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82 Posts
<<Obsession>>
The Back-story
Long story short, I just stepped away from my trade and took up a desk job. Going from busting my ass all day and coming home tired as a donkey after a show to coming home with more energy then I woke up with was doing my head in, so I started to follow some of my previously shunted interests. 1 such interest was the intricacies of over clocking, hence the water cooling. From water cooling a new interest emerged.... CASE MODING and making **** look pretty YO!
So, with my newly found interest I set out to build the most future proof build I could with a very minimal budget of $ 1500AUD, I managed to get a LGA1155 build that I was sort of happy with for $1800 but I then decided if I was going for future proof starting with an outdated technology just did not make sense.
After another 4 days of research and price hunting I managed to put together a LGA2011 build that I was happy with for $2500, but of course in my research to make sure all the tech I was buying was the right tech for me I kept coming across things that tickled my fancy a bit more than the previous. FINALLY I finished my build which rounded off at a neat $3600 for all my base components (CPU, GPU, MOBO Case and cooling kit) and then on top of that a further $250 for shipping and parcel protection. With my base build out of the way, I had all the bits, pieces and tools left to purchase, so far the further tool requirements have rounded up to about $350 and the extra parts has so far fell somewhere in the $600-$700 range ((this includes the fan controller + LED's and all the circuitry/switch board materials AND my Frozen q fusion series res which is still anywhere up to a month away)).
So at the time of me writing this I am currently nearing $5000 total cost on this computer ((not to mention the cost it's taking on my relationship lol "obsessed" she says)).
So here is my old set-up
This was coupled with my recent monitor upgrade which I will be keeping to couple with the new build. I am using 3x Dell 2330X slim 23" LED LCD monitors in Eyfinity/Surround Gaming.
And here is the intended build
The Plan
So as for the mods to the case I have no real vision yet, only that I want the theme to resonate around red/black colors and to be of the hell/fire nature. In saying all that I am yet to come up with a name for the build yet so I am open for suggestions. I have 1 idea for the front side of the case which I got from a passing glance at the picture of a volcanic themed dragon, it appeared as though through the cracks of its plates/scales lava ran. [UPDATE][13/07/2012] Have gone with a shattered Earth theme, Design pictured below.
Other then this the only other mods I have on my list are painting all the mesh sections red and the inside of the top, bottom, front and back of the case.
Extras
Another thing I've wanted to do is set up the lighting in the case so I can pick which lights I want on when I want. So with this I am going to attempt to embed switches into my desk and run the wiring out of my computer to them so I can switch them without having to get up. I decided on six switches in total.
1. Inner LEDs
2. UV
3. Raystorm LED
4. Raystorm UV
5. Outer LEDS
6. Raystorm overhead UV
So this will give me the ability to change the look of the case from all-out red to all-out UV to many combinations of the 2.
The other idea was with the external fan controller, I wish to embed this in the desk also as part of the switch panel giving me a form of control centre from which I can adjust everything without having to climb over the back of everything or unplug anything.
Preperation
So! while i waited anxiopusly for the first parts of my order to turn up i got retail itchy and went out and bought a few tools that might come in handy for the case modding =)
The Back-story
Long story short, I just stepped away from my trade and took up a desk job. Going from busting my ass all day and coming home tired as a donkey after a show to coming home with more energy then I woke up with was doing my head in, so I started to follow some of my previously shunted interests. 1 such interest was the intricacies of over clocking, hence the water cooling. From water cooling a new interest emerged.... CASE MODING and making **** look pretty YO!
So, with my newly found interest I set out to build the most future proof build I could with a very minimal budget of $ 1500AUD, I managed to get a LGA1155 build that I was sort of happy with for $1800 but I then decided if I was going for future proof starting with an outdated technology just did not make sense.
After another 4 days of research and price hunting I managed to put together a LGA2011 build that I was happy with for $2500, but of course in my research to make sure all the tech I was buying was the right tech for me I kept coming across things that tickled my fancy a bit more than the previous. FINALLY I finished my build which rounded off at a neat $3600 for all my base components (CPU, GPU, MOBO Case and cooling kit) and then on top of that a further $250 for shipping and parcel protection. With my base build out of the way, I had all the bits, pieces and tools left to purchase, so far the further tool requirements have rounded up to about $350 and the extra parts has so far fell somewhere in the $600-$700 range ((this includes the fan controller + LED's and all the circuitry/switch board materials AND my Frozen q fusion series res which is still anywhere up to a month away)).
So at the time of me writing this I am currently nearing $5000 total cost on this computer ((not to mention the cost it's taking on my relationship lol "obsessed" she says)).
