Scorptec Christmas PC Giveaway Comp - You Create. We Build. You Win.

This would primarily be a rig sitting in my living room with a few of my own storage drives in it and acting as a storage rig and something I can play games on through Steam' Big Picture mode. I wanted something quite small that packed a hell of a punch.

CPU: Was going to go for a flat 4670 but decided to go with the k, as I want to get the most out of the chip, as well as the premium OC'ing features which ASUS ROG boards are known for. Not much to say about this chip but would like to be able to get it up to 4.4ghz without much of a voltage hit.

MB: I personally like the red/black theme a lot more than the gold/black that a lot of ASUS' cheaper boards are wearing, so decided for their smallest, ergo cheapest, board, while not taking a hit performance wise. These are generally touted as being good boards for OC'ers, with nice features, and I'd love to give them a try.

SSD: With 240GB at only $219 it's a great price per GB. Has stellar performance and are viewed as pretty reliable, I'm hoping it won't conk out for a while. Throw the OS and a few games from Steam and I'm set couch gaming, while the platter drives can remain at rest.

RAM: 8GB of nice, red Corsair sticks, sticking with the red/black theme, looking to tighten the timings and get the most out of them, I'm currently running their 16GB, 1866mhz brethren and more than happy with them, run great and look awesome.

GPU: Now, 780Ti, idk if this is allowed, but really I'd be replacing this with what I'm currently using, a Gainward 770 Phantom 4GB, as I want the 780Ti in my main rig xP and honestly I believe the Phantom cooler would do wonders inside the 350D, in such a tight space. But yeah, 780Ti is killer and was in the budget, even if I'm not allowed to do this.

Case: 350D, awesome looking case and I'm sure what most others here would be using. I love Corsair products, really, and couldn't go past picking this baby up, along with the smoked clear side panel so I can see all the goodies while gaming

PSU: Gold rated, modular, and pretty good looking. I've never owned a modular PSU, so I had to here, but it's great for a small space like in the 350D, making sure there's minimal clutter without sacrificing any performance, getting the most aesthetic possible! I wanted the Gold rating as a must, as this build would probably be on for long periods of time, alongside my main build, and don't want a massive power bill! Although it would still go up a bit...

Monitor: ASUS 144hz monitor! What's there to say? 24" (better pixel density than the 27" equivalent), 1080p, 1ms response time, supports 3D. I've seen this baby around the internet, and I would have been happy with 120hz, but 144hz is good too!

Under budget by a whopping $1.00AUD, this build is a beauty, super powerful, and small gaming machine.

Good luck everyone, some of the builds here are wicked! Hope I don't get disqualified

 

Scorptec Christmas Giveaway Comp Entry

KISS principle - Keep it Simple Stupid

I followed the KISS principle to build my system, just by keeping the build simple and effective.

Motherboard ( ASUS - P9X79-LE ): A simple sturdy motherboard that does what I want it to do, nothing too special.

Processor ( Intel - BX80633I74820K ): Good current generation processor that can handle many modern games and high demanding rendering applications like Maya/3ds Max or After Effects.

Cooling ( Intel - BXTS13X ): A Liquid Cooling Solution means a Quiet Cooling Solution, because I'm buying a computer, not a jet plane.

Solid State Drive ( Corsair - CSSD-F240GBLS ): A reasonably sized drive that can hold all my favourite programs and games without running out of too much space. It also has above-average read write speeds, creating quick movement of large files, whatever the amount.

Memory ( Corsair - CMP16GX3M4X1866C9 ): A good sturdy 16GB will get you by with size for demanding applications like Photoshop and Large Open world Simulators like the DayZ mod on the Arma 2 Engine.

Graphics ( ASUS - GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5 ): A Higher end card like this will definitely deliver a pretty and FPS-worthy Experience for many modern games.

Power Supply (Corsair - CMPSU-650HXv2 ): Keep it simple, a sturdy 650W Corsair Power Supply will support this systems graphics and processing power. This saves some cash as I didn't have to go too high-end.

