the industries only AIO with white tubing and has a really unique look to it.  The radiator is 240mm so it will support up to four 120mm fans; two on top and two on bottom.  I really like to replace the stock fans that come on these cooling systems so I'm going to replace them with a pair of Bitfenix Spectre Pro PWMs.  These are designed for radiators and have higher pressure than your average fan.  They come in black too, but I'm really liking the white variety for this build.  A pair of these will run you about $34.  This combo will help keep your CPU very cool, even when running overclocks in the 4.2-4.6 GHz range, all while keeping the volume low.  Cooling units like this remove the cluttered look that air coolers create a very pleasing look in a windowed case.  For the price, you will be left happy for quite some time.    For a full review from Gamers Nexus, click here!

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3

I am probably getting hate by now from some ASUS fanboys, but Gigabyte has grown to become my favorite motherboard company.  This board is the Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3.  I have used this board in two previous builds; one was revision 3 and the other revision 4.  This is the 4th revision, which comes with much more robust heatsinks and a large heat pipe coming from the north bridge to the mosfets.  This is the 990FX chipset so you can expect a large feature set included two way SLi and CrossfireX for multi-GPU setups, 7.1 audio, USB 3.0, and excellent overclocking support.  With a true flat black PCB and overall very dark features this board is perfect for our theme's backbone.  For $115, after rebate, this motherboard is too good to pass up.  Expect performance, durability, and elegance with Gigabyte.   Click here for a full featured look at this board!

RAM:  Corsair Vengeance LP 

This kit of memory is a 2x4 GB set of Corsair Vengeance LP.  The LP meaning that it is low profile, making it great for fitting under large air coolers.  Even though this system will have a clean looking liquid cooler this is one of the only white RAM sets.  It is also a extra low voltage set, so they won't use up as much power as a typical kit: 1.35v vs 1.5v.  Vengeance RAM is often regarded as the best, which is always a plus.  Due to the fancy coloring this is going to run you about $87, but when is beauty cheap?  This is a standard 1600/CAS 9 set so you can expect very solid performance overall from them.

Storage:  Western Digital 1TB

Nothing terrifyingly original here, but reliable and cheap none the less.  The storage and main drive in this system is the Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB.  A full terabyte is usually more than enough for most people and will sustain perfectly good speeds for your workhorse drive.  Clocked in at 7200 RPM you can expect very solid load times for a mechanical drive.  This is arguably the most popular drive out there.  Western Digital has earned a great reputation for having reliable, long lasting hard drives.  A Seagate Barracuda would be a worthy exchange for this, but they are both usually around the same price of $60. 

Case:  Silverstone TJ04B-EW

The chassis for the build is the Silverstone TJ04B-EW.  Silverstone has been known for their interesting design decisions and quirky layouts, but this case is a bit of an exemption.  Nothing out of the ordinary in terms of layout: bottom mounted PSU, front drive cage, front to rear airflow etc.  This thing is classy.  Brushed aluminum around the entire case with a large open window for your viewing pleasure.  I'm really impressed with the craftsmanship and design on the one, plus the silver trim on the edge paired with the black aluminum matches the theme nicely.  

Taking a look inside you can see right away that there are a ton of options for cable routing.  A 2 1/2" drive mount is positioned in the bottom for SSDs or smaller HDDs.  The main drive bay is in the front.  Interestingly they have a custom drive bay that comes with built in heatsinks for keeping your drives cool.  I could see this design put into good use as a data server when you have lots of drives running all day long.  Four 5 1/4 bays in the front to accommodate a disc drive or lighting system.  The top panel features an offset spot for a 240mm radiator, the TD02 from earlier, so that the cooling system doesn't come into contact with the motherboard.  Overall it's an excellent case that comes to the market for around $150.  For a full unboxing and in depth look at this case check out this review from Custom PC Review!

PSU:  NZXT HALE82 V2 700w

The power behind this system is coming from the NZXT HALE82 V2 700 watt power supply.  Right away I knew that this was going to be a perfect fit for this build.  The black and white color, fully modular cables, and 80+ Bronze efficiency make this exactly what I would look for.  This system at full load will be pulling right around 470 watts.  Having 700 watts allows a bunch of headroom for overclocking as well as hitting the units peak efficiency levels.  This particular unit comes with a $100 price tag.  For an in depth look and technical specifications here is an overview straight from Newegg.

