A build that has "hopefully" reached it's final stage of evolution. Pictures posted.

[_Wyatt_Wallen_]

This project has been one that I must say has taken some quite inconsistent turns but its on its way to be completely finished soon.

I have changed my case 3 times, swapped the board, cpu, and ram twice, changed storage mediums, and swapped out fans. I can say that it is much better to initially have a vision for your ideal computer system, with all the parts, look and accessories, and just spend the extra cash all at once so the build you have is the exact look and feel that you intended to have the first time around. I didn't know what look I was going for so I had an experimental phase on the system with some parts that I ended up changing out eventually. Having a Frankenstein build can be somewhat annoying when its half awesome and half lackluster but it is what it is.

So, with that out of the way.

I've wanted to keep a red on black look with the system because of the striking contrast it brings. The red really pops on a black background.

It's a little irking that it has become such a commonplace color scheme for many custom systems but its a nice look and it's nice to see others who can appreciate it.

With that being said, the system's specs are as follows

-Corsiar Obsidian 800D case
-AMD FX-8350 CPU (stock freq.)
-Asus Crosshair V formula-z motherboard
-G.Skill 32gb 2400mhz Trident X Ram
-(x2) AMD Radeon HD 4890 video card (Crossfired) (Soon to change)
-Phanteks PH-TC14-PE cpu heatsink (Soon to change)
-Muskin Chronos 120gb SSD
-Western Digital Velociraptor WD1000DHTZ 1TB HDD
-Western Digital Green 1TB HDD
-Seasonic Platinum 1000W PSU
-Corsair Link system running several Corsair AF120/140 fans
-Lite-On generic CD/DVD player
-Bitfenix Alchemy sleeve cable extentions (red)
-ColdZero custom PSU basement plate
-Windows 7 Professional 64bit

At this point, I want to add the other ColdZero acrylic plates to present a more uniform and clean look.
In addition to such, I am wanting to replace the heatsink with a smaller one that takes up less space but still performs as well if not better than the current unit. I am looking at getting an Prolimatech Armageddon (If it fits) or a cooler master TCP-612 (Since an TPC 812 won't mount vertically on an AM3+ socket).
Last but not least, I would like to replace my aging HD 4890s with either a GTX 780, two GTX 780s or a GTX Titan but I'm not sure which one I am going to settle on yet. Its been a toss-up for some time now.

If you notice, I decided to remove the hot swap door on the front of the case because I found myself always bumping into it with my leg so I ordered addition 5.25in bay covers to fill in the bottom section where the door once was. I never take advantage of hot swap anyways.
The only downside is that a fourth 5.25 bay cover is just a little to big to fit in the area where the bay door once was so I am in the process of sanding in down so it will fit with the other 3 bay covers. Hence the reason why it's not in there at the moment.

In any event, I figured I would present you guys with the somewhat finished result of my system. I really didn't care to do a build log in the process of building the system as I have had made several changes to the system over the past 2 years and this is just an evolution of what the system build originally encompassed.

On the contrary, I have pretty much replaced every original part of my system except the HD 4890s in this build.

Hopefully you guys enjoy the photos and I will upload more as I get the final parts in and install them.

If you have any advice or suggestions to the system then I am open to any and all input.

Thanks and enjoy!

[Masterbobo]

'[Wyatt Wallen wrote:
;282031']I am in no way worried about these cards being bottle-necked by my FX-8350. It should be more than sufficient to handle them.

Unfortunately, I will have to order a new UPS to run both cards as the entire system pulls more than 600W of power and my UPS battery backup cannot handle the system, all three monitors, and my speaker system under gaming load. Still trying to determine which UPS I will go with to replace my current one.

My 3 gtx 480's were bottlenecked by my i7-3930k, until I decided to overclock the cpu to lessen the bottleneck, not sure if im still bottlenecking cause even when I overclocked it to 5ghz temporarily the frames just kept flying higher and higher, and those cards are 3 generations older.

Have you tested to see if your bottlenecking them? Have you tried to OC your cpu to actually see? I'm just saying if anyone spends that kind of money on their graphic cards you should want to get the most out of them, and I can pretty much bet the farm that those titans are bottlenecked.

Not trying to buzz your kill lol just saying you spent 2k, sure you can do what you want and if money is no object then who cares, but at least test to see if your chocking the cards down, they have tons of potential and unleashing them is what you want. I don't know what if the second one isn't doing anything cause theres not enough processing power? That's very unlikely but lol since you have them why not see for yourself, then share the results.

[Masterbobo]

check out this thread, interesting..

http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=1872488&mpage=1&print=true


im just interested in cpu vs gpu cause who knows I might upgrade my grfx cards sooner or later and those titans are beasts.

[_Wyatt_Wallen_]

I will post results if you can provide me some legitimate documentation on the "how and when" this bottlenecking occurs.

I've read a few bits about this supposed "bottlekneck" before but no one ever shows documentation about it or proof that it actually occurs.

