Muh new high end PC :)

Hey, something more positive happened in between all the SJW and censorship bullshit going on currently. I’ve bought a new system like 2 or is it 3 weeks ago already? Damn how fast time goes. Recycled some old components because they were high end enough to be transplanted into the new rig, but the rest is new. And I’m proud of it on the most geekiest level possible hehe 🙂

I used to have a miniATX case from Lian Li and it was nice. Tiny and powerful, but still silent. But then I bought ASUS Strix GTX 980 and realized I have a problem. This graphic card is s wide I had to modify Lian Li case because PSU was getting in the way. And this just made me unhappy, because it just wasn’t the way I wanted it anymore.

So, I’ve bought Corsair Carbide 330R Titanium case to address that issue plus with even more silent operation. And it solved it beautifully. But then there was all this empty space in the case with tiny microATX board in it. And since I had the upgrade bug going on, I just bought whole new platform. And not just any mainstream high end platform like Z170 with Skylake processor. I had it in my sight, but then decided to go bigger. A lot bigger. So, here it is…

The base is Corsair Carbide 330R Titanium case. It’s not full aluminium anymore (it’s actually full steel apart from front decorative panel) like my old Lian Li, but it’s designed quite smart with extra noise dampening on all sides, covered front fans to dampen intake air noise and intake removable dust filters on front and bottom for PSU to keep system dust free for longer. It’s a lot more silent just because of this and I haven’t even touched the fans in it.

And here comes the “bigger” part 🙂

Processor: Intel Core i7 5820K (6 cores, 12 threads) @ 4.5 GHz
Cooling: Antec H2O 920 with dual Enermax Twister Pressure fans (Silent PWM mode)
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X99
Memory: 32 GB DDR4 Kingston HyperX Fury 2400 MHz @ 2666 MHz
Graphics card: ASUS Strix GTX 980 OC 4 GB
Data storage: WD Caviar Black 2TB + 32GB Intel Smart Response Technology (HDD+SSD Hybrid)
Sound: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z + Altec Lansing MX5021 2.1
Power supply: Corsair HX750 with new silent BlackSilentPro PL-2 fan
Monitor: ASUS VG248QE 144Hz 1ms
Mouse & keyboard: Logitech Proteus Core G502 + Cherry Stream XT Black

Why Intel X99 instead of Z170?

The reason I’ve decided for older but currently more “extreme” Intel X99 platform is the long term usability. I used to have Intel X58 platform with Core i7 920 which was also very high end back then and actually still is despite its age. Going with Intel Z170 and 6700K CPU would be an upgrade but not big enough. I’d have the same core count, same threads count, just higher clock and lower power consumption. Besides, 6700K CPU’s are already clocked so high you can’t really get much more from them. They run at 4.2 GHz. If you’re really lucky you can get 4.8 GHz out of it. And that’s it. A pathetic 600 MHz overclock. Where with 5820K, you get 6 cores, 12 threads and ability to overclock them from stock 3.3 GHz up to 4.5 GHz without even trying hard. I’m sure with tiny bit more volts I could push it to 4.8 GHz easily. Maybe even 5 GHz if I upgrade my cooling. And in the end I still have more cores and threads which will come in handy with DirectX 12 which scales better with more cores.

I mean, when you have sight like this in Windows…

…it’s impossible not to brag about it online. 😀

Going durable…

And then there is ASUS Sabertooth X99 motherboard. Wanted to go super rugged with overclocking capability so I can use it for as long as possible and this is the board to do just that. It’s designed for long term durability with high end components and clever cooling design. Everything about it just screams toughness. From construction, dust protection, surge protection, cooling etc. I love it. And one of the best parts of it are the ridiculous amount of fan headers on the motherboard that are individually controlled by the fan curves in UEFI BIOS and which are then operated through numerous integrated temperature sensors. On desktop it’s so quiet, when monitor goes blank, I often have to check the lights on the case if it’s even running. It’s ridiculous 😀 And when I stress the system, slight airflow hiss can be heard. Meaning if I have music set to low volume or playing games, I’ll never be able to hear any of the fans. It’s magnificent and while I don’t know how other vendors have this solved, I have to compliment ASUS for it. It’s a fantastic design. It’s an amazing board. Expensive but well worth it.

Going a bit mad…

You may also wonder why the hell I have 32GB of RAM in it. To be honest, 16GB would be more than enough these days (on X58 I used to have 18GB). I’ve gone with 32GB just because I could lol. Yeah, I bought that much RAM for the lolz. Literally. Though I’ll be totally future proof with it and I won’t have to ever fiddle with this part of the system even in the distant future. I follow my rule about RAM that goes like this: “Capacity over speed”. With RAM, this holds very true. Having more slower RAM will benefit you more than having less of super high speed RAM. It has been proven in many tests that for example 3000+ MHz RAM hardly gives any performance gain over basic RAM speed required by the platform (2133MHz in X99 case). In fact 2400 to 2666MHz seems to be the sweet spot. There is some small gain which then just disappears beyond this point. If you’re loaded with cash you’re of course go with fastest RAM possible but if you want to spend your money well, go with highest capacity and middle of the road speeds.

Going a bit reasonable…

I’ve transplanted bunch of old components like the graphic card, PSU, HDD, monitor, soundcard, speakers, mouse and keyboard. No real need in replacing those because they were high end when I bought them and they still are even several years later (well, some at least, most are rather new anyway).

If all goes well, this platform should sustain me for at least 5 years if not more. I expect graphic card upgrades in year or two depending on situation with DirectX 12 and the need for Async graphic computation since GTX 980 seems to have some problems with that, but other than that, platform is as future proof as you can get it currently without spending ridiculous amounts of money on CPU’s like the 5960X which alone costs as much as I’ve spent for my entire new platform lol.

So yeah, this is my new system. My inner child just had to brag about it online. PC Master Race for life! Deal with it 🙂