edit3: added in italics some substitute parts if someone wanted to build something similar but wanted to get a reasonably good value for their money rather than overkill stuff like what I have
edit4: changed monitor & keyboard
I get a lot of people asking me about this, so I should probably post it.
I'd like to preface this with the following disclaimer: A lot of the stuff I run makes NO sense, and isn't the kind of thing I would actually recommend to others. Much of it is discontinued and/or not available for some other reason. Contrary to what many believe, I don't actually have a lot of extra money to spend on PC upgrades, so some parts of my machine are weirdly state-of-the-art (usually samples that I was allowed to keep), while others are ghetto as all hell. I will try to include some justification for each component so you understand where I'm coming from
CPU: Intel Core i7 4970X - This was a sample. Everything I said before about the 3970X applies here...
retired: Intel Core i7 3970X - This was a sample. There is no way I would spend $1000 on a CPU that performs marginally better than one that costs hundreds of dollars less. I'm not planning to upgrade to IVY-E because I can't justify the effort of removing the CPU block to put in a CPU for the marginal performance improvement. I really want the additional cores for video exporting. It makes a big diff. Anything else I do benefits NOT AT ALL from the 6 core processor, and if I wasn't doing that I would just use a quad core. Similar thing I'd actually recommend: Core i7 4930K
Motherboard: ASUS P9X79-E WS - Love this board. Zero coil whine. Unbelievably well built. Rock solid stability so far, and perfectly compatibility with my RAID card. Zero complaints. Also looks great and has an unbelievable amount of expansion (7 PCIe 16x physical slots capable of running 16x/8x/8x/8x/8x/8x/8x/ gen3... Not to mention the Tesla/Xeon/ECC RAM compatibility! The only issue with this board is it's $500... Can't really recommend it to people who pay for their hardware unless they really need something that's designed for 24/7 workstation operation. Similar thing I'd actually recommend: ASUS X79-DELUXE
retired: Gigabyte X79S-UP5 - I really liked this one at first, but now I'm not as impressed. A BIOS update bricked my SSD RAID array, the front USB3 ports cause the machine to blue screen whenever I plug in my Android phone, and sleep is broken when my RAID card is installed. With that said, it was one of the few X79 boards I could find that didn't coil whine (and matches my colour scheme) so I'm still using it for that reason.
RAM: Crucial Ballistx Tactical Tracer 2x8GB (x2) 1600MHz for a total of 32GB - It's fixed with current inventory, but I'm using the old revision that's broken on X79. This probably isn't helping the system's sleep issues. I love the LEDs on them, but I really wish Crucial hadn't overlooked the two most OBVIOUS LED patterns: off and solid.... They have a whole bunch of goofy flashy patterns, but they omit these two. Oh well.
Graphics: NVIDIA Reference GTX Titan with Koolance full cover GPU block and backplate. I don't really recommend Titan. It's way overpriced for pure gaming use unless you're also a CUDA developer or something. The only reason I went with it is that I had to move from the 590 to get Shield streaming compatibility, and this was our only Kepler card (other than a 670 with a reference tiny PCB...) that had a water block on it. Also we have two of them so I wouldn't be impeding our ability to run the benchmarks we need to run on the other card by yoinking it. Similar thing I'd actually recommend: GTX 780 or GTX 780 Ti
retired: NVIDIA Reference GTX 590 + EVGA Classified GPU block - (Sample. EOL) I really don't recommend dual GPU solutions these days unless you really need the extra performance, and this card in particular consumes a lot of power and outputs a ton of heat. Fortunately I don't have to deal with the loud fan because it's liquid cooled (and all GPU fans are loud. Even the quiet ones under load by my standards). The only reason I'm using this card instead of a single 580 even is that I don't have water blocks for any of the other cards that I don't need for the test bench.
Sound: This is complicated... In my system I have an ASUS Xonar Xense (sample. EOL) that I use for my speakers and my mic input. Externally I have an Objective 2 amp and ODAC combo unit from Mayflower Electronics. It was a sample and it's absolutely outstanding.. Performs better than the Essence One I was using before at half the price. I use Corsair SP2500s. I didn't buy my pair, but I did buy a 2nd pair for my wife. I love these speakers. Similar thing I'd actually recommend: My recommendation is an E10 or O2 these days... Internal audio just doesn't make much sense unless you also need to upgrade your input. Corsair SP2500s get a thumbs up from me if you want some nice PC speakers, and for headphones... It gets complicated. PM me if you really care...
retired: Steelseries 7H headset. They're not spectactular, but they're VERY comfortable, they sound VERY good for gaming headphones (like REALLY good for gaming headphones) and the mic is excellent (and retractable). There is a flaw with the early shipping units that causes them to break pretty easily, but the Fnatic edition is apparently fixed. I'm using my Fnatic version. My old ones broke after a couple years.
retired: ASUS Xonar Essence One - It just doesn't perform as well as the Objective 2 & ODAC unit that I'm using now unfortunately...