GPU:  Galaxy Geforce GTX 770 Hall of Fame

Say hello to the highlight of this build: The Galaxy Geforce GTX 770 Hall of Fame Edition.  Right away you will notice that it is almost entirely white including the PCB.  The look isn't the only distinguishing factor for this card though.  Taking a look at other overclocked GTX 770s from Asus, Gigabyte, EVGA, and MSI you might notice that their average stock clock is 1.11 GHz, with the highest coming from EVGA at 1.15 GHz.  This monster of a card has a stock clock of 1.202!  What's even better is it can be overclocked past 1.3 while still maintaining manageable temperatures and low volume.  Galaxy seriously did something right with this cooling system!

Taking a look at the back of the card you will see a single Display port and three HDMI ports for your monitors.  This card will support four monitors right out of the box.  Expect all of the usual high end features included with an Nvidia card as well.  On the side that faces your case window there is an illuminated white line going the length of the card.  I personally think that it is a classy choice of lighting effects from Galaxy, while not becoming too flashy.  Most of the usual sellers are out of stock currently, but you can get this GPU direct from the Galaxy website for $380 and it includes Daylight free of charge.  Check out this review from Awesomesauce News for more details!

Other:  Silverstone Sleeved Cable Extensions

For a final touch I like to add some sleeved cable extensions.  Some power supplies come with brightly colored cables that can really be a sore thumb inside a sweet themed build.  These Silverstone Sleeved Extensions will get rid of those pesky colors.  I would go with a white set, though black could look pretty cool too.  A set of these including: 24-pin, 2x 8-pin PCI-E, and a 8-pin CPU will run for around $20.

Conclusion and Pricing

This is a high performing, great looking build idea.  It isn't exactly the most bang for your buck though.  There are plenty of places to shave off costs while not decreasing performance.  Things like an air cooler, stock fans, and a cheaper case are easy ways to get the price knocked down.  When I do build ideas though, I want something that is going to perform, but is also going to be visually appealing.  I want something that I can put on my desk and have my friends gawk at.  So while this isn't the best price/performance system out there, it is damn classy.  

If you've made it this far thanks for giving my blog a look. Comments, questions, or concerns are more than welcome!

CPU: AMD FX-8320 - ($139.99) 

CPU Cooler: Silverstone Tundra TD02 - ($118.99) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 - ($115.00) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB - ($86.99) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB - ($59.99)

Case: Silverstone TJ04B-EW -  ($145.98) 

Power Supply: NZXT HALE82 V2 700W - ($99.99) 

Case Fan: BitFenix BFF-SPRO-120mm  Fan -  ($16.99) 
Case Fan: BitFenix BFF-SPRO-120mm  Fan -  ($16.99) 

GPU: Galaxy Geforce GTX 770 Hall of Fame - ($380.00)

Other:  Silverstone Sleeved Extensions - White - ($20)

Total: $1205

The Elder Scrolls Online

Hello readers!  This week I have done a write-up on my Elder Scrolls Online experiences.  This is basically a general review of the game as it was in Beta form, not the finished game, but nearly.  I have played roughly 12-15 hours in this game between the three weekend Beta events.  Not a ton of time to be honest, but as someone who isn't a huge MMO fan, I had a hard time playing for large spurts.  This game has a lot to offer to players of all kinds though.  You have the choice to dive right into the main story line or ignore it completely and engage side quests or just plain explore.  The map is quite large and there is always something to see, fight, or collect.  

Upon entering the game you are instantly tossed into character creation.  As in any Elder Scrolls game you have a lot of options when it comes to sculpting your character.  Whether you like to play a giant hammer wielding Nord, an arrow raining Wood Elf, or a sneaky Khajiit you have the control to make him/her any way you see fit.  The classes seemed a little scarce, being only four, but the way your character develops is highly based on your play style.  There are nine races to choose from  including: Argonian, Dunmer, Nord, Altmer, Bosmer, Jhajiit, Breton, Orc, Redguard, and Imperial if you get the Imperial Edition.  Throwing the Imperial behind the extra pay wall is not cool.  

My character: Anuril Shadowbane.

I chose to play as a Wood Elf, or Bosmer as the cool kids like to say.  My chosen class was Nightblade, which assigns a unique "skill tree" path, but no unique weapons or armors.  You can upgrade on skills/spells as well as on your weapons of choice.  I tried not to spend too much time with the character creation since I don't plan to play this game again.  Mostly because I don't plan to buy this game and pay $15/month subscription fees.  I'm not a very big fan of subscription style games.  

