First Build; No Budget

[JLCitadel]

PROJECT ATLAS

Alright boys, this project is going to be a beast. I'm still working out what parts and such, I'll be making changes accordingly, my first purchase set of parts will be around middle November.I'll be using this computer for the following:

 

Gaming Video/Photo Editing School Bench-Marking Overclocking Database Editing & ( Most Importantly) To Seduce Woman.

 

I'll be updating the build log daily until I get my final setup configured, any suggestions are welcome! Try and keep the criticism constructive as well. If anyone would like help configuring a build of their own I'd be glad to oblige just shoot me a message, I love doing this and it's great fun for me. 

 

I'll be filming a very well thought out informative unboxing, assembly, and testing video log. I will do my absolute best to make each unboxing short to the point and informative. Aiming for around two minutes max for each unboxing. The video log, and build log, will also include cheaper alternatives to reach a similar high performance build.

 

Build Log Change #1 Date: 9/6/13

What changed? I've officially decided to wait until the new haswell relaunch, ddr4 memory, new motherboards, and new 800 series gpus, come out next year during Q1, now don't get me wrong, I'll most definitely be getting parts this November, and reviewing them all, stating why I got what I got, and some alternatives. Other 'big' changes, were figuring out how exactly the whole, res, pump, pumptop, fittings, and tubing setup worked out. I learned that the threading is 1/4in while the inner diamater and outer diamater are 3/8th and 5/8th, which makes adding a pump top to a pump, cheap, effective, and stylish. This avoids leaks and ghetto zipties around your pump! Now for those reading this, make sure your tubing and fittings match up with the id and od, and I recommend compression fittings not barb fittings. Side note, I found a good cpu fan controller, and a splitter, so I could connect 3-5 fans to each splitter, and organize my fan controller based on which fans are part of which radiator. I also found an extension cable and decided to go with cathodes instead of LEDs, the reason for this would be my wanting to get a bright lit up case, & mount them around the window of my 900D. I hope you'll check back in daily for more updates and reasoning, if anyone has a question behind my parts or a suggestion for different ones let me know!

 

Monitor

LG 29EA93-P 29" 5ms HDMI 21:9 UltraWide LED LCD Monitor, IPS Panel 300 cd/m2 5,000,000:1

(New Egg, 609$)

 

Keyboard

Ducky Shine 3

(Tigerimports 140$)

 

Case

Corsair Obsidian 900D 

(Micro Center 300$)

 

Hard Drive

Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200Rpm

(New Egg 99$)

 

Solid State Drive

Samsung MZ-7TD120BW 120GB

(NCIX 93$)

 

Optical Drive

ASUS 24X DVD Burner

(New Egg 20$)

 

Card Reader

Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1

(New Egg 10$)

 

Powersupply

Sea Sonic SS-760XP2

(New Egg 120$)

 

Case Fans

Corsair Air Series SP120 PWM Quiet Edition High Static Pressure Fan (Twin Pack) x 2

(New Egg, 56$)

 

Total : 1395$

 

CPU 300

GPU 400 (x2 maybe, depends on performance benefits from the SLI)

RAM 130

Motherboard 270

 

Total : 1400$ (This is based on the releases next quarter and price guesses on the parts!)

 

Distilled Water

Alphacool Ultra Pure Water - 1000ML

Frozen Cpu 12$

 

Coolant

Mayhems - Ice White (250 ml) x 2

Xoxide 36$

 

Nozzle

Koolance Compression 3/8in x 5/8in x (25)

Koolance 150$

 

Tubing

Primo Flex - Adv. Clear 3/8in x5/8in 10Ft

Amazon 26$

 

Lighting

Dual White Cold Cathode Kit x 2

Xoxide 16$

 

Reservoir

Phobya Black Matte 250

(Performance-pcs 37$)

 

Pump

Swiftech MCP655

(Swiftech 109$)

 

Cpu Block

XSPC RayStorm High Performance Acetal

(Frozen Cpu 63$)

 

Memory Block

RAM 33 Water Block x 2

(Koolance 70$)

 

Radiator

480mm x 2 (180$)

360mm x 1 (75$)

240mm x 1 (75$)

120mm x 1 (45$)

(Aquatuning 375$)

 

Case Fans

Corsair Air Series SP120 PWM Quiet Edition (Twin Pack) x 6

(New Egg, 168$)

 

