2015 PC refresh bonanza; opinions and suggestions wanted

[Joseph DeGarmo]

I'm highly interested in upgrading to the ASUS Sabertooth Z97 MARK S motherboard for more expansion, such as SLI, and extra cooling options. I'm choosing this motherboard because I want to make my PC a white / blue arctic theme build. If I choose to get the motherboard now (supplies are limited due to Skylake motherboards coming soon), I will throw in a new CPU cooler as well. I have a white full tower ATX case and the motherboard will blend in perfectly with it. As I expand my budget later, then I will upgrade the PSU and the GPU as well while selling my older components. This is my upgrade goal:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Silverstone AR03 81.4 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK S ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($269.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card ($649.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 1050W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($202.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Other: HYSON Super Speed Blue SATA 3.0 Cable ($8.99)
Other: HYSON Super Speed Blue SATA 3.0 Cable ($8.99)
Other: HYSON Super Speed Blue SATA 3.0 Cable ($8.99)
Other: HYSON Super Speed Blue SATA 3.0 Cable ($8.99)
Total: $1202.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-27 10:59 EDT-0400

Now about the PSU cables, I detest using black power cables with a white PSU. Is there any way to buy custom white or blue SeaSonic-compatible cables for it? Or perhaps cover up the cables with blue tape or paint them? Also, what are some good 140mm case fans with white LED lights?

 

[mcnumpty23]

personally i would want skylake if going to do a new build--seen one white/black board already msi krait z170

yes can buy custom cables though not cheap

http://cablemod.com

or cheaper method use spiral wrap in the colour you want

 

[Suztera]

For the PSU cables, you can get Cablemod SE series PSU cable kits in white

 

[mcnumpty23]

140mm white led

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181048

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

This is not a completely new build and I prefer to keep my current CPU. The MSI z170 Krait motherboard is more black than white anyway. At this time, I really don't care much for M.2 SSDs and DDR4 memory. I want to graduate from my current mATX motherboard and further future-proof my build by adding SLI support. I already upgraded from a mATX case a few months ago.

If I want to keep my current GPU and PSU for now, I have seen videos of people using acrylic spray paint to customize their components. Is this safe to do? Perhaps at least paint the GPU backplate to avoid voiding the GPU warranty?

 

[mcnumpty23]

strictly speaking even spray painting the gpu backplate voids the warranty

though some card makers are a bit more flexible about it than others

have seen people use carbon effect vinyl though this is removable should you need to i think though never tried it

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

The backplate did not come with the GPU. I received it for free during an EVGA promotion. As for carbon vinyl, where could I get this for the PSU? Could the carbon vinyl also be applied to the cables?

 

[mcnumpty23]

The backplate did not come with the GPU. I received it for free during an EVGA promotion. As for carbon vinyl, where could I get this for the PSU? Could the carbon vinyl also be applied to the cables?

thats ok then as you could remove the backplate if necessary since the card didnt ship with it

yeah seen people carbon vinyl psus

they sell it in lots of places--car parts outlets ebay etc--though always check its suitable for the use you want--people selling it should be able to tell you

can of course spray paint the psu as well

dont think its suitable for cables

 

[mcnumpty23]

heres a small selection--they clearly say can be used on psus

http://mnpctech.com/pc-mod-vinyl-wrap-graphics-modding-films-sticker/

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

Or perhaps maybe I could do this ghetto-style and use poster cardboard to build a "wall" around the PSU to hide it from plain sight? This is what my PSU placement looks like:

 

[mcnumpty23]

lol--thats why i love my case the psu is hidden--what case is that the cable management looks awful

seriously though you could just make a psu cover from some thin sheet metal(not cardboard) and spray paint it or carbon vinyl it

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

Cables messy. Non-modular PSU. I know. LOL!! In that case, I could get an EVGA SuperNOVA G2 PSU and hide it since I found where I could get custom cables for EVGA PSUs.

 

[synphul]

Thought I'd pitch in, vinyl carbon fiber wrap works really well. Adheres nice but the stuff I used is somewhat thick. It won't work on cables, it'll end up a wadded mess. If you think saran/cling wrap sticks to itself, play with some cf wrap lol. For larger surfaces it works well and it's flexible enough to make bends. It also peels off clean.

The stuff I used is called simcarbon 3d. Has a nice textured look/feel to it with some sheen, not overly glossy. I used it on my enthoo pro psu cover, part of the wall covering the hdd rack and a strip along the side/edge of my gpu. There are other types out there, 3m has a few types of cf wrap also. I wasn't expecting 'authentic' carbon fiber look though so I was pleased. I don't think any wraps look genuine, real carbon fiber the material is under a fairly thick layer of epoxy/resin so has a 'deep' look to it. You can't really fake that kind of deep resin coating with wrap material.

Might be worth a look at their website, they have traditional looking cf wrap and they have it in blue tint (if you're going with a blue theme) as well as nonstandard wraps with everything from wood grain to camo, diamondplate, all sorts of patterns.

http://simcarbon.com/carbon-fiber-vinyl-wrap/

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

So if I get the wrap, the problem is the black cable plugs will still be exposed and that will not look quite right. I could go that route and get an EVGA SuperNOVA G2 or Corsair AX PSU, but the custom cables for them are expensive. Perhaps I could shrink wrap the cables in some kind of way? If I just want to create a wall around the PSU, will white cardboard paper be considered safe?

 

[mcnumpty23]

could vinyl dye the cables i suppose though never tried it and would test it on an old psu first--vinyl dye should work on the cable plugs as well

unlike spray paint vinyl dye soaks into the surface and shouldnt flake--its the stuff they use on car vinyl upholstery

and no i wouldnt try cardboard for a psu cover

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

Well, whenever I upgrade the PSU for GTX 980 Ti SLI in the future (or newer generation flagship GPUs), I'll just get the SeaSonic SnowSilent 1050w PSU for less hassle with coloring the PSU. The cables, however, will be a problem. What's the easiest way to apply custom sleeving to them?