When you finish your character you are thrown into a dungeon like prison.  There are a few tutorial pointers about basic things that you probably should know by now.  There isn't much to see in here, but when you approach the door a ghost greets you.  I'm instantly in love with the voice acting.  You will find that every quest has full voice acted characters that are just plain good.  The music too.  It's very similar to other ES games in that you aren't annoyed by the same song playing for three hours straight.  This ghost goes on to tell you what all the commotion is about.  Gist of the story is that Molag Bal has come to make all of Tamriel his own and you're the one that has to defeat him and save the world.  

Thanks developers.  I had no idea how to move...

When you escape your prison you are greeted by a large woman who is leading the escape from this prison.  There are NPCs and other players running in one direction.  You are told that there is a prison break and everyone is trying to get free.  So following them I find an armory full of weapons.  You then get to choose whatever style you want.  Of course you can change later in the game, but this is just for the intro.  I chose a bow, as a Wood Elf would, and headed off to follow the horde.  

Pick your poison!

After fighting some undead through the tunnels you eventually enter a large open area with a few assorted undead and atronach.  I spent a bit of time in this area trying to get a grasp of how the combat worked.  As far as bow combat goes, there is a semi-auto aim method.  As long as you are firing in the direction of the enemy you will hit.  While it's not consistent with other ES games I felt that it worked well for the MMO style.  You also don't have an arrow amount, but your weapons and armor will degrade slowly.  

Fighting an Atronach with my bow.

I found out very quickly that dying isn't exactly a travesty.  You can respawn in the exact spot you died if you have a soul gem.  If not you are transported back to the beginning of the area.  It's not that big of deal except your armor takes a good hit on its' degrade meter.  The degrade meter has a number.  So if you just died your armor would go from 17/17 to 16/17.  Nice clean simple system.  

We're going in that thing.

After a bit of wandering down a river you end up at a large open area with a giant cylinder in the middle.  You are prompted to activate a few stones and then suddenly you're thrown into a boss battle.  A mage is there to help you fight, who heals you as you take any damage.  The fight is way too easy, even for an intro battle.  I felt a little let down here, but I'm picky.  

This fight is too easy...

After you defeat the Anchor Guardian you are teleported through the giant spiral and you end up in a random location in the world.  I thought that this was a cool concept.  While the beginning area isn't huge, there isn't a giant conglomeration of people hanging out in the entry area.  Again I'm not a huge MMO guy, but the game make it feel much more like an action RPG than a multiplayer game.  

When I emerge from my teleportation I find my self in a town full of Khajiit.  I'm instantly amazed at the lighting effects and how amazing the outside world looks.  Keep in mind that I'm running this game completely max settings at 2560x1440 so your results may not match mine unless you're using similar hardware.  

I'm alive!

After chatting it up with a few NPCs I'm reminded at how hysterical the Khajiits are in the other ES games.  They think that they are all so witty that it turns anything that they say into utter hysteria!  The shop systems are fairly basic.  You can mark any item in your inventory as junk and then easily sell all to a vendor.  This was a great decision by the developers to include that feature.  

Nice, clean menus.  Me likey.

I did feel slightly overwhelmed by the number of items in the game at first.  You will collect tons of loot and have no idea what they can be used for.  I quickly started to grasp that many of the items can be used for crafting items or weapons.  After killing a few rats and collecting their guts I found that I can use them as bait for fishing.  After fishing I can cook my catch on any open fire.  It's the little things in games that get me excited!

I like to explore and see the area before I dive into any quests so that's just what I did.  I ventured around killing monsters and collecting things as I saw fit.  There is a fairly good variety to the land.  From farmland, forested Elven areas, and beached harbors there is plenty to see.  After spending some time with the land and getting the combat down, I found a few quests to do.  I think my biggest issue with game of this nature are the constant fetch quests.  Talk to this guy over in this area then report back to me.  Okay now go get this book from his desk.  Okay so he's not the guy, what next? 

Character models are exceptionally good.

Fortunately the game doesn't exactly fit the same formula of most MMOs.  The combat isn't the classic "stand in front of your enemy and attack til he dies" style.  There is a lot of movement involved like in the other games.  My favorite move, the roll, doesn't work very well.  If you are in combat you probably have low stamina due to blocking or attacking.  Rolling takes a lot of stamina, so I often was stuck just backing up.  I quickly realized that the bow and arrow weren't going to be my weapon of choice when it came to fighting NPCs instead of monsters.  This video shows a little of how the combat works. 

