Lurker to Builder, the "Blacklight" Build

[Blackler]

Hey Forum lurkers,

So I have been a gamer for what seems like a century+ and even though all my close "irl" friends consider me this

Nerd which is always sourced for all their tech issues, I am no where near taking the title of PC Junkie. (But I want it!)

 

So anyway, I've watched my fair share of videos and always wanted to make my own build and finally

I've decided to plan it out and prepare myself for what lies ahead.

 

I'm calling this the "Blacklight" Build as it's the name I use on most forums and online games for a number of years,

 

I've already gotten a few parts, including:

Phanteks Enthoo Pro Case

Corsair H100i Liquid CPU Cooler

SanDisk 120GB Extreme II SSD

 

The rest can be found here: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/T3pYqs

 

The aim is to build a stylish Black and White themed build and highlight it with some White LED's which I've also already got installed in the case.

Any thoughts on the parts I've chosen for this build?

 

A few reasons for why I chose some parts over others,

 

- MSI z97s Krait - It's the ONLY Black and White board I've found for an 1150 socket which isn't priced through the roof and OC3D gave it a nice review

- Corsair SP120 Fans - I simply love the Black with white accented rings, I plan to put these onto the H100i and also use one as an Exhaust fan

- i5-4690k, I guess I'm just a fan boy when it comes to intel and I'd rather stay away from AMD if possible, pure fanboy'isms

- Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Windforce - Once again, fan-boying nVidia a little here, had issues with AMD Cards in the past and so far nVidia hasn't let me down. 

                                                          The reviews for the G1 970 have made pick this, along with the glowing "windforce" badge, I think it would

                                                          Suit the build fantasticly

- EVGA 850 G2 -  Fully Modular, fully black cables and the possibility of getting a cheap cable set in black and white from EVGA in the future for a good price

                             but this is one issue where do i get the 750 or 850?! should I opt for the extra 100 watts for overclocking and the possibility of going SLI in

                             the future?

 

The other parts are purely aesthetic or just due to price and general reviews found on amazon or online by well known YouTube artists

(i.e. Jayz, Linus Tiny Tom Logan), the build will be my own personal PC and used for multiple

gaming and personal use on a 1920 x 1080 screen with the aim to get a 1440p / 144hz screen in the future.

 

Considering that about £200~ has been spent on the Case and Cooler (bought these already due to issues with my previous case and Fan cooler),

I'd like to keep the price down as much as possible. In the future I'd also consider getting another graphics card to do an SLI config and add another SSD

but thats about it for this build.

 

Thanks all and I look forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback,

 

Blackler

 

First Minor Update

 

Second Minor Update

[SSOB]

Subscribed for this one looks good mate.

[Trik'Stari]

Aww, I thought you were going to use actual blacklights to light the build up. Would have been sexy.

[Nup]

Damn sounds cool  

 

Although I agree with Trik'Stari, actual black lights would have been a nice addition. 

[Blackler]

Aww, I thought you were going to use actual blacklights to light the build up. Would have been sexy.

I put Blacklights in my previous case (Zalman Z9 Plus, nothing fancy) and they faded and for the prices I had in mind, the color it gave off just didn't look very nice unfortunately.

 

If I ever came into a substantial amount of money to go full out, i'd love to a full Black / Purple'ish build with some EK Water blocks and pumps, purple liquid in a Corsair 760t case,

 

But I'm a Uni student, I DON'T HAVE MONEY D:

[Timopomer]

dont get a 970,290x maybe?

[Blackler]

dont get a 970,290x maybe?

I looked at the 290x as its generally around £40~ pounds cheaper in the UK but the new GPU in the 900 series of cards leaves so much room for overclocking that it doesn't seem worthwhile because as I said in the original post, I've had issues with AMD cards in the past and unless AMD unveil something spectacular I think I'll keep with nVidia for the time being mate.

 

Also, the power consumption in the nVidia cards is so low now and the overclocking so ripe for the taking, AND Gigabytes really sexy white "Windforce" logo,

 

Don't tell me that doesn't look awesome and wouldn't suit this build

[Trik'Stari]

I put Blacklights in my previous case (Zalman Z9 Plus, nothing fancy) and they faded and for the prices I had in mind, the color it gave off just didn't look very nice unfortunately.

