[Seeking Build Advice] Watercooled Black/Green Ultra Gaming PC

Tehmedic

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Jun 21, 2015
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I'm looking for some advice finishing up this build, and possible modifying this build.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($328.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 12g Thermal Paste ($16.85 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK2 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($162.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Kingston Beast 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($126.74 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($177.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($70.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Colossus Venom Window (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($128.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair 750W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($144.49 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($85.75 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: BenQ XL2730Z 144Hz 27.0" Monitor ($599.00 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard ($169.01 @ Amazon)
Mouse: ROCCAT KONE XTD Wired Optical Mouse ($62.19 @ Amazon)
Headphones: Audio-Technica ATH-A700X Headset ($139.98 @ Newegg)
Other: AMD Fury X ($649.99)
Other: FrozenQ Reservoir ($109.99)
Other: BitFenix Mobo Wires ($50.00)
Other: FrozenQ Reservoir 2 ($134.99)
Other: Swiftech Dual Extreme Black ($199.99)
Other: EK Supremacy EVO Universal ($74.99)
Other: Bitspower Galaxy Universal RAM ($99.99)
Other: Aquacomputer Aquaero 6 XT USB Fan Controller ($249.99)
Other: 6 XT Aluminum Faceplate - Black ($13.99)
Total: $3857.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-22 00:59 EDT-0400



I'm specifically looking for some assistance when it comes to other available cases matching the black/green theme, possibly a black/green motherboard (I couldn't find any black/green z97's or x99's), I have little knowledge when it comes to SSD's and HDD's. I'm considering switching to a 980ti. The main Reasoning behind this computer build is to play Skyrim at 1440p, with loads of texture mods while having a nice looking black/green theme.









I'm still looking to purchase more parts as well such as these.



I haven't purchased most of these because I'm either unaware at what's good, have little knowledge about the item, or not sure what products are compatible, or can't find something to match the Black/Green theme.



Radiator
Radiator Fans
Fittings
Water Lines
Coolant
Water Block GPU
Case Fans
Led Strips
Mouse Pad
Speakers
Chair
Table


I'm not sure what radiators fit this specific case, I'm waiting on fitting and water lines till later to figure out what i need for the case, I'm not exactly sure what to do with the fury x, maybe I should get the fury and put a water block on that? Maybe I could mod the fury x? Looking for case fans and led strips to decorate/fit the theme. I'm looking for a large keyboard/mouse pad, those like 3 foot long ones that go under everything that fits the theme. I'm currently using some $150 klipsh 2.1 speakers from best buy and thinking about upgrading to some 5.1 speakers, or maybe some 2.1 corsairs? I also have no knowledge about gaming chairs or tables that could match the theme.
 
Solution
Just for some modding inspiration in terms of black and green parts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQIal_982fE

Your list looks pretty good and I am liking the looks of it. Your storage choices are spot. Couple things I would change would be the PSU to something with a lot better value. This this unit: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr

Tier 1 quality at $40 cheaper. Can't beat that :p

For the mouse I suggest taking a look at the Corsair M65. It is worth a look. One of my favorite mouses. Especially for that price range.

Another thing I would change on your build would be the mother board. The Mark 2 is a really over priced board with not that many features and it's even a great board for OCing. I am aware...
Just for some modding inspiration in terms of black and green parts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQIal_982fE

Your list looks pretty good and I am liking the looks of it. Your storage choices are spot. Couple things I would change would be the PSU to something with a lot better value. This this unit: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr

Tier 1 quality at $40 cheaper. Can't beat that :p

For the mouse I suggest taking a look at the Corsair M65. It is worth a look. One of my favorite mouses. Especially for that price range.

Another thing I would change on your build would be the mother board. The Mark 2 is a really over priced board with not that many features and it's even a great board for OCing. I am aware that you want a black/green theme so here are some boards that might help with this:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-motherboard-152hre979kr
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z97ar

Or the holy grail of Z97 Black and green motherboards: http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/gigabyte-adds-ga-z97x-game-plus-to-line-up.html
This board is brand new and hasn't even really hit the shelves yet so I say hold on to your piggy bank until then. But to be honest it doesn't look like a super big competitor in terms of OCing haha..