Fan Controller

Lamptron 30W - 4 Channel Aluminum Rheobus w/ Multi Color LED - V2

(Frozen Cpu 75$)

 

Splitter

Akasa Flexa PWM 5-Way Splitter x3

(Frozen Cpu 30$)

 

Extender

Cold Cathode Extension Cable - 12" x 4

(Frozen Cpu 5$)

 

Pump 

TopBitspower D5 / MCP655 Pump Mod Kit - Chrome (BP-D5MA-SL2)

(Forzen CPU 50$)

 

Total: 1222$

 

GPU (If not already Sli) 400

RAM AGAIN (2 more 8gb) 130

TWO GPU BLOCKS 260

TWO RAM BLOCKS 140

MORE Compression NOZZELS 60

 

Total 990$

 

Grand Total: 4607$! As of 9/6/13

 

Now if you're some what confused on how I'm doing this build let me explain:

The first "total" will be purchased during November, I will be doing an overview, and installation of these parts.

The second "total" will be when the new cpu gpu ram and motherboards are released in quarter one next year (jan - april) [OPERATIONAL]

The third "total" is the water cooling system, which I will be installing BEFORE june of next year, hopefully a month after the second total.

The fourth and final "total" will be purchased whenever I feel like my computer isn't preforming at a top of the line area any more, and I will add in the necessary parts, then overclock my gpu and ram to add to it.

 

A possibility is going to be overclocking my SSD based on the technology in development by Intel, now if it's secure and I can do my cache windows file to increase boot speed, and do an overclocked raid 0 setup, that'd be fantastic. We'll see how this tech developes and that'll determine where I go from there.

 

I will also be doing a custom paint setup on my 900D, which will have the name and image of the monster setup.

Any questions, suggestions, ideas LET ME KNOW! Hope you had a good time reading this, I'll try and add information where possible to parts. & I will start filming around November (two months away? Crazy right?) I'll still be updating the build daily with changes or information I find!

 

New idea recently came to mind of building my own custom case, only problem is, I don't have the tools or connections to do it, so if anyone knows a way I can go about this. Give me a heads up! I live in NYC (adding this to my profile actually)

[WoodenMarker]

What's the system for?

Might wanna use pcpartpicker: http://pcpartpicker.com/

Much neater.

[DirkaFat]

No budget? 0_o

[Wauthar]

When I first saw the title, I thought that it would be a build of someone with no money for some reason

I was pleasantly surprised, it looks awesome!

[squirrl]

I'd probably swap out the cathodes for LED's. They look better and you dont need an annoying converter block around.

[JLCitadel]

What's the system for?

Might wanna use pcpartpicker: http://pcpartpicker.com/

Much neater.

Gaming, Benchmarking (overclocking), Video Editing, School, Daily Use, & Future Proof.

I used pcpartpicker, but it's a pain in the ass to custom add a water system. I just write it all down in notepad.

 

No budget? 0_o

Not a real budget, but not going to build something completely unreasonable.

 

When I first saw the title, I thought that it would be a build of someone with no money for some reason

I was pleasantly surprised, it looks awesome!

Thanks, and anyone with recommendations or changes to the build, where I'm wasting money, or could put more money into something, is very welcome.

[JLCitadel]

I'd probably swap out the cathodes for LED's. They look better and you dont need an annoying converter block around.

I was under the impression LED's were a lot less reliable, if that's not the case then what brand should I go with?

[WoodenMarker]

Gaming, Benchmarking (overclocking), Video Editing, School, Daily Use, & Future Proof.

I used pcpartpicker, but it's a pain in the ass to custom add a water system. I just write it all down in notepad.

You could just use pcpartpicker for the non-custom stuff so it's easier not to get lost in the large wall of text. 

What kind of video editing are you doing? Types of videos? Programs you are using?

I was under the impression LED's were a lot less reliable, if that's not the case then what brand should I go with?

LED's are good. Bitfenix Alchemy is good.

[MekaMain]

Asus Raidr Express FTW

[JLCitadel]

You could just use pcpartpicker for the non-custom stuff so it's easier not to get lost in the large wall of text. 

What kind of video editing are you doing? Types of videos? Programs you are using?

LED's are good. Bitfenix Alchemy is good.

 

I used pcpartpicker to find most of the parts, I just choose to keep it in a notepad with my watercooling setup, I spaced everything out well so it works for personal use. Video editing, game recordings, regular film of things, possibly a build log video, hopefully I can get into something similar like Linus. It's my number one hobby it's fun and I love it. The LED's look like they have inconsistent lighting and are almost more expensive.