So here is my old set-up
1. Lian-li PC-K62 case
2. AMD Phenom II 965 Black Edition CPU
3. GA-990FXA-UD3 Gigabyte Motherboard
4. Sapphire 7850 OC Edition 2GB GPU
5. G-Skill 8gb 1600 CL7 ram
6. Coolmaster GX650 watt PSU
7. Corsair H80 closed loop liquid CPU cooler P/P 2x Noctua P12 Fans
8. 3x Noctua P14 fans (1x intake front - 2x exhaust top)
2. AMD Phenom II 965 Black Edition CPU
3. GA-990FXA-UD3 Gigabyte Motherboard
4. Sapphire 7850 OC Edition 2GB GPU
5. G-Skill 8gb 1600 CL7 ram
6. Coolmaster GX650 watt PSU
7. Corsair H80 closed loop liquid CPU cooler P/P 2x Noctua P12 Fans
8. 3x Noctua P14 fans (1x intake front - 2x exhaust top)
This was coupled with my recent monitor upgrade which I will be keeping to couple with the new build. I am using 3x Dell 2330X slim 23" LED LCD monitors in Eyfinity/Surround Gaming.
And here is the intended build
1. NZXT Switch 810 Special edition Matte Black
2. Intel i7 3930k 6core LGA 2011
3. Asus Rampage IV Formula
4. Zotac GTX 680 4GB GPU
5. G-Skill 8gb 1600 CL7 ram
6. OCZ ZX 1000w PSU 80+GOLD
7. XSPC Raystorm CPU water block
8. Heatkiller GTX680 Hole Edition water cooler
8.5. Heatkiller GTX680 backplate
9. XSPC D5 Dual reservoir Combo
10. Black Ice GTX 360 Radiator
11. Black Ice GT Stealth 120 radiator
12. 1x XSPC RX240 Dual Radiator Black Ice GTX 240 Radiator
13. PrimoFlex UV Red 7/16 Tubing
14. Bitspower Compression fittings
15. *updated* 2x OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD
16. OCZ Agility 3 60gb ssd
17. 7x Bitfenix 120mm Spectre PRO LED red
18. 10x Bitfenix 120mm Spectre PRO LED red
19. NZXT LX external fan Controller
20. UV lighting + red LED lighting galore
2. Intel i7 3930k 6core LGA 2011
3. Asus Rampage IV Formula
4. Zotac GTX 680 4GB GPU
5. G-Skill 8gb 1600 CL7 ram
6. OCZ ZX 1000w PSU 80+GOLD
7. XSPC Raystorm CPU water block
8. Heatkiller GTX680 Hole Edition water cooler
8.5. Heatkiller GTX680 backplate
9. XSPC D5 Dual reservoir Combo
10. Black Ice GTX 360 Radiator
11. Black Ice GT Stealth 120 radiator
12. 1x XSPC RX240 Dual Radiator Black Ice GTX 240 Radiator
13. PrimoFlex UV Red 7/16 Tubing
14. Bitspower Compression fittings
15. *updated* 2x OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD
16. OCZ Agility 3 60gb ssd
17. 7x Bitfenix 120mm Spectre PRO LED red
18. 10x Bitfenix 120mm Spectre PRO LED red
19. NZXT LX external fan Controller
20. UV lighting + red LED lighting galore
The Plan
So as for the mods to the case I have no real vision yet, only that I want the theme to resonate around red/black colors and to be of the hell/fire nature. In saying all that I am yet to come up with a name for the build yet so I am open for suggestions. I have 1 idea for the front side of the case which I got from a passing glance at the picture of a volcanic themed dragon, it appeared as though through the cracks of its plates/scales lava ran. [UPDATE][13/07/2012] Have gone with a shattered Earth theme, Design pictured below.
Other then this the only other mods I have on my list are painting all the mesh sections red and the inside of the top, bottom, front and back of the case.
Extras
Another thing I've wanted to do is set up the lighting in the case so I can pick which lights I want on when I want. So with this I am going to attempt to embed switches into my desk and run the wiring out of my computer to them so I can switch them without having to get up. I decided on six switches in total.
1. Inner LEDs
2. UV
3. Raystorm LED
4. Raystorm UV
5. Outer LEDS
6. Raystorm overhead UV
So this will give me the ability to change the look of the case from all-out red to all-out UV to many combinations of the 2.
The other idea was with the external fan controller, I wish to embed this in the desk also as part of the switch panel giving me a form of control centre from which I can adjust everything without having to climb over the back of everything or unplug anything.
Preperation
So! while i waited anxiopusly for the first parts of my order to turn up i got retail itchy and went out and bought a few tools that might come in handy for the case modding =)
