Hello everyone!
This is me documenting my first own full PC build. So I've been into computers for quite a while, I got my first PC when I was three and it's been love, hate, joy and tears ever since. After some cheap laptops I had during elementary and middle school and an AMD Phenom-based Acer Predator until the Fall of 2012 that was practically indistinct from a jet taking off, I started looking into custom building but I was very apprehensive about the whole deal and was eventually too scared to go through with it and opted for a custom built PC that you can see in my sig until this day(in case it isn't there, 3770K, 7970 GHz, Z77, no SSD, 500W, WD Green). Now this will change.
Just about two months ago I started looking into doing a PC build. It began when I thought about building a sleeper PC into a W98 running Dell Dimension XPS D300. After some research I concluded that it would be too challenging as a first build and I should rather make something in a modern case that's easy to build in. The sleeper PC idea is just on hold for now, I might eventually get around to doing that, too. Then I started to look into building a new gaming rig to replace my current one. I was originally going for a GTX 970 with a 4790K(this was about two weeks before Skylake's release). After managing to research a whole rig I read on a single line in a TechPowerup article that Intel's got a whole new CPU architecture coming out. Full stop. I had to writhe in my PC fever for two whole weeks doing nothing, just waiting for Skylake and Z170. I didn't want to go all out on a rig just to have the hardware be old the moment it's complete. I was also able to convince my friend to buy my old PC at a good price so I can go all out with the budget on a clear conscience.
Why didn't I just upgrade my old PC? I mean it's not like it's a prebuilt or anything! Well, firstly, I have upgraded it. It originally had a 7870, which I sold and replaced with a 7970 GHz Edition. There is potential, too. The 3770K as a CPU and Z77 as a platform are no slouches. The thing is, the way the custom built PC is put together, it makes upgrades just so... frustrating. It has a non-modular Antec EarthWatts 500W and I'd need to tear everything out to replace it, the Sonata III, while it was a great case back in the day, now has just dreadful airflow for today's standards. Changing the system drive to an SSD... I despise reinstalling Windows. All of the upgrades available are just so labour-intensive that I couldn't be bothered with it. If I had to go through that much work I'd want it to be for a whole new PC that wouldn't be such a pain in the arse to upgrade.
The Parts
Here I'll list my parts and explain why and how I got them.
CPU:
I wanted the best unlocked CPU from the new architecture, so here we are. Funnily enough the oh-so-scarce Skylake was one of the earliest parts to arrive.
Intel Core i7 6700K
![hKG4Ofcl.jpg]()
GPU:
I'm not entirely sure how the original 970 turned into a 980 Ti... I think it was some type of a chain of "If I pay just X more I get Y more performance!" - situations. Ah well. At least I'll have a great graphics card! It's also my first dedicated nVidia graphics card, I used to be a bit of an AMD fanboy. Now I just buy whatever's the best performance. The MSI version is my favourite 980 Ti card.
MSI GTX 980 Ti Gaming 6G
![BxE84Ykl.jpg]()
Motherboard:
Now just to be clear, I don't need this board. I could have gotten a waay simpler Z170 motherboard. But when I saw it, I had to have it. It is just gorgeous. So gorgeous that I waited for over half a month in queue at a German hardware store just to get it. But, boy is she pretty!
MSI Z170A XPower Gaming Titanium Edition
![TGhdL9Il.jpg]()
RAM:
My original Devil's Canyon build was supposed to have white HyperX Fury DDR3. I like the way they look and Kingston is a trustworthy memory brand so I got HyperX Fury DDR4 for my Skylake. I just wish I could've gotten it in white too. I got 16GB because it's more than I'll ever need. Also got the 16GB kit for the low low price of 150€.
16GB Kingston HyperX Fury DDR4 2133MHz
![IzO1vXxl.jpg]()
PSU:
Well it's a good power supply. And 850 watts for a potential second 980 Ti. I do know it's not the best choice as far as price-to-performance goes, but Finland doesn't exactly have a massive PC component market and popular stuff like EVGA G2's, SF Leadex's, Seasonics, they can get hard to find.
Corsair RM850i
![81y9glMl.jpg]()
SSD:
Now my old PC doesn't have an SSD. It's running completely off a 1TB WD Green drive. I never upgraded because... well, the way my old custom built PC is put together, all of the stuff you need to do to upgrade is just... frustrating. But now I'll have a 500GB SSD with OS and programs and I too can experience the snappy bliss that is an SSD system drive! Why this SSD? Well, it had decent benchmarks, a good reputation and a juicy price so I went for it. Also the 500GB drive had a better price per gig than the 240GB one so I saw no reason to get the smaller drive.