Monitor ( ASUS - VS278Q ): A 27- inch monitor will allow for a precision workspace for when working with programming, 3D modeling or rendering. A Larger Monitor like this also makes all those Quick-scopes stand out all the better ( just show your friends how bad they are ).

A solid all-round system that can tackle nearly everything that is thrown at it!

 

CPU: 4770K is a great performer with a very good price to performance ratio as well, since this cpu is unlocked I can overclock this for better performance.

CPU Cooler: H100i is recognised for its performance, its got pretty good review everywhere and also this come with Corsair Link software to monitor the performance and fan speed. In my opinion, H100i is a great companion for the i7 4770k.

Motherborad: Maximus VI Gene is chosen in this build. It has heaps of features yet kept in a mATX form factor. It used Extreme Engine DIGI+ III for durability, stability and top performance.

Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16 GB is perfect on this build. It supports intel XMP profile so you can overclock this badboy too. Also 16 GB is not really overkill these days

Graphics card: The R9-280X is a serious performer and also it has the best price to performance ratio on the market right now. With Asus Direct CU II cooling technology this card will run absolutely cool, quiet. Since the card runs cooler, the lifetime of the card will be longer too.

Power Supply: The corsair HX850 is designed to run quiet. It comes with modular cable and 80 Plus Gold certified PSU for its capability to consume less power and generate less heat. The performance of this power supply is guaranteed!.

Storage Solution: SSD is play a pretty important role on this build. Since it has no moving parts, the Corsair Force GT SSD will gives you a fast boot up time, loads application and games incredibly fast.

Case: The corsair 350D is very easy to play with, it allows you to assemble your pc completely tool-free. Making it hassle free and fast to put all the parts in. It may looks small, but hey it housed a beast inside

Monitor: The Asus VS248H 24inch Full HD monitor has a very low response time making your gaming experience even better.

Case fans: I'm going to use 3 Corsair AF120 fans. 2 of them are going to replace the stock fan on the H100i and the other one will be replacing the exhaust fan that came with the case making this system running dead silence.


If you noticed, this PC will have red and black theme. I'm going to call it 'The Bloody Phantom'.

 

Ultimate Gaming System

I’ve built the system for my son as his first PC. I’ve aimed for a sleek, quiet, efficient and powerful system which will last for a while and enable him to develop his skills in tweaking and overclocking to maximise performance. I’ve been able to compile a system that achieves all of this and more, with change for $2,493 using only Intel, Asus and Corsair parts from Scorptec.


Click to view full size!

ASUS VG248QE Monitor: My son primarily plays FPS games so he will need the fastest monitor which delivers ultra-smooth action requiring both a rapid refresh rate and response time. The VG248QE delivers on all accounts. The lower monitor latency will give my son the opportunity to improve his in-game response time, while a rapid refresh rate speeds up the frames per second to deliver ultra-smooth motion scenes. It will enable him to dominate me in BF4 while I’m stuck on my old 60Hz monitor.

ASUS GTX780TI-3GD5: In order to drive the Asus VG248QE he will need the best consumer GPU available in the market at the moment. The GTX780Ti is that GPU and the Asus delivers it in a package which allows it to reach its full potential while maintaining low energy consumption, temps and noise. Both of these a critical to achieving my goal of a quiet system. The Asus GTX780TI-3GD5 also fits in two slots, which helps me meet my goal of a compact system.

Intel Core i5 4670K: The Intel i5 is widely regarded as the best value for money CPU for a gaming PC that achieves the ideal balance of price vs performance. The 4th Generation Intel Core processor family delivers a great PC experience. Intel Core processor features such as Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 allows the processor to automatically scale the processor speed to meet the workload demands, delivering the speed and performance when he needs it while gaming, and then slowing down to conserve power when under low loads. The unlocked Intel Core processor will enable him to tune the processor cores, memory and power, providing extra performance and flexibility for more complex multimedia applications and immersive gaming.

