rynomuncher

Built my rig at the end of last year in the Evolv M-ATX and absolutely love it! I can't get enough of Evolv builds so looking forward to seeing this one!

Hi guys! Just wanted to share my completed build for 2016! (I forgot to take pictures during... sorry). I started this build in August last year after my old build couldn't quite keep up with my new Acer XB270HU (and I wanted M.2 support). When I first got the Acer I thought, "I can live with 60fps in most games..." Boy was I wrong; 90fps is pretty much my minimum now. I put my previous PC together in early 2012 just in time for Sandy Bridge. It was my first PC where (almost) all of the parts were brand new! My 2012 PC: Intel Core i7 2600K at 4.5Ghz and 1.30V - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo (everyone has to own at least one) Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3R 2X Zotac GTX 260 216 Core in SLI ($40 AUD from ebay just to tide me over until Kepler came out) --> Gigabyte GTX 670 Windforce --> Gigabyte GTX 780 Windforce 4X4GB Corsair Vengeance LP at 1600Mhz Corsair Force 3 60GB --> Samsung 840 Pro 128GB 2X Seagate Barracuda 1TB Antec TruePower 750w Windows 7 Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced It served me well but we all know the longer you own a computer the more small problems you have with it. The first BIOS chip on the motherboard died about a year into me owning it, the case would constantly be stuffed with dust (I live in a dusty area), the USB 3.0 ports would refuse to run at anywhere near 3.0 speeds and most of all it all ran HOT - not really helped by a sub-par CPU cooler and me overclocking the snot out of the 780! I had a lot of fun with this PC and it taught me heaps about what I wanted in my new build. My new build needed to be mostly more of the same but I wanted to try and fit more enthusiast parts into a smaller enclosure. With the Evolv being announced at the end of 2014 I knew I wanted this case. Many seem to think it looks 'ugly' or 'bulky' but I love the size, shape and feel of the case. It was easy to build in and is super easy to clean. At CES 2015 the Acer XB270HU was also announced and that was basically the point I knew I wanted a new PC. I also wanted to give CLC a go too and use two separate CLCs 2015/16 Upgrade: Intel Core i7 6700K at 4.4Ghz and 1.35V (for now, I haven't had much time to toy around with it) - Corsair H100i GTX Asus Maximus VIII Gene Gigabyte GTX 980 G1 - NZXT Kraken G10 and Corsair H55 2X8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX at 2133Mhz (for now) Samsung SM951 256GB as boot Samsung 850 EVO 500GB as game drive Crucial M550 512GB as secondary game drive Seagate Barracuda 3TB for movies etc (I know they're not particularly reliable but it's hardly used) Corsair RM650 Windows 10 Pro Phanteks Enthoo Evolv M-ATX Peripherals: Acer XB270HU Leopold FC500R Steelseries Sensei RAW Samsung... something or other 23inch "Skype/TS only" monitor Audio-Technica ATH-PG1 And now some pictures of the finished product! I have to admit that I didn't really think about any sort of colour scheme for the build... but I don't think it turned out bad. My fairly poor cable management. Thanks Phanteks for only including one SSD bracket... As you can see I managed to keep the G1 backplate while being able to use the Kraken G10! The height of the G10 bracket is pretty much equal to the height of the G1 backplate. Additionally, the nuts used to secure the bolts on the top of the card fit perfectly into place where the original screws went. I'm pretty impressed with the photos I can take with my Note5 too. I'm 100% a photo noob and using the pro mode I think I got some fairly ok results. I really love the build quality of the case; the panel gaps are almost perfect. The final product (You can also see my disused Logitech X-540; I just don't need loudspeakers anymore!) Thanks for reading through this long ramble. I am sorry if the formatting or anything else isn't correct. Please let me know if anything needs a fix!

Unfortunately a 980Ti is $1000+ AUD compared to $750 for a 980 so the performance difference isn't justified for me. This card is more of a hold-over until Pascal is released and then I will assess my options!

I would rather not switch to AMD because I have a G-Sync monitor and absolutely love it. The prices are really nice in aus right now though tell ya what!

Hi guys! I currently have a Gigabyte GTX 780 equipped with a Kraken G10 but it just isn't giving me the frame-rate I would like in Fallout 4 at 2560x1440. I've tried overclocking and even flashed a voltage-unlocked BIOS but it just got too hot in my system (Aussie summer FTW!). I would like to upgrade to a GTX 980 but I am unsure which would be the best choice. I plan to use the Kraken on the card I get too! My budget is ~$750 AUD so I was considering one of these four: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB ACX 2.0 - $750 Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB STRIX - $725 Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 G1 Gaming - $729 Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X - $699 Should I just go for the Gigabyte G1 because of the higher clocks? Or just go for the cheapest option? Or either the EVGA or ASUS because of higher quality components? I've never owned another GPU brand other than Gigabyte tbh so I'm not sure what to expect from either the EVGA or ASUS (I do know that both are of VERY good quality though). Thanks guys!

It would be a PERFECT steam machine for my living room - replacing my aging (and big/ugly) full tower I have there now!

Hi guys, I have a Gigabyte GTX 780 Windforce 3X OC that is becoming quite loud and slow in my Phanteks Enthoo Evolv. I live in Australia and with summer coming up the heat and noise will only be exaggerated so I thought I should get it sorted now! I had always planned on water cooling it using a CLC and something like an EVGA Hybrid or NZXT Kraken G10 but I am worried that the VRMs won't be adequately cooled because they don't have their own heatsink? Am I worrying about nothing? Also, does anyone know if this card uses a reference design with Gigabyte's cooler over the top? I can't find this info anywhere! Thanks!

The slow motion video! God it's so cooool!

This is going to be amazing. That apogee mmm mmm niiice.

C... can we see the apogee before the build plz?

Would a GTX 980/ti Hybrid (from evga or whatever) fit in this or would it be better to get the nzxt/corsair adaptor for asetek coolers? I was thinking the tubes coming out the side of the hybrid wouldn't fit?

Because then it gives me a good reason to upgrade! Much like everyone else after a new release hehehe

Hey mate, love the build! I just wanted to ask how much the ncase came too with postage/import taxes? I am thinking about getting one myself!

Yeah, it changed on my ipad and iphone! I don't know if I like it, but it does seem to be easier to read?

I was heavily considering the ROG Swift for the longest time but I've decided to hold off for the Acer so I get the better colour reproduction. I thought I could live with the lesser colour reproduction of the Swift but coming from a Dell u2711 has me spoiled for quality. I just hope it doesn't cost much more than the Swift - a Swift in Australia is $1000+ aud!