The Build Saga: Part Ten

Phase One complete?

I've received the motherboard, CPU, RAM and SSDs.    I've knocked out some of the key components.  I have plenty of other parts and pieces to collect.  I've gone over my future choices over and over again and I think I want to make some changes.  The more I consider the changes, the more I wonder why I want to make them.  There is a reason why so many builds are so similar, because it just works.  A lot of people have the same component list because those are the ones that are the best and they know they are reliable.

Next on the list is the case, PSU, another stick of RAM and a CPU cooler.  The NZXT Phantom in White with black and red accents should look great!  I'll be picking up an NZXT HALE82 700w PSU, too.  I've never used or owned an NZXT case or PSU.  I am hoping that they are both satisfactory.  Both products seem to have overall positive reviews and no glaring defects that drive me away from them.  I am hoping these unique products and their design can shake up my boring black and blue LED'd monolithic case theme that I've had for nearly a decade.  I need to grab another stick of RAM, because I'm a big, dumb idiot.

The cooler is something that I am still very concerned about.  I've never done water cooling.  I've always wanted to, but never had the patience or money.  Over the last 5 or so years a lot has changed and AIO CLCs (all-in-one closed-loop cooler) have become very popular.  They are also rather easy.  I am quite smitten with one in particular, the Corsair H100i.  I hear the Link software blows and people constantly say that the gargantuan air coolers are better.  I don't really want a huge slab of metal hanging off of my motherboard anymore, I'd like to try something different.

I'm really trying to move outside of my comfort zone here.  I'm proud of my component list, but I've been at this so long I feel like I need to really give new stuff a try.  I'm trying new things and new brands.  I'm hoping the experience is good...

Memory: Kingston Blu Red Series 8GB DDR3-1600
Case: NZXT Phantom (White/Red) ATX Full Tower Case
Thermal Compound: Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme
Power Supply: NZXT HALE82 700W Fully-Modular Power Supply
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i Liquid CPU Cooler
Total: ~ $550

Once we are done with that, I will need to pick up case fans, a Blu-Ray reader, and... a video card.  Hopefully we have more choices for video cards by the time we get around to that!  I have ranked my video cards as follows ASUS > MSI > Gigabyte > EVGA/XFX, this is for both AMD and nVidia.  The ASUS cooling solution is very good.  The quality and craftsmanship of the MSI cards (Twin Frozr) are excellent.  Gigabyte's Windforce is very good, but can get pretty loud, too.  EVGA and XFX have warranties that prove that they stand behind their products... and if they don't you can at least get another one with relative ease.

Case Fan: BitFenix Spectre Pro 230mm  Fan
Case Fan: NZXT FS-200RB-RLED 200mm  Fan
Case Fan: 2 x Noctua NF-S12A FLX 120mm  Fan
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A14 FLX 140mm  Fan
Optical Drive: Asus Blu-Ray Reader/DVD/CD Writer
Total: ~ $175

Video Card: UNKNOWN!
Total: ~ $325 - $550