Originally I started with this particular parts set :
- Intel Core i7-7700K
- Aorus GA-Z270-Gaming 7
- Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 3000 MHz CL15 2 X 8GB
- Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming
- Corsair H115 AIO water cooling
- Corsair AF 120 LED Quiet Edition fan
- NZXT IU01 internal USB hub
Base which was waiting for the new set of parts was :
- Cooler Master HAF XB case
- Corsair AX 1500i PSU (will be featured separately soon on Solo Parts section)
- Modecom CR-525 front panel
- Samsung DVD SH-224DB recorder
- 2 X Western Digital WD10EZEX 1TB HDDs
- Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD
At the time of purchase (02.2017), there were no official Aorus GPUs on the market. Xtreme Gaming series was top-of-the-line when it comes to Gigabyte products. GTX 1080 (GP104-400) was second, most powerful graphic card for personal use.
GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming front view
GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming top view
GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming back view
There was only Titan X (GP102-400) that could beat it in terms of performance. So the choice for me was obvious, especially that Titan X was almost twice the price of the GTX 1080, even tho it was a custom cooled model with Titan X class chokers and capacitors and many many other upgrades compared to Nvidia`s Founder Edition GTX. It also came with neat little set of goodies since it was a Premium Pack version. The box included :
- Xtreme Gaming SLI HB bridge with led lightning
- Xtreme Gaming premium mouse pad
- Front VR panel with 2 X HDMI and 2 X USB 3.0 ports
- Rear PC case panel for HDMI output
- Wrist wrap and few other things
The motherboard itself is perfectly and precisely crafted piece of electronic equipment. Many premium features distinguish it from other products like dual bios, RGBW (!) lightning, quad core sound card, metal PCI slots and many others.
Of course motherboard alone can`t do much, that is why it`s paired with this little bad boy – the brand new (at the time) Kaby Lake superstar, the unlocked, 8 core (logical) i7-7700 K with base frequency of 4200 MHz and a turbo boost to 4500 MHz when needed.
To keep this monster cool and quiet I`ve decided to use All In One water cooling from Corsair. H115i seemed to be the best choice due to performance it delivered and maximum size of the radiator that could fit into HAF XB case. Dual 140mm fans are more than enough to keep everything cool maintaining moderate amount of noise… at least it seemed like that at that time but we will pick it up later 😉 For me it was first encounter with liquid cooling, that is why I`ve decided to use AIO set instead of a custom loop. Plus, full Corsair Link support via USB connection and an RGB water block tilted the scale. For everyday use temps maintain at 30 ~ 35 degrees which is a very good level as far as I`m concerned. Stress is a different story but as I wrote few lines earlier we will pick it up later because the solution was found.
Last but not least is the most advanced RAM that Corsair has in their offer, the Dominator Platinum series. I`ve chosen the 3000 MHz edition with Cas Latency of 15. The chosen capacity is two dimms of 8GB each for a future expansion to 32 GB of total RAM. Maybe it`s not the newest RAM in terms of design date, but still Corsair claims that it`s the most advanced RAM they produce. Specially selected chips, unique PCB design, advanced passive cooling, led lightning and temperature monitoring and reporting technology seems to confirm that statement.
Corsiar Dominator Platinum 3000MHz
Corsair Dominator Platinum special PCB design
So the building began, first of all I had to make space for my brand new parts. This is why I had to say good bye to this aristocrat. But not for ever of course, old set is waiting to be featured on Modern Builds soon 🙂 Yey !
Working with parts of this advanced level is simply a pleasure and a dream come true for a real enthusiast.
Mix of old and new, plus four AMD Cypress cores which will visit this site in near future
After few hours of fitting, precise measurements, disassembly and putting back together the final result arised 🙂
But it was only the beginning of a great story, please read further to experience the evolution of this monster.
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