First new build in many years! High end desktop for Virtualisation (Software development / testing) and occasional gaming. I'm looking to build a quality machine which will be useful for a long time (and perhaps after many years of use as a HEDT, become a storage/compute/network services machine running Linux).

Current machines consist of my 'work' machine which is a Mac Mini 2014 as well as a self-build 6 core Athlon FX Black Edition which was used to host ESXi (free license). Titan will be used to 'replace' both of these machines as the Mac Mini is starting to struggle and the other system died (think it is the power supply but not sure yet - will test when the new power supply arrives!). I'll still keep the Mac around in case there are some things I need. I'll be going back to Windows so I hope the experience is a lot better than I remember!

I really wanted a 3970x but decided to go for 24 cores instead as I really don't think I'll be using even all 24 cores! The 3960x will last me a long time and I could always get a 3990x later if I needed it (and it got a little cheaper!). Besides I got myself 2 screens instead of one due to the downgrade! Same with memory - 256GB would have been overkill so I went 64GB for now. If I need to I can get just top up 128GB later. I've selected the AMD GPU over the Nvidia ones as I might try some Hackintosh when the Thread-rippers are supported in the future.

I have been looking at various web sites over two weeks and picked components based on features and future upgradability. A lot of what I will be doing is new, as in working out how to switch between operating systems, etc. I've never been one for flashy cases, so might add some subtle hints of colour after the build is complete. I also plan to perhaps delve into the art of making custom cables, but will see how that goes!

Initially I'll just be building to get it to work and look fairly decent (although it will more than likely start of just black!) and then move on to the more adventurous stuff.