Build Log - The Puffer

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     Hi guys! This is my first PC build log. I have been wanting to build a rig for quite some time now but never got around to doing it. This time though, the stars aligned and I decided to take the bait. This post will mostly be about my building experience, part selection rationale and other things that are relevant provided I don't go on a tangent.


     First of all, the rationale behind the specifications. I have listed my general specifications on the image above. I went with the Intel I7-4790K for future-proofing as well as to accelerate my occasional video rendering (and for dem overclocking). Multi-core seems to also be a focal point for the next iteration of DirectX 12 so there's that too. To cool a top-of-the-line processor, I have gone with the close-loop AIO cooler, Corsair's H100i instead of a more conventional air cooler to make things more manageable as air coolers tend to get in the way in the build process. For the motherboard, I went with the ASUS Maximus VII Ranger. Reason being that it seems to be pretty user-friendly and the understated red/black colour scheme looks pretty sweet. In the graphics card department I went with the ASUS GTX 970 Strix. Again, the colour scheme is another factor in this choice as well as the included backplate for a more rigid construction. I only got 8GB of RAM due to budget restrictions. For storage, I have a SSD for the lightning fast boot speed and a 7200RPM HDD for general storage. Powering the rig is the Seasonic M12II Evo 750W. I chose the 750W PSU so I can perhaps add another graphics card in the future and the flat black cables goes pretty well with the colour scheme. Enclosing all this is the Corsair Carbide Air 540. I chose the Air 540 for the two-chamber design (hide dem cable clutter) and its focus on air flow to provide breathing room for the graphics card.

before routing cables
     I used guides from LinusTechTips and ASUS PCDIY which can all be found on YouTube. Overall speaking, the building process was much harder than I anticipated. Almost nothing got plugged in correct the first time through, be it the IO shield or RAM DIMMs. I spent about 3 hours trying to get everything in place and another 1 and a half trying to plug in all the cables. I think the reason why the process took so long is because I was unsure how much force should be applied on the different parts. Also, don't get me started on cable management; if I had a smaller case I think it would have went terribly, I feel that the Air 540 is certainly well built for beginners like me.


     The motherboard was also a lifesaver with ASUS's Q-code LED display. It helped me diagnosed a lot of the initial problems like with the "RAM not pushed hard enough" issue. Speaking of not pushing hard enough, my 1TB storage drive was also not pushed deep enough (that's what she said); apparently, there are two clicks when plugging the drive into the Air 540's hot-swap bay which is kind of weird.




     Oh and if you haven't notice already, I named the rig Puffer because the Air 540's cube design reminds me of a blowfish, so I figured it was only appropriate to name it as such. No omega, trinity, poseidon names for me this time round.

FINAL RESULT


     The front cable management is not that great, I know. I will redo it when I feel the need for that, for now, I rather go through my Steam library again. I forgot to take a picture of the cable management at the back but I think you guys will be fine without seeing the mess there.

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