THE LIGHT FANTASTIC

AS WE MENTIONED, this build was and is all about that chassis. The PC and hardware itself inside, are relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things right now, so consider this more an exercise on peripherals and case-building, or an in-depth review, rather than a “we built this for X, look how it performs” kind of scenario. If you’re interested in flashy-looking ITX cases that can sit proudly on your desktop, or how G.Skill’s first attempt at case design went, it’s definitely the build-it for you.

That aside, the hardware contained inside, at reasonable prices, would make a fairly chunky gaming PC, or a mid-range entry point for anyone looking to get a foothold into videoediting for sure. The main thing that decided our picks for this issue though? Lighting. The Z5i, being the showcase chassis it is demands some top-quality hardware, and to that end, we went into this with several components in mind.

For our RAM, Dominator Platinum RGBs from Corsair were the logical choice, the cappelix LEDs situated in those things are insanely bright, and once configured properly, can light up a room. Our CPU cooler is the digital display equipped NZXT Kraken Z53 240mm AIO (this case supports up to a 280mm AIO, which we would recommend you go for). And lastly, our GPU is the mildly flashy Radeon RX 6800 XT from AMD.

Originally, we intended to go for one of Zotac’s GeForce RTX 3080 Ti’s complete with over-the-top ridiculous LED lighting (as Zotac is one of the best at that), but sadly the card arrived a day after our shoot. Don’t worry though, the availability and pricing would have still been nonsensical for that card. Oh, boy… this industry is frustrating right now.