Blue HAF X Build

[PixlRabt]

Hello Internets,

 

So this is my first time building a computer and its aimed at replacing my really old laptop in a big way. I'm hoping that this build will do a couple of things;

#1. Play most modern games well

#2. Look awesome

#3. I have a friend who runs a YouTube gaming channel with some other friends, I would like to investigate the possibilities of recording and all the other things that go with it.

 

My concept is taking a regular CoolerMaster HAF X and replacing all the fans with Blue BitFenix Spectre fans. The reason for this is because I have the older version Razer Blackwidow and the led on that is blue, so in order to preserve aesthetics I'm aiming for an all black-and-blue look. below is my parts as created in PcPartPicker;

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/1pbCL

Price breakdown by merchant: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/1pbCL/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/1pbCL/benchmarks/

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($262.00 @ PCCaseGear) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($39.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($129.00 @ Scorptec) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card  ($339.00 @ Scorptec) 

Case: Cooler Master HAF X ATX Full Tower Case  ($185.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Plus 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply  ($175.00 @ Scorptec) 

Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer  ($21.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

Other: BitFenix Spectre 200mm Black Tinted Blue LED Fan ($19.00)

Other: BitFenix Spectre 200mm Black Tinted Blue LED Fan ($19.00)

Other: BitFenix Spectre 230mm Black Tinted Blue LED Fan ($19.00)

Other: BitFenix Spectre 140mm Black Tinted Blue LED Fan ($19.00)

Other: Aerocool Touch 2100 Panel Fan Controller ($59.00)

Total: $1354.00

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-07 17:48 EST+1000)

 

Note that in the parts list there is no mention of storage or operating system, this is because due to financial restrictions im taking the 2.5" 500 GB drive out of my laptop and using it along with another 2.5" 500 GB drive I have lying around. (I'm pretty sure I can do this, at least temporarily, but if not info regarding this course of action would be appreciated)

 

The two big questions I have regarding this build is are there any suggestions anybody has as far as improvements and making it cheaper (While still keeping with the blue and black theme) and also I'm chasing a fan controller for all the BitFenix fans. I would like something dual-bay and touch-screen, but I haven't been able to find anything that both matches the colours and delivers enough volts per fan channel (I believe the highest is 12V). 

 

Finally my budget is around $1500 AUD. Also I live in Australia and parts that can be found elsewhere are not always as easily  found here.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Tharrison14

[Gugos]

Super error! The voltage is not splitted between the fans, it's always the same, no matter how many fans you attach to the controller. What matter is the current (Ampere) or the Power (Watt) that is Voltage * Current, you will never find a fan controller that goes over 12 V, because it's gonna fry your fans.

Secondly if you want to go cheaper, you should buy some less expensive RAMs, usually 8 GB are good for everyone(i don't edit videos, but i never ever used more than 5 GB), and you will hardly notice the difference between a 1600 MHz and a 2133 MHz. You should buy an SSD instead, it's like using another pc. if you wont crossfire the 7950, the PSU is overpowered, a 600W is more than enough

[PixlRabt]

Super error! The voltage is not splitted between the fans, it's always the same, no matter how many fans you attach to the controller. What matter is the current (Ampere) or the Power (Watt) that is Voltage * Current, you will never find a fan controller that goes over 12 V, because it's gonna fry your fans.

Secondly if you want to go cheaper, you should buy some less expensive RAMs, usually 8 GB are good for everyone(i don't edit videos, but i never ever used more than 5 GB), and you will hardly notice the difference between a 1600 MHz and a 2133 MHz. You should buy an SSD instead, it's like using another pc. if you wont crossfire the 7950, the PSU is overpowered, a 600W is more than enough

Thank you! I was so confused about the fan controller. Thanks for the advice regarding the RAM, I just went back and looked at it in PcPartPicker and it was supposed to be 2 x 8 GB modules so later I might be able to add two more and get the full 32 GB out of my motherboard, however now I realise I would never ever ever use that much. Also I am thinking about adding another 7950 for crossfire down the track, so that covers the PSU. Thanks for all your advice

