Build of the week: Sleeper case gaming rig ( Intel i7 3770k )

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

Overclock.net user Sinnedone’s gaming build in a sleeper case (a case that looks modest, but contains a powerful machine) began as a challenge from a friend who had been impressed by one of Sinnedone’s earlier builds—but became much more than that after custom covers, fabrication, paint, and vinyl were added. The color scheme of blues and whites remains consistent throughout the build, with colored cables wound so tight and neatly throughout that Martha Stewart should consider taking organizing tips from him. Seriously, from the effort taken in the color scheme to the cable management, this is one impeccable build that includes an Intel i7-3770k CPU, two XFX HD7870 Black Edition GPUs, an OCZ Vertex 128GB SSD as well as a Seagate 2TB HDD for storage.

Sinnedone told us that the most difficult part of the process was modifying the case to provide a better aesthetic and proper cooling, specifically modifying the case to accept the power supply in the lower front instead of the top rear. In order to do this, he made a small intake around the power supply to get fresh air through the front of the case to the inner chamber and modified the very, very limited space at the top of the case to accept the 240mm AIO cooling system. For builders looking at similar projects, he recommends truly challenging yourself to try something new, from painting or cutting metal or sleeving, and reach out online or to friends for help through the difficult portions. Top notch, thanks Sinnedone!

Sleeper case parts list

CPU: Intel i7 3770k
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-GD65
Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance 2133mhz
Video Card: Two XFX HD7870 Black Edition in Crossfire
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster z
Power Supply: Corsair TX850w
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD
Storage: Seagate 2TB Hard Drive
Case Fan: Corsair SP and AF series along with an Akasa Viper

Build of the Week: Lumo ( Intel i5-4670k)

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

This week’s Build of the Week comes to us courtesy of Overclock.net user B Negative, whose user name gave our pessimistic hearts a chuckle and whose In Win-sponsored Lumo build made us sit up a bit straighter in our seats. The Lumo is built around the In Win D-Frame Mini, which specifically inspired B Negative to tackle this build; he says “I mean… look at it! In Win are at the top of their game right now… it wasn’t hard to see what needed to be done.”

In this case, what needed to be done was to strip the anodizing in order to paint the case an eye-catching yellow with metallic grey highlights. B Negative wanted something that had a small footprint but remained aesthetically pleasing; because the Lumo wasn’t his first build in an open case, he knew that the “secret is to make everything tidy, there is no escape for shoddy work... it’s all on display!” The Lumo also features an Intel i5-4670k CPU, an Asus Gryphon Z97 motherboard, two Asus GTX 680 GPUs, a Western Digital 2TB hard drive and Corsair 120 + 240GB SSDs for storage.

B Negative said that the toughest part of the build was the sequence that needed to be followed to put it together like a jigsaw puzzle. For builders considering a similar project, he recommends looking at the details to determine what needs to be done, but to keep cases true to the form that made them attractive in the first place. And above all, make it original and make it yours!

Congrats on one tidy and colorful build, B Negative!

Lumo Parts List

CPU: Intel i5-4670k
Motherboard: ASUS Gryphon Z97
Memory: Crucial Elite DDR3 16Gb
Video Card: ASUS GTX 680 x2
Power Supply: Be Quiet Dark power pro 850
Storage: Corsair 120 + 240Gb SSD's
Storage: WD Black 2Tb
Case: In Win DFM
Case Fan: Be Quiet Silent Wings 2 x 4
Water Cooling System: Aquaero 6 Pro USB Fan Controller, EK High Performance CoolStream PE 240 x 2 water-cooling radiator, EK DDC PWM water-pump, Watercool Full Covers GPU Waterblocks, MIPS Iceforce HF Liquid Cooling CPU block, EK fittings 

Build of the week: Snef's Bloody Angel ( Intel i7 4770k )

 Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

Saying Overclock.net user Snef’s Bloody Angel build is striking is like saying Mount Rushmore is a sculpture—in both cases there is much, much more going on than that. The first of our Build of the weeks to feature watercooling, Snef built the Bloody Angel to be his personal gaming rig inspired by the white CaseLabs Magnum SMA8 case and by challenge of matching an interesting color throughout the build—in the case of the Bloody Angel, white and red. This is an inspiration that can be seen in many of his other builds, like the (sponsored) Icy Blue Angel II build and the Green Carnage build which are similarly organized around a color.

