Second build! Heavily geared towards aesthetics.

[ladiesman2927]

First off, I'd like to give a big thanks to all the helpers on this forum. I learned a lot from reading the topics here and have received much of invaluable information from the seasoned computer experts here. Thanks!

Now that I know substantially more than I previously have when I built my first computer, I'd like to sell my current rig to do an entirely new build. I really love beautifully built PC's I want to put together a really sweet looking intel/nvidia rig. I have no budget, but I don't plan on spending money on top of the line parts. I've set my mind in stone for a few certain parts so far:

Lian Li Lancool PC-K9WX: Newegg.com - LIAN LI Lancool First Knight Series PC-K9WX Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Reasoning: I absolutely love the look of this case and I'm set in stone on it. As far as I know, Lian Li puts out some very high quality chassis so I think that I would be very happy with this choice.

Corsair AX750 (custom cable sleeved with MDPC-X): Newegg.com - CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX750 (CMPSU-750AX) 750W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Reasoning: Fully modular. I leave my PC on a lot of the time so I figure the 80 plus gold would pay for itself out of my electric bill after awhile. Corsair quality. It is likely that I plan on adding another video card for sli in the future so I went with 750w. The color scheme for the cable sleeving is undecided for now.

Evga gtx 560ti 448 core: Newegg.com - EVGA 012-P3-2068-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 448 Cores Classified 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Reasoning: I love the aesthetic of the hsf and really like the glowing EVGA logo that is going to be visible through my window side panel. I understand that it is sold out on newegg, but I plan on buying this from either amazon or eBay. I understand that this card is basically a rebranded 570 with a few disabled cores. I figure that if I could OC to 580 clock speeds I would be very satisfied with it with the games that I play (SC2, Diablo 3, BF3). I also plan on getting a gtx 480 backplate for this card, because it is apparently comptatible with the PCB. I plan on removing the 480 logo from the backplate, of course.

Memory: undecided but I plan on using a custom Arctic Cooling RC Pro heats ink because it looks absolutely sick when installed on the motherboard: Newegg.com - Arctic Cooling ARCTIC RC Pro Aluminum Heatsinks only
Extra note: I'm looking to get a 8gb dual kit setup. For the ram modules, I'm just looking for something very fast and reliable. I was thinking Kingston HyperX? I'm not too sure here, so suggestions would be helpful!

CPU/mobo: both undecided. I plan on upgrading to ivy bridge when it releases. As of now I was currently thinking an i5 2500k with a z68 motherboard? I was looking at either the gigabyte motherboards or the EVGA ones because they have all black motherboards. I'm not into the black and blue scheme on the Asus motherboards. Help here would be much appreciated.

CPU cooling: undecided. I don't know much about these and do not have experience with any other than the corsair h60. I do not mind using the corsair hydro coolers again. I do not like the look of noctua coolers or the thermaltake silver arrow. I do like the aesthetic of the scythe mugen coolers or the tuniq coolers. I'm looking for something that is known to perform well and looks sleek. Suggestions much appreciated here as well!

HDD/SDD: Damn these are expensive right now. I'm looking for a SSD OS drive but I have no knowledge on these whatsoever. I'm looking for whatever that is currently the latest and fastest (128gb?). As for the hdd I'm looking at a WD caviar black SATA 6.0 1.5tb.

Thanks for taking your time to read and please feel free to offer any input on things I should check out or revisions to my current list! Any advice is also much appreciated! Thanks!

[glc]

The best ram for a Z68 is Corsair Vengeance 1600 1.5 volt low profile. Available in blue and black.

If the choice is between EVGA and Gigabyte, take the Gigabyte.

Look at the i5-2550K. It's faster than the 2500 and the onboard video has been disabled for even easier overclocking.

Why not get a small SSD and run it with SRT to cache the spin drive? The Intel 520 60gb is great for that. Otherwise, if you must have a dedicated SSD, get the Kingston HyperX.