I honestly felt that the fighting was hollow in the sense that I didn't feel as though I was actually engaging something.  I mean the arrow disappears as soon as it is loosed.  Is it too much to see the arrow in flight?  I was expecting arrows to protrude from the enemies too.  There is a lot of blood from successful hits, which is something that you'd come to expect from Bethesda by now, but overall I just didn't think the combat was intense enough to consider it an action adventure title.  Even melee weapons felt weak, even though you are able to move around unlike other MMOs where you are rooted in place.  You also can run through enemies without feeling their contact.  Being used to Skyrim and Oblivion I may be expecting too much from a multiplayer setting, but these are just my feelings.  Take them with a grain of salt.  

Shields are life savers.

I played the game on this character up to level 8.  I didn't play nearly as much as I would have liked, but such is life.  Overall the game didn't have any game breaking issues.  I didn't have network problems.  I was never kicked from a server due to unstable servers.  I was able to play a bit with my girlfriend on a 4/1 mb/s without a hitch.  It was very easy to jump to wherever your friend was, even if they are on another server, through the friend interface.  

As for performance.  I was averaging around 34 FPS on my system at 2560x1440 with every possible setting maxed out or enabled.  The game is not optimized for crossfire so I was only getting usage from a single 7950 instead of two, but slightly overclocked to 950/1500 I was able to achieve playable FPS.  The more populated areas obviously brought the frame into the mid 20s, but it was playable.  I would think that a 760 would play this game on ultra at 1920x1080 no problem.  

Those rays!

At dusk with a standing stone.

The game is gorgeous for a MMO.  The visuals destroy the likes of World of Warcraft and Guild Wars.  Those games have been out for a while now, but I really liked the enhanced visuals similar to Skyrim in a dumbed down way.  I'm guessing that the modding community will be adding texture mods to this game in the future if Bethesda allows it.

There were a few minor issues that I noticed from time to time.  Occasionally there would be a double of a NPC or you would be unable to complete a quest because thirty people were using something like a lever in a dungeon.  You would have to wait or get lucky before you could continue.  I would have liked to be able to have seamless playability without interference from other players.  

Shes not supposed to have two heads.  Whoops!

Sunday afternoon I exited the game probably never to play again, unless there is another beta event.  I enjoyed the time I had with it, but there just wasn't enough to get me to pay a monthly fee to play a game.  I would love to see a free to play system where if you you played enough and earned enough in-game currency you could pay for a premium membership without having to shell out real life money.  

Exploration, interesting NPCs, vast environments, and pretty visuals are the games strong suits.  While the lackluster combat really dragged down the MMO.  Take Skyrim and turn it into a cheap multiplayer game with way more items and you have this game.  You can tell that the developers were trying to incorporate everything that they could in regards to ES lore into this game, but they fell short when it came to turning the classic MMO formula into a massively multiplayer action adventure title.  And to top it off there is a $15 a month membership fee.  Sorry Bethesda, but I'll have to skip this title.  

Bye Anuril!

Pros

• Voice acting/Music
• High volume of items and places to explore
• Great visuals and detailed character models
• Interesting NPCs
• Menus are organised and easy to navigate

Cons

• Clunky, weak, and unpolished combat
• Annoying fetch quests
• Items/race hidden behind a pay wall 
• $15 monthly subscription (Nail in the coffin)

6.5/10

Build of the Week 3/9

Dark Souls II

Hello readers!  This week's Build of the Week is all about my most anticipated game of the year thus far: Dark Souls 2.  The title releases on consoles this coming Tuesday, March 11th and on PC April 25th.  If you have never heard of Dark Souls just know that it is a very difficult, but accurate and rewarding game set in a dark and hostile world.  You are undead and your goal is to regain your humanity through gathering souls.

The color theme this week is black and gold.  The gold depicting the fire within the darkness, the black, well I think you get the idea.  I threw any sort of budget out the window and just tried to make this as bad ass as possible without making it ridiculous.  So without further ado let's jump into this build!  

