First Build*: Ghost

What you say makes sense, I totally agree! I know I'll be far more satisfied with something I built, rather than had built for me.

I don't even have a hard drive. I've got my SSD for Windows and programs (have a bad feeling I'll need another at some point for Sibelius and Pro Tools and all of it's plugins but that can wait. I want to get myself a storage drive too for all my music and such.
 
Well if you think about it, I am lightyears behind when it comes to technology ( 160GB HDD, compared to 3TB HDD's and lightning fast SSD's ).

But anyway, I have been complaining too much.

You're right, my 160GB get filled in a flash, it'll be hard with 120... You need storage drive/s. Damn things got so expensive over here... one month they were cheap as bread and the next they were twice the price ( I think it was that period with the malaysian floods or whatever happend ) so I postponed... and I keep postponing ever since.
 
Basically the same thing happened here. 'Twas the tsunami that hit.

We went ages with them being crazy expensive, then all of a sudden prices just about halved. Should have jumped on it then as now they're on the rise again.
 
I can't afford anything right now. There was a point when I was so close to ordering a FX-6100 ( again leaving the HDD issue for "another time" ) but I didn't, things came up, I needed the cash some place else... so... here I am :)
 
The day will come, don't worry :)

I've been putting the money aside for almost a year now, of course there have expenditures here and there, but now it's all gone and I still don't have every part :rolleyes:

Just the GPU and storage drives to go and I've got a completed machine.

However, need to get a new monitor first so that's priority number 1 now!
 
I know it will... but... knowing how excitement can take a toll... it's that kid inside you screaming for more, I can't help it, I'm an enthusiast .. you understand.

You're going for a super high resolution one or the somewhat... standard 1080p?
My monitor is a 4:3 1280x1024 Fujitsu Siemens. I bought this one second hand. It broke down like... 3-4 times so far... once I sent it back to warranty and I was monitorless for 2 weeks :), and the other times ( same symptoms ) I fixed it myself ( turned out to be a couple capacitors in the integrated power supply module inside the monitor ).
 
Aye, most likely just going to go for 1080p. My eye sights not all that great, and 1440p monitors are just a little too expensive for me at the moment.
 
I hear ya, well Good chice. 1440p monitors require alot of graphic power, so I'd choose a 1080p over a 1440, and there's the price too. 1080p is more than enough..
 
Pretty sure Ikea sells in UK, go with them to find a nice table-desk for that mousepad, I'm using one and for 35$ it beats the snot out of any 100$ computer desk i ever had.
 
you know thath the 1600mhz verson of that ram has yellow lights?

its the 2166 and 2400mhz versons that have blue light :p

Nice Ant,i've just finished my first build and it just about the same as your's mate.The only thing i haven't got yet is my new GPU,not sure if i should go with a MSI GTX670PE or a 79**
anyways i have the same ram and i'am sure it's runing at 1600mhz and the lights are blue..
 
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I hear ya, well Good chice. 1440p monitors require alot of graphic power, so I'd choose a 1080p over a 1440, and there's the price too. 1080p is more than enough..

Exactly what I'm thinking. Perhaps in the future when I have the resources, but for now 1080p will be just fine :)

Pretty sure Ikea sells in UK, go with them to find a nice table-desk for that mousepad, I'm using one and for 35$ it beats the snot out of any 100$ computer desk i ever had.

I LOVE IKEA. I've been looking at what they've got in stock on their website, but nothing will go right in the space in my room. I'm going to have to have a trip down the motorway some day soon with my mousepad and a tape measure and take a look at what they've got :D

Nice Ant,i've just finished my first build and it just about the same as your's mate.The only thing i haven't got yet is my new GPU,not sure if i should go with a MSI GTX670PE or a 79**
anyways i have the same ram and i'am sure it's runing at 1600mhz and the lights are blue..

Like I've said before, lights make no difference to me. But thank you for clearing that up :)

I was thinking about one of the Lightning Edition cards, but they're way too expensive, so the Power Edition is probably the better choice for me :)

This post should have my spec's on i hope.......

My word, your specs are almost identical to mine. Great minds think alike, eh? ;)
 
Now that the new years celebrations are out of the way, I needed something to do to keep myself occupied. I'm going crazy not being able to get this thing built yet, but the post is holding me back, haha!

I thought I'd spend some time having a proper look around the case, and also show you lot as well. I also decided to get the SSD, optical drive and input/output shield mounted while I was at it.