[PixlRabt]

ok, so I actually used the wrong PcPartPicker list. the one in the original topic post is similar, but not actually the one I intended. The one I originally intended is down below;

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/1penm

Price breakdown by merchant: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/1penm/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/1penm/benchmarks/

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($262.00 @ PCCaseGear) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($39.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($129.00 @ Scorptec) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($98.30 @ Mwave Australia) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card  ($339.00 @ Scorptec) 

Case: Cooler Master HAF X ATX Full Tower Case  ($185.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Plus 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply  ($175.00 @ Scorptec) 

Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer  ($21.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

Other: BitFenix Spectre 200mm Black Tinted Blue LED Fan ($19.00)

Other: BitFenix Spectre 200mm Black Tinted Blue LED Fan ($19.00)

Other: BitFenix Spectre 230mm Black Tinted Blue LED Fan ($19.00)

Other: BitFenix Spectre 140mm Black Tinted Blue LED Fan ($19.00)

Total: $1324.30

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-07 20:11 EST+1000)

 

As you can probably see the main difference between the two is storage, where the one I intended featured no storage at all. also the one I intended didn't feature a fan controller. 

[Guest]

If you wan't to save another $60 then cut that Silverstone Strider Plus down to the 600w model. Unless you're planning on doing Crossfired 7950's, you won't need 850w. Also, any reason for the HAF X? 

[ShadowRaven]

ok, so I actually used the wrong PcPartPicker list. the one in the original topic post is similar, but not actually the one I intended. The one I originally intended is down below;

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/1penm

Price breakdown by merchant: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/1penm/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/1penm/benchmarks/

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($262.00 @ PCCaseGear) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($39.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($129.00 @ Scorptec) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($98.30 @ Mwave Australia) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card  ($339.00 @ Scorptec) 

Case: Cooler Master HAF X ATX Full Tower Case  ($185.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Plus 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply  ($175.00 @ Scorptec) 

Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer  ($21.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

Other: BitFenix Spectre 200mm Black Tinted Blue LED Fan ($19.00)

Other: BitFenix Spectre 200mm Black Tinted Blue LED Fan ($19.00)

Other: BitFenix Spectre 230mm Black Tinted Blue LED Fan ($19.00)

Other: BitFenix Spectre 140mm Black Tinted Blue LED Fan ($19.00)

Total: $1324.30

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-07 20:11 EST+1000)

 

As you can probably see the main difference between the two is storage, where the one I intended featured no storage at all. also the one I intended didn't feature a fan controller. 

Here is my suggestion

 

http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/1pffd

 

      REASONS FOR  SUGGESTION

  

   1)  you should use full edition operating system instead of using the laptop version

 

   2)  It is always to have a ssd and hdd drive

 

   3)  750 watts should be more than enough for crossfire 

 

   4)  You do not need all those fans

[PixlRabt]

If you wan't to save another $60 then cut that Silverstone Strider Plus down to the 600w model. Unless you're planning on doing Crossfired 7950's, you won't need 850w. Also, any reason for the HAF X? 

I chose the HAF X because I wanted something big and fairly future proof while staying relatively cheap. Also I just really like the look of it

[PixlRabt]

Here is my suggestion

 

http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/1pffd

 

      REASONS FOR  SUGGESTION

  

   1)  you should use full edition operating system instead of using the laptop version

 

   2)  It is always to have a ssd and hdd drive

 

   3)  750 watts should be more than enough for crossfire 

 

   4)  You do not need all those fans

Thanks for your suggestion. I agree with your advice regarding the storage situation, but the whole laptop thing would only be very temporary, 2 maybe three months max before I go to a SSD bootdrive/HDD storage solution.. Also I think I'm going to go to a 750W PSU anyway. As for the fans, I know that it's over-kill, but they're there more for making my room look like a disco then actually cooling my components.