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In addition to the CaseLabs case, the Bloody Angel features an incredibly tight and neat color coordinated watercooling system, an Intel i7 4770k CPU, two Galaxy GTX 780 HOF GPUs, an Asus Maximus VI Formula Z87 motherboard, as well as two SSDs (OCZ Vertex 4 256GB, OCZ Agility 3 240GB) and a hard drive (Western Digital Green 3TB). Most of the modifications made to parts was painting them to match the color scheme (specifically the RAM, waterblock, radiator, and pump mount). Snef said that the hardest parts of this build were the planning and the sleeving; with all the build plans he carries in his head, he says he can spend weeks at a time pondering over a build. To other builders considering a similar build, Snef recommends to build what you like instead of polling a forum and to plan every little detail extensively.

Bloody Angel Parts List

CPU: Intel i7 4770k
Cooling: Bitfenix Spectre Pro BFF-LPRO- 12025R-RP 120MM Red LED (16x), Darkside 480 Radiator (2x), Darkside 240 Radiator, Darkside D5 Vario Pump (2x), EK-D5 X-TOP CSQ – White Acetal (2x), EK-Multioption X3 250 w white acetal ends (2x), EK-UNI Holder D5 (2x), Bitspower White Crystal Links, EK-HD Tube 10/12mm 500mm- 2 pack (13x), EK Supremacy CPU Waterblock – Plexi-Nickel CSQ, EK-RAM Dominator (CSQ) Waterblock – Plexi Nickel, EK-FB Kit Asus M6F – Nickel, EK-FC780 GTX HOF – White Acetal + Nickel (2x), ColdZero Custom GTX 780 HOF backplate, ColdZero Custom Xonar Phoebux backplate, EK Water Blocks Fluid Blood Red 100ml (4x), Aquacomputer Aquaero 5 XT USB Fan-Controller, Aquacomputer Ultra Poweradjust (3x), Aquacomputer Black Faceplate 5.25 Mount Tray for Poweradjust 2, Aquacomputer Flow sensor MPS Flow 400 G ¼
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Formula Z87
Memory: Corsair Dominator GT 16GB DDR3-2133
Video Card: Two Galaxy GTX 780 HOF
Sound Card: Asus Xonar Phoebus
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider 1500w
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 256GB SSD
Storage: OCZ Agility 3 240GB
Storage: WD Green 3TB HDD
Case: CaseLabs Magnum SMA8 White w XXL Clear windows
Other: CaseLabs 120.2 Flex-Bay Rad Mount
Other: Case Feet by Fannblade 

Build of the week: Brandywine （AMD A8-5600K ）

Case modder and painter Hanoverfist has several amazing builds under his belt—each in an eye-popping shade—but it was the  Brandywine build on Overclock.net that caught our attention first. (It also put the Looking Glass song, Brandi, in our heads for about three days straight). The Brandywine build was focused on painting techniques, specifically spraying the House of Kolor Kandy paint; no metal fabrication or fancy hardware for this beauty. Hanoverfist told us that it took a lot of patience to get the paint to turn out as impeccably as it did. In order to achieve the look, several layers of paint need to be applied after the metal was painstakingly prepared—probably the most time consuming part of the build.

       

In addition to a killer paint job, the Brandywine features an AMD CPU + GPU, a Gigbyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H motherboard, and tons of storage (Western Digital WD Black 2TB, Western Digital 4TB W Red SATA III, a 2TB Western Digital Red NAS Hard Drive, and Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD in RAID0).

Hanoverfist says the entire project began out of a need for having a case to house storage drives. “The Fractal Arc Mini R2 case had a good look about it and was perfect for housing drives, but the reason for modding it was to create a work of art. Not a power build. I wanted something that sits in my living room and just looks amazing.”

For modders considering a similarly ambitious paint job, Hanoverfist recommends taking your time and not rushing anything. Congrats on that work of art Hanoverfist, and thanks for sharing the build!

Brandywine parts list

CPU: AMD A8-5600K Trinity Quad-Core 3.6GHz Turbo Socket FM2 100W Desktop APU (CPU + GPU)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H FM2+/ FM2 AMD A88X
Memory: G. Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider series ST60F-PS 600W ATX12V/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 Plus Silver Certified Full
Storage: 2 x Western Digital WD Black 2TB
Storage: 2 x Samsung 840 EVO 120GB (SSD) RAID0
Storage: 2 x Western Digital Red NAS Hard Drive WD20EFRX 2TB
Storage: 2 x Western Digital 4TB W Red SATA III
Case: Fractal Design Arc-Mini-R2-BL-W Black Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case
Cooling: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Other: Lamptron CW611 and CM615 controllers