Project D-luxe: Epic Red Themed Z97 Gaming Build

[LiquidCooledCat]

Hi everyone!

I am currently in the process of doing a build for a good friend of mine, so I thought I would put it up for this great community to see. Enjoy!

This is a gaming build, with the colour scheme of red (I know, how refreshing J), and is designed to be as good looking, but also as powerful, as possible within the budget. Unfortunately custom liquid cooling would not fit in the budget; however there will be some pretty cool modding involved, including custom painted graphics cards. Without further ado, here is the parts list:

 

-CPU: Intel Core i7 4790k

-CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 280mm AIO Liquid Cooler

-Motherboard: Asus Maximus VII Hero

-RAM: 2x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 2133 MHz DDR3 (Red Heatsinks)

-GPU: 2x Galaxy GeForce GTX 980 (Painted red, white LED bar mod)

-SSD: Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB

-HDD: Seagate Barracuda 2TB

-PSU: Corsair HX850i w/ Red Sleeved Extensions

-Case: Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Black

-Fans: Corsair Static Pressure and Air Flow LED Fans

-LED Strip: Phanteks RGB LED Strip

 

So there are the main parts…

Ask any questions you have, and be sure to stick around and see the build process and final build. I am pretty excited to see how it turns out.

[LiquidCooledCat]

Reserved

[mikeeginger]

I would look at the Swiftech H240X (If you can get it) as it performs better than the Kraken x61

Other wise not bad  

[LiquidCooledCat]

I would look at the Swiftech H240X (If you can get it) as it performs better than the Kraken x61

Other wise not bad  

Thanks for the idea, although I have already ordered the X61, so it is a bit late  

It was easiest to order all the parts off one website, and unfortunately they do not stock the H240X

[T.E.D]

Looks like it's going to be a nice build, best of luck. Would that website perhaps be PCCG?

[LiquidCooledCat]

Looks like it's going to be a nice build, best of luck. Would that website perhaps be PCCG?

 

Thank you, I hope you enjoy the result . 

 

And yes, I am using PC Case Gear. It seems to have the the best prices and selection (unless you are looking for workstation/ server stuff, in which case I use CPL).

Being in Sydney, you would use PCCG too? 

[T.E.D]

Thank you, I hope you enjoy the result . 

 

And yes, I am using PC Case Gear. It seems to have the the best prices and selection (unless you are looking for workstation/ server stuff, in which case I use CPL).

Being in Sydney, you would use PCCG too? 

Yeah PC Case Gear has by far the best selection, but if I want to save on shipping the MSY retail stores are good(if they have anything in dam stock).

[LiquidCooledCat]

Yeah PC Case Gear has by far the best selection, but if I want to save on shipping the MSY retail stores are good(if they have anything in dam stock).

 

Thanks for the tip, I will keep that in mind from now on

[LiquidCooledCat]

Time for the first update!
 
Due to part availability, all of the supplies for this build had to be ordered in two lots. The first order contained all the core components, while the second order consisted of the CPU cooler and the two graphics cards. Well, the first order has arrived and the system has been assembled as much as possible.
 
This is what arrived today.

 

We put together what we could. This is the build in progress. (Yes, on carpet. Luckily nothing broke)

 

This is what we have achieved so far. (Proper photos to come once the build is fully completed)

 

The stock cooler is obviously going as soon as the NZXT Kraken x61 arrives.

 

[FunkyFeatures]

Are you using the phanteks 1m or 2m led?

 

Also - try to make the cables more straight/sort the wires Makes for a cleaner look. I don't know how to explain it, but its some sort of plastic thing where the cables wont tangle together if you know what i mean.

[ImBleu]

This is making me consider trying to source a Phanteks case a lot more. They aren't available anywhere near me

 

Thumbs up for the almost identical build

[LiquidCooledCat]

Are you using the phanteks 1m or 2m led?

 

Also - try to make the cables more straight/sort the wires Makes for a cleaner look. I don't know how to explain it, but its some sort of plastic thing where the cables wont tangle together if you know what i mean.

 

I am using the 1m LED strip. However, now that it is in the case it seems a bit short. It would have been a better idea to go with a 2m strip in retrospect.

 

As for the cables, good idea. When I install the GPUs (they are still coming in the mail) I will redo the cable management, so it should look a bit better. Is that 'plastic thing that stops cables tangling' a zip tie?

 

  

 

This is making me consider trying to source a Phanteks case a lot more. They aren't available anywhere near me

 

Thumbs up for the almost identical build

 

I would definitely recommend Phanteks cases, if you can get them. The Luxe is well built, and the pictures I took don't really show how awesome it looks. It is also super easy to build in.

 

Thumbs up back for the awesome identical rig

[FunkyFeatures]

Now I found out what i actually ment with the cable thingys! It's a cable comb!

http://www.performance-pcs.com/e22-cable-comb-24-slot-black.html

http://www.performance-pcs.com/zip-ties-clamps-anchors

Sorting them, just a little bit for the edges, looks great. You can also get transparent ones i think.

[LiquidCooledCat]

Now I found out what i actually ment with the cable thingys! It's a cable comb!

http://www.performance-pcs.com/e22-cable-comb-24-slot-black.html

http://www.performance-pcs.com/zip-ties-clamps-anchors

Sorting them, just a little bit for the edges, looks great. You can also get transparent ones i think.

 

Thanks for the cool idea! Now you mention it, I have seen them used in builds done by Singularity Computers (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqChlb8y4cQ0jAFaNFPQLqA).

They would be helpful with the crappy pin-outs on some power supplies, where the individual cables in the 24 pin are all messed up, and not ordered.

[FunkyFeatures]

Yea, i remembered them from Singularity computers too, thats why i thought it would be a great idea.

[FunkyFeatures]

Any updates mate?

[LiquidCooledCat]

Sorry for the delay everyone, the friend I was doing this build with went away and took all the photos with him. And as a result I could not even get into his house to take more pics. 

Without further rambling, here are the photos:

 

[IDprofile]

@LiquidCooledCat, pretty sweet! Few times do I see case badges that look good let alone actually awesome. All great work. The mousepad is a bit discolored, not a fan of the rear led fan, and you should get a 3-way SLi bridge for aesthetics. Not being negative about those little things though. Awesome man.

[FunkyFeatures]

Cool! I see that you also changed the color of the graphics card led. Very nice build

[iContainNutz]

@FunkyFeatures, glad u noticed.... that was a major pain in the ass to do and if ur wondering who i am, im the "friend" that bought the parts

[FunkyFeatures]

Yea, i could imagine that it would take the piss to do those logos.

But it turned out nice!

[LiquidCooledCat]

Cool! I see that you also changed the color of the graphics card led. Very nice build

 

Thanks for the positive feedback. If you were wondering about the graphics card LED mod, here is a great video that describes the process: 

It also goes though how to paint the GPU, although you can choose whether to do this or not. We had originally planned too, but my friend (@iContainNutz) liked the silver of the stock cooler so much we had to keep it. 

 

@LiquidCooledCat, pretty sweet! Few times do I see case badges that look good let alone actually awesome. All great work. The mousepad is a bit discolored, not a fan of the rear led fan, and you should get a 3-way SLi bridge for aesthetics. Not being negative about those little things though. Awesome man.

 

Thank you! When you say a 3-way SLI bridge, do you mean those after market metal ones made by EVGA? That could look good, although it would be a bit long for 2 GPUs.