500GB Samsung 850 Evo
![oWNOH1Gl.jpg]()
HDD:
I trust WD with my HDD's and I needed a big ol' disc to dump all my junk in. I also wanted a faster drive than my current almost full 1TB WD Green. So, here we go.
Western Digital 2TB Black
Case:
Oh man, this was a pain. Now, you see, I like white. It's just about my favourite colour. And black PC's are a dime a dozen these days. So of course, I wanted a white case. With the amount I'm paying for cosmetically appealing components, I also wanted a window. I decided to get a Fractal Design Define R5 in white with a window. But it was gone from all stores here. One store did however claim to have five coming soon(in 3 days when I ordered 10th August). Guess the boat got lost at the high seas since those five are still "on the way" almost a month later. So even though I opted for the R5 I decided to get my second pick, the NZXT H440 in white. Cancelled my order and ordered an H440(also nowhere to be found in Finland in white) from Amazon UK that takes almost two bloody weeks to deliver. Well, today is the 4th of September and it's supposed to be here today, the last piece of the puzzle. Fingers crossed.
NZXT H440 White
(No picture yet)
Cooling:
For the CPU I decided to get a be quiet! Pure Rock because CM 212's are soo mainstream. And it's a great cooler for little money and all that. I'm also a bit scared of watercooling. I got a tube of Gelid GC-Extreme which is supposed to be just about the best paste in the west(teehee). For the case and also the CPU cooler I've got a bunch of red LED Corsair SP120's and one AF140 for the rear. I also have two SP140's that I got for the apparently sunken R5(moment of silence, please). I guess they can go to a possible future rad for watercooling(I shall conquer my fears). And Corsairs because, oooh shiny LEDs.
![IJECzUHl.jpg]()
I think that concludes my ramblings. The next post(s?) will contain the build itself and more pictures. Later I might add benchmarks and some overclocking results. My monitor is a crummy cheap TN 24" BenQ at 1080p that has miraculously survived without any problems for over five years so I'll be updating that soon too. I've got my eye on the Asus PG279Q.
If you've read through that whole thing(and even if you didn't), thank you, I hope you enjoy.
This is me documenting my first own full PC build. So I've been into computers for quite a while, I got my first PC when I was three and it's been love, hate, joy and tears ever since. After some cheap laptops I had during elementary and middle school and an AMD Phenom-based Acer Predator until the Fall of 2012 that was practically indistinct from a jet taking off, I started looking into custom building but I was very apprehensive about the whole deal and was eventually too scared to go through with it and opted for a custom built PC that you can see in my sig until this day(in case it isn't there, 3770K, 7970 GHz, Z77, no SSD, 500W, WD Green). Now this will change.
Just about two months ago I started looking into doing a PC build. It began when I thought about building a sleeper PC into a W98 running Dell Dimension XPS D300. After some research I concluded that it would be too challenging as a first build and I should rather make something in a modern case that's easy to build in. The sleeper PC idea is just on hold for now, I might eventually get around to doing that, too. Then I started to look into building a new gaming rig to replace my current one. I was originally going for a GTX 970 with a 4790K(this was about two weeks before Skylake's release). After managing to research a whole rig I read on a single line in a TechPowerup article that Intel's got a whole new CPU architecture coming out. Full stop. I had to writhe in my PC fever for two whole weeks doing nothing, just waiting for Skylake and Z170. I didn't want to go all out on a rig just to have the hardware be old the moment it's complete. I was also able to convince my friend to buy my old PC at a good price so I can go all out with the budget on a clear conscience.
Why didn't I just upgrade my old PC? I mean it's not like it's a prebuilt or anything! Well, firstly, I have upgraded it. It originally had a 7870, which I sold and replaced with a 7970 GHz Edition. There is potential, too. The 3770K as a CPU and Z77 as a platform are no slouches. The thing is, the way the custom built PC is put together, it makes upgrades just so... frustrating. It has a non-modular Antec EarthWatts 500W and I'd need to tear everything out to replace it, the Sonata III, while it was a great case back in the day, now has just dreadful airflow for today's standards. Changing the system drive to an SSD... I despise reinstalling Windows. All of the upgrades available are just so labour-intensive that I couldn't be bothered with it. If I had to go through that much work I'd want it to be for a whole new PC that wouldn't be such a pain in the arse to upgrade.