------------------

Here's where I intend to do the whole build. You've seen this desk before but I thought I'd show you again ;)
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When you open the case for the first time, this is what you're presented with. A bunch of cables and some plastic bags. As you can see, the inside of the case is very roomy, but I have a feeling it may not have the same feel once the motherboard is mounted in there. The holes for cable routing do have rubber grommets, however you're going to have to install them yourself which is actually quite frustrating. I understand it's easier for BitFenix to just package them and leave the user to it, but it would be nice for them to be installed already. I have a funny feeling once I start passing the larger cables from the PSU through them, they're going to be popping back out which may get annoying, but we'll see what happens.

I do like that the entire interior of the case is black though. It makes it look very smart and clean looking.
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Inside the plastic bags you get a load of screws, a couple more standoffs for mATX motherboards, rubber grommets, little adhesive feet for the PSU (I assume?), a user guide (mine has two copies of the same page in it :rolleyes:) and you also get the HDD slides, which I have not pictured for some reason. There are enough slides to fill all of the available spaces if you keep the case in its current configuration. The wall for the SSD slides can be removed to allow for longer graphics cards, or moved along slightly to allow mounting of larger sized mechanical drives. However, there are not enough of the larger slides to have the whole tower in this configuration.
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This is the inside of the side panel, and here you can see the silencing material BitFenix have used. The material is of a decent thickness and is rather smooth to the touch. However, quite malleable as it's very soft. Be warned as you could end up with a permanent imprint into the material.
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I tried to get a closeup of the material, but my camera just wouldn't play ball. I think you can get a rough idea of what it's like though.
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Looking at the actual motherboard tray there is a key imprinted into the metal. It simply shows you what the letters next to all of the standoffs mean. A nice feature to have, particularly if you're a first time builder. Also pictured here is the pin used to align the motherboard in the case correctly, also a nice thing to have.
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Here is what the SSD/HDD slides look like. I have mounted my SSD in the case already, and doing so was very easy indeed. The plastic simply bends around the SSD and clips into place. I was worried about bending the plastic too far and snapping the slide itself, however the plastic is very thick and doesn't feel like it's going to break. I believe there is some form of vibration absorbing feature with these slides, however I could not spot anything in particular so I may be wrong there.
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I've also mounted the optical drive, which was also very easy to do due to the tool less mechanism that the case has. I have however screwed the drive into place on both sides to make sure it's definitely secure, and help hold it in place when it's spinning up.
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Here is the drive mounted in the case. If it matters at all, I very much like the way the drive looks in the case. The black pretty much matches, and it's nice and flush with the case, so it's all good :)
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Finally, here are some pictures of the case itself. The lighting is a little bit iffy, so there are some funny reflections from the tables. The case isn't that shiny, it has much more of a matte finish to it. I very much like the aesthetics of this case, more so than the similarly priced offerings from Cooler Master, and Fractal Design. Corsair also have their silent case, but it's a little more expensive than the BitFenix, and in my opinion still doesn't look as nice.
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That's it for now I'm afraid. Just thought I'd actually do what I can without the parts that I'm yet to receive :)

Cheers!

- Anthony.
 
Can't belive you're still waiting for the rest of the parts!
I noticed that the case has a mesh on top, can you take it off and mount fans in there?
Also i like the acoustic material, that would make a bit of a difference if you have relatively loud fans. But the overall aesthetics of the case.... well honestly, it looks like a piece of furniture, the light reflections, the shape... Looks good!
 
Yes, the mesh on top can be removed. It clicks in, you just have to push on it at the back of the case and out it pops. The radiator for the H100i is going to be going under there, and then the fans inside the case. All of the points where fans can be mounted have removable dust filters to allow for easy cleaning and such.

Glad you like the case, I think it's great so far! :D
 
Yes, the mesh on top can be removed. It clicks in, you just have to push on it at the back of the case and out it pops. The radiator for the H100i is going to be going under there, and then the fans inside the case. All of the points where fans can be mounted have removable dust filters to allow for easy cleaning and such.

Glad you like the case, I think it's great so far! :D

Yea, I thought it's one of those that clicks and pops out... wasn't sure from the pics. I like the case, the black interior looks nice. Lets hope that it's as practical as it looks nice. When did you say you're expecting your parts to get there? Man, I hate the post office.
 
Well, I have my H100i on preorder, it was due in stock yesterday but I've heard nothing but with today being new years day it's a bank holiday and I'm not surprised there. Hopefully if they have the stock tomorrow or Thursday, I can order it and have next day delivery and get it by Friday. Otherwise, it'll be some time next week.

My PSU is due to be delivered between Monday and Wednesday next week, which is a little bit of a pain because I really need that part! Hopefully it'll be here earlier though, but I'm not holding my breath.
 
You will get there, it just seems that time stretches when you're waiting... and a week from now, probably more till you get all the parts seems like a long way... to me atleast.
 
A week from now I imagine I'll have it built and booted, but we'll have to wait and see.

Like I said before, I've been waiting since October to start building, so I dare say I can last another week ;)
 
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