Storage: 8X Corsair 120GB Force (refurbished) SSDs in RAID0 on an LSI 9260-8I. I didn't pay for the RAID card, but I did pay for these SSDs. I spent about $1000 on them back when $1/GB was a big deal. I basically wanted to get to that magic ~1TB class of storage on my desktop (all I've ever really used since I offload music, pictures, and video to my server) so I wouldn't have to worry about changing it for a long time. In retrospect it was kinda dumb to spend that kind of money on what is essentially a boot drive, but you STILL can't buy something faster/better/bigger for that price, so I guess not much to feel bad about. To be clear I DO NOT RECOMMEND RUNNING RAID 0 ON A DESKTOP. I'm doing so in a very safe environment (nightly backups and I don't keep ANYTHING of value on my desktop. RAID0 compounds the chances of TOTAL DATA LOSS due to drive failure with each drive you add to the array. 8 drives in RAID0 is insane, and the fact that they're refurbs isn't helping anything... Oh yeah I guess I have that awesome LG blu-ray/HD-DVD drive as well. I bought it for lulz when they went under $100 because then I wouldn't have to worry about which format won the war. Similar thing I'd actually recommend: Just get a big phat Samsung 840 Evo. Win.
I am planning to add a network iSCSI device as a game drive soon so I can install my entire STEAM library. Some stuff doesn't fit on my SSD array. #FirstWorldProblem.
Case & Power Supply: Silverstone TJ07B-W. I've been asked many times why I don't "upgrade" my case. The simple answer is I've yet to encounter something else I think is better. It features full metal (aluminum no less) construction, lots of room for components and liquid cooling without being so big I can't move it, exceptional craftsmanship (particularly the old ones. They're not as good anymore), and with a little bit of modding (internal powder coating job, some cut outs for CPU, cable management, replace front bay covers, and a few other things here and there) the feature set is actually reasonably modern. Aside from all of that, it's one of the first "big ticket" gifts that my then-girlfriend and now-wife got me. Sentimental value is a thing for me, particularly for something that exists solely for the purpose of looking at it and housing my computer junk. I use an XFX 1000W platinum PSU because the fan turns off at low loads. Unfortunately it coil whines anyway, so w/e. I sleeved it, so I'm not replacing it any time soon. Similar thing I'd actually recommend: Metal is king. I would never get a plastic case for myself. The TJ04B-W from Silverstone is a solid value metal case, the Corsair 750D is excellent at a higher price point. Past that, premium Silverstone stuff like the TJ07/TJ10 is my favourite but needs a lot of work to get it modernized (black interior, cable management)
Cooling: I'll split this out to make it more digestible.
APOGEE HD Gold Limited Edition: I may have been one of the first customers for this in the world. I paid full pop to own this extremely cool (one of 200) piece of liquid cooling history. I love it. I will be using it 5, 10, however many years from now regardless of performance. I powder coated the hold down plate to match the rest of my build.
Thermochill PA120.4 radiator: Back when I was actually acquiring liquid cooling components, Thermochill was a big deal. I haven't seen any tangible performance improvement since then anyway (other than just making them bigger), so no reason to upgrade really.
Hardware Labs Black Ice Pro II: This is my first water cooling radiator and the only piece of my original liquid cooling loop that is still in my machine. Also the oldest component in my machine. Still performs great.
MCP655 (D5) pump: The only pump that matters. Anyone who tells you a DDC is quiet needs to get their hearing checked. The built in speed controller is awesome too. Pump performance doesn't ACTUALLY matter much (even in my loop with 2 rads, and a couple blocks, the difference between 1-5 speed is like 1.5 degrees) so it's great to turn it down and get super quiet performance.
Silverstone AP121 fans: They look better than Noctuas and also perform very well. They also undervolt gracefully (no tick) which is important because I run them at very low RPMs
GELID Wing 12 fans: They look even better than the Silverstone ones due to not having the air channel things on them. They also are UV blue (match my blue) and also happen to be excellent fans. They're not Noctuas, but they'll do. They undervolt reasonably well (the 92s less so, but I just leave them off with my T-balancer)
Primoflex Pro LRT 3/8" ID, 5/8" OD tubing in UV blue - the only tubing that matters. Anything else is not worth looking at. Go ahead and prove me wrong.
