Estella - Legen- wait for it- dary! Ultradark build

[Wolf_Lbh]

Build Goals:
1) Simple Standardized Components - No funky mods like custom watercooling loops. This way upgrading components in the future will be easy and everything used will have proven reliability. (Some mods I will make for aesthetics or comfort or just personal preference but nothing that will make added work when I need to upgrade/replace components in the future.)
2) No overkill - No 3 Titan Xs just because max powaaaaa max p**** size. This build will not cost $10,000 because a- I don't have $10,000 to invest in a build, and b- Nothing currently needs $10,000 worth of components to run at MAXIMUM settings.
3) Best Performance - While nothing uses 3 Titan Xs or 128gb of ram the build will have specs high enough that their maximum limit will never be reached by any game or consumer process like video editing that exists as of the end of 2015.

Orders:

Spoiler

Week 1:
Tower - Corsair 750D atx
SSD - Crucial BX100 250GB SATA
Hard Drive - wd caviar black 2tb


Week 2:
Psu - Evga 220 p2 1000 80+ platinum 1000w
Ram - 4x 8gb (32gb total) Corsair Vengeance Lpx ddr4


Week 3:
Cpu - Intel i7 6700K


Christmas:
Cooling - Corsair H100i liquid cooling


Week 4:
Motherboard - Asus Maximus VIII Extreme

 

Week 5:
Monitor - Asus VG248QE
Video Input - Displayport 35ft cable
Gpu - Evga GTX 980 Ti Hybrid
Ups - CyberPower Sinewave 900w

 

Week 6:
SSD - 2x Corsair Neutron XTs 240gb I'll run in raid 1 configuration
Desk - Origami RDE


Week 7:
Cables - usb 3.0 32ft repeater, usb 3.0 4 port hub, and monitor wall mount
Hard Drive - Wd Caviar Black 2tb (second one)
Gpu - Corsair/Msi 980ti Sea Hawk



Week 8:
Cable Management - 10ft Extension Cable, 100x 8" Zip ties, 12x 40" Cable Sleeves
Keyboard - Corsair k95 w/ Cherry mx Browns
Mouse Mat - Corsair MM600
Tabletop Desk - Fantasycart
Paint - Plasti Dip BLK

 

Week 9:
Mic - Mod Mic 4 & audio+speaker to usb adapter
Webcam - Logitech HD Pro
Tools - 99% isopropyl alcohol, anti-static wristband

Week 10:
Chair - Maxnomic Pro-Chief Total Black Experience
Cables - Cablemod black sleeved cable set & Magnetic rgb led strips




Week 11:
Speakers - Logitech Z906 5.1 Channel Surround Sound
Headphones - AKG K553 Pro


Week 13:
Monitor - Wasabi Mango Pixel Perfect 4k 40"
Composite&Component to Hdmi converter - J-Tech Digital Hdmi Converter


Week 14:
Headphones - Mad Dog MrSpeakers Modded T50rp Fostex
Amp - Schiit Magni 2
Powerline Adapter - Netgear Powerline 1200
Cable Management - 3.5mm Stereo to Rca adapter

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  (Purchased For $456.00)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  (Purchased For $74.90)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VIII EXTREME EATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (Purchased For $470.00)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  (Purchased For $220.00)
Storage: Corsair Neutron XT 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $117.00)
Storage: Corsair Neutron XT 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $117.00)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $85.00)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $128.00)
Video Card: Evga 980ti Super Clocked (Purchased For $649.00)
Case: Corsair 750D Airflow Edition ATX Full Tower Case  (Purchased For $125.00)
Case Fan: be quiet! SilentWings 2 60.4 CFM 140mm  Fan  (Purchased For $37.95)
Case Fan: be quiet! SilentWings 2 60.4 CFM 140mm  Fan  (Purchased For $37.95)
Case Fan: be quiet! SilentWings 2 60.4 CFM 140mm  Fan  (Purchased For $37.95)
Case Fan: be quiet! SilentWings 2 60.4 CFM 140mm  Fan  (Purchased For $37.95)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (Purchased For $200.00)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  (Purchased For $260.00)
Monitor: Wasabi Mango UHD400 60Hz 40.0" Monitor  (Purchased For $557.00)
Keyboard: Corsair K95 RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard  (Purchased For $179.99)
Mouse: Corsair Scimitar RGB Wired Optical Mouse  (Purchased For $79.99)
Mouse Mat: Corsair MM600 (Purchased For $40.00)
Speakers: Logitech Z906 (Purchased For $365.00)
Amp: Magni 2 (Purchased for $99)
Headphones: Mad Dog MrSpeakers Modded T50rp Fostex (Purchased For $270)
Microphone: Mod Mic 4 (Purchased For $55.00)
UPS: CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS  (Purchased For $215.00)
Thermal Compound: IC Diamond 24 carat & Microfiber Cloth (Purchased For $18.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM (64-bit)  ($129.95 @ B&H)
Anti-Malware: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Lifetime License (Purchased For $20.00)
Webcam: Logitech HD Pro (Purchased For $63.00)
Total: $5140.43