I think your best option is to buy the SABERTOOTH Mark 1 and then take off the shielding that is on it and do some sort of cool pattern of green and black with some paint and tape.

Another black motherboard is the X99S Plus from MSI but that thing gets horrible reviews.

LED kit I suggest that you use: http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-72344-Mosaic-Flexible-Light/dp/B008COVFUA
Normal wall plug that conveniently has a detachable AC power cord coming from the wall so it's not like you've got some dumb power cord sticking out the back when you need to move your computer. It is what I use in my rig. Works amazingly well and has a handy remote for color, mode, and brightness changes. A bit more too.

As for speakers, I can tell you and promise you right now that if these are your Klipsch speakers: http://www.klipsch.com/promedia-2-1-computer-speakers (I own two or three sets of them) (Can't remember how many because my house is being renovated and I have a lot of stuff in boxes :p

There is no way that they are going to be beaten by any girly-pants-system Corsair has to offer. Their best system only has 36W on the Klipsch's but the Klipsch set has a much better sound.

This system would kick ass: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/logitech-speakers-980000467

Feel free to ask any questions, that's why I'm here :)


EDIT: One more thing about the build, switch to a 2x8GB kit of DDR3. 4x4 kits offer no performance gain over 2x8 kits because *97 motherboards can only utilize dual channel memory. By going with a 2x8 kit it allows you to add another 2x8 kit allowing for 32GB of memory in the future. Rather than always being stuff at 16GB. Hopefully that makes sense :D
 
Solution

Tehmedic

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Jun 21, 2015
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I was actually really looking at the m65 when i was deciding on the mouse, the main reason i was thinking about the roccat over it was due to it being an optical mouse so I wouldn't get any hardware acceleration. That's a pretty big deal breaker, and I couldn't find any info on whether or not the m65 had a true sensor or not.

I'm also thinking about going with a 1000w PSU as well for a potential crossfire upgrade in the future, I'm not entirely sure but I think that directx12 mentioned something about vram stacking, and that would fix the one issue that the fury seems to have. I might go with a cheaper gold standard on that one rather than platinum.

Yea the mark2 was literally the only board that I could find that even remotely fit the theme, I actually really like that EVGA board, and if that MSI board doesn't come out soon i'll probably get that. I've seen a couple pictures of that green msi board but couldn't find any info on it, thought that it was just a myth or something at this point, do you have anymore info related to that specific board?

Yea those are the same speakers that I've got, and I was pretty hesitant to believe that corsair was going to beat Klipcsh in anything sound related, but ya never know. I'm also not really sure how I would want to set up a 5.1 surround sound system with the room at this point so I think I might just stick with the Klipsch for now. They literally feel like they've been the best $150 dollars that I've spent.


Definitely going to have to check out those LED's and it's always really nice to see useful linus videos, I'll probably be looking at a lot of the paint-able parts in this build in a different way now.

Main reason I'm going for 4*4 atm is just to fit the waterblock Not sure why my "other" parts links didn't work though. I could probably go for 4*8 but I'm not sure if i really need the 32gb.
 
Ohh okay I see why you went with the 4x4GB kit now. 16GB should be just fine. I don't know how the VRAM stacking thing would work but it should be pretty crazy if it's true.

The green and black board I mentioned was a Gigabyte. If it was an MSI I wouldn't even have mentioned it haha. Going with the MARK1 might be your best bet right now to be honest. Gigabyte makes an all black, high end board called the UD5H-BK.

If you are wanting a good value 1000W PSU, the EVGA P2 1000W is an amazing PSU for it's price. It is also platinum. (Not that it really matters though)



 

Tehmedic

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Jun 21, 2015
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I found out that the Green Gigabyte board isn't coming out in the USA :/, Probably gunna go with the EVGA EATX one though.

Thanks