I went for high-end without being "bleeding edge" and super expensive. As you can see I had no favorite brand for this build, everything was selected based on reviews, specs, and price. I’ve since upgraded a few things to keep it kicking in 2020.

Parts List

• Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower (Purchased For $109.99)
• CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core (Purchased For $334.99)
• CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid Cooler (Purchased For $109.99)
• ❌ GPU Video Card (2015): MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Twin Frozr (Purchased For $549.99)
• ✅ GPU Video Card (2020): Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Founder's Edition (Gifted)
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 (Purchased For $129.99)
• Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 (Purchased For $119.99)
• ❌ SSD Boot Drive (2015): Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $140.00)
• ✅ NVMe Boot Drive (2020): Samsung (MZ-V7E1T0BW) 970 EVO SSD 1TB (Purchased For $169.99)
• HDD Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F2 EG 1.5TB 3.5" 5400RPM Hard Drive (Purchased For $99.99 in 2010)
• Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular (Purchased For $118.99)
• WiFi: ASUS Wi-Fi PCI Express Adapter (PCE-AC56) (Purchased For $69.99)
• Exhaust fan: Phanteks 140mm Case/Radiator Cooling Fan (Purchased For $14.39)
• CPU fan: Phanteks 120mm Case/Radiator Cooling Fan (Purchased For $14.99)
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (Upgrade Purchased For $30.00)

Original 2015 Total: $1,843.29

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3D Mark Benchmarks

❌ Origianl GeForce GTX 980 4GB:

• TIME SPY: 4,475
• Fire Strike: 12,439
• Sky Diver: 30,078

✅ Upgrade GeForce GTX 1070 8GB:

• Factory TIME SPY: 6,158 (+48.8 % graphics score)
• Overclocked TIME SPY: 6,651 (+63.1 % graphics score)

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Periherals

• WASD Code 87-Key Cherry MX Brown (Purchased For $145.00)
• BenQ Zowie EC2 Ergonomic Gaming Mouse (Purchased For $59.99)
• Dell Gaming 24-Inch Monitor with G-SYNC (Purchased For $399.99)
• Astro Gaming A40 Headset (2010 Model)

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Stealthy

The case has no windows and the few visible LED's I covered with electrical tape so only the power button glows. I also made this build as silent as I could without compromising cooling. I moved the included rear 140mm case fan to the front to have 2 matching intake fans (speed controlled by the switch on the case). I purchased a silent 140mm fan for the rear exhaust and replaced the loud Corsair Liquid Cooler fans with a single silent 120mm CPU fan. My CPU usually hangs around 20° C when idle and rarely hits 40° C under load.