Looks or Price

[giggles9944]

PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/Q75D

Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/Q75D/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/Q75D/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Newegg Canada)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($113.99 @ Canada Computers)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($60.99 @ Newegg Canada)

Storage: Western Digital RE4 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Canada Computers)

Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($319.99 @ Memory Express)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ NCIX)

Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Memory Express)

Optical Drive: Lite-On IHES312-98 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($69.99 @ Amazon Canada)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($104.99 @ Newegg Canada)

Total: $1194.90

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

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-11 23:51 EDT-0400)

So this is the build that I am planning on getting pretty soon here, and I showed to one of my friends, and he said I should go with different parts because they are too expensive, but I said I want my computer to look good, and he said that I won't even look at my computer components. But I want to know that my computer looks good, and be proud that I spent the time to pick out these parts to match, and I am also hoping to sleeve the cables. So should I ignore him or go with cheaper parts or what. Maybe someone can even tell me different parts that will go with my white theme. Thanks.

[iTonyy]

Before I even go into whether or not the visual aesthetics are worth it, there are some key issues that need to be addressed first

Your cpu cooler is being far outclassed by the other components, this is a very value orientated cooler for low budgets which means that overclocking performance would be minimal

If you were planning to overclock at all, I would definitely look to get a liquid cooler

I see you have opted not to get a ssd but instead get a sata 2 enterprise grade hhd which is fine but in terms of the overall performance, a ssd boot drive + a standard sata 3 hhd far outshines the reliability of an overly expensive slower enterprise drive.

Your psu is only semi-modular so you won't actually be able to sleeve all the cables, if you want a fully modular the ocz zt 650w is the cheapest and you can just cover it with white carbon vinyl to make it match

Unless you/your family are the type that actually goes out to buy blurays, I see absolutely no reason to get a bluray drive at such an absurd price

As for whether or not the aesthetics are worth it, it depends if the savings on just regular parts are significant enough to you. I would personally would just get the best possible system within budget and I will try to make things match but not to the meticulous extent you have gone to choose parts that only match but not perform as well as it could.

Also keep in mind that there is a glaring red stripe on the xfx 7950 which to me just ruins the card but that can be covered up easily with carbon vinyl however I would just opt for a 7970 instead and throw on carbon vinyl on the side and not be bothered by the plastic shroud as it will be upside down and barely visible anyways

Honestly I would just buy whatever is the cheapest/best performer and cover it all up with white vinyl so that it all matches in the end ( can do so with ssd, hhd, ram as well, though ram might be a bit difficult)

Oh and you would definitely want to get some lighting whether it be led fans/strips or cathodes, otherwise all that effort to make the theme will be pointless if everything is too dark to even see

[giggles9944]

Before I even go into whether or not the visual aesthetics are worth it, there are some key issues that need to be addressed first

Your cpu cooler is being far outclassed by the other components, this is a very value orientated cooler for low budgets which means that overclocking performance would be minimal

If you were planning to overclock at all, I would definitely look to get a liquid cooler

I see you have opted not to get a ssd but instead get a sata 2 enterprise grade hhd which is fine but in terms of the overall performance, a ssd boot drive + a standard sata 3 hhd far outshines the reliability of an overly expensive slower enterprise drive.

Your psu is only semi-modular so you won't actually be able to sleeve all the cables, if you want a fully modular the ocz zt 650w is the cheapest and you can just cover it with white carbon vinyl to make it match

Unless you/your family are the type that actually goes out to buy blurays, I see absolutely no reason to get a bluray drive at such an absurd price

As for whether or not the aesthetics are worth it, it depends if the savings on just regular parts are significant enough to you. I would personally would just get the best possible system within budget and I will try to make things match but not to the meticulous extent you have gone to choose parts that only match but not perform as well as it could.

Also keep in mind that there is a glaring red stripe on the xfx 7950 which to me just ruins the card but that can be covered up easily with carbon vinyl however I would just opt for a 7970 instead and throw on carbon vinyl on the side and not be bothered by the plastic shroud as it will be upside down and barely visible anyways

Honestly I would just buy whatever is the cheapest/best performer and cover it all up with white vinyl so that it all matches in the end ( can do so with ssd, hhd, ram as well, though ram might be a bit difficult)

Oh and you would definitely want to get some lighting whether it be led fans/strips or cathodes, otherwise all that effort to make the theme will be pointless if everything is too dark to even see

can you give me some suggestions? please

[Wats]

The XFX 7950 does have a some red on it, If you're going for a red accent then that's the card you want. Oh and it's loud once the fans get going fast.

Getting the perfect look is addictive, performance is too. You will not be able to save money on either once you're hooked.

I guess if you wanted I could help shave a couple dollars here and there while still maintaining the white theme.

[giggles9944]

PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/Q8QK Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/Q8QK/by_merchant/ Benchmarks: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/Q8QK/benchmarks/ CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Newegg Canada) CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Canada Computers) Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($77.99 @ Canada Computers) Memory: Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.99 @ Amazon Canada)

Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.98 @ NCIX) Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($94.99 @ DirectCanada) Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($409.99 @ Memory Express) Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ NCIX) Power Supply: OCZ ZT 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Memory Express) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($104.99 @ Newegg Canada) Total: $1326.89 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-12 02:20 EDT-0400)

Better??

[iTonyy]

PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/Q8QK Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/Q8QK/by_merchant/ Benchmarks: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/Q8QK/benchmarks/ CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Newegg Canada) CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Canada Computers) Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($77.99 @ Canada Computers) Memory: Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.99 @ Amazon Canada)

Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.98 @ NCIX) Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($94.99 @ DirectCanada) Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($409.99 @ Memory Express) Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ NCIX) Power Supply: OCZ ZT 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Memory Express) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($104.99 @ Newegg Canada) Total: $1326.89 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-12 02:20 EDT-0400)

Better??

Looks good but you might want to consider getting some better fans to go with your h100i as the stock fans are loud and inefficient.

Gentle Typhoon or Spectre pro pure white are some great white rad fans

And if you wanted to, you could also drop the hhd to 1TB to offset the price of the fans a bit

[Glenwing]

Just a note, the RE4 drives are enterprise drives designed to be deployed in large arrays. They can have issues running in normal desktop environments. I'd recommend switching to a WD Black or Seagate Barracuda.

[Hans Christian | Teri]

As for the RE4 drives Glenwing, I run 2x2TB RE4-GP drives in my main rig and they have performed flawlessly for the past year, no issues what so ever. When it comes to aesthetics though, this is a VERY personal thing! Personally it means the world to me, but not many of my friends share this point of view. It's really a thing where you have to agree with yourself that you want your computer to be pretty, and then not care about what your friends think. It's you that have to be happy with your PC, not them. ;)