[Corsair 550D] Silent Build - AOC 29" Review - More Pictures 07/27/2013

[jmohamed]

 

UPDATES (Newest in bold)

• This build has been revamped, new hardware in Sig, Updated post possibly to follow. 

UPDATES (Old)

• New Leather earcups for Corsair Vengeance 2000's + Galaxy S4 to replace HTC ONE
• Updated to Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013
• Updated thread with a few pictures of the Razer Goliathus Extended (Speed) Mouse pad.
• And so I've updated my build a bit with some new cable management. Added the blue ATX/PCI-E cabling just for fun plus decided to take some decent pictures this time around. (Some of the original photo's are still in there just because.)
• So here it is so far my build to date. Unfortunately it seems as though this build is in a constant state of change :(. I would love to spend more time on cable management and whatnot but seeing as how this is a closed quiet build it didn't make a whole lot of sense. Maybe if i switch to an open/windowed case later on I'll get to play around with sleeving etc..

 

COMPONENTS:

 

CPU - Intel i7-3770K @ 4.5Ghz

Cooler - Noctua NH-D14

Motherboard - MSI Z77A-GD55

GPU's - 2 x EVGA GTX 670 FTW SLI

Memory - Corsair Vengeance 16GB LP 1600Mhz

SSD/HDD - Intel 330 180GB SSD + Seagate Barracuda 1TB

PSU - OCZ ZX 850W 80+Gold

Case - Corsair Obsidian 550D + 2x Corsair SP120's (Restricted flow intake fans) 2x Noctua NF-S12A's (I forget what fan controller that is.)

Optical - Pioneer Blu-ray

Headset - Corsair Vengeance 2000

Speakers - Logitech Z-2300 (love these speakers)

Monitor - AOC Q2963PM 29" Ultra Wide

Keyboard - Razer Blackwidow Ultimate

Mouse - Razer Naga 2013

Mousepads - Razer Vespula, Razer Goliathus Control, (New) Razer Goliathus Extended Speed

 

SEE BELOW POST FOR RAMBLING REVIEW OF THE AOC 29" Q2963PM Ultra Wide Monitor 2560x1080 (Click here)

 

New Bitfenix Alchemy Cabling

 

 

NF-S12A Installed

 

 

 

NH-D14 Installed

 

 

 

 

 

 

EVGA GTX 670 FTW SLI

 

 

 

 

OCZ ZX Series 850W PSU

 

 

And DONE (for now)

 

 

 

 

Case

 

 

 

Desk Setup

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accesories

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AOC 21:9, my new favorite resolution

 

 

 

 

Screenshots

 

 

 

[joelthezombie15]

Nice. I like it, strong build to.

[Shrubpig]

I like the monitor choice! It looks great compared to 16:9.

[jmohamed]

Thanks guys. it's taken some time to settle and get to this point.

[jmohamed]

Anyone know if I can change the thread title?

[Nicktrance]

That's a really nice and clean setup, how are you liking the 21:9 ratio?

 

Anyone know if I can change the thread title?

 

Yeah you can "use full editor" while in the post editor

[jmohamed]

Thanks.

 

That's a really nice and clean setup, how are you liking the 21:9 ratio?

 

 

Yeah you can "use full editor" while in the post editor

[Exotath]

Looks fantastic!

Tell us more about this monitor and your experiences with it...lol!

[Flechette1866]

Love the aspect ratio! Looks sweet

[jmohamed]

In the past year I've gone through 3 different monitors the first being one of the korean apple A- panels. Shimian QH270, this panel was great with 0 dead pixels and very small amount of backlight bleed in the bottom corner. This would be my first IPS panel and since that point I can easily say that I will never go back to a non IPS type panel. Unfortunately although using the 2560x1440 monitor was great, I was struggling heavily with max setting high fps gaming. In the end I made the decision to switch and go for a 1080P Monitor. (at the time I only had the single GTX 670 FTW).

For a good 6 months after the Shimian I've been using the ASUS MX 279H IPS 1920x1080 Monitor. This was another great monitor that had 0 issues, I was able to significantly increase my FPS at high settings and maintain the IPS color and clarity. However unlike with the shimian and the performance loss I had with the higher resolution monitor I had no real incentive to switch displays until I saw a video Linus posted one day where he demo'd the LG 21:9 monitors from that moment on I was sold on the concept and waited to find an affordable quality display.

In the past I've experimented with ATI Eyefinty and Nvidia Surround and I've never been able to get past the bezel issue. (See video link for my old Alienware setup with 3 20" ASUS LED displays).

