Description
I originally built this computer for gaming back in 2013 with an i5 4670k and Gigabyte z87x - UD4H motherboard I managed to get for $47 after open box discount and $30 off at microcenter paired with a cooler master hyper 212 evo, 8GB of ram, a 120GB Samsung ssd, 1tb hdd, and a 750w Seasonic power supply. This year I decided to give it a refresh since my GTX 670 was starting to really show its age I decided I needed an upgrade and when the computer upgrade bug hits you it hits hard so it went from I am just gonna get a new GPU to I've decided to upgrade almost everything. I also wanted to do a black and white destiny themed computer since Destiny 2 had just come out for the PC and I hadn't seen anyone do a black and white Destiny themed computer before. Another reason I chose to do a black and white destiny build was that I wanted it to look clean and minimalistic when the lights are off and vibrant and bright when they are on. The white really helps the colors from the lights pop when I have the case on color cycle mode.
The first part I upgraded was my GPU I saw a GTX 1070 at Micro Center for $305 a few months ago and knew there was no way I was gonna let that deal pass me up since even a few months ago miners were driving the GPU prices through the roof. Unfortunately for others trying to get a GPU it has been getting worse everyday which makes me really thankful I was able to snag the 1070 for that good of a price. After that I upgraded the case from a cheap crappy case I had gotten to one with TG.
I chose the P400s because I really liked the look of it even though it had bad airflow for the intake I knew I would mod it and open the front up for better ventilation which you can see from the pictures I did by cutting the hunter logo into the front. Doing this really improved the air flow (it dropped the temps by about 5c) and it makes it look cool too.
I new I wanted to get a AIO for aesthetic reasons and also to decrease noise and temps and I decided on the Corsair H115i which I managed to get for $85 because I had a Best Buy gift card and got them to price match it to New Egg which at the time had it on sale for $109. I really enjoy this cooler and both aesthetically and performance wise it keeps my CPU which is overclocked to 4.5GHz at about 65c even under synthetic stress test.
I also upgraded the ssd from a 120GB to a 500GB ssd and I got some sleeved cable extensions to tie the whole thing together. After I got those installed I painted a back-plate for the GPU with the Destiny logo on it. I scuffed up the logo to make it look like it had been in battle. I also painted my RAM which was red before white to match. I also put some CableMod AIO sleaving on my corsair h115i cooler and put white carbon fiber wrap on my motherboard to complete the look.
For peripherals I have a Reidea mechanical keyboard and to be honest I didn't know what to expect when I bought it but for $18 on an amazon flash sale a few months ago I couldn't be happier. I am honestly amazed at the features it has its made of mostly metal except on the bottom and every key can be remapped and set to a custom color. I did replace the key caps that came with it for white ones to go along with the black and white theme. I also have a Razer DeathAdder 2013 which I really like and a Cloud core headset which I picked up on sale. For speakers I have a pair of Bose - Companion 2 Series II which I snagged at Goodwill for $5. The reason the fans and sound card say $0 is because two of the fans were gifts and the other I got for cheap with some credit I had at a store. The sound card I got out of a old desktop someone was giving away.
Anyway I am really happy with the way it turned out and I really wish I was a better photographer because the pictures don't do it justice. Later on this summer once RAM prices hopefully start to come down I am going to upgrade my CPU.
Edited: added reviews of the parts
Part Reviews
CPU
Great CPU works great for everything I use it for which is mainly gaming. Even in 2018 it's still a capable CPU.
CPU Cooler
Awesome cooler keeps my CPU nice and cool and runs quietly.
Motherboard
Amazing motherboard especially for the price I paid. It has all the features I need and does it's job perfectly.
Memory
It's 8GB of ram I haven't tried to OC it yet but I might.
Storage
Love Samsung SSD's always reliable and fast and plenty of storage for my needs.
Video Card
Great GPU runs everything I throw at it and even though it's not a massive cooler it does it's job well and keeps everything cool under load. Also for the price it's amazing.
Case
Great case love the looks docking a star for needing to mod the front intake for airflow but I knew that when I got it.
Power Supply
Amazing PSU it's a SeaSonic so it's held up great over the years.
Monitor
Good monitor has decent colors after tweaking the settings.
Mouse
Love this mouse had it for years and works like I bought it yesterday.
Headphones
Amazing headphones most comfortable gaming headset I've ever used.
Custom
Great speakers especially for $5 though I wouldn't pay $100 for them like they sometimes sell for.
Custom
Amazing keyboard wish I could give it 10 stars it has so many features for the price I paid like individually addressable LEDs and you can re map the keys along with a mostly metal construction.
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