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-12 17:02 EST-0500

-Other-
Chair: Maxnomic Pro-Chief Total Black Edition (Purchased for $389)
Desk: Origami RDE (Purchased for $93)
Tabletop Cart: Fantasycart (Purchased for $40)
Powerline Adapter: Netgear Powerline 1200 (Purchased for $80)
Cablemods: Cablemod black sleeved cable set & Magnetic rgb led strips (Purchased for $194)
Cables: usb 3.0 32ft repeater, usb 3.0 10ft cord, 2x usb 3.0 4 port hub, Displayport 35ft cable, stereo to usb adapter, & a 3.5mm stereo to rca adapter
Cable Management: 10ft Extension Cable, 100x 8" Zip ties, 12x 40" Cable Sleeves, & a monitor wall mount
Tools: Plasti Dip BLK, 3m double sided mounting tape, paint brushes, 99% Isopropyl Alcohol, anti-static-wristband, and coffee filters

Waiting on: The invention of Thunderbolt 3 optical cables, and a decent Thunderbolt 3 dock.

Build:

Spoiler

Monitor Mount


Keyboard and Tabletop Cart assembled


Corsair Neutron XTs from red to black


Maxnomic Pro-Chief Total Black Edition


Headband padding added to Mad Dog Pro Headphones

Comments:
1) This is my first build and I am open to any and all suggestions for improvements.
2) If you think my screenshots of Amazon look sketchy it is because I am using a custom style for the web page I coded myself to be used with the Stylish Addon. (Note it is not perfect but 99% of the time it looks awesome and I update it when I'm not being lazy)
3) The name "Estella" comes from the book "Great Expectations" and means "Star" which symbolizes unattainable love/unrequited love because sadly the computer won't ever love me back even though it will destroy my life. (Yea ok I actually just like the name but it was fancy so I felt like I should have an actual reason for it) Also I'm an ultradark theme user so this build will have a heart that is as black as the void of space. (Yay, found something that justifies the name well enough)

[GalacticRuler]

Why the Titan X? A 980 Ti runs just as well and is $400 cheaper.

[Wolf_Lbh]

Why the Titan X? A 980 Ti runs just as well and is $400 cheaper.

I have actually not revealed the graphics card yet, but you guessed correctly as I mentioned Titan Xs that I plan to use one.

Anyways I find that the Titan X runs better than a 980 Ti although not enough to justify the $400 price increase, however the Titan X does have fairly more impressive hardware than the 980 Ti but it is held back by a bottleneck caused by thermal throttling which is why I plan on doing something about that which will allow the Titan X to run at the specs it is capable of.

[Guest]

Week 3:

Cpu - Intel i7 6700K

Current Components:

Cpu - Intel i7 6700K

 

 

That's not a 6700K... That's a locked i7 6700. 

 

And here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-I7-6700-FC-LGA14C-Processor-BX80662I76700/dp/B0136JONG8

[Wolf_Lbh]

That's not a 6700K... That's a locked i7 6700. 

 

And here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-I7-6700-FC-LGA14C-Processor-BX80662I76700/dp/B0136JONG8

When I click your link it says "already purchased" so I'm thinking either you made a mistake or Amazon labeled it wrong. Also what is the difference?

[Guest]

-snip-

 

Indeed. You bought a $410 CPU with locked multiplier, i.e. you can't overclock that, instead of getting a $420 i7-6700K that is overclockable. 

 

And nah, Amazon labelled it corectly, and I didn't make a mistake. I linked the exact CPU you bought. You needed that one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B012M8LXQW/ref=psdc_229189_t1_B0136JONG8

[Wolf_Lbh]

Indeed. You bought a $410 CPU with locked multiplier, i.e. you can't overclock that, instead of getting a $420 i7-6700K that is overclockable. 

