...and then there was more!

Times sure have changed. I didn't do a new build these past few years. I've really just bought upgrades as I saw better deals for my Gaming Rig.

It's been 4-years, since the last full build. Which doesn't seem like it's been that long, but it really has.

While I've not been chasing the "upgrade monkey" as much. The few choice upgrades I did decide to buy, have kept me happy.

I went from This -- (Hot stuff in 2016)

• DIY - Custom Rig 
• Processor: Intel Core i5-6500 Skylake (3.2Ghz w/6m cache) 
• Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3000MHz 
• Hard Drives:
  Samsumg 850EVO (OS)
  Samsung 850PRO (Games)
  Dual 1TB WD BLACK (misc. games/files)
  30GB OCZ Vertox SSD (for video capture) 
• Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB SC ACX 3.0 
• Monitor: AOC 27-Inch LED-backlit LCD 
• Headphones: Tritton Pro+ True 5.1 
• Keyboard: Logitech G510 
• Mouse: SteelSeries Xai Pro
• Surface: TORQ x10 
• Operating System: WIN7 Ultimate (Ninja) 
• Motherboard: ASUS Z170-A ATX 
• Computer Case: Antec Three Hundred Two

To THIS!!!! (I've highlighted the major changes)

• DIY - Custom Rig 
• Processor: Intel Core i5-6500 Skylake (3.2Ghz w/6m cache) 
• Memory: 32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3000MHz 
• Hard Drives:
  Samsumg 850EVO (OS)
  Samsung 850PRO (Games)
  Samsung 860 EVO 1TB (misc. games/files/video capture)
• Video Cards:
  EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB SC ACX 3.0
  EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW2 8GB
• Monitor: AOC 27-Inch LED-backlit LCD 
• Headphones: SteelSeries Arctis 5
• Keyboard: Logitech G510 
• Mouse: SteelSeries SENSEI [RAW]
• Surface: TORQ x10 
• Operating System: WIN10 Pro (Ninja) 
• Motherboard: ASUS Z170-A ATX 
• Computer Case: Antec Three Hundred Two

First off - I had to swap to Windows 10 Pro, since Win7 finally went End Of Life. Win7 had a great run! It was solid and stable the whole time I've been running it. Windows 10 has shown a lot of promise. I've grown to enjoy it, so far.

I increased the RAM to 32GB, just because I wanted more wiggle room for apps.

My lovely wife gave me the 1TB 860 SSD, as a gift. Such a sweet drive with plenty of capacity, and not too shabby on the performance.

My old Tritton headset had been a problem from almost the start, but I finally got rid of it.
I switched to the SteelSeries Arctis headset.
Oh man! I am so very glad I did. It has really been the best headset I have had in years.
These are so good. I bought one for each of my teens.
They all love their headsets. It has been a real "game changer" for them.
Since they can now hear all of the enemies, in most of their games, with increased detail.

I upgraded my mouse to the next version, in the SteelSeries product line, just because my old mouse finally bit the dust. The Sensei has been a solid replacement.

The Core i5 is still blowing and going. I've had a great deal of solid gaming from this chipset. It has fully held up, as I had anticipated in 2016. I'll likely hold on to it for another year at this point.

The GTX1070 has been so good, I got a second one!

I've been able to play every game I love with 40+ fps & everything on Ultra/Max settings. Which has been very satisfying.