Pink Planet Express

[Rysen]

Pink Planet Express

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Hello everyone.
I won the Enermax SteelWing case from the past giveaway. I wanted to discuss my build with the community so you guys could guide me with some advice. This is my first build ever. I work doing programming, 3D visualization and simulation in game engines and other proprietary software.

My goals with this case are the following:
1- It must have components that will fit in the Sentry Case from Dr. Zaber (Except for the CPU cooler).

The goal here is that eventually I will need optimal backpack portability for my VR headset and the Enermax SteelWing is simply too big and fragile for what I was looking for in terms of portability. Therefore I got the Sentry Case for whenever I need to take the computer with me. All I would have to do is move the parts from one case to the other and I would be ready to go.​

2- Max budget is 3000$ This includes the cost of the HTC Vive at 828$ with a stand at 47$, the Deluxe Audio strap at 100$ and 125$ budget for an extra CPU cooler for the Sentry Case alone making the real budget 1900$.

I already own plenty of SSD space all I need is something cheap to throw in my old laptop. I will be buying a different CPU cooling solution for the Sentry case so the cooling solution for the SteelWing case doesn't need to meet the requirements of the Sentry case. I am not bothered by noise. I am more interested in performance than looks but I don't mind spending a bit of the budget in making it look better as long as I don't give up significant performance. Budget strictly cannot go past what was previously stated.​

3- Really powerful graphics (Hopefully 1080Ti)

Must be able to handle 3D content creation easily in my 2560x1080p 60hz monitor and a second 1920X1080 60hz monitor.
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Here is my PCPartPicker List.

It is missing the graphic card because I am hoping that it would be the 1080Ti.

Edit: Looks like it will be the 1080Ti!!!!

 

[jeshikat]

Why the extra thermal paste? The Noctua heatsink comes with a tube of good TIM.

Does any of your work benefit from better storage IO? After ditching the extra TIM, it's only a bit more to upgrade to the Intel 600p 256GB.

Otherwise looks pretty good to me.

 

[Rysen]

Why the extra thermal paste? The Noctua heatsink comes with a tube of good TIM.

Does any of your work benefit from better storage IO? After ditching the extra TIM, it's only a bit more to upgrade to the Intel 600p 256GB.

Otherwise looks pretty good to me.

As I said I will be changing from this case to the Sentry every once in a while and that includes changing the CPU cooler so i will need thermal paste every-time I make the change.

I do not benefit from any kind of storage. I have cloud storage at work and I have physical storage at home on multiple SSDs but thanks for the suggestion. Also the SSD I included is for my old laptop which I probably will not use much once I get the new desktop so my priority is to make it as cheap as possible while having reasonable space for the OS and a few extra apps. Storage speed is also unnecessary in my work as loading is not usually what slows down work but rather rendering and general floating point calculations.

Feel free to suggest anything that comes to mind even if I might have already addressed it.

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

I mounted 4 heatsink with the thermal paste that came with my Noctua and still have some left. You can ditch it, really

 

[Rysen]

I mounted 4 heatsink with the thermal paste that came with my Noctua and still have some left. You can ditch it, really

Alright fair point. I will ditch it and if I need it in the future then I'll get some more.

...updated the list.

 

[TheHig]

List looking good. Glad to see you started your build log so soon! Will definitely follow this one.

 

[Jonny727272]

I'm not sure on your location, but Microcenter often sells the Vive for $700. If you can get that sale it's an extra $100 in your pocket, or to spend elsewhere.

 

[jtd871]

If it were me that was going to transfer between this case and the Sentry, I'd stick with a cooler that could fit in either and avoid having to change coolers every time. Actually, I think that I'd just stick with the Sentry and be done with it.

 

[Josh | NFC]

Noctua is really generous with their TIM. You get five, maybe six applications.

Just wanted to take my turn beating this horse....

 

[Rysen]

I'm not sure on your location, but Microcenter often sells the Vive for $700. If you can get that sale it's an extra $100 in your pocket, or to spend elsewhere.

I'm in the U.S. FL so I'll consider Microcenter for the Vive and for the i7-7700k as they are both cheaper in micro-center. EDIT: They are cheaper for in-store purchase so not for me.

If it were me that was going to transfer between this case and the Sentry, I'd stick with a cooler that could fit in either and avoid having to change coolers every time. Actually, I think that I'd just stick with the Sentry and be done with it.

Let me put it this way, it is clear than in a case like the SteelWing I will be able to do some small overclocking and still get generally much better temperatures overtime that if I were to run the same parts inside the Sentry without any overclocking. It has much better ventilation for all the parts. The Sentry I love due to its portability and so I will only put the parts under-stress whenever I need to carry my build around to events. This means that 90% of the time the parts will be in the SteelWing with much better ventilation and only 10% will they be at high temperatures compact inside the Sentry.

Correct me if I am wrong but changing the cooler and by doing so applying new thermal paste every once in a while will actually be helpful in maintaining the chip cool and the cost of doing so is very small. Sticking to the sentry could mean having my parts running at temperatures I would not be comfortable with for a very long time. However, if you see any issues with this that might be important for me to consider please enlighten me. (Remember I am considering a 1080ti (or titan x) and i7-7700k so it will get hot.)

 

[Soul_Est]

It's a good part list. Given the uproar over Ryzen 7 and subsequent reduction in pricing for Intel chips, I think it may be best to wait a bit and see what else happens.

 

[LocoMoto]

You were one of the people with an idea I really liked reading, glad to see you planning it out.

Planet Express away!

 

[jtd871]

@PlayfulPhoenix said it pretty well here.

 

[Rysen]

If I end up getting the Titan X pascal do you guys think I will need a better PSU than the corsair 600W? perhaps the silverstone 700W one?

 

[Soul_Est]

You'll be fine with the SF600 @Rysen .

 

[jeshikat]

Titan XP is around a 250W card, so plenty of headroom on the SF600 to run it.

 

[Rysen]

It's decided I am getting the 1080ti. Now I have my build complete. Will start buying everything else as soon as I order the 1080ti.

 

[HeroXLazer]

It's decided I am getting the 1080ti. Now I have my build complete. Will start buying everything else as soon as I order the 1080ti.

 

[Soul_Est]

It's decided I am getting the 1080ti. Now I have my build complete. Will start buying everything else as soon as I order the 1080ti.

Enter to win one then?

 

[Rysen]

Enter to win one then?

I think I used all my luck points on this steel-wing case. While I did entered regardless the chances of winning two online giveaways in one year are very low so wish me luck.