Post Your Computer Build

Discussion in 'Geek Cave: Computers, Tablets, HT, Phones, Games' started by The Alchemist, Oct 8, 2015.

  1. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    I bought a second radiator for my water cooling loop months ago (Black Friday?), and finally bothered to put it in my PC over the weekend.

    Cables are all gross still but I'll clean things up in the next couple of weeks.

    IMG_20190519_102939-COLLAGE.jpg

    Yep, I have a lot of fans in there. But they're incredibly quiet. I run them so I can't even hear them from a few feet away unless I'm gaming, building lighting for a level, or doing something else intensive on the CPU.

    How many fans?
    • 8x Cougar CF-D14HB (3 on Black Ice SR2 420 MP radiator, the rest are intakes)
    • 2x Cougar CF-D12HB (both on Nemesis 280 GTX radiator)
    • 2x Cougar CF-V12HB (ghetto zip tied side intakes)
    • 2x Cooler Master MegaFlow 200 (because Cougar doesn't make 200mm fans, front intakes)
    14 fans, all utterly silent because I get angry if I can hear things. I also run my pump at 58% until I hit 60°C because I can hear (or perceive) it if it's slower or faster. I love Cougar fans. They're very quiet, fairly powerful, and have a pleasant sonic signature that makes them disappear into the background even when running at full throttle.

    Relevant components:
    • CPU: Intel Core i9-9900K
    • GPU: Zotac 1080 Ti ArcticStorm
    • Mobo: Gigabyte Z390 Ultra
    • RAM: 16GB G-Skill TridentZ DDR4 3600 15-15-15-35 CL15
    • USB: Sonnet Allegro Pro USB 3.0 card
    • WiFi: Asus PCE-AC68
    • Main Drive: Samsung 960 PRO NVMe M.2 512GB SSD
    • Case: Thermaltake Core X9
    • PSU: EVGA T2 850W (or 1000?)
    • Monitors: Dell S2418HGF and LG 34UB88-P
    It's hard to see from the internal shots, but the Core X9 is a monstrous mini-fridge of a case. I've been building computers for more than 20 years, and I finally decided to just get something huge and easy to work in. This is the largest case I could find that wasn't more than $500 (and that place went out of business recently). The motherboard mounts horizontally and I have two radiators and room for more if I ever feel like adding more. I don't really need the second one as it is.

    Before some asks about monitors (nobody will)... The Dell works great in G-Sync mode. The LG I use for productivity purposes and I get motion sickness if I have a curved ultrawide, so this was the best flat ultrawide option. Once the LG 27GL850G-B comes out, I'll likely replace the Dell.
     
  2. Dash

    Dash Friend

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    I just finished collecting parts for a budget build.

    Ryzen 3 2200G
    MSI B450 Pro
    16gb XPG 3000MHz
    240 gb Crucial SSD
    Corsair Bronze 600W PSU
    Some cheap DiYPC case
    $55 LG monitor from a Reddit deal

    still looking for a cheap GPU.
     
  3. Sqveak

    Sqveak Friend

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    Since the 2200G is an APU. Why not see how far it gets you while you save for a better than cheap GPU?

    I have two APU based systems.
    Realistically, most games are playable. You just can't max the settings on newer titles.
    So hit up your back catalogue and have some fun ;)
     
  4. Dash

    Dash Friend

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    Thanks! That is what I was thinking initially. I left myself good enough starting components to snag a R5 plus gpu later. I'm waiting for gen 3 announcements. Right now I mainly play lol, hots and maybe bl2.
     
  5. PacoTaco

    PacoTaco Friend

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    My build is a bit boring. Mostly because it's a laptop. Switched to one due to traveling and wanting to be able to move things into the living room if I needed to.

    Anyway, it's a Lenovo Y740 with a 2070 Max Q. Before anyone goes "Max Q is trash," it is in most laptops. However, with Gsync and the cooling system (that's not the equivalent to cool the laptop by blowing on it with your mouth,) it actually gets up to 100w of power and slightly surpasses the normal laptop 2070 (stock) in performance. Which puts it 10% below the desktop equivalent (at the desktop's stock, of course). Most max-q laptops have trash cooling systems (like the Dell G7 or even Alienware M15,) and can't avoid throttling like a little bitch when it gets heated. This Y740, however, gets to about 1575-1850 Mhz depending on the game, doesn't go above 73c, and the CPU stays below 80c after a nice undervolt. It's insane.

    For example, with no AA and Very High (the max preset) settings on Rise of the Tomb Raider, I get between 110-120 fps on the benchmark. On Ultra DX12 Division 2, I get 90 fps average with Ultra settings. RE2 on ultra sits at 120 fps. I haven't tried Metro Exodus yet, mostly because I don't feel like download EGS. Overwatch on ultra sits at 180 fps.

    Good times all around.
     
  6. 3X0

    3X0 Friend

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    Progress has been slow...
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ac
    i9-9900K @ stock, undervolted to 1.12v w/ Alpenföhn Black Ridge + NF-A9x14 (2.5w heatsink version)
    RTX 2080 Founders Edition undervolted to 0.9375v @ 1995/8000
    32GB DDR4-3000C15 Corsair Vengeance LPX
    1TB Samsung 970 Pro
    Corsair SF750
    DAN A4-SFX

    This is downsized from a 5960X @ 4.4GHz + H100i / GTX 1070 / NCase M1 system.