And at the moment I am only using one of the Titans because with SLI enabled, my system draws to much power for my ups to sustain load so until I get a new UPS I won't have results for the SLI scaling and performance.

[_Wyatt_Wallen_]

I has been awhile since I posted on this thread but I did do another build update recently where I've sold some parts, bought some parts, and even modified the 800D even further. I'll post some pictures up soon.

And here they are as promised.

As far as updates are concerned with the system, I decided to have the bottom, top, and rear fan honeycomb mesh removed in order to provide overall better air movement in the system as I will not be water-cooling yet.
*I had to purchase a new vehicle recently so that is why wc is on the back burner for now.*



As far as purchases, I decided to sell my Crosshair V Formula-Z to a good friend along with the Phanteks CPU heatsink in order to make room for a Pre-ordered RAMPAGE IV BLACK EDITION, Intel i7-4930K and more Trident X ram.

Another item which I added to the build was the Be Quiet! Dark Rock 3. It perfectly matches the 800D's front dark-brushed aluminum fascia. I would like to get less extrusive fans for it but right now it serves well.

I also ended up selling my Zotac GTX Titan to another client for use in her build. I was just not getting the sort of uniform support I wanted with SLI scaling and much prefer the ease of use with a single card.



I purchased some wire fan grills and a custom rear grill to cover up some of the screw ups during cutting. It only adds to the industrial but disciplined look of the system with it's brushed aluminum allure.

I also added some 3M carbon fiber accents to the board to hide some things that ruin the look I am going for.

After spending a few hours getting everything together, here is the end result. If there were a few other things I could do to top off the system, it would be custom sleeved cables.



If I had to say which colors and accents I was really going for in this build, it would have to be gun metal grey on flat-matte black along with dark-brushed aluminum, black nickel, and carbon fiber accents.

Let me know what you guys think. It is never done but this is where its at for now.

[lgxstarburst]

i personally like those phanteks heatsinks. i currently have one in my rig right now. that be quit heatsink looks so small in that case man lol

[_Wyatt_Wallen_]

If you like phanteks heatsinks, thats fine. I prefer single tower heatsinks that don't cover up my ram slots and aesthetically match with the case they're mounted in. I could care less about size.

[naj1991]

@first congratulation to buy Intel/nvidia parts... 😜 ...but second, take a watercooling loop and all looks better... and be better, cooler, and more stable... ---> for more overclocking power... 😉 crossair and coolermaster finished loops are bull****... see in the web and every 2. post @google is whyle some of these loop leek @maximum 1 jear... ihad one by my parents 5monts and had to much paranoja to let it operate longer... and reinstall a air cooler... but the pc is not a bit overclocked...had no GPU with power... the only nice thing is an i5 and a SSD sata-3 when you need to overclock or take a titan/780ti or some else, install a LCloop, take compression fitings when you are paranoid like me... but i can say to you not 1 of my builded systems have leeked @ sometime... 😉 i have take every time compression fiting, whyle i dont trust pushin or some other connectors they're not screwed... but watercooling is the best and its no way bypass it... air cooling looks terrible man.. bigg headsinks that take your view... dont see the nice hardware under the headsinks.. 😉

[_Wyatt_Wallen_]

You are trying to objectively critique a subjective matter. Your argument is invalid.

[naj1991]

mmmh i dont think so man... I just want to tell that finished loops are ****, and that you must build your own loops and then they are save.. 😉 your only paraniod that your loops leeking... but thats not a reason to bild a air cooling system... ^^ 😉 and when you build one, change the titan-headsink... like a RAIJINTEK Morpheus or another, i think that green text and the red of the rog bit her...

[totalrognoob]

This is still subjective, you trade a lot or a little cooling performance(depends on how you work the two), for low cost, low weight, lower maintenance cooling. Water cooling requires changing the fluid, cleaning the rads, replacing kill coils, waiting to upgrade until a water block is out, etc. Air cooling requires that you use a larger case and do all your cooling within it. The trade offs are subjective in value, as you can run an I7-4770k on air, with no issues if you take some time to care for it, you can get down to almost silent if you take the time and pick the right fans, water makes it easier to create a large thermal sump, chill the working fluid/gas below ambient, and makes it so you can add a heck of a lot of surface area; but, you then have to keep putting more time to clean it properly, change the fluid, replace kill coils, inspect and replace failing fittings or O-rings, and if you don't you have bigger problems than you would on air. T.A.N.S.T.A.F.L. For someone who might not have time for awhile to give their rig proper maintenance air is better, because you're biggest problem is dust, not failing seals or a bad pump. It's subjective, WC requires more time, money, and skill for better performance, air requires space, air flow, and finding the right parts.
Also, your spelling and gratuitous use of smileys bothers me for some reason, please take more care if you can.
P.S. Warranties might also be a reason to stay under air, I can't think of a group that will warranty someone removing their work and replacing it (if)when it fails(probably is one, or special cases, but I haven't encountered one yet).