CPU:  Intel Core i5 4670K

For the CPU I chose the i5 4670K from Intel.  I don't think anyone is going to argue that this isn't a great gaming CPU.  This is the latest and greatest generation of CPU from Intel on the 1150 socket. It has the amazing single core performance you need and true quad core power you want.  Coming in at an unlocked 3.4 GHz you will have no problems playing any game at the highest settings available.  Being that this is an unlocked CPU it makes it very easy to overclock and really crank the performance out of it.  You should be able to easily obtain 4.2-4.5 Ghz with a high end cooling solution.    

CPU Cooler:  NZXT Kraken X60 w/ 2x Bitfenix Spectre Pros

This is an all-in-one 280mm liquid CPU cooler from NZXT.  I personally use this cooler and have found its' performance to be very satisfactory.  It keeps my CPU temperature safely within a cool range even when under maximum loads.  The NZXT logo on the cooling block lights up.  You can then use included software to fit the color of your choice.  Set the color to a gold hue and away we go.  My only complaint with this system is that the stock fans are very loud.  I have replaced the original fans with much quieter.  For this build I am going to replace the stock fans with a pair of Bitfenix Spectre Pros.  These are 140mm PWM fans meaning that they can be software controlled and are high pressure optimized for pushing air through the thick radiator.  I chose the black version to keep the black/gold theme intact.  

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD5H

This board stood out for my theme instantly.  The all black PCB and gold heatsink designs just made it impossible to pass up.  Gigabyte has grown to become my favorite and go to brand when it comes to system building.  They lack zero quality when it comes to even their lowest end boards.  They also make plenty of boards to choose from on both the Intel and AMD side.  When it comes to motherboards this isn't for the faint of heart.  This is a high end board that has too many features to give it justice here.  For a full list of features check it out on Newegg.  They also have a lovely video featuring Paul, my favorite reviewer!  

RAM:  ADATA XPG V2

The memory for this build is a 2x4Gb kit of ADATA XPG V2 in gold.  With no budget I would grab two of these kits to jump up to 16 Gb.  That much memory is not needed for gaming, but having all the dimm slots occupied looks better.  This is a quality kit that is flashy while not being ridiculous.  The specs on these are 1600 mhz and CAS 9 latency.  Those being very standard numbers you shouldn't expect too much of a performance gain from higher speed, higher priced RAM.  I think that the gold heatsink with black PCB accents the motherboard perfectly!

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB - Western Digital Caviar Black 2 TB

This system's storage will consist of two drives.  The Samsung 840 EVO, being a lightning fast SSD, will serve as the primary boot drive.  This drive will store the operating system and any of the primary programs you use on a daily basis.  They are virtually silent and put off very low amounts of heat.  The second drive will store all of your games, music, movies, and any other large files your aquire.  The Caviar Black is a very reliable drive with a 5 year warranty.  2TB of storage is more than enough for most people, but when you have a large game collection you can run out of room fast!  You can easily grab another drive and run a RAID setup to either boost the performance or have an automatic backup.  

GPU:  Sapphire R9 290 Toxic

This time around I wanted to go for a big graphics card.  The Sapphire R9 290 Toxic Edition is just that.  It features a custom cooling system boasting a three fan design and a sweet black and gold color scheme.  On the opposite side of the card a Sapphire logo glows with a white LED for just a pinch of flair.  The 290 is tiered towards higher resolutions than 1080p, like 1440p, 1600p, or multi-monitor setups.  That being said you definitely don't need this much horsepower to play Dark Souls 2, but I couldn't help myself!  Expect to blast through any game with ease and achieve that 60+ FPS haven that makes PC gaming so elite.

Case:  Rosewill Throne w/ NZXT Air Flow Series

The Rosewill Throne is a full tower chassis that depicts a giant shield and features an awesome clear windowed panel to show off the color scheme.  If you've played Dark Souls you will know that having a shield makes the game more manageable so I thought this case made sense.  The only thing I don't like are the red lights.  To keep true to the gold and black theme I would replace all of the red fans with NZXT Air Flow Series fans.  These are 140 mm fans with high air flow in mind to keep cool air moving in and hot air moving out as efficiently as possible.  I have a few of these fans in my own system and they have been working great!

PSU:  Cooler Master V700

 

The power for this system is coming from a Cooler Master V700.  I chose this unit not only for its' all black with gold lettering, but also due to it's amazing performance.  This is a tier 1 unit, meaning that it is the baddest of the bad when it comes to having the highest efficiency and reliability.  It comes with an 80+ gold rating so you can expect your electrical bill to stay calm. This system will be pulling close to 500 watts at full load so 700 watts will leave plenty of extra headroom for overclocking.  Lastly this is a fully modular PSU, so you only need to attach the cables you need, as you need them.  This makes cable management very easy, but also allows for fully sleeved cables in the color of your choice.  If I were building this system I would likely go with an all black set or mix it up with black and gold sleeves.  

