Assembly nearly done. No case window, so no real consideration for aesthetics. Not sure why I had that old DVD drive sitting there; regardless, I decided against using it in the end (got an external one years later instead).
SSDs on the other side. Not the most riveting picture I've ever taken, but I apparently only took three that day so here they all are.
The closest thing to personal flair it ever got - reppin' my favorite podcast (now defunct).
An old image, but roughly shows the PC in its natural habitat. Mostly there are just more instruments to the right and a new shelving unit to the left with my new vinyl record obsess... I mean collection, and a small CRT TV + NES for the only console gaming I do these days.
This is how it looks right now (2019-01-12) as I'm experimenting with finding space for my speakers. Unfortunately it seems like they cannot coexist with my monitors, which is quite the dilemma as there's no way I'm going back to a single-monitor setup (a nightmare when working with music). As disgusting as this old second-hand desk looks (I was planning on covering it up with one of those truly enormous mousepads) I'm not super keen on replacing it... This will all require further pondering.
TZ Model V, 2015
About This is my fifth and, as of writing this (2019-01-12), current personal computer. Bought in parts, assembled and running since without incident (not counting certain Windows 10-related driver frustrations). It was by far the most expensive one I'd ever bought at the time, and also the one I've sunk the most additional money into over time through peripheral upgrades and additions.
Reflections Nearly four years in, I am overall incredibly happy with the research and decisions I made (much credit to PCPartPicker for easy compatibility checking!) and how this build has served me.
The CPU has been great for gaming and music production alike. Overclocking was a joy and temperatures have never been a worry with the Noctua beast of an air cooler on it. The GPU was expensive, but complements the CPU brilliantly. Couldn't have asked for much better (the Ti model was not out yet) and it endured my bitcoin mining curiosity for a couple of months too. Beyond impressed with the case which certainly set a new standard for me personally; almost can't believe the low price in hindsight. Quality construction, plenty of space, easy to work with, good options, great dust filters and just amazing noise dampening.
I have much to learn about RAM still, and no idea how the 1866MHz DDR3 CL10 sticks match the rest of the build in performance. Options were limited having to fit under the giant Noctua cooler and taking into consideration what was easily available and, ultimately, cost.
Was surprised to still encounter the occasional need for DVD, CD and even Floppy drives, but at this point I think the external devices I ended up getting suit me best anyway.
Honestly - not a single real regret. Now there are certainly some features I will look for in my next build which this lacks (or had to have tacked on, like USB 3.1/C), but for 2015, the knowledge I had and the price I was willing and able to pay - this has been a 10/10 machine.
Additional hardware / notes - not (yet) in builds.gg system USB Type-C Connector: ASUS USB 3.1 Type-C (PCIe-x4) Monitor 4: SWEDX SM28K1-01 4K 28" 60Hz External HDD: Intenso Memory Center 4TB USB 3.0 Docking Station: ICY BOX IB-120StU3-Wh (for a handful of old HDDs) External DVD Burner: ASUS ZenDrive U7M (SDRW-08U7M-U) External 3.5" Floppy Drive: Hama Floppy Drive External USB Audio Interface: M-Audio M-Track 2x2 [USB-C] Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT 880 Speakers: Edifier Studio R2000DB Microphone(s): Antlion Audio ModMic 5 (Røde NT1-A, Røde Podcaster USB, Behringer XM8500) Headset: Plantronics RIG 800HD PC Dolby ATMOS Mousepad: Razer Goliathus Speed Edition Mouse Cord Management: Mouse Bungee v2 Silver Connection: 250 Mbit/s up & down