 

And nah, Amazon labelled it corectly, and I didn't make a mistake. I linked the exact CPU you bought. You needed that one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B012M8LXQW/ref=psdc_229189_t1_B0136JONG8

Why would you link me to the one I already bought when it was the wrong one and I already had bought it and therefore had the link to it?

The only logical action would be to link me to the one that is the correct one and also the one that I do not already have.

But I digress; other than this chip not being overclockable is it any different?

[r1Ns3]

When I click your link it says "already purchased" so I'm thinking either you made a mistake or Amazon labeled it wrong. Also what is the difference?

 

Why would you link me to the one I already bought when it was the wrong one and I already had bought it and therefore had the link to it?

The only logical action would be to link me to the one that is the correct one and also the one that I do not already have.

But I digress; other than this chip not being overclockable is it any different?

 

You can't overclock the i7-6700 and the stock speed is lower than normal i7-6700K, 3.4Ghz instead of 4Ghz

 

I would recommend getting the K version, otherwise POINTLESS of a watercooler.

[Heesleemer]

You can't overclock the i7-6700 and the stock speed is lower than normal i7-6700K, 3.4Ghz instead of 4Ghz

 

I would recommend getting the K version, otherwise POINTLESS of a watercooler.

 

I wouldn't say pointless, some people like lower temps and/or quieter operation (depending on water cooler v high end air cooler) it really depends on his motherboard. He can probably get some BLK overclocking on it with the new BIOS updates. 

 

Maybe he is doing some visualization? the K sku leaves some visualization opitions off... because intel. 

 

[Wolf_Lbh]

I wouldn't say pointless, some people like lower temps and/or quieter operation (depending on water cooler v high end air cooler) it really depends on his motherboard. He can probably get some BLK overclocking on it with the new BIOS updates. 

 

Maybe he is doing some visualization? the K sku leaves some visualization opitions off... because intel. 

 

What options are left off? I honestly had no clue there were 2 different versions. Naturally they would have the same number and I would pick the wrong one.

[Heesleemer]

What options are left off? I honestly had no clue there were 2 different versions. Naturally they would have the same number and I would pick the wrong one.

the K processors leave some visualization options out compared to non k, so it doesn't compete with some xeons. Hardware pass through I think is one of them, although I may be mistaken. 

[Wolf_Lbh]

Okay, returning my other cpu and ordered the correct one now. Really wish they would have made the difference between the two more clear.

[Wolf_Lbh]

Update!!!

Week 4:
Motherboard - Asus Maximus VIII Extreme


The gpu is going to be the most expensive component so that will take at least two weeks to purchase but hopefully it will be worth the wait!

[Wolf_Lbh]

My thermal compound arrived today. I went with IC Diamond which is 92% 24 carat diamonds.
While $18 may sound like a lot of money for thermal compound the performance gainz are real and one tube lasts a hell of a long time so I consider it a smart investment. Check out dem gainz:

[Najuno]

My thermal compound arrived today. I went with IC Diamond which is 92% 24 carat diamonds.

While $18 may sound like a lot of money for thermal compound the performance gainz are real and one tube lasts a hell of a long time so I consider it a smart investment. Check out dem gainz:

I have worked with IC Diamond before and didn´t like it that much due to the abrasive nature of the diamond paste. It can scratch the surfaces quite a bit and the temp differences aren´t that great over a better cooler itself.

[Wolf_Lbh]

I have worked with IC Diamond before and didn´t like it that much due to the abrasive nature of the diamond paste. It can scratch the surfaces quite a bit and the temp differences aren´t that great over a better cooler itself.

Well it is diamond so scratching makes sense but I don't see how it will ever make a bit of difference because anywhere it scratches will only be seen when changing thermal compound or removing components for resale. I mean I guess it could impact the resale value if someone were super picky but you could always just offer them a free squirt of diamond thermal compound lol.

And obviously getting a better cooler is going to make more of a difference than a few degrees from thermal compound but as this wasn't a one or the other situation that doesn't have any impact. I mean obviously a better thermal compound and the same high end cooler is going to perform better than a mediocre thermal compound and a high end cooler so unless $18 bumps you down an entire cooling system somehow I don't see how it is a factor.

[Najuno]

Well it is diamond so scratching makes sense but I don't see how it will ever make a bit of difference because anywhere it scratches will only be seen when changing thermal compound or removing components for resale. I mean I guess it could impact the resale value if someone were super picky but you could always just offer them a free squirt of diamond thermal compound lol.

