Project DIRTT (Do It Right This Time): [ PROPERLY COMPLETED]

[Commander_Z]

So i've been planning to do a complete rebuild of my gaming PC ever since Z97 came and i saw what Asus had to offer

 

I've been purchasing the parts every few weeks as i didn't want to blow $2000 in one go again

 

For the motherboard i went with an Asus Z97-A, as i like the aesthetic of the board, and also if i am to go SLI later on down the road

 

The Case i went with was the Corsair Air 540, brilliant looking case, and tons of room to cable management like a maniac, and to just have a clean looking build compared to what i have now.

 

The ram i've gone with is an 8GB kit of Adata 2400MHz DDR3, has really nice heatsinks on them, that fit with the mobo. And it was a really good price, and might upgrade to another 8GB kit later

 

A friend offered me a deal on his Corsair H100 with a couple EKWB black fans for $110, I couldn't say no to that.

 

Next on the list was a Thermaltake Commander F5 fan controller, so i can really hide all the fan cables, which luckily are all sleeved black to hide without issue.

 

The latest purchase was the PSU, which i was having a hard time deciding what to get. I initially was going to get the Coolermaster V750S, but then my friend who sold me the H100, offered his Antec HCP 1000 that was too big for his current build for a really good price that again i couldnt say no to.

 

All that is left is to get the 4690K in the next 2-3 weeks hopefully.

 

I will be using my current EVGA GTX 660 SC until christmas when I will purchase the Asus GTX 970 Strix,  at which point the build will be done

 

 

here's some photos of what it looks like so far, with the cable management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GhostWindGamer]

very nice

[Commander_Z]

very nice

Thanks

 

 

the only thing I'm not happy with is how im gonna get the the front usb 3 cable to look nice.

 

I've tried but i feel im putting too much pressure putting the cable in, and its not in the socket entirely

 

Apart from that, its all good

[GhostWindGamer]

Thanks

 

 

the only thing I'm not happy with is how im gonna get the the front usb 3 cable to look nice.

 

I've tried but i feel im putting too much pressure putting the cable in, and its not in the socket entirely

 

Apart from that, its all good

USB cables are always annoying to work with

[Marvzl1357]

Nice clean build so far.

If I were to say anything, it would be to get that cardboard box out of the main compartment. Find somewhere in the back compartment to put it. 

And also imo turning the radiator around so the tubes are towards the front is much nicer

[Destroyer]

This is looking great man!

[Krzyimprt]

Thanks

 

 

the only thing I'm not happy with is how im gonna get the the front usb 3 cable to look nice.

 

I've tried but i feel im putting too much pressure putting the cable in, and its not in the socket entirely

 

Apart from that, its all good

You forgot a screw in the standoff.

[Commander_Z]

Nice clean build so far.

If I were to say anything, it would be to get that cardboard box out of the main compartment. Find somewhere in the back compartment to put it. 

And also imo turning the radiator around so the tubes are towards the front is much nicer

 

 

I'm only keeping that cardboard box there, so i dont lose it

 

 

i'll look at switching it around,

 

also, would it be better to have the fans on the H100 intaking above the rad, or exhausting as they are already???

[Commander_Z]

You forgot a screw in the standoff.

 I did??

 

 where??

 

there is a standoff in the middle that just holds the mobo in place

[Marvzl1357]

also, would it be better to have the fans on the H100 intaking above the rad, or exhausting as they are already???

You'll always want hot air going upwards. So exhausting, as it is now, is optimal.

[Commander_Z]

You'll always want hot air going upwards. So exhausting, as it is now, is optimal.

 

cool

[Commander_Z]

So i took @Marvzl1357 's suggestion and turned the H100 around so the tubes were on the other side, and i managed to get the front panel usb 3 cable routed as best i can.

 

Happy with how it looks so far

 

 

 

Bonus image( Google photos auto awesomed the effect on the photo below

 

[Commander_Z]

Hey guys,

 

so its been a while since my last update on this build, and I can finally say it is at an end(almost)

 

I ended up going with the I5 4690k several weeks ago i got for a decent price

 

My Asus GTX 970 Strix card arrived this morning, also a good price for what they are selling for here in NZ at least

 

 

So the card is installed, and the cables are routed extremely well, from where i started a little over a year ago with my first build

 

Modular PSU's are the way to go if you want nice cable runs etc, but the thing I am most happy with this build is the case, the Air 540.

