Gaming PC of the Week: Justin’s “The Toaster”

"Gaming PC of the Week" is a new feature at GameRevolution where we feature a recently built or upgraded gaming PC and interview its owner.

In this first week we will speak to Justin, a Software Engineer from San Diego, California. He recently upgraded his PC with an SLI setup in a clean and tidy configuration, and it's one good looking piece of machinery.

 

GameRevolution: How long have you been building PCs? How did you get started?

Justin: I've been casually tinkering with PCs for about 10 years now, but this is my first ever build from the ground up, so I guess I've been building for a year now. This build began in 2015 after increasing frustration with my Xbox one. I eventually sold my day-one edition console to buy the first 980 about a year ago. All of the parts in this build are based upon an early 2015 parts list I built, as such, it's more of a "best of 2014" PC. I call it "The Toaster" because it's a metal box that glows red inside and kicks off a lot of heat.​

GR: What are the specs of your new PC?

As currently featured on PCPartPicker:

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv mATX

CPU: Intel i7-4790k

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5

GPU: 2x EVGA GTX 980 ACX 2.0 SC

RAM: 16GB of (regrettably blue) Kingston HyperX Fury

Storage #1: 256gb Samsung 950 PRO M.2

Storage #2: 1TB Samsung 850 EVO

CPU Cooling: Corsair H110i GTX

PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 650

Displays: 2x ASUS PB258Q 1440p

GR: How did you decide which components to purchase?

J: The CPU was a no-brainer, as it was the fastest single-core execution chip on the market at the time, which makes it great for gaming. Obviously the big cooler is a necessity if I choose to overclock. The case was a vanity thing mostly. The aesthetic of the Evolv line reminds me of an angry Mac Pro which looks pretty sweet, IMO. Plus I wanted something relatively compact that would still accommodate a 280mm rad.

The first 980 was more of an impulse buy after frustrations with console life drove me to find the best available at the time. The second 980 is a more recent acquisition—after the release of the 1080's, these are now super cheap on eBay. Paid about $250 shipped for a matching card, brand new in the box.The 2x asus monitors are okay for gaming but I'm a hobbyist photographer and professional coder so the pixel density and color accuracy matter the most to me.

GR: What is your favorite part of your PC setup?

J: My favorite part of this setup is how well it can heat up a room. Who needs to pay for heat, when I can heat my room and game at the same time? Actually, I like the flexibility this system affords. I can be in the middle of writing some code, get bored/frustrated, slay some demons in DOOM in glorious 1440p, then get back to work. It's great.​

GR: What was the first game you played to test your new hardware? Have you run benchmarks?

J: After adding the second GPU, the first thing I played was The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine. Geralt's luscious locks look pretty killer at max settings.

Stock frequency benchmarks ahoy: Benchmark Results

GR: What is your most anticipated PC game?

J: I'm most looking forward to the Forza series coming to the PC along with Dishonored 2 this fall.

 

Thank you Justin for sharing your PC with us!

Next week we will have another high-end PC for you to feast your eyes on, so be sure to check back.