diypartsjoy
Member
How the Killer Spectrum Was Born
I was wondering what to ask for Christmas and couldn't think of anything. I thought long and hard and then it came to me, computer parts. My old system was getting slow and wasn't reliable. A new system would cost too much to ask for for Christmas. I decided to upgrade my system. Many of the parts in my system were good parts, there were just some that could definitely use an upgrade. I decided to ask for these items.
AMD Ryzen 7 1700X
I like AMD Ryzen processors and found this one on sale for $150 at the MicroCenter. It was a great deal so I looked at the specs. It had eight cores and sixteen threads. It seemed to have good specs. I looked up reviews on this processor and it seemed really great so I decided to ask for it.
AMD Wraith Max
This was a decent cooler. I don't need top of the line right now. I plan to upgrade it in a few years so I can overclock but for now, I'll just use the processor at its stock speeds.
ARCTIX MX-2 Thermal Paste
This thermal paste had great performance and is pretty cheap. My other option for the MX series would be the MX-4. The MX-4 was runnier and harder to apply, so I decided on the MX-2 instead.
ASUS ROG STRIX X470-F GAMING
This motherboard is awesome. It supports 2-Way SLI and 3-Way CrossFire. It also is a full ATX board. It supports Aura Sync so I can sync up all my RGB components. I found it on sale at the MicroCenter for $139.99 after bundle savings.
G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3200
I was actually not expecting this memory. I asked for G.Skill Aegis 8 GB (1x8GB) DDR4 3000 memory. I was surprised to see this under the tree. I love this RAM. It has an addressable strip on the top of the memory. It is super high performance. I love the heat spreader design also.
2x Magideal SATA Cables (Purple)
These SATA cables fit my purple and black theme. They weren't too expensive also. I needed two of them for my SSD and HDD.
Deepcool (3-in-1) RF120 Case Fans
These case fans look nice. I was actually not expecting this either. I was expecting one Cougar Vortex RGB fan. Instead, I got these. They are a great deal. They look nice and perform nice.
NZXT H500 Mid-Tower
This was a big surprise for me. I never asked for a new case at all. When I was done opening presents (at least thought I was done) my dad said he had to go get something. He brought back a giant present for me. I opened it up and it was a new case with a side panel window!
| If you would like to know what's coming in 2019, click here.
| To see higher resolution images, click here*.
* All photos shot with a Canon Rebel T3i.
Part List
PCPartPicker Part List / Price Breakdown by Merchant
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core
$149.99
CPU Cooler
AMD Wraith Max 55.78 CFM
$69.99
Motherboard
Asus ROG STRIX X470-F Gaming ATX AM4
$139.99
Memory
G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200
$159.99
Storage
Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250 GB 2.5" SSD
$89.89
Storage
Western Digital Scorpio Blue 250 GB 2.5" 5400RPM
$0.00
Storage
Hitachi Deskstar 250 GB 3.5" 7200RPM
$0.00
Storage
Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM
$29.99
Video Card
MSI GeForce GT 710 2 GB Low Profile
$36.18
Case
NZXT H500 (Black) ATX Mid Tower
$69.99
Power Supply
EVGA SuperNOVA G3 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX
$89.99
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit
$124.79
Wireless Network Adapter
Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I REV 4.2 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
$39.99
Case Fan
Deepcool RF 120 (3 in 1) 56.5 CFM 120mm
$37.49
Other
ARCTIC MX-2 (8g) - Professional thermal compound for CPU and GPU
$8.40
Other
MagiDeal Universal 20 Inches SATA III 7Pin 6Gbs Serial Cable ATA HDD SSD Data Cords Lead Purple
$3.54
Other
MagiDeal Universal 20 Inches SATA III 7Pin 6Gbs Serial Cable ATA HDD SSD Data Cords Lead Purple
$3.54
Other
MagiDeal Universal 20 Inches SATA III 7Pin 6Gbs Serial Cable ATA HDD SSD Data Cords Lead Purple
$3.54
Other
MagiDeal Universal 20 Inches SATA III 7Pin 6Gbs Serial Cable ATA HDD SSD Data Cords Lead Purple
$3.54
Other
Safari Ltd Horned Chinese Dragon
$12.00
Total (Purchased): $1060.83
Part Reviews
AMD - Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor
I was blown away with this processor. On a regular working load, this processor never gets fully loaded. It was a huge upgrade from my previous processor. It is even unlocked for overclocking.