 

Tonnes of room to achieve something special, that not only looks good but has the cooling functionality to boot

 

A few pics of the completed stage it is in

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KingLuvely]

Looks nice! I love the design and how it isn't super extra like some other builds I've seen 

[Commander_Z]

Looks nice! I love the design and how it isn't super extra like some other builds I've seen 

 

 

Thanks so much, means a lot

 

A lot of thought went into this, and im really happy with how its turned out

 

it's as tidy as it can be, without having a mobo that has right angle 24 pin and  right angle usb 3 headers. or custom PSU cables, but it is what it is.

 

 

 

Are they still doing build logs on the WAN show???

[RJSX1]

When all of your parts get there, or if they are already there take a picture when the pc is on!

[Logan2012]

I love the sight of shit brown PCB in the morning haha just kidding. Great build man.

[Commander_Z]

I love the sight of shit brown PCB in the morning haha just kidding. Great build man.

 

 

Thanks man, appreciate it

[arnavvr]

So i've been planning to do a complete rebuild of my gaming PC ever since Z97 came and i saw what Asus had to offer

 

I've been purchasing the parts every few weeks as i didn't want to blow $2000 in one go again

 

For the motherboard i went with an Asus Z97-A, as i like the aesthetic of the board, and also if i am to go SLI later on down the road

 

The Case i went with was the Corsair Air 540, brilliant looking case, and tons of room to cable management like a maniac, and to just have a clean looking build compared to what i have now.

 

The ram i've gone with is an 8GB kit of Adata 2400MHz DDR3, has really nice heatsinks on them, that fit with the mobo. And it was a really good price, and might upgrade to another 8GB kit later

 

A friend offered me a deal on his Corsair H100 with a couple EKWB black fans for $110, I couldn't say no to that.

 

Next on the list was a Thermaltake Commander F5 fan controller, so i can really hide all the fan cables, which luckily are all sleeved black to hide without issue.

 

The latest purchase was the PSU, which i was having a hard time deciding what to get. I initially was going to get the Coolermaster V750S, but then my friend who sold me the H100, offered his Antec HCP 1000 that was too big for his current build for a really good price that again i couldnt say no to.

 

All that is left is to get the 4690K in the next 2-3 weeks hopefully.

 

I will be using my current EVGA GTX 660 SC until christmas when I will purchase the Asus GTX 970 Strix,  at which point the build will be done

 

 

here's some photos of what it looks like so far, with the cable management

IMG_20141028_175344.jpg

 

IMG_20141028_175620.jpg

 

IMG_20141028_175643.jpg

 

IMG_20141028_184945.jpg

 

IMG_20141028_185335.jpg

 

IMG_20141028_185525.jpg

 

h100 for 100 bucks, thats not a steal, you lost money

[Commander_Z]

h100 for 100 bucks, thats not a steal, you lost money

 

well here in NZ, tech is expensive

 

the H100i , as you cant buy the H100 here anymore is $200 retail. so i did well with getting it for the $100

[Karumu]

IM SORRY BUT WHY DO MANUFACTURERS KEEP MAKING BROWN MOTHERBOARDS

[ALXAndy]

IM SORRY BUT WHY DO MANUFACTURERS KEEP MAKING BROWN MOTHERBOARDS

 

Because it's cheap.

[jayctech]

There's a shit ton of cable management room in there!

[arnavvr]

well here in NZ, tech is expensive

 

the H100i , as you cant buy the H100 here anymore is $200 retail. so i did well with getting it for the $100

 

Didn't know you were talking about NZ prices.

[ManWithBeard1990]

IM SORRY BUT WHY DO MANUFACTURERS KEEP MAKING BROWN MOTHERBOARDS

It's meant to be black but on the cheaper boards they use less paint. Because money. The copper shows through a little, creating the brown color. It's not so bad IMO. If it didn't fuck up the soldering process the really cheap ones would've come without any paint (there's a reason it's called solder mask) on them. So we're happy with what we get.