[squirrl]

LED's are really coming in as a replacement for cold cathodes. (Think tv and monitor backlights, and now a lot of builds have them in place of where they would have had cathodes 4 years ago) I've never seen any inconsistency with them and they use a lot less power and are easier to route around the case.

[Eddprzz]

Monitor

X-STAR DP2710LED 27" 2560x1440 Samsung PLS Panel

(Amazon, 279$)

Keyboard

Logitech G150s

(Logitech 120$)

Case

Corsair Obsidian 900D

(NCIX 329$)

CPU

Intel i4770k

(NCIX 280$)

GPU

EVGA GeForce GTX 770 x 2

(New Egg 800$)

RAM

Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR3 1600 4x8 GB

(New Egg 306$)

Motherboard

Sabertooth Z87 Extreme

(New Egg 280$)

Hard Drive

Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200Rpm

(New Egg 99$)

Solid State Drive

Samsung MZ-7TD120BW 120GB

(NCIX 93$)

Optical Drive

ASUS 24X DVD Burner

(New Egg 20$)

Card Reader

Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1

(New Egg 10$)

Powersupply

Sea Sonic SS-760XP2

(New Egg 120$)

Coolant

Mayhems - Ice White (250 ml) x 2

Xoxide 36$

Nozzle

Koolance Compression 3/8in x 5/8in x (25)

Koolance 150$

Tubing

Primo Flex - Adv. Clear 3/8in x5/8in 10Ft

Amazon 26$

Lighting

Dual White Cold Cathode Kit x 2

Xoxide 16$

Reservoir

Phobya Black Matte 250

(Performance-pcs 37$)

Pump

Swiftech MCP655

(Swiftech 109$)

Cpu Block

380i Processor Block

(Koolance 80$)

Memory Block

RAM 33 Water Block x 4

(Koolance 140$)

GPU Block x 2

Nvidia GTX 770

Koolance 260$

Radiator

480mm x 2 (180$)

360mm x 1 (75$)

240mm x 1 (75$)

120mm x 1 (45$)

Aquatuning 375$

Case Fans

Corsair Air Series SP120 PWM Quiet Edition High Static Pressure Fan (Twin Pack) x 7

(New Egg, 196$)

Corsair Air Series SP120 PWM QEHSPF (Single)

(New Egg, 15$)

Fan Controller

NZXT SEN-001LX Sentry LX Aluminum dual bay fan controller

(New Egg 48$)

Pump Top

40$

Here's my build, any recommendations you can make are welcome. I'm still not sure about the monitor setup I'd like.

I wudd tell u go noctua fans rather than corsair and pick an ek reservoir I prefer them over phobya tats it

[JLCitadel]

LED's are really coming in as a replacement for cold cathodes. (Think tv and monitor backlights, and now a lot of builds have them in place of where they would have had cathodes 4 years ago) I've never seen any inconsistency with them and they use a lot less power and are easier to route around the case.

I planned on bolting to them to the side right of the edge before the display on the side of my case.

speakin of monitors, i've heard about QXT, any reccomendations ?

[JLCitadel]

I wudd tell u go noctua fans rather than corsair and pick an ek reservoir I prefer them over phobya tats it

 

I need static pressure fans for the radiators, and noctua's are ugly as hell. Idc how good they are, and I'm not custom painting fans.

[WoodenMarker]

Platinums are a waste of money. Ram is ram and brand doesn't matter. Any CL9 1600 ram will work just fine.

The sabertooth is also an overly expensive mobo. A UD3H or UD4H will work fine.

I'm not sure about the keyboard though--not that it's bad but that I'd get a G710+ instead.

What's your current mouse?

I used pcpartpicker to find most of the parts, I just choose to keep it in a notepad with my watercooling setup, I spaced everything out well so it works for personal use. Video editing, game recordings, regular film of things, possibly a build log video, hopefully I can get into something similar like Linus. It's my number one hobby it's fun and I love it. The LED's look like they have inconsistent lighting and are almost more expensive.

I still don't know what programs you're using.

A 7970 CF, 7990, or single 780 would be better for 1440p unless you want to get 770 4GB's.

[JLCitadel]

Platinums are a waste of money. Ram is ram and brand doesn't matter. Any CL9 1600 ram will work just fine.

