Tuesday 19 June 2012

Build Revisions

So being in California for a month means I have access to Amazon's much cheaper computer parts as well as free shipping!  Taking that into account I can now slot the awesome Corsair AX1200 PSU into my build rather than the Silent Pro Hybrid.

Even though its got 100w less and has no fan controller included, it is slightly larger in dimension allowing for better heat dissipation and adds a nice gold accent to the aesthetic of my case.  It's very subtle but would look quite nice in amongst the rest of the noir scheme.
I could wait for this iteration of the same PSU being released later this year, however it'd be $100 more and has much too strong of a red accent to go with my selection of (or lack of) colours.  It is however 80 plus platinum rated rather than just gold rated.  It also has a digital power manager that allows real time updates through the OS which is very neat.  Unfortunately the AX1200i will be incredibly inflated when it hits the shores of AU.
 Something I can wait for is this nifty little upgrade to the previously selected GA-X79-UD3.  This is the GA-X79-UP4.  It has an upgraded power management system which I'll have to read up more about when it gets a release, 4 extra DIMM slots and some extra SATA ports amongst other things.  The DIMM slots will mean that should I somehow run low with 16gb of RAM, the 32GB option will be there =D
Here is something I've already managed to get shipped in.  A couple of slim slot loading drives of the SONY variety.  One is a standard DVD writer and the other a BD reader.  Since my previous build used a $300 LG BD writer and I only ever used it to rip BD movies to an external for playing on my VAIO, I figured it best to go with a reader only option. My wallet also thanked me for saving it the $400 premium on slim slot loading BD writer.  A neat little 5.25" tray that will hold both means there is less clogging of the bays so I can fit an extra fan for airflow.  I'll use a mesh style contact paper sheet with the slots and eject button cut out so that it better matches the mesh grill of the rest of the case.

SSD selection will also likely change in the near future.  Samsung 830 prices are quite reasonable and also seem to be a lot more reliable than most.  Intel would be great but the price on their 520 line is just not worth the performance ratio.   Corsair also has a Neutron GTX line that seems to show incredible performance stats that may also make the final cut.