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- Charity:Water Completion Report #8
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February 2017
- $1250 Gaming PC Build - ASUS STRIX B250F Gaming / i5-7500
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December 2016
- MSI Pick Your Dream Holiday PC Giveaway
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November 2016
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- $1000 Great Gaming Build
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May 2016
- Live Gaming Performance with Overwatch
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September 2015
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August 2015
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April 2012
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March 2012
BitFenix Nova TG / Ryzen 3 Build
BitFenix released an updated version of their Nova mid tower case today called the Nova TG. They've given it a visual upgrade, adding a tempered glass side panel and an accent stripe down the front panel's side-mesh intakes. It's available in black with red accents (as seen here) or white with black accents.
To check out the case, we decided to build a Ryzen 3 1300X / GTX 1050 Ti based $650 (USD) gaming PC. Read below for the complete part list and watch the build video to see how it all came together.
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 3 1300X 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor | $129.00 |
| Motherboard | Asus PRIME B350-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard | $89.99 |
| Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory | $74.99 |
| Storage | Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $62.89 |
| Video Card | Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini Video Card | $169.74 |
| Case | BitFenix Nova TG (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case | $59.99 |
| Power Supply | SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $46.89 |
| Total at time of filming | $633.49 |
We've posted a completed build with benchmarks and more photos. You can also watch our cable management video to see how Barry tidied things up for the final look of the build:
A big thanks to BitFenix for providing the Nova TG for us to use in this build.
Fractal Design Meshify C Build
Fractal Design announced their new Meshify C ATX mid-tower case today. The case includes a tinted tempered glass side panel and a full length metal mesh front panel with an angular design pattern that gives the Meshify C its own unique flair while allowing for maximum intake air flow at the front of the case.
To put the new case through its paces, we decided to assemble a $1500 (USD) gaming PC using ASRock's Z270 Taichi motherboard to help show it off. Check below for the complete part list and watch the video to see a bit more about the case and how our first build in it came together. Also be sure to check out our completed build write-up with benchmarks and more photos, as well as our cable management video.
A big thanks to Fractal Design for providing the case and ASRock for providing the motherboard for this build.
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i5-7600K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor | $239.99 |
| CPU Cooler | CRYORIG H7 Quad Lumi 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler | $59.95 |
| Motherboard | ASRock Z270 Taichi ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $151.98 |
| Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | $136.88 |
| Storage | OCZ TRION 150 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $159.99 |
| Storage | Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $83.95 |
| Video Card | Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 8GB WINDFORCE OC 8G Video Card | $509.99 |
| Case | Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case | $89.99 |
| Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $81.98 |
| Case Fan | Fractal Design X2 GP-12 (Black) 52.3 CFM 120mm Fan | $12.99 |
| Total at time of filming | $1527.69 (USD) |
$1250 AMD Ryzen 5 1600 / GeForce GTX 1080 Build
This month's featured build is based on our "Great AMD Gaming" build guide which uses the AMD Ryzen 5 1600 processor and GeForce GTX 1080 GPU all built in Cooler Master's MasterBox 5 mid-tower case.
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor | $199.99 |
| Motherboard | MSI - B350 PC MATE ATX AM4 Motherboard | $93.98 |
| Memory | Team - T-Force / Night Hawk 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | $109.99 |
| Storage | Western Digital - Blue 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $139.99 |
| Video Card | EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB SC2 Gaming iCX Video Card | $569.99 |
| Case | Cooler Master - MasterBox 5 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case | $64.98 |
| Power Supply | Corsair - TXM Gold 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply | $74.99 |
| Total at time of filming | $1253.91 (USD) |
For Benchmarks and Photos, be sure to check out our Completed Build write-up.
You can also watch Barry clean up the cables in our cable management time lapse video:
MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC / Intel i7-7800X Build
Update: We've posted a completed build write-up with more pictures and benchmarks.
For the Intel X299 release, MSI sent us their new X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC motherboard with custom cover plates as well as an Intel i7-7800X processor.
To help keep the processor running cool, we used Fractal Design's recently released Celsius S36 CPU cooler.
Watch the video to see how the build came together and check below for some initial benchmark results. The MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC is available starting June 26, but can be pre-ordered now.
A big thanks to MSI for providing the motherboard, processor and video card as well as to Fractal Design for providing the CPU cooler used in this build.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-7800X 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor | $389.00 @ B&H |
| CPU Cooler | Fractal Design Celsius S36 87.6 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler | $119.98 @ SuperBiiz |
| Motherboard | MSI X299 GAMING PRO CARBON AC ATX LGA2066 Motherboard | $359.00 @ B&H |
| Memory | Corsair Vengeance LED 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | $267.99 @ Newegg |
| Storage | Samsung 960 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive | $219.99 @ Amazon |
| Video Card | MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB DUKE OC Video Card | $714.98 @ Newegg |
| Case | Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Acrylic ATX Mid Tower Case | $79.99 @ Amazon |
| Power Supply | Corsair RMx 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $119.99 @ Amazon |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $2290.92 (USD) | |
| Mail-in rebates | -$20.00 | |
| Total at time of filming | $2270.92 (USD) |
We will post a completed build write-up later this week with more benchmarks and photos, but here are a few quick benchmarks we ran just after building:
| Benchmark | 3DMark Score | Graphics Score | Physics Score | CPU Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TimeSpy v1.0 | 9422 | 9986 | N/A | 7140 | |
| FireStrike Ultra v1.1 | 7063 | 7047 | 17435 | N/A | |
| FireStrike Extreme 1.1 | 13060 | 14127 | 17531 | N/A |
Update: We've now posted our Completed Build write-up. Check it out to see more benchmarks (stock and overclocked) as well as additional photos.
$1,300 Ryzen 7 Gaming PC Build Video
ASUS recently sent us their PRIME X370-PRO motherboard, so we added in the popular Ryzen 7 1700 processor and the ASUS ROG STRIX OC edition of the Radeon RX 580 to build a $1300 (USD) gaming PC. Deepcool sent us the white version of their CAPTAIN 240 EX CPU cooler to coordinate nicely with the motherboard design and we picked up the Raidmax Sigma and 16 GB of white Corsair Vengeance LPX memory to complete our black and white theme.
Be sure to check out the Completed Build with benchmarks and photos as well as the cable management video (see below).
A big thanks to ASUS for providing the motherboard and Deepcool for providing the CPU cooler we used in this build.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor | $299.44 @ OutletPC |
| CPU Cooler | Deepcool - CAPTAIN 240EX WHITE 153.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler | $80.99 @ SuperBiiz |
| Motherboard | Asus - PRIME X370-PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard | $141.98 @ Newegg |
| Memory | Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | $126.89 @ OutletPC |
| Storage | OCZ - TRION 150 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $148.89 @ OutletPC |
| Storage | Toshiba - 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $62.88 @ OutletPC |
| Video Card | Asus - Radeon RX 580 8GB ROG STRIX Video Card | $280.98 @ Directron |
| Case | Raidmax - Sigma-TWS ATX Mid Tower Case | $87.98 @ Newegg |
| Power Supply | EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $69.89 @ OutletPC |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1314.92 | |
| Mail-in rebates | -$15.00 | |
| Total at time of Filming | $1299.92 |
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