The original iteration of this build was very different from how it ended, but mostly in a couple of key areas. The first notable difference is case. While the Evolv X is listed as the current case, the original build started with an NZXT H440 case in black and red. I initially was going for a red and black theme, hence why you'll see red G. Skill memory in the build.

The original cooling was done by the NZXT X62 Kraken as well. This remained the same cooler until 2019 when I changed things out for the EK Fluid Gaming Kit.

The build process was mostly smooth, except for some clearance issues with the X62 radiator in the H440. In the push configuration, I found that the radiator was putting too much pressure on the on EPS power. I eventually switched to a pull configuration, which alleviated that issue somewhat. I also didn't understand how the fan hub worked (I was very much unaware of a lot of things back then that I've since learned and have a better understanding of).

I went with X99 and the 5820k because I wanted the extra cores for editing and potentially streaming. While Ryzen was launching at the same time I was preparing to build this, I wasn't interested in any potential early adopter issues, which there were a few, so I stayed with Intel for this build. I also went with the 5820k over the 6800k due to it being a better overclocker in general, and I had plans of overclocking the CPU and GPU. In the end, I was able to get to 4.4ghz at 1.26 volts.

The motherboard of choice was the ASUS X99 A-II. I originally wanted the Deluxe-II, but Micro Center didn't have them in stock when I was ready to build. The board has been solid and there have been no major issues.

For cooling, I ended up going with the X62 Kraken because at the time, it was just the best looking AIO on the market. Issues with CAM marred my early experiences with it, but overall, it did the job it needed to do.

For memory, I went with G. Skill's red Ripjaws V at 2400mhz to stay withing the color scheme. In hindsight, this feels like a poor choice, especially once I moved the build into a more neutral colored case and started messing with RGB lighting more. However, the memory has worked flawlessly so I can't complain too much about this choice.

My boot drive was a Samsung SM951 OEM drive. I wanted to take advantage of M.2 NVMe and at the time, this was the cheapest 256GB drive I could find at $127. Kind of crazy to see 500GB drives going for less than that now, but when I bought it, that was a great deal. For additional storage, I have a 500GB 850 Evo and a 2TB Seagate Barracuda.

For power, I went with the Corsair RM850 that I found at Micro Center refurbished for $80. This has ended up being one of the most surprisingly effective components in the build, showing no signs of trouble since first using in nearly 3 years ago. I originally had stock cables in the build that eventually were changed over to some custom Cablemod cables with the first revision of the build.

The GPU of choice was the ASUS ROG Strix GTX 1070. I had keyed in on this GPU when I saw it perform very well at 1080p and 1440p. The original one was an open box item that I ended up returning to Micro Center when I ran into immediate artifacting in games. After switching to a new one, the issue was gone and it indeed did a great job at High/Ultra settings and is still in service today. ASUS did a great job with the cooling on this card as it rarely gets above 65C, even under intense loads, and the fans are very silent, even when ramping up.

The other major thing worth noting in this build is I replaced the front fans with some Noctua fans that were optimized for static pressure. This helped push air in past the drive cages and was around when I gave up trying to use the integrated fan hub.

The build was a success, but I'd deal with repeated issues with NZXT over the next month or so, prompting the first revision of this system. The first being the fan hub and NZXT not responding to my questions about it (and no, I couldn't check the manual for the case as it wasn't in the accessories box). The H440 I had bought was a refurbished model that was lacking a manual, plus the power supply bracket. They eventually shipped me a bracket (after a TON of complaining on social media and YouTube), but forgot the thumb screws. They then finally sent me a second accessory kit, but at this point, I had my mind made up and was going to change the case.

Aside from that, the system ran fine. I initially had a 4.1ghz overclock that I eventually bumped up to 4.4ghz. I was also able to get a mild overclock on the GPU as well. I was happy that it was running, but the first revision didn't take long.