So with all that being said I come to my views on the AOC Q2963PM. I've had the 29" AOC monitor for about 3 weeks now, I was able to pick it up in Canada for $399.99 on a price match. (normally $499.99). This made buying this monitor all the better because it was roughly $50 less than the Asus monitor therefore making the upgrade easily justifiable. First impressions are that this monitor is WIDE. it definitely takes some getting used to but after a small adjustment period you don't notice its width and just come to accept that fact that you have more space to do everything. I've found that i'm using the windows 8 snap feature for windows more than I ever have. Video and Photo editing are a breeze with the added screen width and the color and clarity of the display are top notch. (having used many high quality displays in the past I can't find any fault with this). The difference in the resolution of 2560x1080 when compared to 2560x1440 is obvious you should not expect to see any increase in pixel density rather your simply getting a wider 1080P Monitor no more no less. For productivity there is no better alternative in a single monitor solution. In multimedia however you get more variation in results.

Firstly Video when in a 21:9 aspect ratio look great (See GL photo) the video fills the screen and the entire monitor is used for movie playback. This however does not translate with the same effect for 16:9 movies and other videos (Youtube). With any 16:9 video you now get to see black bars on the sides. this effectively renders your monitor viewing space to that equivalent to a 23" monitor. Coming from 27" monitors in the past I found this a bit jarring however I've recently become accustomed to it and don't mind it when weighed against the other positives. Youtube and online video however are a different story, Full screen youtube video at 16:9 appear exactly as any other video source however any widescreen video on youtube will take up the entirety of the monitor the only problem is that the scaling is off and rather than getting a full image filling 21:9 you get a stretched out video with black bars at the top and bottom across the entire screen. Not sure if this can be fixed but I'll be on the lookout for a solution.

Gaming on this monitor has been great. The response time is great with no visible input lag in games like BF3 and CS:GO etc.. Most all current gen games have the option to take advantage of the full 2560x1080 resolution. Some exceptions have included Skyrim which can be modded to work and The Witcher 2. Every MMO that i've tried hasn't had any issues using the full resolution and moving UI elements to the edges of the monitor. This makes for a much more immersive experience as seen with Surround/eyefinity setups again without having to deal with multiple monitors and bezels. So far i'm impressed. (See photo's in above post) I also noticed that there was little to no drop in FPS for any of these games with a single GTX 670. Now that I've got 2 in SLI I'm able to max out every game and get a stable 60FPS with obvious exceptions being Crysis 3 and Witcher ubersuperwtfsampling.

From a build perspective the Monitor is solid. Its has a strong heft to it and sturdiness with very little to no flex. The included base is solid and doesnt rock or tip with this top heavy display, however I found it to be too short. I went and picked up a desk mounted arm and the ease of mounting with VESA standard left me with no complaints. Now its at a great height adjustable up down left and right. all the ports are easily accessed and work.

TLDR: Great monitor great value (especially if you can get it for 399.99 or lower) IPS is on par with all of the more premium monitors I've tried. 0 Dead pixels (Known issue for some), 0 Backlight bleed, and a great interface thats easily navigated. Stand is too short but fixed with desk mount. Little to no impact on performance from 1920x1080.

Highly Recommend

Sorry for any grammatical mistakes and or ramblings I wrote this fairly quickly and hope that it makes sense.

[jmohamed]

wow looks like an essay :p

[jmohamed]

Looks fantastic!

Tell us more about this monitor and your experiences with it...lol!

Done.

[Exotath]

Thank you very much, I am def checking this out!

[hiyayhi]

Very nice, You should play chivalry with ridiculous FOV so you can see behind you with that epic monitor! :D

[azrealloki]

Are the cards starved for air in that case?

[jmohamed]

Yesterday I replaced all the fans in the case, the Crsair SP120's are restricted air flow intake fans now, and the Noctua's are higher Flow intake and exhaust fans. Removing the Drive cage also allows for a bit more air flow from the corsair intakes. The GPU's under BURN get up to 80+ degrees but under normal load only ever reach 60+ degrees. If i need to and notice they're lacking for open air I can always pop out the top and side panel covers

[jmohamed]

Updated with MOAR PICS (High quality) and some new cabling!

[Barfnargle]

Lookin' damn sexy ;)

[jmohamed]

thanks :D

 

Lookin' damn sexy ;)

[Axis]

wow old on... alot of new pics in here!

 

Thank you! :wub:

[egibbys]

Wow looks great! Solid build with great pictures.

[pewpewmerica]

The cable management made me moist.

[jmohamed]

Updated with new pics of the Razer Goliathus Extended (Speed)

[jmohamed]

And now Blackwidow Ultimate 2013 for the Razer Green look. Yeah i've become a fanboy.

[L.E.D]

Awesome, great build