Corsair Hydro Series H100i Liquid CPU Cooler: In order to dissipate the heat generated by CPU and maximise the potential overclock, an aftermarket cooler is required. To achieve a quiet and sleek system while maintaining low temperatures, an efficient cooler is required. The Corsair Hydro Series H100i liquid CPU cooler delivers on all accounts. It comes pre-filled, and never needs refilling or priming, providing the benefits of a liquid cooled system, without the hassle on ongoing maintenance of a traditional cooling loop. The built-in corsair link capability will allow my son to utilise the free Corsair Link Dashboard software to easily monitor coolant temperature and adjust cooling performance to suit the specific demands he has for the system. It will allow his unlocked 4th Generation Intel Core processor to deliver its full potential while maintaining a quiet system.

ASUS Z87M-PLUS Motherboard: The motherboard forms the spine of the system and is critical ensuring the performance of the system. My son’s system requires a range of features, performance, durability, the ability to manage a cool and quiet system, and a friendly and easy to use interface. The Asus Z87M-Plus delivers on each requirement. The mother board comes with ASUS 5X PROTECTION to provide the best quality, reliability and durability. Fan Xpert 2combined with 3 fan connectors provides comprehensive controls for him to achieve the perfect cool and quiet balance for the system cooling. The New UEFI BIOS is friendly and more intuitive, allowing him to gradually learn to tweak the system before switching to advanced mode as he becomes more skilled and knowledgeable. He can even use the ASUS TurboV EVO easy real-time overclocking software to overclock without exiting or rebooting the OS. The board comes with a total of 14 USB ports and 6 SATA 6GB/s ports providing expansion capacity for drives and peripherals well beyond his likely needs. Finally the ASUS Boot Setting provides multiple startup options, which thanks to ASUS Windows 8 hardware optimization, can shorten system boot time to 2-seconds, and have him gaming in no time.

Intel 335 Series 240GB SSD: In order to take advantage of the fast boot times under Windows 8 provided by the ASUS Z87M-Plus motherboard, he will need a quick and reliable SSD. The Intel 335 series SSD delivers the perfect blend of cutting edge performance, quality and value. The Intel SSD 335 series combines the latest SATA 6GB/s technology with industry leading 20nm Intel NAND Flash to offer a SSD that is blazingly fast with speeds up to 500 MB/s while using less power. The memory is validated by Intel for three years of worry-free useful life. The Intel SSD 335 Series delivers the world class quality, reliability and customer support I’ve come to expect from Intel. The drive will have him playing games quickly and silently, safe in the knowledge that his achievements won’t be lost due to a hardware failure.

Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3: Corsair Vengeance DDR3 memory modules are designed with overclockers in mind. Vengeance DIMMs are built using RAM specially selected for their high-performance potential. Aluminum heat spreaders help dissipate heat, and provide the look that he wants in his gaming rig. As a bonus, the attractive low price of Vengeance memory left room in the system build budget to get that ASUS GTX780Ti.

Corsair HX650v2 650W Power Supply: Often one of the biggest noise makers in a PC, the Power Supply Unit delivers regulated DC voltages to various components and is critical to achieving system stability, performance, longevity and efficiency. The Corsair HX650v2 650W Power Supply meets all of these requirements. Basic PC power supplies have fans that spin whenever your PC is on – whether you’re pushing your graphics card to the limit or just surfing the web. HX Series power supplies are smarter than that: they generate less heat, so they require less cooling, and the thermally controlled fan only spins when it’s needed resulting in quieter operation. The reduced heat is due to the high efficiency of the HX series. It is 80 PLUS Gold certified, delivering up to 90% energy efficiency under real-world load conditions, keeping his PC cool and quiet, and my power bill down. The Corsair HX650v2 is supplied with a modular cable set. This will allow him to use only the cables he needs for the particular set of components, keeping the interior of the case uncluttered and sleek. Finally the Corsair HX series comes with high-quality capacitors to provide uncompromised performance and reliability, which when combined with a seven year warranty and lifetime access to Corsair's legendary technical support and customer service, ensures trouble free operation for the life of the system.