Only a couple months after building my first PC, I made the decision to buy a new case. I was aggravated with NZXT and had discovered that tempered glass side panels were a thing. I had seen a few videos on the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX case with tempered glass and found it to be much more appealing than the scratched up side panel my H440 had. I made the decision to buy the Anthracite Grey version, picked up some LED strips, and went and had some black and white custom-sleeved cables sent to me from Cablemod.

Once I had all the new pieces, it was time to disassemble the build and move it over to the new case. The first thing I did was move the Noctua fans into the intake position in the front of the new case. This required some messing with the hard drive cage, and that ended up being the most challenging part of the rebuild. After that, it was smooth sailing as the Enthoo Evolv had some great installation features available, most notably the removable mount in the top for radiators and fans. This made installing the X62 much simpler, and the clearance difference was notable. No longer did I have to worry about any wiring being squished.

It didn't take long to get everything situated. The system booted up and we were back in business.

Over the course of the next year and a half, I slowly made adjustments to the build, mostly cosmetic. I added a Phanteks Halos Lux fan frame to the rear fan, then added two more to the radiator fans. Then I bought modified top and front panels from ModMyMods to help increase airflow. They didn't make a huge difference, but they did help.

I decided to add a capture card, the AverMedia Live Gamer HD, with the idea that I could start recording console gameplay, as well as use my Panasonic Lumix G7 for livestreaming purposes. The livestreaming stuff wouldn't come into play until late 2018, but it did end up being very helpful to have.

The last change was in the end, unnecessary, but helped open the door to my primary system being built. I was running into issues where the system would fail to boot upon waking from sleep. I initially thought it was a PSU issue, and seing as the RM850 was refurbished, felt it was possible the PSU was starting to fail. I ended up buying a RM1000x, but the issue persisted. In the end, it was more likely a Windows issue than anything and I stopped putting the PC to sleep at that point.

The Enthoo Evolv ATX TG ended up being a beautiful case that added that extra bit of oomph to the build. As I added RGB elements to the build, I was able to incorporate more elaborate color schemes that helped bring the build to life. The system performed just as well, if not a bit better, in the Evolv ATX case. The addition of the modded panels improved things even more, and I was happy with the build.

The build stayed this way until late 2018, when opportunities arose that helped the primary PC get built.

In late 2018, I was in position to build a new PC, which relegated this build to secondary status. At that point, it was going to serve as a backup rendering machine and stream machine, particularly for tech streams. The RM850 PSU was put back in as I used the RM1000x in the new PC and it ended up being used to stream the building of my primary PC as well as the building of my niece's new PC (build log coming soon), but after that, rarely saw use. It was during the testing of my niece's PC that I realized the true brilliance of water cooling, as my primary PC was under a custom loop at this point: silence. The X62 Kraken, while a good performer, was loud. Compared to the gaming PC, which was silent at all times, it got me thinking about changing the secondary system to a custom loop as well. But I didn't want to spend $600+ on additional watercooling pieces.

The EK Fluid Gaming Kit was the solution. I saw that it game in a 240mm variant that had all the pieces needed to get started, but also had a 360mm upgrade kit to add another radiator to the mix. It would be overkill since the GPU wasn't being cooled, but the 360mm wasn't sold as a complete kit at the time and that was the radiator I desired most. I couldn't put my 1070 into the loop as the only GPU block EK made for the kit was for the normal PCB, not custom ones like the Strix version. I went for it anyway as I desired the silent operation, and in January 2019, the X62 Kraken was removed and replaced with the EK Fluid Gaming Kit.

The results were as expected. Near-identical, if not better, cooling, very silent operation. The tube runs were awkward though as I hadn't thought of getting any angled aluminum fittings, but I didn't care. This machine was only going to operate sporadically.

Except it didn't even do that. I never did jump into streaming with it or using it to render video. In the end, my child decided she wanted to play Minecraft on PC. She quickly took it over and became the primary user, playing games such as Minecraft, Raft, Human Fall Flat, and more.

The build stayed in this form until it was time for the most recent revision.