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Steambox Maximus - First computer build

by missingcow

66
44 Comments

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Details

CPU Clock Rate

3.5 GHz

GPU Core Clock Rate

850 MHz

GPU Effective Memory Clock Rate

1.25 GHz

Description

No idea what they're putting in the upcoming Steambox, but reading about it made me want to build my own. This sits in my living room, so the build had to be quiet and small to start, plus my wife didn't want a glowing LED box with transparent side panels and jagged edges, so I picked the Define Mini. The Antec liquid cooler was a last minute purchase at best buy as the original cooler I ordered was 5mm too big.

As you can tell by the wire management this is my first build. So far, it surpasses what I wanted in terms of performance.

I'm thinking of overclocking at some point. Think this build can handle it?

Also the total bill of material came out to $1277.00, which was well below the $1,300.00 I had budgeted for the project. The mobo also came with Crysis 3 and Bioshock Infinite... so win there for sure. Also if you have a Microcenter near you, I can't recommend them enough. I got that hard drive that lists for over $200 for $80.00 on special, the CPU was over $100 cheaper than anywhere else online.

Comments Sorted by:

brandonmorgan1234 9 points 74 months ago

You really don't have that bad of cable management. This should be better then the steam box. And this would be a really good gaming pc.

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Jimmy 5 points 74 months ago

I agree, his cable management destroys my current cable management lol. But in my defense he has a better case for it =P

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brandonmorgan1234 6 points 74 months ago

Hahah i wish i had a real PC and not just a laptop. And yea he does have a good case for management.

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Jimmy 4 points 74 months ago

Save up =D

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 1 point 74 months ago

I LOVED the gasketed pass throughs. They made life so easy,.

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Jimmy 1 point 74 months ago

Yeah, I have the HAF 922 which just has a giant open bar between the motherboard and drive bays for routing cables through. It makes cable easy to get out of the way but very hard to hide them.

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 1 point 74 months ago

Thanks! I'm pretty impressed so far, we'll see what Gabe throws under the hood of the actual steambox.

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brandonmorgan1234 5 points 74 months ago

I love how he is the CEO of a huge company and every one just calls him by his first name. Lol

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Vidar2 2 points 74 months ago

That's because everyone loves him, and he doesn't act like a giant jackass. Did you hear EA's CEO resigned?

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brandonmorgan1234 2 points 74 months ago

I agree. And no but i could think of a few reason why though.

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peaceoutbro123 1 point 69 months ago

plus he did it with a non modular psu.

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candy 2 Builds 4 points 73 months ago

Just noticed this! The permalink is ATI. :D

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tacoyum6 3 points 74 months ago

This really isn't a SteamBox, which would most likely be a SFF APU build. This is just a really nice Gaming PC

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 1 point 74 months ago

Yeah for sure. I was just looking for a catchy title. And it does what I think the SteamBox will do probably...? We'll see, I'm still excited to see what they do with it!

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Apach3 3 Builds 3 points 74 months ago

calling this a Steambox is like calling a Corvette an "everyday town car". really, all i see is a high-end gaming build in a mini-ATX form factor. either way, this is a sweet build

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 1 point 74 months ago

Ha ha! Even better then, thanks!

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flamemonkey7 1 Build 2 points 74 months ago

Fantastic build!

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 3 points 74 months ago

Thanks! I'm rocking Far Cry 3 on it right now.

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Frostbyter 2 points 74 months ago

I do likey :3

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FrankV01 2 Builds 2 points 74 months ago

Impressive. That is a great computer you have there. Similar to my build.

I noticed your RAM which just went bad in my build. I hope you have better luck. I know all ram can go and no reason to think it was a quality issue. I just something I noticed between our builds. You also have the same graphics chipset as my build. The similarities make me happy. :-)

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 1 point 74 months ago

Nothing but good times in the 10+ hours I've been rocking it. Fingers crossed though! And heck yeah 7950! That's a sweet PC you've got yourself.

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Norm101 3 Builds 2 points 74 months ago

That square of insulation at the top, did that come with the case?

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 2 points 74 months ago

It did. There is another fan provision with foam covering it on the left side of the case too. There's a total of 6 fan slots on this case! I've got 4 used now (+ the PSU) and I'm still amazed by how quiet it is.