Corsair Obsidian 350D Black Micro ATX Case: Finding a case within budget to accommodate the selected components, provide room for future growth, achieve good airflow, and look sleek and attractive in a compact package was a tall order. However, the Corsair Obsidian 350D more than met these requirements. The Obsidian Series 350D Micro ATX PC case is designed for building compact high-performance systems with Micro ATX and Mini ITX motherboards. The compact size is ideal if space is limited, but has plenty of room inside for liquid CPU cooling, dual hard drives, dual SSDs, and dual full-length graphics cards. Like all Obsidian cases, the 350D is designed for fast and neat builds, with tool-free access and drive installation. Smart features like a native 2.5” SSD cage make the most of its small size, and the cooling-focused interior has five fan mounting points, with room for two 240mm radiators. This will allow him to easily mount the Corsair Hydro Series H100i Liquid CPU Cooler. The 350D is smaller than mid-tower cases, so it will be at home on his desktop or tucked away out of sight. The smaller dimensions make it great for building systems for travelling too, which will be perfect when he attends his first LAN party.

 

Simple, stylish and a set and forget system.
From a good looking case to a high powered CPU, this powerhouse can be used for Video/Photo editing, gaming at very good frames and will not disappoint the most fussiest buyers.

 

Here's my attempt! And I wish all posters good luck in this competition! And welcome to all our new members Try stick around after this is over, This forum is great and full of tons of info and friendly chaps!

Anyway, Enough chatter! Here's my entry pic!



My Reasons to going with the above system.

CPU: Well we all know how great and beautiful Intel's new Haswell CPU's are.. So there really is no point in me stating the obvious.. As there really is no competition for them, They continue to push out amazing products as well as amazing customer service . How ever, I did only go for the 4670k to save a few dollars, I don't find hyper-threading useful enough for me to spend that little extra over this beauty of a chip!

Motherboard: I opted for the Maximus VI Gene board for a few reasons..

1. The colour scheme of this board is fap worthy.
2. I can't recall a motherboard I've purchased from a store that has not been a ROG board.
3. Did I mention the colour scheme is fap worthy?
4. The build quality and effort that goes into ASUS products, Especially these ROG series boards are second to none. There is NO competition that catches my eye more then the appeal of these boards, Every ROG board I've owned has never missed a beat and has always, ALWAYS been very simple and forgiving when it comes to overclocking.
5. mATX form factor, I don't know why, But for the past 3 years, I can't find it in my self to build a ATX system anymore.. mATX offers everything I need in a smaller, More compact package, At least with the ROG boards that is.

Memory: I have always used Corsair memory products, They've never given me issues, They've never failed my overclocking skills (lack off), And last but not least, there Customer service response times are.. Well.. Almost instant. To me, They've earned a life time customer, And that's only speaking for there memory! (Well I did fall in love with the Company after using there memory in so many builds over the years)

Power Supply: Yet another quality product! Before I had to part with my previous system, I was using this exact PSU. Oh how I dearly miss it.. It's sleek, Elegant and best of all.. It's a Corsair product with an awesome colour scheme to match the rest of the build! I do have to say, You go glen-coco!

SSD: Well Well Well.. Look what we have here, Another corsair product! Could this be because I may only choose between Intel, Corsair & ASUS? NO! It's because of there amazing Quality, Customer Service and Amazing products they continue to produce, I think it goes to say, Corsair have done everything right! I had the 128GB version of this SSD before I had to part with my old system and it blew me away the first time I plugged it in! I couldn't believe the speed, games loaded in no time, File transfers where beautiful, and to me the biggest advantage was Editing photos.. You guys saved my butt there!

