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Bumblebee X99 Build Log

Nem
By Nem
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Hi folks, I decided to build a new machine and decided to log the progress. This mainly goes up on my website but I figured I'd post some stuff here as well.

 

There will be no major modding but first time water cooling, and will probably take a few weeks to complete due to time constraints. It's an X99 build that I'll be using for some VFX work as well as general computing and light gaming.

 

You can find more indepth thoughts and opinions on the build here: http://leftvsright.me/left/computer.html

The site contains higher res pictures, and more of them if you're interested.

 

The specs of the machine:

  • CPU: Intel 5820k
  • CPU Cooler: Custom water loop
  • Motherboard: Asus X99-A
  • Memory: 32GB G.Skill Ripjaws 4 (DDR4-2133)
  • Hard Drive: Crucial MX100 256GB (Boot)
  • Hard Drive: Samsung 840 128GB (Scratch)
  • Hard Drive: NAS (Storage)
  • Graphics Card: Asus GTX970 Strix OC
  • PSU: EVGA Supernova 750W G2
  • Case: Corsair 750D
  • Case Fans: 3x Corsair AF140 Quiet Edition
  • Radiator Fans: 3x Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition
  • Optical Drive: What's an optical drive?
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A few things that I've already completed/had to deal with for this build:

 

Picked up a 760T with a bad panel and had to get it replaced:

1-a.jpg

 

Ended up getting a replacement 760T. Had the exact same problem!

 

1-b.jpg

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I decided not to deal with large acrylic panels anymore so went with a 750D instead. Checked it in the store briefly and it seemed OK aesthetically. When I it home I realised one of the front latches was broken

 

2-b.jpg

 

It secures the panel OK, but once it has been secured it won't release it easily without a lot of fiddling. I have contacted Corsair about the case problems and they are sending some more replacement parts.

 

3 bad cases in a row...not the most encouraging way to start a build!

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Theres bad luck and then there's what happened to you

Planned I Hope Someday I Do First Build: CPU: Intel Core i7 5820k CPU Cooler: CM Hyper 212 EVO Mobo: MSI X99S SLI PLUS RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4x4GB) DDR4-2133Mhz Storage: Corsair Force LS 240GB SSD & 2TB WD Green Graphics Card: ASUS GTX 970 4GB Turbo Case: NZXT S340 White PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ OS: Windows 8.1 64-bit OEM Monitor: AOC i2267Fw 60Hz 22" Monitor

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Theres bad luck and then there's what happened to you

 

yeah this has never happened to me before in 15 years of building. Maybe I just got super unlucky this time around.

 

One thing I didn't mention here is that the front aluminium panel is also curved and doesn't sit flush with the rest of the front. Another defect it seems -_-

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If you decide to get your money back and go for a different case, have you considered an Enthoo Pro/Luxe? Those cases are amazing IMO, definitely worth the money.

waffle waffle waffle on and on and on

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Corsair case quality is going downhill... shocking. (Not really)

Main Rig: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/58641-the-i7-950s-gots-to-go-updated-104/ | CPU: Intel i7-4930K | GPU: 2x EVGA Geforce GTX Titan SC SLI| MB: EVGA X79 Dark | RAM: 16GB HyperX Beast 2400mhz | SSD: Samsung 840 Pro 256gb | HDD: 2x Western Digital Raptors 74gb | EX-H34B Hot Swap Rack | Case: Lian Li PC-D600 | Cooling: H100i | Power Supply: Corsair HX1050 |

 

Pfsense Build (Repurposed for plex) https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/715459-pfsense-build/

 

 

 

 

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Well, that's corsair cases for you...

Specs: 4790k | Asus Z-97 Pro Wifi | MX100 512GB SSD | NZXT H440 Plastidipped Black | Dark Rock 3 CPU Cooler | MSI 290x Lightning | EVGA 850 G2 | 3x Noctua Industrial NF-F12's

Bought a powermac G5, expect a mod log sometime in 2015

Corsair is overrated, and Anime is ruined by the people who watch it

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The rest of my components arrived today and I can actually put together a test build now

 

3-a.jpg

 

Was lucky to get that I managed to find a 32GB kit of DDR4 anywhere. Was even luckier to find an Asus 970 Strix! Although I ordered this stuff last week, so stock may have improved since then

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Corsair fan replacement. Love the quiet edition air series fans for their performance, noise and most of all the fan rings! These will get spray painted down the road

 

5-c.jpg

 

One thing I noticed is that the bottom intake fan cable is just a little too short to be able to reach a motherboard header, so I had to grab a spare noctua extension I had lying around to give it a bit more reach. Top cable length is OK though

 

5-d.jpg

 

A few more pictures of things here: http://leftvsright.me/left/computer.html

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looking good so far :D

 

thanks! I know its pretty standard fare so far, mostly did this to log my first time water cooling which will come as soon as the WC gear arrives!

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please let us now your experience with that mobo, i am considering buying it for my next build, so an opinion would be nice :) VERY nice build btw, i am looking forward to the finished product.

CPU:  i7 5820k  @4.0Ghz Cooler: Thermaltake Nic C5 Motherboard: MSI X99A SLI PLUS  Ram: 8 gb @2133Mhz GPU: Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 @1560  Case: Proprietary Sun Ultra 24  Storage: HyperX 120gb & 1 TB WD Green PSU: Cooler Master 550w 

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Installed everything into the case today for a test run.

 

6-c.jpg

 

7-b.jpg

 

It's a blue Intel cooler on my CPU! Had no idea Intel decided to throw LEDs onto the CPU fans but thats cool I guess. Obviously all of this is just temporary. Going to spend a day or two stressing the hardware and checking for failures. This is that moment where you pray you don't need to RMA anything...