    Still need to install rear SSD and then tidy up cables eventually.

    Of course I'm tempted to toss the case and just go with the a Sentry a la @zerodeefex.
     
  7. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    ITX /mATX builds can be a proper pain in the ass. Looking good so far though!
     
  8. FallingObjects

    FallingObjects Pay It Forward

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    That is some impressive case work though! The clocks your cpu and GPU are both running at are really respectable for how much voltage you've shaved off, I'd be really interested to see the thermals on them!
     
  9. 3X0

    3X0 Friend

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    Preliminary results:

    Blender Classroom (4.7GHz all-core AVX load, ~145W CPU package power): 92'C on CPU @100% fan speed
    GTA V w/ Redux mod: mid-70s for both GPU and CPU (fan speeds around ~50% for everything)

    Neither of these are particularly scientific since they're not delta over ambient, and the Blender run was tested on a somewhat cold evening.

    I'd like to switch at least the fan underneath the motherboard to exhaust, but that will have to wait until after I decide a rear SSD. I think the current configurtation (92mm fan underneath motherboard, 100mm underneath power supply) produces excessive positive pressure which might lead to hot air leaking and subsequently being recycled from the sides.
     
  10. Dash

    Dash Friend

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    So I finished my modest R3 2200G build on Friday night.

    Pulling 100+ fps in lol on very high. It's a nice little system considering I have $265 in the whole build including case.
     
  11. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    I started a mini build at one point but abandoned my plans when I realized how loud it would be. I'll do one for real at some point, probably watercooled with external rads or something.

    My monstrous case is super cool and quiet, and I'm not willing to sacrifice performance or noise for size.
     
  12. 3X0

    3X0 Friend

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    Small = loud or not performant is a common misconception.

    With judicious fan selection/configuration and a little bit of undervolting it's possible to build a SFF PC that does not thermal throttle and is more-or-less silent up through the 90th percentile of usage intensity (e.g. just until AVX loads or power viruses).

    Having had an H100i in a prior build and H80i before that, I'd actually rate the pump noise as having been more distracting than Noctua and Thermalright fans running at ~1000rpm. The main compromise is probably thermals, but ~70s during fairly intensive GPU+CPU loads is far from the thermal limits of this hardware.

    WRT silence the main things that actually helped were:
    1. replacing the eVGA SFX PSU since it appeared to have coil whine that increased with FPS
    2. flashing the RTX 2080 with a different BIOS to enable a lower idle fan speed, as the stock ~41% was the loudest thing in the case
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2019
  13. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    I have different (absurd) standards. An H100i or H80i would be far too loud for me. A video card with fans is similarly way too loud for me. I have a full proper water loop with everything obsessively optimized to the point that I can overclock without even having to turn the fans up to perceptible levels.

    Those Noctua fans you have are very good, but they're of a tone that I can perceive enough to bother me even at super low voltages or PWM settings. I had a full case of them at one point until I got angry and ripped them all out.

    My fans remain silent even while playing Overwatch, for example. The CPU (9900k overclocked) stays in the mid 30s and the GPU (1080 Ti overclocked) stays in the low 30s while playing.

    I'm an idiot with computers just like audio.
     
  14. Dash

    Dash Friend

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    Just curious, does anyone have a RX570/580 that they are willing to part with? I am curious about the improvement over the APU.

    EDIT: I snagged a RX 570 on Reddit for $70.
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2019
  15. FallingObjects

    FallingObjects Pay It Forward

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    Not mine, but just helped a friend of mine build it, mostly just helped him figure out what parts he needed for to get the most value out of it. First time doing a vertically mounted GPU so that was a neat experience too for me. Shoutout to the many, many zip ties that gave their lives valiantly cable managing this thing.

    (They're a big fan of RGBs if you couldn't tell)

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Components worth any particular note:
    AMD R5 3600
    Asus Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 (I know the supers are out now, but this one was on a steep discount due to inventory clearing which made it cheaper than 2060 Super editions so...)
    16GB of 3200Mhz CL16 RAM
    MSI MPG x570 Motherboard
    Intel 1TB M.2 SSD
    Thermaltake View 37 case
     
  16. Dash

    Dash Friend

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    According to the benchmarks, the 3600 is the value sweet spot. Super nice build, with a good parts list and RGB heaven.
     
  17. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    Sometimes I think the RGB stuff looks good, but I would never want that for my own rig. I prefer as little lighting as possible in my PCs these days. My last build (before RGB was a thing) had tons of red LEDs, the one before that was Green, and the one before that was blue.
     
  18. Sqveak

    Sqveak Friend

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    No UV? Those looked cool. Until the 80mm fans drive you to the brink of insanity :p
     
  19. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    I had UV cathodes back in the early 2000's. Broke 3 or 4 and decided I was done with them lol
     
  20. StandUp713

    StandUp713 Friend

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    Looks good man!

    BUT

    Computers belong on the floor, out of site. These disco aquarium builds are getting out of hand!
     

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