 

If I ever came into a substantial amount of money to go full out, i'd love to a full Black / Purple'ish build with some EK Water blocks and pumps, purple liquid in a Corsair 760t case,

 

But I'm a Uni student, I DON'T HAVE MONEY D:

I know that feels. I wanna do a purple build, with a purple mobo, with orange liquid.

[Blackler]

 I wanna do a purple build, with a purple mobo, with orange liquid.

In my head, i can see this with a 760t, painted orange with plasti-dip and some orange led's and a mah-hussive cylinder pump/tank on the right hand side of the mobo attached to the drive bays. Glorious.

[Trik'Stari]

In my head, i can see this with a 760t, painted orange with plasti-dip and some orange led's and a mah-hussive cylinder pump/tank on the right hand side of the mobo attached to the drive bays. Glorious.

nah, this, black with orange accents here and there

Maybe paint the grills orange?

[Blackler]

All Orange case, Internals Purple (Mobo, Sata and PSU Cables etc) and Orange Liquid. Praise the Grape and Orange flavor.

[Nup]

All Orange case, Internals Purple (Mobo, Sata and PSU Cables etc) and Orange Liquid. Praise the Grape and Orange flavor.

 

I think that colour scheme idea alright  

[Blackler]

Just did a bit more searching and it turns out the Windforce logo is actually Blue.....

Worthwhile re soldering the LED's and put in white ones or just deal with it? or maybe get a EVGA FTW edition 970?

[Nup]

Just did a bit more searching and it turns out the Windforce logo is actually Blue.....

Worthwhile re soldering the LED's and put in white ones or just deal with it? or maybe get a EVGA FTW edition 970?

 

I think there is an easier way to get rid of the colour, like on reference design Nvidia cards. 

 

You can scratch the top layer of paint off the plastic. Unless the LED is blue is blue it's self  

[Blackler]

You can scratch the top layer of paint off the plastic. Unless the LED is blue is blue it's self

Unfortunately it's 2 LED's either side of the badge!

 

I do have a soldering kit and an abundance of solder to boot, maybe worth while buying some White LED's for that little bit of extra flair?

[Nup]

Unfortunately it's 2 LED's either side of the badge!

 

I do have a soldering kit and an abundance of solder to boot, maybe worth while buying some White LED's for that little bit of extra flair?

 

Hmm damn, that's a shame. Well if you feel you have the skills to do then go for it! its the little touches/details that really make it come together  

[Blackler]

UPDATE

Not Much to report unfortunately except for a few part replacements and some ideas on case modifications to run by you guys.

 

- First off, I've decided to go for a smaller PSU, an EVGA 650w/750w SuperNoveNEX as 850w was a bit overkill and for £40 cheaper it's a no brainer

- I'm still going with the 970 G1 Windforce but I was considering the strix due to it being all black (visibly through the panel) but its overclocking capabilities lacked

- Lastly, the main reason for the update is because I need an opinion on this potential case mod. I will either do 1 of the 2, or both, which are....

 

Inscribe "BLACKLIGHT" on the Window Panel (pro photoshopping ahead)

 

 

Or / And

 

Replace the Phanteks Metal Label inside the smaller window panel with "BLACKLIGHT" (and logo?!)

 

 

If I knew how to spoiler these to reduce the memory usage of this page I would, sorry!

[Blackler]

2nd Minor Update

 

I've decided to postpone buying a number of parts until either the end of March or the end of April, this is due to a number of reasons including

- Coming home from Uni at the end of March to work as a coach (all the money i earn going towards the build ofc)

- My birthday is in March (Money towards the build still!)

- I've sold my PS4, guess where that money is going too....

 

So come May, this build will be either NEARLY Finished or Finished

 

Please stay interested!

[Nup]

2nd Minor Update

 

I've decided to postpone buying a number of parts until either the end of March or the end of April, this is due to a number of reasons including

- Coming home from Uni at the end of March to work as a coach (all the money i earn going towards the build ofc)

- My birthday is in March (Money towards the build still!)

- I've sold my PS4, guess where that money is going too....

 

So come May, this build will be either NEARLY Finished or Finished

 

Please stay interested!

 

Staying very interested!