[David M]

If you think you want liquid CPU cooling, have a look at the Corsair H100.

There are other Lian-Li cases. They are more expensive but also really nice. You may also want to look at the Corsair Obsidian series cases, which are all black and similar in appearance to the Lian-Li's.

http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases.html

[ladiesman2927]

Thanks for the input glc! Are there any Gigabyte models you would recommend? Thanks for pointing out the SSD configuration to me as well. I was not aware of that as I do not have much knowledge about SDDs, but I will look into what you suggested. If you don't mind elaborating, what are the perks of running it with SRT over getting a dedicated drive?

Lian Li does have other nicer cases, I agree, but I chose this one because it has a rectangular window side panel. I don't like the ones with the weird irregular shapes. I could look for a nice case that doesn't have a window and mod it in myself, but as far as I have seen, Lian Li's windowless cases do not have black interiors, which is an absolute must for me. I would prefer to stray away from spray painting it as much as possible, but if you could point out any cases in particular that would be worth the effort over purchasing the Lancool, I will take it into very serious consideration. I'm dissapointed to see that the Lancool doesn't have aluminum feet, but I plan on buying them separately and installing them.

As for the H100, that cooler uses a pretty big radiator. Would I be able to mount that on the top of my Lian Li case if it wasn't a full tower?

[glc]

AnandTech - Intel Z68 Chipset & Smart Response Technology (SSD Caching) Review

Compare the features:

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD4 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

[ladiesman2927]

Wow. That's pretty phenomenal. Thanks for the heads up, I'm definitely going to be going that route.

I'm going to try to do a little bit of extensive research on motherboards for now.

If you also don't mind explaining, why are the corsair vengeance modules the best? I know that 1.5v is the ideal voltage settings for sandy bridge PC's, but other that is it just the reliability? I know that overclocking won't yield any tangible performance increase so I'm not even going to bother.

[ladiesman2927]

Also, can I get any suggestions for case fans? I hear that scythe gt-15's are wonderful, but they are highly sought after and sell out quick as soon as they go on sale.

[glc]

The Vengeance modules are 1.5 volt, 1600 speed, XMP, low profile to clear aftermarket coolers, and very stable. They WILL run at 1600 on a Z68 board.

[ladiesman2927]

Thanks for the clarification.

Quick update:

I did a bit of snooping around and saw that I can get this case: Amazon.com: Lian-Li Case PC-8NWX Mid Tower 4/1/(3) Alum ATX FAN USB3.0 Audio Black Retail: Electronics
I don't like the side panel on it, but I found this Lian Li custom window side panel that I like that is compatible with that same case: Lian Li Industrial Co., Ltd.

What do you think about that David M? A concern of mine is that the window won't be centered directly over the motherboard, but I think that this would be a better solution than trusting myself with a dremel and a side panel. The PSU is also top mounted, but I think that could be a plus for the wiring plan that I'm currently thinking about..

I also decided to go with a pink LED theme to contrast my all black hardware and to mix black and pink cable sleeves for my power supply. I couldn't find many pink led solutions on newegg. I don't want to use led fans. Can anyone point any out to me?

[ladiesman2927]

I can't forget about the peripherals. I'm a little unhappy with the display and mouse that I'm currently using and plan on upgrading. Any PC peripheral experts here?

Monitor: Dell UltraSharp U2312HM 23inch Monitor with LED Details
I'm not too sure on this because I've read that LED backlighting doesn't go well with IPS displays. I'm going to have to do a little research on this.

Mouse: Amazon.com: Mamba 2012 Elite Ergonomic Wireless Gaming Mouse: Electronics
I know that the sensor on this mouse can be a little iffy, but I'm in no means a serious gamer and mostly want this mouse for the bling. Lol. Also looking into Artisan mousepads right now.

As for the keyboard, I'm a huge mechanical kb enthusiast and already have many keyboards in my collection. Curious if there are any mech kb users here? My current daily driver is my Topre Realforce 87UB Uniform 45g.