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White Define R5 Build

CostcoSamples

Technically this is not a new build, but rather a switch over to a new case with upgraded cooling.  

 

Build specs are as follows:

 

CPU: i5 4690k

GPU: Asus Strix GTX 970

Motherboard: Asus z97 Sabertooth Mark 1

RAM: 8GB HyperX Blue

SSD: Intel 750 Series, 400GB PCIe card.  OCZ Vector 128 GB as backup.

PSU: Fractal Design Newton R3 600 Watts

 

Upgrades include:

 

Case: Fractal Design Define R5, White

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12 (I've had this part since 2008, but have been using the stock Intel cooler for a few months.  With the new mounting kit, I can now use it again!)

CPU Cooler Mounting Kit:  Noctua NM-i115x (free from Noctua)

Case Fans: 5 x Noctua NF-A14 PWM (4 intake, 1 exhaust)

Motherboard Fan: 1 x Noctua NF-A4x10 (40 mm x 10 mm)

Thermal Compound: Arctic Cooling MX-4

 

First up, the new case:

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The old case was an Antec P180 silent case from 2008.  This case served me well, but has taken a beating from my kids.  My oldest boy busted the front USB ports when he was 2 years old.  Front audio is also busted, along with one of the dust filters and two of the included case fans.  You can see the dust filters are about the same density of mesh on the old P180 and Define R5 (show bottom right).

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A show of the new upgrades.

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In order to improve cooling on the old case, I had installed a side mounted 140 mm fan using a grid of holes I drilled by hand using a cordless drill.  This allowed a TON of dust to get sucked into the system.

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As you can see, dust was a real problem with the Antec P180.  I was not able to use the filtered front intakes, and this is how much dust I accumulated in about 3 months!

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I begin by removing all mechanical drive bays.  They will not be needed!  Next up, switch the door around to swing open the other way, and begin installing fans.  First thing I noticed was that the rubber Noctua fan mounts will not work at the front of this case.  For 140 mm fans, you must use the pre-drilled screw holes which are simply too small for the rubber mounts.  Not ideal, but oh well.  At least the fan still has the rubber anti-vibration pads on each corner.

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After installing the front fans, I move the two included Fractal Design 140 mm fans to the bottom (I quickly decided to replace these 1000 rpm, low pressure fans, with Noctua NF-A14 PWM to match the rest).  The included motherboard standoff tool is plastic and was badly chewed up by the time I finished.  Oh well, it got the job done.

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I love my Sabertooth Mark 1 z97, but man, those 40 mm and 35 mm fans are total junk.  The 40 mm fan spins at up to 6000 rpm, while the 35 mm fan spins at 4500 rpm.  They sound terrible, even in a quiet case.  Luckily, the Noctua 40 mm fan just barely fits (with some minor modification to the mounting plate).  Even at 4000 rpm, I can't hear the new 40 mm fan.  Next I install the new Noctua heatsink mounting kit.  My old Noctua heatsink/fan combo was purchased in 2008 and the included mounting kit does not support new CPUs.  One email to Noctua and they shipped me the mounting kit for FREE!  This is why I love Noctua.  Not only does their stuff last forever, but they give you free mounting kits on 7 year old heatsinks!  The mounting kit fits perfectly.

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Next order of business is to deal with that shitty 35 mm fan.  I don't want to disconnect it (though others have tried it without issue), and searching the inter-webs for a high quality 35 mm fan was fruitless.  I decided to try a Noctua in-line "Low Noise Adapter" to restrict the rpm of the shitty fan.  It actually worked, now rpm stays under 3000 (the fan is still audible, but much quieter).  Now to get started on cable management.  The top rubber grommet came out because the hole was too small for my top power connector.  A little frustrating, but I got it back in.

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As mentioned, I decided to swap those two bottom fans for matching NF-A14 PWMs.  Overkill? Yes!  =)   All the hardware is now in place, and cable management complete!

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Hope you like it!

 

Future upgrades include a black & white DX Racer chair (done), White keycaps for my Corsair K70 (done), and one of those silly (and crazy expensive) Razer RGB mouse pads (done - I returned it because it was total junk.  Bought a Steel Series QCK instead).

 

 

A few thoughts on the Define R5 case:

 

- The white finish on the steel parts screams of quality.  I love it!  The white plastic is also good and blends in well with the whole look.  Overall build quality feels very good.

- The flexibility to move things around is truly impressive.  There are dozens of permutations possible on this case.

- The full length bottom and front dust filters were a major selling point for me.  I hate dust.  The filters are very easy to remove for cleaning.

- Cable management was easy and well thought out, but not perfect.  A few minor glitches/inconveniences, but I'm happy with the final result.

