Brian's "shit I've been out of the desktop world forever" build

[Brian]

Alright finally decided to chuck my M18x and go back to desktops. Last time I built one for myself was in 2006 so it's been a LOOONG time! Needless to say it was daunting to see all those choices of motherboards and other components but I finally narrowed everything down and pulled the trigger on the following:

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[*=left]1 x SAMSUNG 840 Series MZ-7TD500BW 2.5" 500GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)


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[*=left]1 x CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M2A2133C10


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[*=left]1 x LG Electronics Blu-ray Disc Combo Internal SATA 12X Lightscribe with 3D Play Back, Model CH12LS28


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[*=left]Print Rebate


[*=left]1 x CORSAIR HX Series HX850 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active ...


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[*=left]1 x CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Water Cooler


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[*=left]1 x ASUS Maximus V FORMULA LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard

GPU: EVGA 680 SC for $380 off HardOCP forum.

CPU: Brand new in box Intel 3770K for $299 from Fry's after price match with TigerDirect.

Case: Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Monitor:

[Brian]

Parts Arrival

Received partial shipments of the parts today. Still waiting on the Corsair Vengeance ram (sending the G.skill back), the display and video card.

First Power On Test (no discrete GPU yet)

[Khenglish]

I used that PSU for my 580 classified before the 580 died. It delivered rock solid power even at 1.4V 1.1GHz. It does whine some though. (I think the 580 died for reasons other than power. Probably that resistor I knocked off and lost)

If you're going to do water I highly recommend a real water cooling setup. It hardly costs any more. I used a swiftech 320 with the 580 and it was 36C max with 1.4V (IHS removed, with IHS was 39C) with normal room temps. The thing ran at 32C with 1.25V @ 1Ghz. The swiftech is a combo pump/radiator to save on room. It has a reservoir built in too, but it's rather small and needs to be topped off or else the pump will gurgle at top speed. If you get it make sure you get it with the pump. They sell a cheaper version without it. The main thing about water cooling to is get a much bigger radiator than what the air cooler would be, or else there's no reason to use water since all water does is let you move heat further.

I'm trying to figure out how to get the GPU block on this thing's 680m, but it's just a hair too big

[Brian]

@Khenglish yeah I used to build WC setups back in the day but this time I just wanted something simple that I knew would work with the vengeance c70. If/when I get serious about WC again, I'll probably go fully custom and spec out my own hardware. Knowing me though, it won't be long till i get tired of the h100i and sell it

[Brian]

First set of parts are here!! Can't wait to build this beast on Friday.

[StamatisX]

Damn you guys, I want one too now...

[Brian]

Monitor delivered today and vid card later this evening. Can't wait till I get off work.

Sent from my GT-N7000

[Bawsh]

How is that monitor working out? $490 is quite cheap for a 2560x1440 27" monitor and it actually seems nicely built.

[Brian]

How is that monitor working out? $490 is quite cheap for a 2560x1440 27" monitor and it actually seems nicely built.

It's got an awesome picture but also has terrible light bleed that is very evident on dark backgrounds. I contacted the seller about an exchange already.

Sent from my GT-N7000

[unreal25]

It's got an awesome picture but also has terrible light bleed that is very evident on dark backgrounds. I contacted the seller about an exchange already.

Sent from my GT-N7000

Yeah it seems that this is more of a problem on IPS displays (I suppose because there the black is actually black ). Keep us posted about the replacement!

[Conker]

Nice rig @Brian

Did you get your monitor replacement?

The fan speed of the Corsair H100i can be adjusted via software? I have to open my case to press the button on the cooler to adjust it:sour:

Keep us updated with more pics and benchmarks

[Brian]

@Conker I ended up filing a claim to return the Korean monitor and bought this from Amazon, it gets here on Tuesday:

Amazon.com: ViewSonic VP2770-LED 27-Inch IPS LED Monitor, WQHD 2560x1440, HDMI, DVI-D, DisplayPort, USB Hub: Computers & Accessories

[unreal25]

"Look at the size of that thing!"

Well the fan speed is adjustable depending on where you connected the fan. If it's CPU_FAN as suggested in the instructions then it's adjustable either through BIOS or motherboard software (that's how it works on my Gigabyte).

[Brian]

Just got the display and quick impressions:

1. Backlight bleeding: VERY minimal to the point where you can't really notice it. It's not fully dark in my room right now but even with this much lighting, the Achieva Shimian used to light up like a Christmas tree. This one only has a faint trace of it in the upper part. It's so faint that my girlfriend couldn't even notice it when I showed her.

2. Pixels: Not pixel perfect I'm afraid, I have one dark pixel that almost looks like a piece of dirt towards the bottom. Fortunately I purchased it from Amazon so I already put in a request for an exchange which was a PITA because Amazon uses offshore employees now. I remember a few years back they had Americans who took care of issues right away..sigh. Replacement order gets here on March 14th (2 days) so not too bad but wish it would get here overnight.

3. Factory calibrated color: The display comes with a factory calibrated color display report. Out of the box this thing is GORGEOUS. Colors are spot on and the contrast ratio is quite good, definitely the 900:1 that some sites have reported.

4. Panel uniformity: Very uniform from what I can see after running solid colors on the panel.

5. Input lag & ghosting: To be tested in BF3 in a few minutes.

Bottom line: You get what you pay for! For those of you looking to save a few hundred by purchasing one of those Korean monitors, well you might luck out and get one that isn't full of flaws but IMO they really aren't worth it. I've seen the Dell U2713HM and this Viewsonic looks just as good if not better and the best part is the AG coating is better than the Dell.

Pic of monitor with black background using DPT:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lh6d4gr0dpl3u9r/IMG_20130312_155909.jpg

What you see in the bottom left corner is NOT light bleed. It's just the stupid cell phone camera capturing what's really not there.

Other images:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hoecsmvcw7l13s8/IMG_20130312_153259.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ndeephjg9f5u7ou/IMG_20130312_153249.jpg

Dirt/Dead pixel, looks more like a piece of dirt stuck back there:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/blhxvofnfmt9hz3/IMG_20130312_160303.jpg

EDIT:

Factory calibration report, look at those nice curves>>

[unreal25]

Hah yeah it seems there's a reason this one costs more. Sorry to hear about them outsourcing their support. I only used their customer support once before this happened (I think; it was 5 years ago) and it was outstanding.

[Brian]

Hah yeah it seems there's a reason this one costs more. Sorry to hear about them outsourcing their support. I only used their customer support once before this happened (I think; it was 5 years ago) and it was outstanding.

Yeah I don't get why these companies keep offshoring customer support, especially to places like India. I initially used chat support and this fucking dumb cunt from India told me that Amazon doesn't do exchanges at all and that my only option was a refund. I got so livid that I told him straight up that he was a clueless moron and then he just sat there idle (I guess in disbelief that someone finally said it). Closed out the window, called them instead and some lady (another offshore but at least a bit smarter) finally understood what I wanted and arranged the exchange. Man I remember when Americans were working there, they would get everything done in under 5 minutes and make it a pleasant experience. Fuck these greedy companies and their offshoring.

[TheGoat Eater]

Thanks Brian for the detailed breakdown of the Viewsonic - I am now most definitely be buying some higher quality 1440p monitor. I think that the Viewsonic is leading the list in my head. What was your experience with BF3 as gaming will be a big chunk of it's usage.

[my414]

Very nice build here. Its not overkill but it still has tons of power for the upcoming games for years. Thats certainly a balanced build with good potential.