My First Build: Phase 3 (Project Pig Lipstick)

[Stupidface]

Hello,

 

I have decided to take the computer that I built and have been upgrading over the last 15 months and finally try to make it look as good as it runs. I figured it might be a little different than the usual start-from-scratch process and since the first parts arrived today I figured now would be a good time to start.

 

In the title i call this phase 3. When I built it i needed a gaming rig, from scratch, and the parts were purchased on paydays mainly from weekly promos. Phase 1 was getting a rig up and running as quickly as i could while leaving room to upgrade. An i3 2120 and a HD6850 were a great place to start. Phase 2 was performance upgrades, sound and periphals. During phase 2 things grew increasingly messy inside my Rosewill Challenger case, but since the case looks like butt anyway I just kept cramming stuff in. I will try to get some shameful pictures of it up later today.

 

Anyways, a few weeks ago I saw the Corsair Air 540 case and wanted it immediately. Its design allows me to not worry about the crappy sleaving on my non-modular CX600 PSU just by getting some cable extensions. Fan cable extensions and leds are on their way as well. I'll have plenty of room to hide all the stuff no one should see.

 

Current Specs (only case is changing):

i5 2500k @4.2

Gigabyte z68x-ud3h-b3

8GB G-Skill 1866 (doesnt fit black color scheme and will have to be changed. ram costs more now than when i bought it)

3GB EVGA 660ti SC+

Asus Xonar DX

CM Hyper 212 Evo

Kingston HyperX 3k 240GB SSD

Corsair CX600

Corsair SP2500 speakers

Corsair Vengeance 1300 headset

 

Pre-op pics coming shortly. Case should be in tomorrow, cables early next week.

[Stupidface]

Time to post a few pics since the case arrived. Apologies for the quality of the pictures. I dont know a lot about photos and i am using my HTC One.

 

Here is my current set up

 

the evil blue led swastika doesnt show very well in pictures

 

and of course the terrible secret hidden inside

 

new case arrived so cats are pleased

 

front

 

show side

 

cant tell from this crappy picture but the business side has tons of room for cables

 

not the best start however

 

also, anyone have something similar they bust out whenever its time to work on their pc? (mine is mobo box)

 

Just waiting on some cables, leds and new fan for my heatsink to put this together. Will update as i go.

[Homicidium]

Looks good so far!

[Nicktrance]

Pig Lipstick??

[Dacho]

Be gentle

[alepodj]

 

also, anyone have something similar they bust out whenever its time to work on their pc? (mine is mobo box)

 

Cool stuff buddy,,,  :rolleyes:

yeah man i have a logitech z506 box that i use to store cables, fans and junk,,, its what i bust out when ever i build,need,mod etc 

 

Love the case you can get really creative with it,,,

[Stupidface]

Pig Lipstick??

 

Its from the saying "you can put lipstick on a pig...."  because I'm just doing cosmetic changes. Will still be the same old beast on the inside.

 

Build starts soon, will have pics tonight if everything goes well. I will be painting the front and top grill sometime next week as well since i saw it in a few other threads and it looks great.

[alepodj]

 I will be painting the front and top grill sometime next week as well since i saw it in a few other threads and it looks great.

U should definatily do that it looks very cool, ive seen pink and myself have it red,, maybe blue?

 

See my build for the red version of it

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/49441-blood-red-rog-wc/

[theABCshop]

Good luck man! I'm glad to see more 540 builds coming up!

[Stupidface]

Had a few minor set backs during the transplant as well as getting into the Hearthstone beta so i havnt gotten around to posting any updates.

 

The USB 3.0 cable on the 540 is simply too short. Whatever board they tested in this case must have had the header near the 24 pin cause thats the only place that sucker would reach. Very disapointing. Also I apparently ordered an 8-pin pci power cable extension instead of the 8-pin mobo cable. Dont order parts at 3am. Might leave this one alone since cable has such a short run and is braided slightly better than the other cables. Painting the mesh was easy and makes a big improvement to the looks of the case. Nice of Corsair to make it so easy to remove and replace.

 

LEDs came with terrible molex pass-through connectors so i ended up putting them on the back edges of the case to make hiding the cables easier. They are over-powering right now but i have a pair of AF-140s on the way to put in the top and block the direct light.

 

I have been looking for some white ram sticks but all I've found were some over-priced Corsair low profile kits. For 10 bucks more i could get a black 16GB kit..... Will have to make a decision soon, this red kit is killing me. Painting the heat spreaders is still an option.

 

I will get a better view once the fans are in to cut down on glare

 

Painted grill

 

Best way to silence your PC is to put a fridge next to it...

 

And one more from the top

[Stupidface]

I realized the LEDs were ruining the pictures so I took a few shots with them off.

 

 

 

[Dacho]

Looks great. White lights are cool

[middleclasspoor]

Nice bong.