It was finally time to retire my old 2009 Core2Duo build for something modern! 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.
❌ Origianl GeForce GTX 980 4GB:
✅ Upgrade GeForce GTX 1070 8GB:
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.