Conclusion & Prices

All in all this would be not only an amazing gaming system, but it would also be a joy to build.  Keep in mind that this is a high end gaming system.  You do not need this much horsepower to play games on a PC.  This is just one of those "see what we can do" type of builds.  With Dark Souls 2 releasing on console this coming Tuesday, I'm excited to see what it is all about.  With the PC release in the later part of April, I would have plenty of time to get a system like this up and running and ready for the release date.  If you've made it this far I must thank you for reading.  If you liked what you saw give me a like or comment on Facebook.  Every little bit helps!

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($229.99) 

CPU Cooler   NZXT Kraken X60 98.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($119.99) 
Case Fan:  BitFenix BFF-SPRO-P14025KK-RP 122.2 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($18.99) 
                 BitFenix BFF-SPRO-P14025KK-RP 122.2 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($18.99) 

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD5H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($209.99) 

Memory:  A-Data XPG V2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($82.98) 
                 A-Data XPG V2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($82.98) 

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($139.99) 
                      Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($139.99) 

Video Card:  Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card  ($603.98) 

Case:  Rosewill THRONE-Window-A ATX Full Tower Case  ($159.99) 
Case Fan:  NZXT Air Flow Series 83.6 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($15.37) 
                     NZXT Air Flow Series 83.6 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($15.37) 

Power Supply:  Cooler Master V700 700W  ($124.99) 

Total: $1963.59

Build of the Week 3/2

King Brad

This week I got the privilege to build a real computer instead of simply putting together a theoretical system.  This little build is something that would be a great console replacement and an excellent entry level gaming PC.  This setup cost my friend Brad, the new owner, right around $270.  That may seem extremely low and that is due to having roughly half of these parts in my closet collecting dust.  A rough estimate of this computer brand new would be in the $550-$600 price bracket. 

CPU:  AMD Athlon X4 760K Black Edition

The processor in this computer is the AMD Athlon X4 760K.  It is a quad-core CPU with a 3.8 Ghz stock clock.  This chip is very similar to AMD's APU line besides the fact that it doesn't have integrated graphics.  That means that you NEED to have a graphics card to pair with this CPU, but you aren't paying a premium for the extra features.  Coming in at around $90 this is a great processor to get started in the gaming world! 

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-F2A88X-UP4

The main board was chosen by Brad and I can concur that he made an excellent choice.  This board by Gigabyte is classy, sexy, and feature loaded.  AMD has been pushing away from the AM3+ socket and driving all of their efforts towards the FM2+ socket.  This board being that same socket should have great expandability in the future.  

This motherboard features crossfire and SLi support, 4 RAM slots, 7 SATA ports (6Gb/s), full overclocking capability, diagnostic read-outs, and power/reset buttons for test bench setups.  The red heatsinks on this board are not only huge for cooling potential, but also very eye catching.  This board comes with a $110 price tag.  For all of these features, it's practically stealing!

RAM:  Avexir Core Series 8 GB

The memory for this computer were also chosen by Brad.  The Avexir Core Series kits are very unique.  They are some of the only kits that have LEDs built right into the DIMM.  This particular model pulses with while light.  Since the case for this build has a window the RAM looks very nice.  8 GBs will be plenty for gaming and multitasking at the same time!

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB

For the main drive I was able to reuse the old drive that was in his previous machine.  Being a very popular 7200 RPM, 1TB drive I had no problems doing a reformat and install of Windows 8 Pro.  You may laugh at the position of the drive, but fear not.  The drive is secured to the bottom of the case with Velcro strips.  Velcro works well for this type of thing, because it's sturdy, but also reduces vibrations sent from the drive to the case.  

When I used this case for my own computer I removed the entire hard drive cage with some trusty power tools to increase the front airflow intake.  Once removed it is hard to re-install the drive cage, so I made due with what I had on hand.  Brad, being a gifted artist is going to create a panel to cover the drive's circuitry so that it doesn't collect dust.  