- The sound dampening material does make a difference, but it won't silence a noisy system.

i7 4790k @4.7 | GTX 1070 Strix | Z97 Sabertooth | 32GB  DDR3 2400 mhz | Intel 750 SSD | Define R5 | Corsair K70 | Steel Series Rival | XB271, 1440p, IPS, 165hz | 5.1 Surround
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Those teeny weeny fans are cute :3

Why do case manufacturer's always make the 8 pin cpu cable hole so damn tiny ~.~

Case: NZXT Phantom PSU: EVGA G2 650w Motherboard: Asus Z97-Pro (Wifi-AC) CPU: 4690K @4.2ghz/1.2V Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 Ram: Kingston HyperX FURY 16GB 1866mhz GPU: Gigabyte G1 GTX970 Storage: (2x) WD Caviar Blue 1TB, Crucial MX100 256GB SSD, Samsung 840 SSD Wifi: TP Link WDN4800

 

Donkeys are love, Donkeys are life.                    "No answer means no problem!" - Luke 2015

 

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isnt that a good thing. filtered positive case pressure

 

Also increases noise, as you are forcing air out of small openings. 

My Personal Rig - AMD 3970X | ASUS sTRX4-Pro | RTX 2080 Super | 64GB Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB DDR4 | CoolerMaster H500P Mesh

My Wife's Rig - AMD 3900X | MSI B450I Gaming | 5500 XT 4GB | 32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 | Silverstone SG13 White

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too many intake fans but only 1 exhaust :S

 

 

isnt that a good thing. filtered positive case pressure

 

 

Also increases noise, as you are forcing air out of small openings. 

 

There are plenty of ventilation holes at the rear, so the positive pressure is maintained but not excessive, as air can easily escape.  The final setup actually runs very quiet, and I have the fan profile setup in the BIOS for silent operation.  At idle, the fans run around 400 rpm.  Under load, they may ramp up to 800 rpm, even with full OC on CPU and GPU.  The only thing I can really hear is the 35 mm fan, and even that is only audible if the room is totally quiet.

 

I have not done any stress testing yet, I'll post the temps once I do.

i7 4790k @4.7 | GTX 1070 Strix | Z97 Sabertooth | 32GB  DDR3 2400 mhz | Intel 750 SSD | Define R5 | Corsair K70 | Steel Series Rival | XB271, 1440p, IPS, 165hz | 5.1 Surround
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too positive pressure is not a good thing, the hot air will not be evac quick enough, so in long runs your PC will gradually gets hotter

3 intake + 2 exhaust may be good

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too positive pressure is not a good thing, the hot air will not be evac quick enough, so in long runs your PC will gradually gets hotter

3 intake + 2 exhaust may be good

You are correct, and thank you for the reminder to think about this.

 

I want my PC to be cool, quiet, and clean.  Plenty of airflow makes it cool, spreading that airflow over multiple fans at low rpm makes it quiet, and directing all incoming air through a filter and maintaining positive pressure keeps it clean.  Too much pressure means I am missing out on potential airflow to keep it cool.  

 

For my system, I am using PWM fans all round so that I can adjust each one independently to achieve the right balance.  Right now all fans run on the same profile, but once I start the stress testing, I will play with the exhaust fan speed to see if running it a little faster will give me any benefit.  It may very well benefit from spinning a little faster.

 

Because of the fan placement, I won't be changing the intake/exhaust orientation of any.  Also, to maintain the level of silence, I won't be removing any of the Modu-Vent covers for extra exhaust.  The setup you see is how it will stay, but I can easily adjust fan profiles to tweak airflow.

i7 4790k @4.7 | GTX 1070 Strix | Z97 Sabertooth | 32GB  DDR3 2400 mhz | Intel 750 SSD | Define R5 | Corsair K70 | Steel Series Rival | XB271, 1440p, IPS, 165hz | 5.1 Surround
PC Build

Desk Build

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  • 1 month later...

Nice clean build.

|CPU: Intel 5960X|MOBO:Rampage V Extreme|GPU:EVGA 980Ti SC 2 - Way SLI|RAM:G-Skill 32GB|CASE:900D|PSU:CorsairAX1200i|DISPLAY :Dell U2412M X3|SSD Intel 750 400GB, 2X Samsung 850 Pro|

Peripherals : | MOUSE : Logitech G602 | KEYBOARD: K70 RGB (Cherry MX Brown) | NAS: Synology DS1515+  - WD RED 3TB X 5|ROUTER: AC68U

Sound : | HEADPHONES: Sennheiser HD800 SPEAKERS: B&W CM9 (Front floorstanding) ,  B&W CM Center 2 (Centre) | AV RECEIVER : Denon 3806 | MY X99 BUILD LOG!

 

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