The Parts
Here I'll list my parts and explain why and how I got them.
CPU:
I wanted the best unlocked CPU from the new architecture, so here we are. Funnily enough the oh-so-scarce Skylake was one of the earliest parts to arrive.
Intel Core i7 6700K
GPU:
I'm not entirely sure how the original 970 turned into a 980 Ti... I think it was some type of a chain of "If I pay just X more I get Y more performance!" - situations. Ah well. At least I'll have a great graphics card! It's also my first dedicated nVidia graphics card, I used to be a bit of an AMD fanboy. Now I just buy whatever's the best performance. The MSI version is my favourite 980 Ti card.
MSI GTX 980 Ti Gaming 6G
Motherboard:
Now just to be clear, I don't need this board. I could have gotten a waay simpler Z170 motherboard. But when I saw it, I had to have it. It is just gorgeous. So gorgeous that I waited for over half a month in queue at a German hardware store just to get it. But, boy is she pretty!
MSI Z170A XPower Gaming Titanium Edition
RAM:
My original Devil's Canyon build was supposed to have white HyperX Fury DDR3. I like the way they look and Kingston is a trustworthy memory brand so I got HyperX Fury DDR4 for my Skylake. I just wish I could've gotten it in white too. I got 16GB because it's more than I'll ever need. Also got the 16GB kit for the low low price of 150€.
16GB Kingston HyperX Fury DDR4 2133MHz
PSU:
Well it's a good power supply. And 850 watts for a potential second 980 Ti. I do know it's not the best choice as far as price-to-performance goes, but Finland doesn't exactly have a massive PC component market and popular stuff like EVGA G2's, SF Leadex's, Seasonics, they can get hard to find.
Corsair RM850i
SSD:
Now my old PC doesn't have an SSD. It's running completely off a 1TB WD Green drive. I never upgraded because... well, the way my old custom built PC is put together, all of the stuff you need to do to upgrade is just... frustrating. But now I'll have a 500GB SSD with OS and programs and I too can experience the snappy bliss that is an SSD system drive! Why this SSD? Well, it had decent benchmarks, a good reputation and a juicy price so I went for it. Also the 500GB drive had a better price per gig than the 240GB one so I saw no reason to get the smaller drive.
500GB Samsung 850 Evo
HDD:
I trust WD with my HDD's and I needed a big ol' disc to dump all my junk in. I also wanted a faster drive than my current almost full 1TB WD Green. So, here we go.
Western Digital 2TB Black
Case:
Oh man, this was a pain. Now, you see, I like white. It's just about my favourite colour. And black PC's are a dime a dozen these days. So of course, I wanted a white case. With the amount I'm paying for cosmetically appealing components, I also wanted a window. I decided to get a Fractal Design Define R5 in white with a window. But it was gone from all stores here. One store did however claim to have five coming soon(in 3 days when I ordered 10th August). Guess the boat got lost at the high seas since those five are still "on the way" almost a month later. So even though I opted for the R5 I decided to get my second pick, the NZXT H440 in white. Cancelled my order and ordered an H440(also nowhere to be found in Finland in white) from Amazon UK that takes almost two bloody weeks to deliver. Well, today is the 4th of September and it's supposed to be here today, the last piece of the puzzle. Fingers crossed.
NZXT H440 White
(No picture yet)
Cooling:
For the CPU I decided to get a be quiet! Pure Rock because CM 212's are soo mainstream. And it's a great cooler for little money and all that. I'm also a bit scared of watercooling. I got a tube of Gelid GC-Extreme which is supposed to be just about the best paste in the west(teehee). For the case and also the CPU cooler I've got a bunch of red LED Corsair SP120's and one AF140 for the rear. I also have two SP140's that I got for the apparently sunken R5(moment of silence, please). I guess they can go to a possible future rad for watercooling(I shall conquer my fears). And Corsairs because, oooh shiny LEDs.
I think that concludes my ramblings. The next post(s?) will contain the build itself and more pictures. Later I might add benchmarks and some overclocking results. My monitor is a crummy cheap TN 24" BenQ at 1080p that has miraculously survived without any problems for over five years so I'll be updating that soon too. I've got my eye on the Asus PG279Q.
If you've read through that whole thing(and even if you didn't), thank you, I hope you enjoy.