Project Red Arctic
by steven johnson (@techjohnson)
Who am I?
What's going on, everyone? My name is Steven Johnson and I'm 23 years old living in New Jersey. By day, I'm a freelance graphic designer. By night, I'm a YouTuber and Twitch streamer. I love producing content, whether it be in video form, graphic form or photography.
Why I'm Building?
A few years back, I was into building custom computers. All that changed when I found myself in the graphic design world and became engulfed with the "Mac is better" mentality. At the time, sure, Apple computers had an awesome lead, but there were still advantages to both sides. Specifically, graphic design software.
Long story short, now that I look at the potential of custom computer building, I'm finding myself more and more intrigued. I'm noticing that the money I spent on my $3,000 MacBook Pro, I could have built a godly computer that not only destroys the MacBook Pro in all aspects of performance, but also allows me to customize the rig to my personal liking. I don't know about you, but that seems like a win, win!
This computer will not only be used as my daily browsing computer, it will also be the main machine that operates my freelance business, YouTube and Twitch hobby, as well as my money pit (let's be honest).
Is there a theme?
Of course, it'll be the RED ARCTIC! Ok, jokes aside, I'm going for a high-quality white on white build with a hint of red - specifically in the custom watercooling I'll be doing down the line. Essentially, I want white to be the main color and have your eyes be drawn to a deep red in the custom loops. To take it a step further, the waterblocks will be a clear frost, making it have that arctic, cool feel.
Main Components
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 w/ White Window (sponsored by Fractal Design, in transit)
CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz (awaiting)
MB: ASUS X99-PRO (awaiting)
PSU: Fractal Design Newton R3 1000w in White (awaiting)
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 x2 [SLI] (awaiting)
RAM: 16GB Corsair DDR4 RAM (awaiting)
SSD: Crucial MX100 256GB x2 (awaiting)
HDD: Western Digital Black Series 1TB 7200RPM x3 (awaiting)
Water Cooling Components
Undecided on all components. Must do some research before making this dive. Might start with the Corsair H100i while I gather all the components needed for the custom loop. All recommendations and knowledge would be greatly appreciated. Main requirement, frost water blocks for CPU and Graphic Cards.
Miscellaneous Components
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 w/ Cherry MX Red Switch and Red LEDs (acquired)
Mouse: Corsair Gaming M65 RGB (acquired)
Fans: Undecided - all recommendations would be greatly appreciated
LED Strips: Undecided - all recommendations would be greatly appreciated
Cables: Undecided - all recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Prefer white, white/red, white/gray cables.
Please note, this list may change. Not all components are set in stone - at least the ones that haven't been purchased. If you have any recommendations on hardware that will make this better, I am all ears!
Current Sponsors:
I'm so excited to start buying all the parts needed for this build, as well as document the build process. I've never formally done a build log, especially one this major. I'll be sure to create videos and include as many pictures as possible. I'm a huge fan of seeing pictures, so I'm sure you are too.
Pictures coming soon...