Building the ultimate gaming PC with Aura RGB lighting with Chino

Curious about what Aura RGB lighting can do for your system? Our forum grand master guru - Chino serves up a delectable build with Aura RGB lighting synchronized across the ROG Rampage V Edition 10 motherboard and two ROG Strix GTX 1080s! Mmm... tasty.

"Building gaming PCs is a fun hobby. Not everyday do you get to build the really high-end machines though. But when the opportunity presents itself, it just makes the whole process even more enjoyable. This particular system has been specced specifically towards providing the best gaming experience possible at 4K resolution. Nevertheless, efforts have also been made to ensure that it's a powerful all-around system even for professional work like 3D modeling, video or photo editing. As with all projects, the budget is a limiting factor so only products from the consumer market were chosen for the build."

Ultimate-Gaming-PC

Here's a breakdown of the components:
CPU: Intel Core i7-6950X
CPU Cooler: EKWB Predator 360
Motherboard: ROG Rampage V Edition 10
Memory: HyperX Savage 128GB (8x16GB) 2666MHz
Storage: HyperX Predator 480GB
Storage: HyperX Savage 480GB
Video Card: ROG Strix GTX 1080 in 2-way SLI
Case: In Win D-Frame 2.0
Power Supply: In Win SIII-1065W

Putting The Build Together

The system is powered by Intel's monster 10-core i7-6950X clocked at 3GHz with a boost clock up to 3.5GHz. Although it's overkill for gaming alone, the extra cores will come in handy when working with more demanding tasks. The Core i7-6950X is paired with the latest Rampage V Edition 10 motherboard for various reasons. For starters, the gaming and overclocking features make the Rampage V Edition 10 the perfect motherboard for this build. There are also many next-generation connectivity options like NVMe U.2, WiFi 802.11ac, and USB 3.1 Type C to futureproof. But the motherboard's breathtaking aesthetics is the icing on the cake. The Rampage V Edition 10 looks freaking amazing with the black theme and Aura RGB lighting.

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Being a very high end build, it would only be right to choose a special case for the system. In Win is notorious for producing gorgeous computer cases so it was obvious where one needs to look. After a few considerations, the D-Frame 2.0 was chosen to house all the components for the build. The choice wasn't hard to make considering it was kind of like love at first sight. The D-Frame 2.0 is a very eye-catching case that brings this unparalleled uniqueness to the table. The black and gold platinum theme and the tempered glass side panels definately give the case a luxurious feeling to it.

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The HyperX Savage 128GB memory kit is a big investment but definately worth it. It ensures that the system won't run out of memory during heavy workloads. With 128GB of memory, one can say goodbye to the swap file forever and recover those precious gigabytes of space from the SSD.

HyperX-DDR4-2666-128GB

The HyperX Predator 480GB is a good capacity and fast PCIe SSD. Lightning speed loading times in games is what awaits the user.

HyperX-Predator-480GB 

The SIII-1065W is a 1065W power supply with a 92% efficiency rating. It's more than capable to power the this build in particular. Being a fully modular design, cable management just got easier.

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SupremeFX is one of the best onboard audio solution on the market right now. It's been updated on the Rampage V Edition 10 so audio should sound even better.

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The Core i7-6950X can pump out a lot of heat under demanding workloads. The EKWB Predator 360 was chosen to cool the 10 core monster.

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The integrated Quick Disconnects (QDC) on the EKWB Predator 360 leaves the door open for liquid cooling the GPUs in a not so distant future.

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The twin Strix GTX 1080s in SLI are responsible for pumping those FPS at 4K resolution. Unfortunately the NVIDIA SLI HB Bridge was out of stock at the moment of purchase. Hopefully ROG wil be releasing their new HB SLI bridges soon so the normal SLI bridge will suffice in the meantime.

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Going to avoid platter storage devices completely in this build. Huge files from work and less frequently played games are stored on the speedy HyperX Savage 480GB instead.

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Cable management on the D-Frame 2.0 isn't impossible but it does take a bit of patience. There is enough clearance space at the back to route all the cables comfortably. It's a shame that In Win didn't put some cable tie locations at the back of the motherboard tray to secure cables easier.

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Building inside the D-Frame 2.0 was a pleasant experience. The excitement level to finish this dream build was very high.

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Time-lapse building guide video:

Recent guides by Chino:

Overclocking the ROG Strix GTX 1080

ROG Strix GTX 1080 Performance and Review

How to make OC Panel work on Rampage V Edition 10

If you have any questions or want to tell Chino how awesome it is, here is the work log.