And obviously getting a better cooler is going to make more of a difference than a few degrees from thermal compound but as this wasn't a one or the other situation that doesn't have any impact. I mean obviously a better thermal compound and the same high end cooler is going to perform better than a mediocre thermal compound and a high end cooler so unless $18 bumps you down an entire cooling system somehow I don't see how it is a factor.

I´ve tried a lot and I use on my CPUs Artic Silver 5 because the OCing results were always very good and stable and I couldn´t see any difference with IC Diamond. I find IC a bit too stiff to apply and even harder to remove, but I do frequently change hardware and build computers for me or clients, so my situation is maybe different.

[Wolf_Lbh]

Week 5:
Monitor - Asus VG248QE
Video Input - Displayport 35ft cable
Gpu - GTX 980 Ti Hybrid
Ups - CyberPower Sinewave 900w



(I worked a LOT of overtime and got my refund for my 6700 cpu I sent back)

[Wolf_Lbh]

Just got notified about my monitor going off backorder! It should arrive Thursday which is also the eta of my graphics card although it hasn't shipped yet. So figure I'll probably have the build finished over the weekend.

I'm probably going to do some "extra credit" and get a second ssd and hd to run them both in raid 1. But I will just pop them in later and won't delay my build because I am super eager to get this thing done.

[FloRolf]

1080p monitor with a 980ti ;_;

[Wolf_Lbh]

1080p monitor with a 980ti ;_;

1080p 144hz monitor with nvidia vision... I mean g-sync.

1440p is bs because it only comes on devices with at least a 27" screen so you get 77% greater pixel density but it is spread out on an 80% bigger screen (compared to my 19" which I am used to) for... wait for it.... EXACTLY THE SAME RESOLUTION... OR WORSE.. and it only costs $500 more... yayyyyyy

If you are talking about 4k resolution then it is instantly a minimum size of 30 inches which is far too much screen to have 1.5 feet away from my face, the price tag (with g-sync) is going to be over a grand, and the fps is going to drop from 144 to 60 (at best).

Not to mention as an mmorpg player all my games are in 1080p anyways so I might as well go for the best fps I can with a smooth transition between frames and in a screen size I am comfortable with instead of a bigger screen with less fps because "omg more pixels more powaaaaaa". (Also considering how many more fps I'm getting I would actually be seeing more than 1440p and the same as a 4k monitor at 30hz, which a lot of them were)

[Najuno]

1080p 144hz monitor with nvidia vision... I mean g-sync.

1440p is bs because it only comes on devices with at least a 27" screen so you get 77% greater pixel density but it is spread out on an 80% bigger screen (compared to my 19" which I am used to) for... wait for it.... EXACTLY THE SAME RESOLUTION... OR WORSE.. and it only costs $500 more... yayyyyyy

If you are talking about 4k resolution then it is instantly a minimum size of 30 inches which is far too much screen to have 1.5 feet away from my face, the price tag (with g-sync) is going to be over a grand, and the fps is going to drop from 144 to 60 (at best).

Not to mention as an mmorpg player all my games are in 1080p anyways so I might as well go for the best fps I can with a smooth transition between frames and in a screen size I am comfortable with instead of a bigger screen with less fps because "omg more pixels more powaaaaaa". (Also considering how many more fps I'm getting I would actually be seeing more than 1440p and the same as a 4k monitor at 30hz, which a lot of them were)

This monitor has 144Hz but NO nVidia G-Sync. You should do proper research of the parts you buy or want to buy...

[Wolf_Lbh]

This monitor has 144Hz but NO nVidia G-Sync. You should do proper research of the parts you buy or want to buy...

It is not listed but you can use g-sync for it according to numerous reviews for it I read. Class dismissed.

[Najuno]

It is not listed but you can use g-sync for it according to numerous reviews for it I read. Class dismissed.

LOL G-Sync is a module within the monitor itself so you either have it or not... I can tell you this because I own a G-Sync monitor myself. So if you have no clue between Freesync and G-Sync don´t attack other people for your own ignorance.

[Wolf_Lbh]

LOL G-Sync is a module within the monitor itself so you either have it or not... I can tell you this because I own a G-Sync monitor myself. So if you have no clue between Freesync and G-Sync don´t attack other people for your own ignorance.

I didn't attack anyone. I simply educated you after you said I had not done proper research and criticized me (which by the way is awfully confrontational in case you were not intelligent enough to work that out).