Case: Well, Another previous item I had in my old build.. (Kinda looks like I'm trying to recreate what I had before I had to sell it off for Wedding money, Help me out here guys!!) Although I will admit, I wasn't overly impressed the first time I had this case, It just didn't seem to be up to quality as much as Corsairs other products, But alas, It was a beautiful case and the only one that came close to what I was looking for, Sleek, Elegant and Minimalistic. Still my favorite case today!

Monitor: I chose this monitor because it's simply a stunning screen! My Father bought one of these to edit a few photos here and there and I was blown away with the colour accuracy out of the box, Everything was just "Perfect". Like all Corsair and ASUS Products, It is amazing to look at (All around that is) It's very well designed and it simply.. Well.. BEAUTIFUL I opted for a 24" screen as well as I tend to get lost on larger monitors.. (Weird right?) Even If I don't end up winning this competition I will still go out of my way to buy one of these screens!

GPU: Well last but not least, THE BEAAASSSTTTT!! Okay Okay.. I opted for this graphics card because I keep hearing how good it is for games like BF4 (The only current game I play actually) I'm currently playing BF4 on a laptop with a GTX540M and it struggles to play BF4 on Low.. I dare say I'd get around 20 - 25 FPS max.. I haven't owned a AMD card for well over 7 years, So I'm also excited to see what they have to offer after the way friends rave about them for BF4.

And this brings us to the end of my entry! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed adding stuff to a shopping cart and dreaming!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!

P.S. I had to screenshot it like this in the print page As I can't get the whole cart in my image Sorry in Advance.. 13" laptop screen

 

It was a challenge to choose parts as there are so many different choices of parts that could be chosen with $2500 or less. The parts I chose all came up to be exactly $2500 and were chosen based on personal preference.

Case: The Corsair 750D is a stunning sleek case with lots of space and expansion capabilities. Love the look of the brushed aluminum faceplate! Has everything you need with the USB and audio front panel connectors, Cable routing which I believe is a must and with the side window who wouldn't love to look at all the hardware!

Power Supply: With a powerful system you'll need a beefy power supply. The Corsair AX-860i meets all your needs with modular cabling for neatness, 80 plus platinum efficiency and with corsair link you can do realtime monitoring and control.

Motherboard: The Asus Maximus IV Extreme is a beast! Great look, SLI/Crossfire, tonnes of connectivity and features for overclocking. With the addition of the OC Panel you can overclock and tweak on the fly. I personally think every motherboard should come with at least WIFI and as a bonus, Bluetooth would be great too. With this particular board it has that and goes even further with the wifi being dual band, Bluetooth 4.0 and with the option of expandability the module also has a mini PCI express 2.0 slot.

CPU: If you're going to have beast of a motherboard, why not have great CPU which has a good price to performance ratio that is also unlocked and highly over-clockable for all sorts of needs and tasks.

Graphics Card: If you want to play the latest games you'll need a beefy graphics card to handle them all. The Asus GTX770 DC2OC has it all. With Direct CU II for greater cooling efficiency and quieter operations and GPU tweak for overclocking, what more could you ask for?

Memory: There are all sorts of memory with different looks and speeds and latency, but they all do the same thing. I chose the Corsair Dominator Platinum for a reason. High quality product. I really love the industrial look and with the added light bar with options of 2 colors at the moment and possibly more in the future?

SSD: Built for speed. A must in today's society. Boot up in seconds, snappy response times and fast loading of games, programs etc. Better reliability and more quiet than regular mechanical hard drives.

Monitor: The Asus VS47HR is perfect for my needs. Great price, slim look, great vivid colors, easy menu. dark colored bezel/stand which I like, has all the necessary ports, low response time.

 

CPU - 4770K, if you're spending $2500 you might as well get the best the 1150 socket has to offer. An unlocked processor means you can overclock it

Motherboard - A motherboard with built in WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC and ThunderBolt. A lot of value.

