Project Extreme

Log 15.01.2012

Hi all,

After some thinging of doing new upgrades to my rig, I finally ended on the fact that I wanted to build a new rig from scratch - as I do find that more fun.

I've spent a few days looking at reviews and other users opinion on various components and such, and compared them in my mind in relation to what the new rig will be used for. Obviously, as this will be my new main rig, it will have to cover most areas - since I do both heavy gaming, video editing and at times heavy photo rendering and other various things in Photoshop among other more heavy programs. Therefor I desided that I'm going all out on this one and will build a machine which should hopefully rate somewhere in the extreme range.

As stated, the main objective is to build a rig that will be able to handle all sorts of games on max settings, as well as photo/video rendering in the light and heavy range, as well as surfing and office use.

For now the following componenets is what I've landed upon, but bear in mind that this is still a work in progress, and I have not settled down on some parts yet.


I were thinking about modding together an ultimate case myself with the help of someone a bit more handy then me, to ensure a good final product this time arround - as I would classify my last mobbing as mediocre at best. Anyhow, after surfing thru, I landed on a case from Lian-Li - which is perfect, as I do indeed love the Lian-Li products, although they are somewhat overpriced.
The reason I landed on this case was, at least until I get it under my roof and can inspect it myself, that it seems to have all the aspects I'm looking for in an ultimate case + given that I did like it's clean and simple looks, I didn't see any good reason for why I should try and "reinvent the wheel".

The case were the first part I desided upon, and I ended on the Lian Li PC-V2120B Big Tower.



I assume the looks of it seems quite boring for many, but I personally love the neat and clean look of it. Perfect for my taste, and perfect in comparison to the rest of my appartments inventory.
And I would also like to thank 3dGameMan for one of the good reviews which made me make up my mind in regards to this case.


The next thing to deside were which motherboard I'd like to use in my new build, and after looking thru a few handfulls of different boards from different suppliers, I ended up with the ASUS RAMPAGE IV EXTREME/BF3, Socket-2011;



Now the next step were desiding upon which graphics card I should go for, and what kind of setup I should have it in.
As I do have a thing for ASUS, I looked at the HD 6990 and the HD 7970, and after first ending on the 6990, I changed my mind and went for two of the ASUS Radeon HD 7970 3GB GDDR5 to set up in Crossfire. So hopefully I will not experience to many crossfire problems in regards to this, if so, I might change it out, but that's something I will have to considerate when actually testing it out myself.


Given that I went with two GPU's of this calibre, I had to get some nice powersupply which can supply me with the power that I need, and there my choise were easy as I had already desided what my next PSU would be even before I ended my current main build, at thats the Corsair AX 1200W PSU;

This one should be sufficient enough to run all the components I wish to put into this build.

The next step were to deside upon a CPU for the build, and even though I wanted to go with the Intel Extreme, I figured that the most economical thing to do were to go for the Intel® Core i7-3930K Processor;

Now I had to pick out some memory sticks, and it's here which I am still the most in doubt for what actually to go for, but for now I've settled on two sets of the Corsair XMS3 1866MHz 8GB Vengeance CL9 for a total of 16GB;



Like I've said before the listing, some of these components are still subject to change as I am following and reading up on other components as well.
But the once I have ordered already is the case, GPU's, PSU and the MoBo. That said, I might end up changing out, but at least these are the components I've more or less settled 100% for.

When it comes to the cooling, I have yet do end on a final desition there. Although I am pretty sure I will go for air cooling mainly, and possibly a hybrid liquid cooling system for the CPU. But given that my current main build and upgrades to that has been in regards to the watercooling system, and I now want something more easier on that part - as I'm tired of the maintanence the WC requires + the costs of it - given that it is not more silent than air.

Well, stay tuned for more information on other components and/or changed/upgrades to what's currently in mind!