Project Anastasis: From Nothing to Something

[OnCue]

WELCOME TO PROJECT ANASTASIS!

 

To begin let's start with a few FAQ's.

 

Q- "What does Anastasis mean?"

A- Anastasis is the translation of the Greek word 'Resurrection'. Essentially that's what this build is, taking a build that was essentially useless at the time and reviving it to a very capable gaming PC.

 

Q- "Why did you go with an AMD CPU?"

A- It came with the PC when I bought it. The PC is mainly for playing games like CS:GO and such, not much need for an i5 or even an i3. Yes, I know they are better performers, and yes I know the 6300 is ass in comparison, but you can't argue with the $300 price tag.

 

Q- "Why a 7970?"

A- My friend was selling this card for $135 and I just couldn't pass it up. It plays every game I want at 1080p highest settings. I am very happy with the purchase.

 

OVERVIEW

 

Essentially this build was spawned when my friend told me he was getting rid of his CyberPowerPC build that he bought last year for ~$600. I told him I was interested and after a while of talking down the price I was able to get him to settle at a solid $275. Not bad for what I got.

 

The specs at the time I bought it were as follows-

CPU- AMD FX-6300 (Stock Cooler)

RAM- 8GB ADATA @ 1600mhz

GPU- Nvidia GT 620

Mobo- Gigabyte GA-970A-D3

HDD- Seagate Momentus XT 500gb

 

The idea was that I would revitalize this build to make something that could actually play games. My budget was around $300 to make improvements around the build, along with adding a new keyboard and mouse since my deathadder was going on 4 years old and the space bar broke on my old e-machines keyboard. 

 

The keyboard and mouse pretty much came immediately. While searching around Newegg one day I found a deal for the Razer Blackwidow Ultimate for $109, with a free Naga. I couldn't pass it up. I really enjoy the Naga, the extra functionality I get from having the additional buttons when browsing and playing MMOs. The Blackwidow is an absolute treat to type on in comparison to the dollar store keyboards that I had been using previously. The build quality is exceptional and I absolutely love the 'click' I get from the Razer Green switches, despite all the hate they tend to get. 

 

I then decided to add a 2tb Toshiba Hard Drive I got for $35 on /r/hardwareswap. It is a nice, fast drive and I can't really argue with the price.

 

The Graphics card I picked is the AMD Radeon HD 7970. I got it from one of my close friends for $135 and can't complain at all. The Sapphire Dual-X cooler keeps the Tahiti GPU really cool under load (~65-70 degrees C), and is almost inaudible. Compared to the old GT 620 which could hardly run Counter Strike at 720p30, it's much better.

 

 

 

The Build

 

Surprisingly I'm impressed with CyberPowerPC's ability to cable manage. The power supply being non-modular and the case being some cheap Raidmax POS I was expecting much worse. 

 

 

 

 

There seems to be a little clearance issue with the Graphics Card and the Seagate drive. I ended up having to seat the graphics card in first then plug the SATA power connector in at a very awkward angle. Not a huge deal, though. Nothing is going to short circuit.

 

 

 

Two optical drives... only one is plugged in, I just have the other for the epeen.

 

 

 

 

 

Completed picture of my setup. Overall I'm very satisfied with how everything turned out. I ended up getting the desk on craigslist for $25 and it's the perfect height for my chair. I could use a little cable management behind the desk but everything looks very clean yet green. I'm very happy with the black and green color scheme, and the Razer Goliathus really adds to the look.

 

 

 

Benchmarks Coming Soon!

[RichardsD]

$275 for a PSU, Case, Mobo, CPU, RAM, And a HDD is a steal, you'll pay that for some crappy Core 2 Machines off lease still.

 

Good system in the end, should be great for 1080p gaming at pretty high settings; obviously depends on the game.

 

Although it does make me laugh.  I gotta hand it to iBuypower for including a GT 620 for.. reasons and then an 800W PSU.  Get that price up.  lolz

 

PSU Seems a bit sketch; especially with their web address right on it so when it catches fire you'll know where to get another.  But hey, it has 80Plus so I trust someone's actually tested it, so it should honestly be fine.

[OnCue]

$275 for a PSU, Case, Mobo, CPU, RAM, And a HDD is a steal, you'll pay that for some crappy Core 2 Machines off lease still.

 

Good system in the end, should be great for 1080p gaming at pretty high settings; obviously depends on the game.

 

Although it does make me laugh.  I gotta hand it to iBuypower for including a GT 620 for.. reasons and then an 800W PSU.  Get that price up.  lolz

 

PSU Seems a bit sketch; especially with their web address right on it so when it catches fire you'll know where to get another.  But hey, it has 80Plus so I trust someone's actually tested it, so it should honestly be fine.

Yeah I'm probably gonna swap the PSU out for something more reputable soon, maybe a Corsair CX500 or something like that. 

 

Not gonna lie, my friend got ripped off when he first bought this, but his loss is my gain B)

[RichardsD]

Yeah I'm probably gonna swap the PSU out for something more reputable soon, maybe a Corsair CX500 or something like that. 

 

Not gonna lie, my friend got ripped off when he first bought this, but his loss is my gain B)

 

Ehh.. yeah it seems pricey.. a PC like that I'd expect to pay like.. $350 lol.  But you paid about market value so that's alright

[Swndlr]

good shit considering the low price you got some of it for

and yeh, games like csgo could be ran on a GT610, no need for high end stuff if the games you play dont use it the power anyway.

[Bussinateur]

CyberPowerPC: Creating shit PC's and adding LEDs

[OnCue]

lol, the ancient square monitor makes me laugh, and i use my old 19" emachines 1366x768 as a foot rest under my desk 

I just had it laying around, might as well put it to good use! lol emachines is such a sketchy company

[asim1999]

lol, the ancient square monitor makes me laugh, and i use my old 19" emachines 1366x768 as a foot rest under my desk 

And i use my 19 inch 1280x1024 monitor as my daily driver lol