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xBlood_Monkey 10 Builds 2 points 74 months ago

I love your build!

Also, you should be able to OC that video card a fair bit. How are you liking it so far?

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 1 point 74 months ago

I am loving it. So far I've had average FPS of 47 on Tomb Raider, closer to 60 on Assassin's Creed 3. Far Cry 3 is just outrageous. I did not know that such beauty and detail could be found in any game, ever. I'm dying for Bioshock Infinte too.

I will want to OC soon though I think because the frame rate drops slightly below what I'd like with a lot of onscreen characters in Tomb Raider... but that's minor and only happens every now and again.

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xBlood_Monkey 10 Builds 2 points 74 months ago

You should be able to hit at least 1100MHz on the core without temps rising too much at the stock fan curve, though that depends on air flow inside your case. Looks like you should be fine with that 120mm on the bottom pushing air right into the video card. (:

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Sprocket30 2 Builds 2 points 74 months ago

-Nice build ! +1 for sure !

-Last I've heard steambox was gonna be $999.00 but still no specs released.Not that i'm comparing your system to steambox . I'm sure yours will run laps around steambox .

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 1 point 74 months ago

I actually paid $80 for that hard drive at MicroCenter. I just walked by an entire pallet full of them for that price and I had to scrape my jaw off the floor. I shoulda got 2... but what I REALLY want is another bigger SSD. Boot time is 15 seconds with Win8 on my SSD, which is just unreal in my world.

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gtmsnba13 2 points 73 months ago

Woof, that's a powerful build. And I don't know if it's just me, but that 7950 looks a bit bent down...

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 1 point 73 months ago

So far I'm way happy with it. I've overclocked the CPU to 4.4 GHz and the 7950 to 1100MHz. It really does a great job.

I hope it's not bent down! I should open it up and check. If it IS, how do I fix that? I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable just bending it all around...

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lochnair 1 point 60 months ago

Just for the record if anyone's wondering, you can easily remove the upper hard drive cage to resolve space problems such as these.

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 1 point 57 months ago

Yes, you are correct. I forgot to mention that I eventually removed this upper hard drive bay to increase air flow. It has worked great!

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Oliver 5 Builds 1 point 74 months ago

For OC'ing, the hardware can probably handle it, but I'd be careful on how much you do, because you don't have a lot of room in the PSU's power, and I'm not sure if the motherboard can handle it.

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 1 point 74 months ago

Great to know! Maybe just a little, though...

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Vidar2 1 point 74 months ago

Bessie where are you?

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Syndicate 1 point 74 months ago

Fix the position of the back plastic part of the cooler.

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 1 point 74 months ago

I actually thought that might be wrong. I had a hard time fitting it any other way though... And the instructions were extremely low on info with useless diagrams so once I got a fit I just rolled with it. Any problems leaving it the way it is?

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Syndicate 1 point 73 months ago

No performance problem, just so it looks better. lol

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Destrokk 2 Builds 1 point 72 months ago

Nice build. I agree with the MicroCenter comment. They have a HUGE selection of parts. They are usually cheaper than online (in store pick-up especially) and if they aren't, they will match the price. No problem. They have a great return policy as well and great customer service.

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maximus82 1 point 71 months ago

Great build. I have similar constraints (living room, wife, etc.) You've mentioned performance - but how is the noise?

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 1 point 68 months ago

Noise is not bad at all. Just a little hum, not an aircraft taking off. I have not used the 140mm fan on top, or the 120mm fan on the side. Just the back, the bottoms, and the fronts. The insulation on the case really makes a difference.

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cobbleking 1 point 25 months ago

Happy 1000th build PcPartPicker!

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 1 point 74 months ago

You know, I read all the fatal1ty junk and controversy, but in the end I just saw good value in the board.

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missingcow submitter 1 Build 2 points 55 months ago

Thank you! I did remove the top HDD cage shortly after posting these pictures. Frankly, I didn't want to lose it! :) But I eventually decided I'd put it in a safe place and try try try to remember where it's at if and when I decide to put another 3 HDDs in it.

I am in love with the define series too. I opened this a month ago, for the first time in a year and a half, and it's completely dustless inside. Bravo, Fractal!

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