My current gaming PC build

By request these are the current build specs for my gaming desktop; there's still some custom work to be done to the box so I'll follow up with another post for the case modding details later.

Who doesn't love a bit of shopping? Heres the before hardware pile, I buy hardware in America from Newegg or Amazon depending on price best to get on their email list for decent discount codes. In Australia I use MSY or Umart

Case/PSU/Drive build

Mainboard after CPU assembly

Build after wiring

Case: Thermaltake Nvidia Special Edition ATX Full Tower

PSU: Thermaltake SP 1200W 80 Plus Bronze 

Mainboard: Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3 Extended ATX LGA 1155

CPU: Intel Core i7 Ivy Bridge 3770K 3.5Ghz (3.9 Turbo) LGA 1155

CPU Cooling: Thermaltake CLP0579 120mm Contac 30 

GPU: Gigabyte Geforce 660Ti 2GB PCIe 3.0x16

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 1600 DDR3 16GB (2 x 8GB)

OS Drive: Kingston HyperX SATA III 120GB SSD 

Data Drives: 3 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB SATA 7200RPM

Laser Drives: LG 12x Blue Ray DVD Burner Combo Drive

And above the table ... 

Monitors: 2 x Phillips LCD 24" Smart Touch Monitors
Keyboard: Logitech G15 Gaming keyboard
Mouse: Logitech MX518 High Performance Optical
Speakers: Logitech S220
Headphones: Creative Sound Blaster World of Warcraft THX Headset
Webcam: Logitech HD Pro 9000

Some comments on the build:

• This case is huge and will not fit in most desks but you can ride it like a pony
• You can see I am brand loyal to Gigabyte, Logitech and Thermaltake, after years of trial and error and failed hardware these are always my go to vendors
• This board is gorgeous and omits the need for add on wifi, SATA extender, bluetooth and sound cards. I cannot recommend it enough.
• I prefer to buy the Thermaltake Toughpower range but they were out of 950W+ at the time of build, this is still a good modular PSU
• The CPU fan requires a full ATX tower, do not buy if using anything less
• Due to the CPU fan and the size of the case I don't need liquid cooling, CPU stays flat at 21C even after hours of gaming
• The speakers are cheap and cheerful because I had to leave my Creative surround sound set in Sydney and I mostly use headphones in my current house.
• The HD webcam is no longer made at work I use a Logitech HD Pro C920 and would recommend purchasing this as a more current model
• Upgrade paths here are to double the RAM and add another 660Ti  with SLI bridge after the new year

More pieces of my art collection

As I've noted recently I've collected artwork over the years from places I've travelled and loved. An original piece of art attached to a beautiful memory has always appealed as a piece for the home.

Recently I found a fantastic local framer and have been having regular trips to the framers to preserve my collection and prepare gifts alike. Lets review some of the work so far!



Black and white photographs of the Chrysler Building and the city skyline bought on 5th Avenue in New York, USA



Handcoloured lithographs of the Maison Jacquet and the St Louis Gate from Quebec, Canada.



This print of the Google Doodle celebrating the birthday of mathematician Gaston Julia I received at the Googleplex in Mountain View, USA while interviewing for a new position. I had this framed to present to my father as a gift, he's a mathematician and instilled a great love of number sets in me. I can't think of a better gift to mark changes in my current life.







Custom archival prints of a Tyrannosaurus Rex and an Allosaurus from the American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.



Romance, gothic style... this is a print of the Charles Addams "Unhappy Darling?" cartoon from the Addams Foundation Collection that I bought as a gift for my partner Chops while I was away on business without him.



I simply cannot get a picture of this artwork that does it justice. This is a watercolour of the skyline in Firenze, Italy dominated by Il Duomo.