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I had an issue with my 750D as well.  Except my latch for the front panel wouldn't secure the panel at all, it just wouldn't click in! So I tore it out and then the world was a happy place and it fits flush now.  Though it does bow out a little like yours does.  Besides that little bow I flippin' love this case though.

 

Edit: I'm also going to add that I moved my drive cage to hang from the disc drive bays.  It looks pretty neat and that allows you to remove the two drive mounts on the bottom to reveal room for another 240mm radiator.  Which I thought was pretty neat.  I haven't saved up for my custom loop yet so if you do yours before me you should let me know so I can get an idea of possible pump and reservoir placement please!

I try as hard as I can to not be a fanboy

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this is cool

My Main Build: NZXT S340 - NZXT Kraken X31 - Crucial MX100 256GB - i5 4460 - Gigabyte Z97P D3 - Kingston HyperX Red 8GB - MSI Nvidia GTX 780 3GB - Corsair LL & HD RGB Fans, Corsair Lighting Node Pro. 

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I had an issue with my 750D as well.  Except my latch for the front panel wouldn't secure the panel at all, it just wouldn't click in! So I tore it out and then the world was a happy place and it fits flush now.  Though it does bow out a little like yours does.  Besides that little bow I flippin' love this case though.

 

Edit: I'm also going to add that I moved my drive cage to hang from the disc drive bays.  It looks pretty neat and that allows you to remove the two drive mounts on the bottom to reveal room for another 240mm radiator.  Which I thought was pretty neat.  I haven't saved up for my custom loop yet so if you do yours before me you should let me know so I can get an idea of possible pump and reservoir placement please!

 

Yeah you could definitely fit another rad in the bottom, but moving the drive cage to hang from the optical bays may interfere with where I'm planning on putting the tube reservoir but I'll have to see when that stuff arrives. Does hanging the drive cage hurt airflow from the front intake at all? I feel like it would block off a larger portion of the top intake fan than it does currently (with the bottom intake)

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its not terrible but ive seen better. I'm actually happy to push my cpu with this cooler on it unlike other "stock" heatsinks. Bear in mind that this cooler did not come with the 5820k.

 

on idle, the cpu downclocks to around 1200mhz. Temp is around 35-40C at 1450rpm

under load, cpu OCs to 4.5ghz. Temp 65C at 2500rpm

 

I've purposefully lowered the cooling in my case when idle which is why the cpu temp hits 40C. When idle everything is dead silent which is the way I want it. Hopefully the 360mm rad can work pretty well passively to bring the cpu temp even lower without fans spinning - we shall see

 

so the temps arent bad for a 1ghz+ overclock on the cpu. But under load, the cpu fan is extremely loud. There are much better coolers you can get, I only grabbed this because it was cheap at the time of buying

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Yeah you could definitely fit another rad in the bottom, but moving the drive cage to hang from the optical bays may interfere with where I'm planning on putting the tube reservoir but I'll have to see when that stuff arrives. Does hanging the drive cage hurt airflow from the front intake at all? I feel like it would block off a larger portion of the top intake fan than it does currently (with the bottom intake)

 

Well to be honest I don't know yet. I did EVGA's step up program and my 970 won't get here until Wednesday.  I don't think it will be too big of a deal as far as restriction goes because I only have one drive in the cage.  I know it's still obviously a lot more restrictive than nothing but I am planning on getting triple SP120's for the front since static pressure fans do better with those restrictive environments.  Planning my loop in my head right now and so far I'm at reservoir in the disc drive cage and then attach pump to the bottom of the HDD cage.  I'm just thinking that for now because I think it could look cool but then again I could change my mind and go a whole other route.  Only time will tell.

I try as hard as I can to not be a fanboy

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please let us now your experience with that mobo, i am considering buying it for my next build, so an opinion would be nice :) VERY nice build btw, i am looking forward to the finished product.

 

Added a brief hardware "review" to my site: http://leftvsright.me/left/computer.html

 

Let me know if there's anything in particular you want me to go into detail about. Happy to share.

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OK, need some opinions guys! Planning out my water cooling loop today in anticipation for the parts arriving on Friday.

 

8-a.jpg8-b.jpg8-c.jpg

 

Any thoughts on which of the above options are the most efficient and the best looking?

 

Either way, the 360mm rad has to sit at the top of the case, however the inlet/outlet can either sit near the back of the case (option #1 and #3), or near the front hidden inside the front optical drive bays, which I won't be using anyway (option #2).

 

There are 3 connections to/from the pump at the bottom of the case: the inlet comes from the tube reservoir, it will outlet to either the CPU block (option #2 and #3) or the radiator (option #1), and the final outlet will be loose and used as a drain port for emptying the loop.

 

I also have options to remove the front HDD cage (instead of the back one) and put the pump nearer to the front. Or remove both HDD cages from the bottom of the case and hang one directly beneath the optical drive cage leaving the entire floor of the case free. I won't be installing a rad in the bottom, but it might be nice to have the extra space down there?

 

Thoughts?

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well the water cooling has arrived, shame I won't be able to get started until friday though...

 

9-a.jpg

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I now have everything (minus a few screws to mount the radiator). Spent a little while rinsing out the radiator and found a whole bunch of gunk in there. Plugged everything up to my old power supply and am currently running an out of case test to check that all the components are in order. This doubles as a second cleaning stage for the radiator (will plug the CPU block into the loop in a few hours for a brief rinse as well). Everythings seems great so far. Once I have the extra screws I'll be about ready to do a final mount in the new system and do some proper leak testing.

 

10-a.jpg

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