RAM - 1600Mhz is the sweet spot in RAM. 16GB with the option to upgrade to 32GB in the future (only 2 sticks). Comes with XMP as well for easily settings.

SSD - Intel for their reliability. 180GB for a bit more space than usual.

Graphics Card - You cannot beat the 780 Ti at the moment

Case - Fits everything well. Good room for up to 7 fans. SSD mounts.

Power Supply - A platinum PSU for great efficiency and of course modular cabling. 760W also helps.

Monitor - Full HD monitor, 24 inchs with speakers built in. You've got to experience everything with this setup so the bigger the better. The fast response time complements the 780 Ti card. VESA always good to have for mounting.

 

Vengeance Build



Vengeance Build:

CPU: Great stock cpu performance out of the box not much different from the 4770k in terms of game performance and is a decent overclocker running cool and efficient .

Motherboard: Outstanding motherboard for the price, great feature set and future expandability solid board all round with some nice gold aesthetics to boot.

Graphics Card: 780 TI best single graphics card out on the market right now based on stock and overclocked performance really able to push the 144hz out of the monitor.

SSD: Intel for there reliability and strong ssd performance 240gb to store even more programs and games.

PSU: The new RM series shuts down the fan at low loads for absolute quietness and has great efficiency (gold certified), modular and has 650W plenty of power to push the components.

Monitor: For the serious gamer giving 144hz performance for smoother looking gameplay and low latency, Also will be nvidia g sync compatible with DIY kit in the future. Why compromise the main visual aspect of the whole build, always go for the best in monitors.

Ram: Faster ram for the price is excellent 2133MHz is the new standard, 8gb plenty for next-gen games also carries the vengeance name.

Case: Great case with plenty of expandable options and has really good airflow but also options to add some rads later for water cooling again carrying the vengeance name with some military style.

 

here is my entry/Parts list and the reasoning behind it

Cpu: Intel i7-4930k / Because at the end of the day, this is the most powerful mutli-tasking solution, maybe slightly slower the haswell cpus, but load power is lower while gaming, and 2 extra real cores and 4 logical threads give it the edge in multi-tasking and video editing.

Mb: Asus Rampage Gene IV / Because Massive power doesnt have to mean large cases anymore, and if you want to take it with you; you wont need 2 people to load it into the car.

Ram: Corsair CMD8GX3M2A1600C9 / Quad channel 16gb of DDR3 at 1600mhz at 1.35v low power gives the best of both worlds; performance/power.

Video: Asus R9280X-DC2T-3GD5 / The 280x straddles the power consumption/graphics grunt line quite nicely, giving you maximum visuals at 1080p (the res of chosen monitor) without alarming your wallet with the electricity bill hits.

SSD: Intel 120gb SC3500 series / This SSD is focused on enterprise market, giving it extremely long life and reliability unmatched by consumer drives.

PSU: Corsair AX760 / With all of our components selected for their maximum grunt with lower power usage under load, having a 80plus platinum certified psu guarantees lower total power draw from the wall, making this build cheaper to run over its lifetime, in the days of ever increasing power costs, this is a must today.

Case: Corsair CC350D-W / A Excellent M-atx tower case, with a built-in window to show off your brand new pc.

monitor: Asus vs247HR / 1080p gaming focused monitor with a extremely low refresh rate of 2ms, an absolute must for gaming.

total price: $2455

 

I'd call this one the "Mini Mayhem"

This is purely a small form factor gaming machine. In keeping with the other scorptec systems on the website, this will be sans the monitor and keyboard / mouse.

Case: Corsair - CC350D-W, chosen for being smaller, however roomy enough for upgrades down the track.

Motherboard: ASUS - GRYPHON Z87. chosen as it is the ideal motherboard for this system and any overclocking that may occur. Plus I've always had great experiences with the high end ASUS mATX boards.