AMD - Wraith Max 55.78 CFM CPU Cooler
This cooler is amazing! It is ultra quiet, even during a stress test, and gets decent temperatures.
Asus - ROG STRIX X470-F Gaming ATX AM4 Motherboard
This motherboard is a beast. It has support for dual graphics and triple graphics setups, two M.2 slots, and always-on USB ports. It looks very nice in the case and the RGB is amazing.
G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
I wish I could rate it five stars, but I can't. I have tried for two days now to get this memory to run at it's maximum speed, but cannot. It is kind of disappointing, but the memory looks nice and is still good memory.
Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
This SSD is awesome. It doesn't hit exactly 600MB/s, but it gets close. The read speed and write speed of this drive is impressive.
Western Digital - Scorpio Blue 250 GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
This drive gets five stars because of it's price. It didn't cost me anything. I pulled it out of my grandma's old laptop and I decided to put it in my build. It is actually a very quiet drive.
Hitachi - Deskstar 250 GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
The only reason I rated this five stars is because I got it for free. My dad found a computer in the garbage can and this drive was in it. I decided to put it in my build because why not? It actually worked out well because I needed a drive to back my files up to. It is not the best drive, but it is much better then having no backup at all.
Seagate - BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
I got this hard drive while it was on sale for thirty dollars and it works great. I will always be buying BarraCuda hard drives from now on.
MSI - GeForce GT 710 2 GB Low Profile Video Card
It is not the best graphics card, but I needed something that would work before I got a beefy graphics card, so I chose this.
NZXT - H500 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case
My favorite computer case. It has great cable management and a clear side panel window. It is very simple, clean, and compact.
EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
I had to get a new power supply because my previous power supply did not have everything that was needed. It is a very nice power supply and I am very satisfied with it.
Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit
It took me a long time to figure out how to transfer this product key over, but I finally got it. It is the best operating system I have used in my life and would highly recommend it to anyone.
Gigabyte - GC-WB867D-I REV 4.2 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter
It is not the best, but it allows me to have wireless internet and Bluetooth. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a budget wireless adapter.
Deepcool - RF 120 (3 in 1) 56.5 CFM 120mm Fans
Great deal for a three fan pack. These fans are a bit noisy, but they perform well. If noise bothers you, these might not be the fans for you, but if you are looking for cheap budget fans, this is a no-brainer.
ARCTIC MX-2 (8g) - Professional thermal compound for CPU and GPU
Decent paste for the price. It has good cooling performance, as far as I can tell.
MagiDeal Universal 20 Inches SATA III 7Pin 6Gbs Serial Cable ATA HDD SSD Data Cords Lead Purple
I wanted to do a purple build at first, so I asked for these cables. Then, I decided I wanted a red build. It is no big deal though, because I can't see much of them when they are installed in the case. They are great cables for very little money.
Safari Ltd Horned Chinese Dragon
My only concern about this product is that it will breathe out a little fire every once in a while and the fans have to spin a lot harder then they usually would. It is very detailed and fits my red theme. It has silver and gold on the top and bottom also so it gives my build something more interesting.
Details
Date Published
Feb. 4, 2019
Date Built
Dec. 26, 2018
CPU Clock Rate
3.4 GHz
CPU Temperature While Idle
24.0° C
CPU Temperature Under Load
56.0° C
GPU Core Clock Rate
954 MHz
GPU Effective Memory Clock Rate
1.6 GHz
GPU Temperature While Idle
37.0° C
GPU Temperature Under Load
52.0° C
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