Description

So very happy with this build! This the first build I have done in ten years and certainly my first with ROG products as the Republic of Gamers brand wasn't really a thing yet back in 2008. The Aura Sync lighting is great with so many options for different effects to choose from. Plays pretty much any game without any sort of lag or other problems. Wow! First build on here with an Intel GPU? That’s pretty cool.

(UPDATE) Turns out two of the DIMM slots are defective! That's why I was operating in only the "A" slots and not A2&B2 as the manual suggests. I have since RMA the board and am currently waiting on return.

(UPDATE) I have finally received my repaired board and my pc is running better than ever! The problem was a bent pin in one of the DIMM slots. The RAM I have now is installed in slots A2 & B2 just like it shows in the manual and is running in dual channel.

(UPDATE) After a year of holding on for dear life, my graphics card finally has a brace!

(UPDATE) New chassis! More storage! Whee!

(UPDATE) So the water pump died... So I bought a better one. It was a bit rough getting the software to work right but it paid off.

(UPDATE) New fans! See part list.

(UPDATE) New desk! Pics soon!

Part Reviews

CPU

Intel Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor

It's Intel 'nuf said 🙂

Motherboard

Asus ROG STRIX Z370-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

Really like this board! It is a solid board loaded with features. Just a thing or two that erks me: the large silver heatsink that goes over the bottom m.2 slot is a bit too thick. I actually had to remove it because it contacts my graphics card, which makes me nervous. There is still another heatsink underneath that for the Z370 chipset which stays attached when you remove the silver one. I also wish there could have been just two more rear usb ports.

Storage

Western Digital Black NVMe 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive

When I bought this a year ago it was the fastest on the market now it's still not far behind. Blazing fast and highly recommended! Good to see WD is making their comeback into the gaming industry.

Mouse

Logitech G903 Wireless Optical Mouse

Best mouse I ever owned. Very comfortable to use and very fast and precise. The LMB developed a double clicking issue after a year. Sometimes it would double click and sometimes it wouldn't register the click at all. Logitech more than made up for it however, by not only sending me a new mouse but they let me keep the defective one and all its accessories so now I have an extra charge cord and weight!

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Comments

jayisaperson
  • 5 years 6 months ago

Just so you know, your ram sticks are in the wrong slots (either 1 and 3 or 2 and 4). But nice build!

cryogenics
  • 5 years 5 months ago

Just to update you on this build: Turns out there was a bent pin in one of the "B" DIMM slots, that's why I had to use only the "A" slots. I have since had it repaired under warranty and am using slots A2 and B2 as it shows in the manual. It's now running flawlessly in dual channel.

cryogenics
  • 5 years 6 months ago

Works fine like it is but thanks. Besides, if I move the ram too close to the cpu, the aio hoses put pressure on the ram. 🤷‍♂️

skizzosjt
  • 5 years 6 months ago

please read up on what dual channel RAM is and then you will understand that you are forcing your RAM to run at less than what it is capable of. what you have done is install one DIMM in channel 1 and one DIMM in channel 2. Like jayisaperson said, you want them in either 1 and 3, or 2 and 4 if you have two total DIMMS. Slots 1 and 3 are likely channel 1 and slots 2 and 4 are channel 2. You will get the most out of them installing them properly

cryogenics
  • 5 years 5 months ago

Just to update you on this build: Turns out there was a bent pin in one of the "B" DIMM slots, that's why I had to use only the "A" slots. I have since had it repaired under warranty and am using slots A2 and B2 as it shows in the manual. It's now running flawlessly in dual channel.

Omega20BC
  • 2 years 5 months ago

I've been thinking about getting the Arc for my first PC. and I have been hearing people saying two things (it's bad/it's good). Since you have had it for a bit now, what do you think about it, and would you recommend it? Could you tell me both the good and the bad(if any), please?

cryogenics
  • 2 years 5 months ago

Honestly, I only recommend Arc right now of you don’t mind tinkering a bit to make it work. There is some prerequisite setup to go through both in the bios and OS. I can say that Intel certainly wasn’t lying about the performance per dollar thing. I had Destiny at max settings running at 3440x1440 @144hz/~80fps There’s also alot of OC headroom to take advantage of the 16GB vram. Give it a good year and the drivers will be much better. For $349 and all the free games/software, it’s a steal compared to Nvidia. Also, if you’re worried at all about thermals, go for one of the Asrocks or that Acer Bifrost because the stock LE cooler is about what you’d expect from Intel.

Omega20BC
  • 2 years 5 months ago

Hey, thank you for your response! I’LL definitely get it then!!!

KnightSlash8310
  • 2 years 5 months ago

As long as you have at Smart Access Memory because it loses lots of performance without it.

ninjadev64
  • 2 years 4 months ago

Resizable BAR*. SAM is the AMD/Radeon-branded name for the open ReBAR technology.

NikeMADNESS
  • 4 years 11 months ago

I have the same card and I am about to purchase a brace. Do you recommend this one lol?

cryogenics
  • 4 years 11 months ago

Absolutely! I must warn you however, this brace occupies an additional expansion slot. So with the brace, your graphics card will take up 4 total slots. Also, depending on the strength and thickness of the steel on your chassis, you might have to adjust the brace a few times to get your card perfectly level.

YaPEX
  • 2 years 5 months ago

where the arc?

cryogenics
  • 2 years 5 months ago

Still waiting on it. Coming tomorrow actually. Will update pics after install.

YaPEX
  • 2 years 5 months ago

Niiiceee, hopefully your motherboard supports Resizeable-BAR

cryogenics
  • 2 years 5 months ago

It does! I have it updated to the latest bios and the option is available. Someone on Discord already confirmed Arc works on 8th gen

YaPEX
  • 2 years 5 months ago

Did u preorder the card or just bought directly, seems like it's out of stock everywhere lmaoo

cryogenics
  • 2 years 5 months ago

Bought on launch day but missed the first batch and had to catch a back order. Pics coming shortly!

zPh
  • 2 years 5 months ago

that arc is beautiful :O

cryogenics
  • 2 years 5 months ago

Isn’t it? I’m struggling to find the time to take better pics in better lighting and at a better angle but, soon!

Owen1234567890987654321
  • 2 years 1 month ago

How good is the arc with 1080p?

cryogenics
  • 2 years 1 month ago

From what I’ve read, this card is amazing at 1080p. I play in 3440x1440p and performance in that res is also good. Forza 5 hits 60fps average on this system at 1440p/Max settings.

Owen1234567890987654321
  • 2 years ago

Cool thanks

Owen1234567890987654321
  • 2 years ago

And what about dx 9 games?

cryogenics
  • 2 years ago

Arc drivers got a giant boost in DX9 performance (like double or triple what it was at launch about two or three months ago. DX11 is the next api to get huge performance boost but it’s being steadily improved with every driver update.

Owen1234567890987654321
  • 2 years ago

sweeet thats great to hear thanks!