GPU:  PowerColor 7770 Ghz. Edition

This graphics card had been building up dust in my closet for quite a few months.  I'm happy knowing that it is going to be put to good use!  The 7770, coming in at around $100, has a great performance/dollar ratio.  While it is not going to have amazing performance at 1080p, turning a few settings to high/medium and the resolution down to 720p or 900p will yield very promising results.  

I was able to spend extra time with this computer and run it through a few synthetic benchmark utilities.  These programs create graphically intense situations and are a great way to compare your system against someone else or to see how certain settings hinder your performance.  The two main programs that I like to use are Unigine Valley and Unigine Heaven.  I ran these tests at completely stock clocks to simulate a low level user.  

Valley: Graphics setting set to High, AA off

• 1080p: 28.1 FPS - 1178 score
• 900p:   37.2 FPS - 1556 score
• 720p:   49 FPS - 2052 score

Heaven: Graphics setting set to High, AA and Tessellation off

• 1080p: 27 FPS - 679 score
• 900p:   39.4 FPS - 991 score
• 720p:   59.7 FPS - 1506 score

As you can see from these averages, 1080p is below that dreaded 30 FPS minimum.  900p and 720p on the other hand are completely playable averages.  These tests also show how lowering the resolution, but keeping the graphics settings the same can really boost in game performance!

(if you have questions regarding my testing methods, I would be happy to discuss them)

PSU:  Corsair CX750M

The power behind all of this hardware is a Corsair CX750M.  Brad received this as a gift over Christmas.  It is a 750 watt, semi-modular PSU with an 80+ Bronze efficiency rating.  The system's max wattage at stock clocks is right around 300 so 750 is quite a bit more than necessary, but it does leave a lot of room for future expansion.  This is a tier 3 unit.  That means that while it isn't exactly a premium quality PSU, it meets all of the required standards during testing.   As an added bonus the semi-modularity made cable management quick and easy!

Before Installation

After Installation

Case: Rosewill Blackhawk Mid-Tower

The Blackhawk has been sitting in my closet for over 6 months.  When I used this case as my primary system holder it worked well and functioned as needed, until I wanted to upgrade to liquid cooling.  Even though the top supports two 140mm fans, a 280mm radiator WILL NOT fit in push nor pull.  After a good amount of modding and still being unable to get the radiator to mount, I got a new case.  

If you compare this image to the final picture you will notice that I removed the hard drive cage in the bottom right half of the case.  That helped increase the direct airflow across my graphics cards.  The case features lots of rubber grommets for routing cables to the back as well as a hot swap bay on the top panel for easy hard drive testing.  

Cable Management

Easily my favorite and most rewarding part of building a PC is routing the cables just right, so that your case looks presentable and air can move through your case properly.  Starting at the top left of the case there is a small hole for the top fan and CPU power cable.  

Moving to the right of the board you see the 24 pin motherboard power cable as well as the USB 3.0 front panel cable.  This port has ON/OFF support so that even when your computer is off, you can still charge your phone or other device using that port.

Moving down the board you see a SATA cable for the hard drive and a 6 pin PCI-Express cable for the graphics card's power.  Just below them are the dual BIOS chips as well as the LED diagnostic readout.

For the bottom connectors moving from right to left: SATA hot swap, front panel power/reset, front panel USB 2.0 x2, and HD Audio cables.  I don't think that any of these holes were designed for routing cables, but I like to get creative.  My goal is to make the inside of a case look as good as humanly possible.

The finished product

In case you didn't notice there are no intake fans.  After extensive stress testing the temperatures were way within the norm, but in order to keep dust build up to a minimum there will be two 120mm Cooler Master Sickle Flows mounted to the right of the hard drive.  They will not only lower temps even more, they will also even out the internal pressure.  These fans were ordered late and since Brad and I don't live very close he will have to install them on his own when they come in.  So for the time being, imagine two nice fans blowing cool air inside the case.

As an avid PC builder I refuse to have poor cable management.  When I show the new owner the inside of their computer their eyes light up and I get a huge sense of accomplishment.  I feel that it is my attention to little details that sets me apart from other builders.  Many of the computer building companies offer professional cable management options for a higher cost.  I only have one kind of cable management.  The best, every time.  

This is an example of poor cable management.

This makes my skin crawl...

My work looks pretty good now doesn't it? :)

I've you've made it this far, thank you for at least browsing the pictures!  If there was something here that you particularly liked, let me know.  If there was something that you want to know more about, feel free to ask questions, I would be happy to answer!