General Information
CPU
i7 3770k
Cost: $320
Cost: $320
Motherboard
asus sabertooth z77
Cost: $240
Cost: $240
GPU
msi geforce 680 twin frozr iii 4 gb
Cost: $530
Cost: $530
RAM
g. skill ares 8 gb 1866 mhz
Cost: $80
Cost: $80
Hard Drive
seagate constellation es 1 tb
Cost: $160
Cost: $160
Monitor
Westinghouse 22″ 1080p LED HDTV LD-2240
Cost: $100
Cost: $100
Audio
Logitech 5.1 Surround Sound
Cost: $85
Cost: $85
Case
Corsair 400r
Cost: $100
Cost: $100
Cooling
corsair h100i
Cost: $105
Cost: $105
Other
Razer Hydra Motion Controller
Cost: $80
Cost: $80
Power Supply
ThermalTake 850 watt
Cost: $100
Cost: $100
Wanted a peak-performance gaming machine without going into Extreme edition Intel cpu's and I wanted to follow a colour motif of blue, black, and silver. I'm also using a delidded i7-3770k and I lapped the inside and outside of the heatspreader with a lapping kit I purchased from FrozenCPU using different assorted grits from 1000-2500. I then applied liquid metal thermal paste (Coollaboratorie's Liquid Ultra) to cpu dye and between heatspreader and the Corsair H100i waterblock.
I love the design, aesthetics, and the practicality of the Asus Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard with it's cooling channel of air it blows below, and I wanted a lot of freaking fans. This machine has 21 fans in total, including a Delta 120 mm fan and It's insanely loud if you want it to be and can cut your finger if you touch it on high (6500+ rpm), it's quiet on low but it makes this annoying cycling noise where it speeds up and slows down over and over and it's annoying to listen to, could have something to do with the outside fan on the side panel next to it making it run faster, I'm not sure. On the outside is my new favorite fan, it's a Xigmatek XAF (aeronautical oil system copper bushing fan), it moves a great deal of air, can be mounted on 120 mm or 140mm mounting points and looks amazing, They come in orange, black, silver, and blue and that is just the colour of the fins, not the LED's, the LED's in all of them are white, however, when the light hits the wavy fins, the colour makes for an interesting shimmering portal type effect. I definitely would like someday soon to buy another, either blue, silver, or black and put it where the Delta 120 is so I can see what two of these XAF series fans look like right next to eachother, Besides that, I also need to replace the stock Corsair SP120L fans that came with my Corsair H100i with the same type of fans I have on the top of my case, Corsair SP120's, since they're much higher performance. Besides that all there is to do to it is get a second 680 GPU someday.
I chose the Corsair 400r out of a recommendation from a friend and damn I really like this case, however, know going into building this, that the Corsair H100i, in this configuration, is slightly skewed off from the fans on top of it, and you can only get two screws in the radiator, three if you don't have the fans on top doing push/pull. Even though this case has a very large area for a radiator, the "Thermal Armour" from the Sabertooth Z77 affects the amount of clearance you have to work with with the radiator, so you won't be able to use the holes that are meant for it, and only two screws will connect (feels firm as hell though so doesn't matter) to the radiator.
I'll one day buy 2 more gpu's and I'm also going to experiment with some delta fans being added and use to replace some of the weaker fans (the exhause and intake 120's on the Corsair 400r are so laughably weak.)
I love the design, aesthetics, and the practicality of the Asus Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard with it's cooling channel of air it blows below, and I wanted a lot of freaking fans. This machine has 21 fans in total, including a Delta 120 mm fan and It's insanely loud if you want it to be and can cut your finger if you touch it on high (6500+ rpm), it's quiet on low but it makes this annoying cycling noise where it speeds up and slows down over and over and it's annoying to listen to, could have something to do with the outside fan on the side panel next to it making it run faster, I'm not sure. On the outside is my new favorite fan, it's a Xigmatek XAF (aeronautical oil system copper bushing fan), it moves a great deal of air, can be mounted on 120 mm or 140mm mounting points and looks amazing, They come in orange, black, silver, and blue and that is just the colour of the fins, not the LED's, the LED's in all of them are white, however, when the light hits the wavy fins, the colour makes for an interesting shimmering portal type effect. I definitely would like someday soon to buy another, either blue, silver, or black and put it where the Delta 120 is so I can see what two of these XAF series fans look like right next to eachother, Besides that, I also need to replace the stock Corsair SP120L fans that came with my Corsair H100i with the same type of fans I have on the top of my case, Corsair SP120's, since they're much higher performance. Besides that all there is to do to it is get a second 680 GPU someday.
I chose the Corsair 400r out of a recommendation from a friend and damn I really like this case, however, know going into building this, that the Corsair H100i, in this configuration, is slightly skewed off from the fans on top of it, and you can only get two screws in the radiator, three if you don't have the fans on top doing push/pull. Even though this case has a very large area for a radiator, the "Thermal Armour" from the Sabertooth Z77 affects the amount of clearance you have to work with with the radiator, so you won't be able to use the holes that are meant for it, and only two screws will connect (feels firm as hell though so doesn't matter) to the radiator.
I'll one day buy 2 more gpu's and I'm also going to experiment with some delta fans being added and use to replace some of the weaker fans (the exhause and intake 120's on the Corsair 400r are so laughably weak.)
Rig Information
Rig Type
Gaming
Ownership Status
Currently Owned