CPU: Intel - BX80646I54670K - Quite frankly an I7 is overkill for a games machine, and this CPU will overclock if more oomph is required. This choice is around the right bang for buck for gaming machines at the moment.

CPU Cooler: Corsair - CWCH80i - Chosen to keep the CPU cool, even if overclocking.

RAM: Corsair - CMD16GX3M2A1866C9 - 16GB more than enough for current games, never used anything but Corsair RAM in my personal system builds, always too extreme punishment like a trooper.

GPU: ASUS - GTX780TI-3GD5 - For a games machine, especially a smaller machine, this runs cooler and quieter than the AMD equivalents. This system would allow for a second 780TI in the future with a PSU upgrade.

PSU: Corsair - CMPSU-750TXM - Modular, good ratings, black, Corsair.... Need I say more.

SSD: Corsair - CSSD-F120GBLS x 2 - Raid 0 goodness for ultimate speed.

Note: Since the competition rules clearly state only 3 manufacturers to be chosen, I have not added a secondary storage medium (HDD). A good option would be to add a 2tb storage drive and the price would remain under $2,500.00



.... Now I want to build a new PC

 

This build will be used as a HTPC and gaming PC from the couch.

Corsair 240gb neutron GTX - fast speedy storage for OS so that when you flop on the couch and turn it on, you don't have to wait long at all

Intel 4770K - fast CPU with OC abilities to squeeze the most performance out of the system

Asus r9 290x - latest gen gpu with 4k capability, future proof

corsair 350D - nice sleek case with good build quality but no flashy lights so will fit in nicely to a home theatre set up

Corsair 16gb dual channel kit - nice and low profile to allow for range of cpu coolers. nice and stealthy look

Asus z87I pro - beast of a mobo in a small form factor. good power delivery for cpu overclocking

asus 24" LED monitor - good to use as an off screen displaying background info while movie or game on big screen plasma/LED.

corsair RM750 PSU - nice and quiet operation, prefect for a HTPC setup. gold standard efficiency and fully modular. fantastic.



I know its a long shot but if I win this can you please send me the parts so I can build it myself?

 

since we cant edit our posts, ill quote it instead

forgot to add:

Intel RTS2011AC Air Cooled Thermal Solution for Socket 2011 - $35 / because intel in the ever wise wisdom, decided not to include the stock cooler with socket 2011 cpus

brings total to: $2490

 

Mini monster gaming PC. I always have had a love affair with mini mother boards.

i7 4770K - Fast, and overclocking!

Corsair - CC350D - Nice simple small case for a small setup.

Corsair - CMPSU-760AX - Something needs to keep the lights on - Platinum 80 for those extra few $$'s in power saving costs, also modular for the small case.

ASUS - MAXIMUS VI IMPACT - Small motherboard with the power of a full sized beast. Also a perfect update from my current mini powerhorse - P7H55D-M-EVO

Corsair - CSSD-F240GBGT-BK - One word... RAID

Corsair - CMD16GX3M2A1866C9 - Tight timings and nice speed.

ASUS - GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5 - Enough power to handle my 3 screens - so i can play rimworld, prison architect and Dwarf Fortress all at once

 

Gaming PC so prioritized the GFX card and monitor suited for gaming over other items:

Asus Monitor: 144hz = great for gaming
Intel i5 4670k: Good balance between costs and performance for gaming and allows overclocking with ease
Corsair: Clean easy to build case that's relatively cheap
Corsair 650HXv2: A known reliable PSU
Corsair ram: Good value ram and 16GB is a nice size
Asus GTX780ti: Latest and greatest GFX from nvidia.
Intel SDD: SSD makes loading everything faster and Intel has reliability.
Asus z87-Pro: Motherboard with a lot of features and well priced.

 

Never have i seen a thread with so many "new" members, and so many with "unverified" accounts too.

I wonder what IP addresses the admins are seeing.........