Bitspower True Silver 3/8" straight compression fittings - Back when I used to upgrade every month or so, angled fittings made no sense for me. It would be a huge investment in something I'd keep for like a few weeks then need to change to something else, so I usually took a "one size fits all" approach to acquiring water cooling gear. I also really like the silver fittings, and they don't come in all the different variants, so I stick with my old school style. Not only all of that, but having some silver in your loop (even plating on your fittings) helps prevent microbe growth. It's a great solution.
mCubed T-balancer - I own this (bought it) but I don't talk about it much because I really don't want to give it much publicity. Once you get it working it's amazing, but the software, manufacturer website, and documentation all totally suck. I just don't want people to buy this thing them come asking me for help with it. I can hardly remember how to make it work (I set it up ages ago)
Monitor: ASUS RoG Swift PG278Q - It's still a TN monitor.. but it's the best one I've used featuring 144Hz refresh rates, 2560x1440 resolution, negligible input lag, relatively decent colour vibrancy, and (most importantly) G-SYNC. It really makes gaming better, so (for now) I've abandoned IPS in favour of a very feature rich TN.
retired: ASUS PA279Q - It's so beautiful. It's completely unnecessary for what I do, and at a cost of $850 I really couldn't recommend it for gamers who just want beautiful colours over the PB278Q (another awesome monitor)... They both have acceptable input lag, and motion blur (ghosting) that doesn't really bother me, but I think I'm just used to it. I've got mine slightly overclocked at 70Hz. I tried 80 and no success, but I didn't try anything in between. Not looking to push it too far. Just want that little bit of extra responsiveness. It really does help. The 10-bit panel on this monitor is something that due to hardware/software I can't take advantage of, but I can really appreciate the uniformity of the panel and the natural appearance of the colours it *can* display. Similar thing I'd actually recommend: ASUS PB278Q. If you want high refresh rate, the BenQ XL2420TE is excellent.
Mouse: Corsair M45 - It uses the 3310 sensor, which is a "perfect" sensor, which means no acceleration or other tracking-destroying nonsense, and the ergonomics are solid. It's nice and light, but has a removable weight system so you can load it up to be heavier if you like. It's also available at at great price. I think it's simply the best overall mouse available right now.
retired: Steelseries Ikari Laser - I just can't get over this mouse. This is my 3rd one and I love it as much now as I did the first time I put my hand down on one. It doesn't have the greatest build quality, in fact the right click of this one feels a little off, but I'm more tempted to buy another one "just in case" than I am to keep trying to find something else.
Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB - Frankly I don't use a lot of the fancy lighting features. I just like being able to colour match my keyboard to the UV lighting in my rig - something that's usually not easy to do. The fit & finish of Corsair keyboards is awesome, but I really wish this one had at least one bank of macro keys
retired: Mionix Zibal 60 - Something about this keyboard just feels right. It uses Cherry MX Black keys, which is... an unusual thing for me to like. I'm usually more of a browns guy, but this one just feels exactly right for me. I'm faster and more accurate on it, and because it uses blacks it's not as loud as some others. It's got good compatibility with motherboards (getting into BIOS screen and stuff like that) and while I wish it had dedicated media keys and a volume knob, I don't have any other complaints. Nice solid build quality.
Headset: I am using Sennheiser HD8 DJ headphones with an Antlion Modmic 2.3 on them as my daily driver headphones. They're absolutely amazing. Great noise isolation, great sound, and bass just pounds without overpowering everything else.
retired: Steelseries 7H Fnatic Edition - I think I'm the only person on Earth who like the 7Hs. Build quality issues with the original aside, they sound GREAT for gaming headphones, and I find them very comfortable. They also have a very solid microphone, so I use these whenever I need a mic. Other than that my go-to headphones are still my (now ancient) Sennheiser HD555s.
This is a very rare opportunity to do a LIVE Q&A session with one of the product managers who worked on the 730 series enthusiast grade SSD from Intel. He and I have connected already briefly and aside from trade secrets, you guys are welcome to ask any questions you want about the product, the development cycle, and what it's like behind the scenes working on an important product like this at Intel!
Jeff Fick, SSD engineer for Intel will be joining us for a Q&A and suggestion session on March 17th, 2014 at 11am Pacific time
Click here to find out what time it is in your time zone
This will be a great opportunity to talk about your ideas, ask questions, and give feedback on this exciting new product.
Not only that, but we'll be giving away TWO Intel 730 series SSDs on the show... Because Intel is sending me the SSDs and putting me in charge of shipping the prizes, the giveaway will be INTERNATIONAL.
It will be streamed at http://twitch.tv/linustech, and the giveaway we're running is for LIVE VIEWERS ONLY.
The main topic of the stream is basically up to you guys and I'd love to see you post your ideas in this thread ahead of time so we can figure out how to structure this to make it as entertaining and educational as possible!
I want this to be a lot of fun and super interactive, so please post your ideas in this forum thread. I will definitely be taking more suggestions during the show as well, but it's great to have a starting point.. Folks who post in the thread versus trying to get their questions featured live *will* have a bit of an advantage!
How do I win the swag?
The winner will be chosen randomly from the live viewers of the stream during a random period, so make sure you're paying attention!
1. Make sure you're registered for Linus Tech Tips forum and signed in while you're watching the live stream
2. Make sure you're watching from somewhere that you'll have access to a browser
3. Tune into the stream right at the beginning and make sure you're paying attention!
The Mexinerd reacted to LinusTech in My Personal Rig & Gear
