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Building a PC

BBS was our build guru (for technical & moral support...not to mention confidence building!) when we built my son's computer 2 years ago and through his daily guidance we built a screamer of a system. There were times we spoke 2-3 times a day throughout the process from selecting the components to the final testing of the system before we added any software. We couldn't thank Tom enough for his patients and insight on all things related to building Anthony's system. He made it very easy to accomplish.
 
We went with an ASUS motherboard (ASUS P8Z77-V PRO LGA 1155 ATX Intel) for the ability to speed up the i7 processor and to monitor the system temperatures via software. We used a Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V for the power supply . We decided on a Corsair Hydro Series liquid cooling system for the processor & video card (Galaxy GeForce GTX 670 GC 2GB) and installed ball bearing fans at every opening. Tom steered us towards an Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case that had multi-speed fan controls, lots of component bays, and great cable routing....not to mention it opens easily for great access.
 
We installed an Intel 160 SSD (X25-M) for the boot drive and a 2TB hard drive ([SIZE=11pt]Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5") [/SIZE]for everything else. For RAM we went with 32GB of G. Skill RipJaws X Series that never skips a beat because of heat. This build has been rock solid since we constructed it and my son runs 3 27" monitors off of it at all times. At any given time he simultaneously runs video & audio editing software, streams multiple Skype chats, has a hockey game playing, and is connected to the Internet playing a video game.  His connection to the Internet is a CAT 5/6 cable directly connected to a Comcast modem and he consistently gets over 125Mbps on a download and 35+ on an upload. 
 
Rod, looks like you're building a very solid system that should be serviceable for many years. Good luck and post some pics of the build. 
 
I did just put a GTX970 in my home beater.....but I'm still looking at replacing my system.  Probably won't be long before I put one together for myself.
 
I did a 4790X system as listed for my youngest, so I have his old system in pieces in the garage on the bench.  Bought a case and power supply and DVD burner, had a hard drive so I have all the pieces to put it back together.  I'm going to use it as a test bed for a new operating system I'm very interested in.  I'll likely time my new home build around the released version of Windows 10, if it pans out as lots of us hope it does.
 
Sounds like a cool system!
 
I went with the following:
  • AZZA Solano 1000 Full Tower Black (with blue LEDs)
  • Gigabyte Black Edition LGA 1150 Z97 motherboard
  • Intel Core i7-4770 Quad-Core 3.4 LGZ 1150
  • Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
  • G SKILL Ripjaws X 16GB
  • Corsair CX 750 Watt power supply
  • EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB video card
  • Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD - boot/primary drive
  • WD Gree 2TB storage drive
I think this will be a solid system. 
 
I decided the GTX960 will be plenty powerful for what I'm using it for.  I'm also getting the Samsung 28" 4K monitor.
 
I'll be installing Windows 7.  Can't wait for Windows 10 to come out.
 
Lastly, anyone seen the Hololens?  That might put Microsoft at a whole new level.
 
If your i7 comes with an Intel supplied HSF which you're going to use, no reason to use Arctic Silver.  It'll come with a pre-applied TIM (thermal interface material) and it'll be just fine.  Scraping it off and cleaning things up to apply AS won't buy you enough to compensate you for your effort.
 
You can go crazy on cooling the CPU but the new CPU's run cooler than ever.  Here's my current favorite aftermarket HSF:
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608041
 
They make dual and even triple fan versions of that HS.  Their fans are some of the best in the industry right now, super quiet and move a ton of air.  I'm running one at work and will run one at home.  Fantastic performance, almost dead quiet, solid quality hardware.  Not cheap, but if you want something 'better' than OEM, IMHO this is it.
 
Rod said:
Sounds like a cool system!
 
I went with the following:
  • AZZA Solano 1000 Full Tower Black (with blue LEDs)
  • Gigabyte Black Edition LGA 1150 Z97 motherboard
  • Intel Core i7-4770 Quad-Core 3.4 LGZ 1150
  • Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
  • G SKILL Ripjaws X 16GB
  • Corsair CX 750 Watt power supply
  • EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB video card
  • Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD - boot/primary drive
  • WD Gree 2TB storage drive
I think this will be a solid system. 
 
I decided the GTX960 will be plenty powerful for what I'm using it for.  I'm also getting the Samsung 28" 4K monitor.
 
I'll be installing Windows 7.  Can't wait for Windows 10 to come out.
 
Lastly, anyone seen the Hololens?  That might put Microsoft at a whole new le
Click to expand...
Mind if I ask how much this spec costs?  Ballpark
 
Tom, are you sure the HSF isn't a 287 with pipes for each cylinder? Dang it looks awesome.
 
Thanks Tom, I'll return it to Amazon when it comes.
 
Ed - I think it was around $1300 or so w/o the monitor.
 
No. Amazon prime provides free returns. They pay for shipping. :)
 
I've decided against the Samsung 4K monitor since the stand sucks, no VESA support, and I'm probably not even going to use 4K.  Also, I read that if you enable this at the high 4K resolution, then all text appears very tiny.
 
I think I'm going with Asus instead - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236294
 
I can get it for right around $400.
 
Thoughts?
 
Once you step back from the 4K window, you have to ask yourself what you're going to do with the machine, what resolution do you really need.  I'm running two 24" 1080P monitors at work, doing detailed PCB layout and schematic capture, and am quite comfortable.  The extra real estate is really nice.  I have one monitor dead center, the other adjacent and just off to the right.  I put my main work on the center monitor, e-mail / chat windows / datasheets / notes on the right side.  It's amazingly productive.  What I don't have nor require is the absolute color correction that people in the graphic arts or post production field need.  So, I'm a little biased, personally I'd go for a pair of nice 1080P monitors rather than one 'high end' monitor, but that's just me.

Something like this:
 
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M2UIWKQ/?tag=extension-kb-20
 
That's what I run at work......
 
JMHO.....B.B.S.
 
Edited to add - no VESA mounts on these either.  
 
I finished building this thing and it flies! Amazingly fast. :) Now I just need to finish installing all of the software. Thanks everyone for the build suggestions.
 
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