No, I'm not saying people are cheating.
Just an interesting observation

 

The Beast

 

Xanexman's Balanced Build



I chose my system based on the fact that I usually upgrade every 2 to 3 years so what I select needs to have a decent usable lifespan as well as providing adequate performance without exceeding a reasonable cost.

I selected an Intel® Core™ i7-4820K Processor (10M Cache, up to 3.90 GHz) as the CPU for my system as it meets both my cost and performance requirements.

I have also selected to use an Intel Cooling solution for this CPU as I will not be overclocking therefore the standard cooling solution from Intel meets my requirements.

I selected the ASUS P9X79-LE Mainboard for my system because it meets both my cost and feature needs, with the Intel X79 chipset and SLI capabilities should I require that in the future.

I selected the Corsair 16GB (2x8GB), PC3-19200 (2400MHz) DDR3, Vengeance Pro Red Heatspreader, 11-13-13-31, 1.65V, Dual Channel Kit both on cost and performance due to the 2400MHz rating and memory quality which fitted within my price bracket.

Graphics wise I selected the ASUS GeForce GTX770 DirectCU II Edition (Base: 1059MHz,Boost: 1111MHz), 2GB GDDR5 (7010MHz), PCI-E 3.0 card.
This fitted within my budget while providing excellent capabilities.

Hard Drive wise I went with the Corsair 240GB SSD, Force Series GS. Good read and write performance at a very reasonable cost with adequate capacity.

Optical Drive wise I went with the ASUS BW-16D1HT-PRO 16x Blu-Ray Burner . I wanted something current and up to date within a set budget and this drive fit the parameters.

Case wise I went with the Corsair Graphite 230T Black ATX Case, I wanted enough room and cooling space without going to a larger format case. This was not just about appearance but had to be functional and fit within space requirements as well as cost.

The case was also teamed up with the Corsair 750W CX750 Version 3 ATX Power Supply as that met power,quality and budget requirements.

I also selected a relatively small size Screen due to space constraints in my flat but I believe that the 23" Asus IPS monitor has great specifications for the cost.

Basically I wanted something which will last a few years and provide adequate performance for general use and gaming without exceeding the budget.

 

Scorptec 700 Series System

This is the configuration I went with, I wanted to keep a theme going and ended up with the 700 series pre-built system from Scorptec.

The ASUS Z8-Deluxe motherboard provides capability for expansion in memory graphics & storage.

Power from the 760W Platinum Class PSU provides the best efficiency for maximum energy savings.

The GTX770 Overclock edition from ASUS perfectly matches the system providing maximum detail at 1080P.

All fitted within the Corsair 750D an award winning case with a great layout to minimize cable clutter, maximize air flow & remain quiet.

Scorptec 700 Series System

 

SupremePC



Case: Small, elegant and yet can still house all the power you need. And with a window to show off your lovely new rig.

SSD: 120GB just isn't enough these days. High speed, with 5 year warranty what more could you ask for.

Monitor: IPS, 27", 1440p... need I say more. One of the cheapest 1440p monitors available yet still giving great build quality and a 3 year warranty.

PSU: HX series has never failed me in the past. 650W is plenty if you're not planning on running SLI/crossfire. 80 plus Gold for the efficiency, 140mm fan to keep it all quite, modular cables to keep system airflow moving and ease of build. 7! Year! Warranty! Can you believe anything comes with a 7 year warranty these days?

CPU: High Speed, quad core, potential for overclocking down the road, intel quality. Enough said.

GPU: Bang for buck. I'm not a huge gamer but the odd game here or there is nice. I need something that isn't going to cost the earth to power while not playing games, yet still give decent (in my eyes) performance when you do.

Motherboard: Good all round High quality motherboard. 6 sata3 ports. MicroATX to fit in the smaller case. 3 Year warranty to boot.

RAM: You maybe asking why 32GB... Adobe. While I could *just* run one of either indesign, photoshop and illustrator along with browser, music and all the rest of those pesky background applications. Running all 3 without limitations would be a dream.

Cheers,
Chronus