Introduction:

House Targaryen is my first ever PC build. I’ve only ever changed out GPUs, sound cards, RAM before. I’ve wanted to build a PC for a while but I kept holding off, because the next GPU was announced then the next. When do you jump on board? I wanted a clean install of an operating system – no junk, and I was excited for windows 10 (a proper start menu! :) ) so I thought I’d wait for windows 10 and the new Intel architecture – Skylake…..

Theme In my opinion if you’re going to do anything in life, you might as well take your time do it right and make it look CLEEEEEAN! Everything in my life is black and white with a splash of colour thrown in, because I’m all about the minimalist look. So the black and white PC build was an obvious choice. Also, I knew I was going to add RGB LED lighting so anything white would change to the LED colour.

Case – NZXT H440 Obviously the case had to be CLEAN and white and black. Only one case can fill these categories with such style – the H440. The case is a stunner! Great cable management options, great fans. And the PSU cover is the cherry on top!

Processor - I7 6700k vs i7 5820k? This was the toughest decision I had in the build. Do I opt for more cores, that I will likely not use too often, or do I opt for a processor that can be overclocked higher? I want to do some video editing and photoshop but I decided to go for the 6700k as there was no news as to whether any new processors would be coming out for the X99 architecture. The X99 system was by this time a year old so I thought I’d be an early adopter of the Z170 platform because at least this way it would last a few years.

Motherboard – ASUS Z170-A I have to say the Z170 architecture is a blast to work with. Having never built a PC before, I made a few mistakes, putting things in the wrong order etc. I original hooked up my CPU cooler to the wrong fan header, and put the SSD into a non-sata express connector. The board could have done with more internal USB headers to connect coolers etc. to but apparently 2 is the norm…. I chose the ASUS Z170-A mainly because it is white a black. The aesthetics was the most important aspect of the build, and there was only the Z170-A, Deluxe, Krait and G1 to choose from. The G1 had red on... The Deluxe was too expensive and the Krait didn't have enough white.... Z170 A it was then. ASUS has a great easy BIOS and I would highly recommend their board to any beginners.

Ideally I would have liked a full white motherboard on the Z170 platform like the Z97 ASUS TUF Mark S but they don’t make them yet – if they do create a Z170 version I will surely buy one because it looks awesome!

RAM – Panram Ninja 4 x 4GB It had to be White DDR4 RAM… I wanted the new crucial Sport kit but it didn’t ship in time. But overall the kit looks good and performs really well.

CPU Cooler - Kraken x61 Seeing as I had the H440 it was only fitting to get the NZXT cooler. It looks so CLEAN! RGB lighting on the logo and so easy to install! Although I did hook it up to the wrong fan header….

NZXT has great customer support - I emailed them before the build as to their recommendation with regards to the H4440 case management, and a gentleman named George Perez was an absolute star informing me on the best fan setup with the Kraken x61. Cannot fault NZXt atm, great products, great customer service!

Graphics Card – KFA2 GTX 980 ti Hall of Fame Primarily I wanted something relevant that can play all games at 1440 x 2560. Obviously it had to be white – so there was only one choice that would look so CLEAN in the build. The GPU is a monster and destroys everything! Every game runs on ultra 100 FPS +

Power Supply - EVGA 850W You only hear good things about this PSU. Such a high quality finish from the product to the packaging and so cheap. 850W is a bit overkill but it was so cheap and it gives me options in the future

LED Kit – Satechi RGB LED Kit A hard decision – not everyone has adopted LED lights into heir build and a lot of them are awful. After reading the reviews on Amazon and reading the customer service policy this company had I took the gamble. Sure they are pricey but you get what you pay for and they look MAJESTIC AND MAGNIFICENT!

Cable MOD Kit Honestly if you should buy anything from this list – it should be these, it makes the build so much easier. I had to build without these first because they arrived late – sold out. And the cable management was so much more difficult! 3 days later they arrived and I rebuilt – they look so CLEAN so FRESH – a must buy!

Monitor – Acer XB270HU 1080p is so 2005 – its 2015! Time to upgrade! WOW what a screen, I wasn't going for a TN panel! I want a dynamic colour pallet for video/photo editing. I wanted a high refresh rate – 144hz with 4m/s response time with an IPS display! It’s a no brainer…. Was waiting for the ASUS equivalent but they took too long to release it.

Price I bought the Products from - Bespoke Offers - gave me 10% off each product then Top Cashback gives me 14% cashback = WINNING (would highly recommend it) - Aria PC - a gentleman named Nick Frost (yes- the guy from Shawn of the Dead!) was a great help - he created a list of all the products they could provide - great customers service! - 5 stars - Overclockers - they had sold out of a few products but they sorted out all my issues with ease, and they are the only UK seller of the beautiful GTX 980 ti Hall of Fame - Amazon - always a safe bet when purchasing expensive items

Conclusion: Honestly the build went better than I thought. I thought I’d have to call in a few friends to help but managed to build the PC using youtube tutorial and the motherboard manual. The goal of the build was to make something SIMPLE, CLEAN and POWERFUL – I think I achieved all 3 – I hope you agree.

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