Jafo I would only change a few things. Go with an AMD processor. Bigger SSDs. And Windows 8 or 10. 7 is getting old. 

In the first instance, AMD does not manufacture a CPU that comes remotely close to the i7 5960X for processing power or speed;

Secondly, what's wrong with a 512gb M.2 SSD for size?  And a 240gb as a secondery SSD?  Seems ample to me.

And lastly, while I have been an advocate of Win 8, much to the bemusement of some, Win 7 is still a decent OS, and not one to dismiss so easily for many, many PC users.  I will obviously update to Win 10 when released - for all the under-the-hood improvements, but I certainly won't be sticking with the butt ugly default UI when that time comes.  All I can say is thank goodness for Stardock products.

Both 8 and 8.1 are dogs....just ask the people who made them....Microsoft.

I have the crap on my laptop...but I'll wait for 10 all the same for this machine....

Man, now that's the truth.  Honestly I think a lot of it depends on how much effort a hardware manufacturer wants to put into drivers for the hardware that they probably don't even make anymore - can't really blame them for that though.

I can understand that reasoning and agree with it... in part.  I don't have DDR4 as yet, but I have Win 8.1 running on UEFI and an M.2 SSD without issue, and I believe that it would manage your hardware better than Win 7... nor is it the "dog" you think it is.  With Start8 and WB installed, Metro disabled, there's barely a difference to Win 7, except it is faster, more reliable and sturdy.

As for Win 10, it will be as much a 'dog" as Win 8/8.1, given the appearance of the GUI and icons.  They're butt ugly , to put it mildly.  However, like Win 8 was an improvement over 7, Win 10 will have major under-the-hood improvements over Win 8.1

Well aren't you just the clever one... 5 months of busting a nut to BSOD one of the most toppest-end rigs to be found anywhere in a modest Aussie suburban street and... and, and you finally succeeded.

Well congratulations in completing what is no mean feat... tho, given your reputation for breaking things, as having been awarded to you by yrag himself, I almost put money on it to have happened a lot.sooner.

Anyway, with regard to my own new build, I took another step closer today.  I spotted the CoolerMaster Cosmos II case today for $370, being down from the usual $420 - $478 and more, so I decided to order it.  I still have to get the mobo, CPU and RAM, but I pretty much have the rest already... though I may reconsider the mobo after looking at this Asrock x99 Extreme 11.  Yup, that's 2x Ultra M.2 connectors @ 30gbps, and almost unlimited expansion potential.... and it likely wouldn't be as expensive as the Asus board, either.  Hmmmmm!!!!

They look pretty good....just not comparable if you see one of these things in the flesh.  The simple thickness of the metal [on the Level 10] exudes quality alone....

Oh, and the handles are a bit of a joke....you have to be a bit of an Atlas to lift it once built ....

Agreed, the Level 10 is a sturdy case that exudes quality, style and personality.... if only I could get one in your model for my new build.  Oh well, the Cosmos II is pretty neat and of great quality also... and I still have my 'latter styled' Level 10, which is still sexy in its own right.

As for the Deep Silence 6, it is a stylish looking case with messes of room fo expansion, but it don't half look vacant with an ATX mobo and not much else installed.  I still prefer the Level 10 and/or Cosmos II, though.

Yeah, it's a bit like that.  Even Arnie 'd have to do an extensive warm up and pop another steroid to hoist one up by the handle.   I haven't weighed mine since adding more components since the build was completed, but it'd be in the vicinity of 50kg - 55kg, me thinks... and not a dead-weight I'd like to be lifting by the handle alone.

On another note, my Cosmos II is paid for and should arrive on Monday or Tuesday, not that I'm in any hurry without the main guts of the machine on hand.  Still, I'm upgrading the Level 10 rig with a Z97X mobo, up from a Z87X mobo to accomodate M.2 drives and other updated tech [Thunderbolt, USB 3.1, SATA EXpress] natively.  It should also boot performance a bit, given it's a faster chip... not that I'm too sure about working on it... means I gotta lift the big bastard onto a work bench again.

For now I'm just upgrading the mobo in readiness for those newer, faster drives, etc.  BTW, the mobo for the Level !0 rig also has two M.2 connectors, one being the Ultra M.2 @ 30gbps, and the other being the current 10gbps M.2 connection.... though the current M.2 drives are compatible with either, and vise versa when the new M.2s are available. The only downside to using the regular M.2 connectionon that mobo is that its bandwidth is shared and SATA ports 5 and 6 then become inactive, but not to worry, there are still 8 live SATA ports remaining.

As for buying one of the new M.2s, well that's going to have to wait until after I've gotten the rest of the new build, and then some.  The 256gb Samsung M.2 I've already got will suffice for the Level 10 rig 'til then, and a mate gave me the addy of where I can get a Crucial 512gb M.2 for $379.95, which I shall look into getting for the Cosmos II rig... when I can find the bit of paper he wrote it on... it's around here somewhere, I know it... I hope. 

If not he's just a phone call away.... that's if I can remember his No.

Yeah, different manufacturers and different methods, I guess,  However, that's the second M.2 port @10Gb/s.  The first M.2 port @30Gb/s, which 'll be the one I'd use for the OS, is standalone and shares with nothing, thus leaving the SATA ports and PCIE slots free for other devices...though if I wanted to dual boot, I wouldn't mind sacrificing a couple of SATA ports to add a second M.2 drive.  I'd still have 8 SATA ports free... and if I wanted to, I could add another 4 or maybe 8 ports with the PCIE to SATA cards I have.

Thing is, the Level 10 rig only has 8 drives, so that's not necessary.  The Cosmos II, however, has two SSD bays and the front plus 13 HDD bays, and I intend to use them all to store all the extended family's photos and videos, my music and personal files, etc... not forgetting, of course, backups of everything.  That's where the AsRock X99 Extreme 11 comes in, with its two Ultra M.2 ports, 10 SATA 3 ports and 8 SAS ports., which are backwards compatible with SATA 3. 

Yup, so my build has changed some since I first mentioned it, but it was likely to happen, given I have 'til August until all the components are in my possession.  Okay, so maybe I'd have gotten there a little quicker had I not spent $210 to upgrade the mobo in the Level 10, but hey, the CPU couldn't perform to its full potential on the X87 board, and simply, that's not acceptable to me.

Besides, I gave up going to the pub, smoking and hookers, so I can treat myself if I like.

Quoting psychoak,

reply 96

I spend all my time looking at the monitors, not the case.

Same here, but a good looking case with lots o' good shit in it makes looking at the monitors even more enjoyable.

Yes...but what happened in this build was that I was looking for 'my usual' well-made Lian Li ...but couldn't get one that would BOTH do everything I wanted AND fit in the spot under the desk I'd already made....

....so the idea came to me that the case 'could' just sit on top of the desk [thus being quite visible] and then if it were to actually look 'good' it wouldn't simply be a case of being too big to be put away.  The Level 10 Titanium looks 'good' from every direction....even the arse end doesn't look like the south end of a north-bound camel like many do...