The sabertooth is also an overly expensive mobo. A UD3H or UD4H will work fine.

I'm not sure about the keyboard though--not that it's bad but that I'd get a G710+ instead.

What's your current mouse?

I still don't know what programs you're using.

A 7970 CF, 7990, or single 780 would be better for 1440p unless you want to get 770 4GB's.

editing isnt a giant deal, im more looking for a monitor with great color quality and around 2ms the gpu will be fine and yes 4gb

[WoodenMarker]

editing isnt a giant deal, im more looking for a monitor with great color quality and around 2ms the gpu will be fine and yes 4gb

Latency doesn't really matter. Anything under 10-15ms is fine.

[JLCitadel]

Latency doesn't really matter. Anything under 10-15ms is fine.

 

I'm bigger on gaming than anything else, and a latency that high just won't do, it'd drive me nuts if I don't have the right monitor.

[WoodenMarker]

I'm bigger on gaming than anything else, and a latency that high just won't do, it'd drive me nuts if I don't have the right monitor.

You wouldn't really notice.

If you're a competitive gamer, what you want is a higher frequency like 120/144 hz.

[Nerykrugeer]

I think the 360 rad will not fit, unless you do some mods on the front panel, I think Linus did a video on putting the 360 rad. and maybe fans get the Scythe Gentle Typhoon instead of corsair ( I hear they are good)

 

[Saladin]

i second the recomendation for Noctua fans. add a second ssd and run them in RAID 0 (or 3 more and run them in RAID 10). add a second 2TB drive for back up, waterblock on the memory is a waste of time/money, its just epeen. that many rads is just overkill, you have way more than enough overhead. just my 2 cents. good luck on the build.

[Jumper118]

LOL no budget and not going x79 with 3 titans and a 4k monitor.

[JLCitadel]

You wouldn't really notice.

If you're a competitive gamer, what you want is a higher frequency like 120/144 hz.

I'm going for 120hz 2ms 250-300cd/m^2 high contrast ratio led backlit 23-27 inches

 

 

I think the 360 rad will not fit, unless you do some mods on the front panel, I think Linus did a video on putting the 360 rad. and maybe fans get the Scythe Gentle Typhoon instead of corsair ( I hear they are good)

 

 

you don't think the 360 rad will fit in the front of a 900D? I've seen one there, but i could be wrong

[JLCitadel]

LOL no budget and not going x79 with 3 titans and a 4k monitor.

Just because I have no budget, doesn't mean I'm going to piss money away on dimishing returns where I won't be able to tell the difference, or a tiny increase in performance for benchmarking. There's a difference between having no budget, and pissing money in the toilet. As for the x79, I assume you're referring to a motherboard? I'm still brand new to computer building, so I'm not sure what this is referring to but I'll look into it.

 

i second the recomendation for Noctua fans. add a second ssd and run them in RAID 0 (or 3 more and run them in RAID 10). add a second 2TB drive for back up, waterblock on the memory is a waste of time/money, its just epeen. that many rads is just overkill, you have way more than enough overhead. just my 2 cents. good luck on the build.

I see Linus swear by them, and I'd use them, as for the SSD's that's not necessary. I figured it would be, so I will definitely take those out. How many rads do you think is enough?

I'm not looking for a insanely overkill build, that pisses money away. I'm looking to build one that will last, for a smart reasonable price. I'm looking for quality products with longevity in the operating, and future proof as well. Now I'm certainly aware that Gpu & Cpus get outclassed very quickly, but it's not a big deal to replace those, 1200$ every couple of years.

[Jumper118]

Just because I have no budget, doesn't mean I'm going to piss money away on dimishing returns where I won't be able to tell the difference, or a tiny increase in performance for benchmarking. There's a difference between having no budget, and pissing money in the toilet. As for the x79, I assume you're referring to a motherboard? I'm still brand new to computer building, so I'm not sure what this is referring to but I'll look into it.

 

I see Linus swear by them, and I'd use them, as for the SSD's that's not necessary. I figured it would be, so I will definitely take those out. How many rads do you think is enough?

I'm not looking for a insanely overkill build, that pisses money away. I'm looking to build one that will last, for a smart reasonable price. I'm looking for quality products with longevity in the operating, and future proof as well. Now I'm certainly aware that Gpu & Cpus get outclassed very quickly, but it's not a big deal to replace those, 1200$ every couple of years.

3 titans would be much much faster than 2 770's in benchmarks but maybe not games.