Case, Power Supply, And Optical Drive
Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion
When looking for an inexpensive enclosure to house an overclocked gaming rig, the Antec Three Hundred is among my favorite contenders. The perforated front bezel and top-mounted 140mm and rear-mounted 120mm exhaust fans provide outstanding airflow, while 3 x 5.25” external and 7 x 3.5” internal bays offer plenty of room for storage devices.
Read Customer Reviews of Antec's Three Hundred
The Three Hundred has room for three optional 120mm intake fans, but the Illusion model comes with a pair of 120mm blue LED fans pre-installed behind the front bezel, as well as blue LEDs in the TwoCool 140mm top exhaust fan.
Expect to pay an additional $15 for the Illusion, which may or not be worth it depending on personal taste. But when we found it for just $5 more than the Two Hundred, it was an easy decision to try the Illusion for this build.
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W
This affordable Antec PSU has a combined maximum +12V output of 45A, an 80 PLUS efficiency rating, quiet operation, and a three-year warranty.
Read Customer Reviews of Antec's EarthWatts EA650
For about the same price, we almost chose the Corsair CMPSU-550VX that uses a single 41A +12V rail. But the EarthWatts EA650 has not let us down yet, and it meant that power-consumption measurements could be directly compared to the previous two SBMs. Both are quality units capable of powering this dual-GPU gaming system.
Optical Drive: LG Black 22X DVD Burner SATA Model GH22NS50
Read Customer Reviews of LG's GH22NS50
This highly affordable, no-frills, 22X SATA DVD burner is the perfect drive to serve our optical needs.