Project Rhino - A HEX GEAR R80 prototype build

[p0Pe]

 

 

 

Hello guys! Ever since finishing the R40 Engineering Station I have had an itch to start a new project, so I will cut straight to it. The case I will be building in this time is a prototype of the upcoming HEX GEAR R80, a full size ATX case with plenty of space for a LOT of hardware, as I will do my best to prove.

 

This build proves as a "test build" in the prototype case to make sure that it has the thermal capacity, and space that is needed for an ultra high-end build. And what better way to do this than to cram all sorts of expensive, powerhungry and hot hardware into it!

 

I will be keeping this build very clean, as it serves as a statement of what you can do with basic tools in this case (so not crazy water distributing plates, sorry!)

 

I would also like to give a huge thanks to the sponsors that has provided parts for this project, and helped make it one of the most powerfull PC's possible to build. I would also like to thank the team from Official Nordster for the Rhino artwork in the banner.

 

Lets get some specs on the table:

• Case: HEX GEAR R80
• CPU: Intel i7 5960X
• Graphic cards: 4 x Nvidia Geforce GTX Titan X
• OS drive: Intel 750 ssd 1.2TB PCIe
• Secondary drive: KLEVV Urbane 480 gb ssd
• Motherboard: ASUS X99-E WS
• RAM: 64 GB KLEVV CRASS DDR4 ram
• PSU: Corsair AX1500i
• Fan controller: Aquaero 6
• Watercooling: EK blocks, radiators, reservoir & pumps
• Fans: EK vardar
• Fittings: Bitspower 
• Sleeving: E22
• Tubing: E22 solid tubing

 

Without much more writing, lets get started!

 

 

A few renders of the case. The case follows many of the same ideas as the R40, but is just bigger so it can handle a full ATX system.

 

 

The case also supports either a 360 + 480 mm radiator, or two 420 mm radiators (if you get some extra radiator mounting plates). For this build I will be using 60 mm thick 120 mm radiators as I believe it will be more than enough to cool the hardware used.

 

 

The case is as mentioned a prototype of the upcoming R80 tower. Essentially a R40 but just with more space for stuff! Don't mind the grey paper still on the accent pack, it is as mentioned still a prototype. The case is build to be able to accommodate 8 PCI slots, and as you can see on this picture can easily handle 4 way SLI / crossfire.

 

 

Some of the main hardware that will be used for this mod. A pretty hefty combo!

 

 

However big the motherboard might be, it still looks small with all the cards put onto it.

 

 

These cards are just INSANE! I plan on overclocking everything when it is done, to see how far I can push the system.

 

 

This motherboard means business and have the specs to back it up. Really looking forward to getting this booted up!

 

 

Lets try not to bend any of these before I get the CPU in place shall we?

 

 

One of the first things I did was to drill a few holes in the motherboard mounting plate that comes with the case. This plate is made from 1.5 mm aluminium, so it is pretty easy to drill into and mount whatever you need on it.

 

 

Always guide holes when prepping to drill. This way the drill will not run off and make a big fat scratch in your work part.

 

 

Laser guided drill!

 

 

And done! In this picture you can see the plate compared to a standard R40 mounting plate.

 

More to come soon!

[randy hutajulu]

Damn i love this mobo. This is the best looking mobo in the market right now (in my opinion) please use a grey coolant with silver fittings or maybe metal pipes if u don't mid sir.

 

 

Pleeaasseee...

[Vercii]

Oh this is going to be very very sexy.

[xc0mbatx]

Good luck, I'm going to enjoy this.

[p0Pe]

6 hours ago, randy hutajulu said:

Damn i love this mobo. This is the best looking mobo in the market right now (in my opinion) please use a grey coolant with silver fittings or maybe metal pipes if u don't mid sir.

 

 

Pleeaasseee...

 

I will use black fittings for it for sure, but I have not yet decided on the fluid color. I can say as much that the main color theme will be blue/grey

 

6 hours ago, Vercii said:

Oh this is going to be very very sexy.

 

I sure hope so:D

 

6 hours ago, BurnerMC said:

Makes me want to have an update of Maki Roles build.

 

Instant follow BTW.

Glad to have you on board:D

3 hours ago, xc0mbatx said:

Good luck, I'm going to enjoy this.

Thanks! I just hope everything works when I boot it up. I did not actually bother to test it all when the stock coolers was still on lol

[NaLu]

Impressive man... Impressive...

[randy hutajulu]

6 hours ago, p0Pe said:

 

I will use black fittings for it for sure, but I have not yet decided on the fluid color. I can say as much that the main color theme will be blue/grey

 

please... use grey coolant or metal pipes sir.. pleaaseee....

 

but, i'm wit yaaaa anyway..

damn... i'm your big fan sir

[xc0mbatx]

13 hours ago, p0Pe said:

 

I will use black fittings for it for sure, but I have not yet decided on the fluid color. I can say as much that the main color theme will be blue/grey

 

 

I sure hope so:D

 

Glad to have you on board:D

Thanks! I just hope everything works when I boot it up. I did not actually bother to test it all when the stock coolers was still on lol

Oh man! That could be a headache! Haha, I hope for your sanity everything is hunky dory. I'm sure we will all find out...

[nmil]

Insta follow once again. Are you gonna do anything crazy with this build? Like the water cooling pass through plate on the r40 build, or that beautiful cable management?

[hearthofsin]

21 hours ago, p0Pe said:

I will be keeping this build very clean, as it serves as a statement of what you can do with basic tools in this case (so not crazy water distributing plates, sorry!)

 

22 minutes ago, nmil said:

Insta follow once again. Are you gonna do anything crazy with this build? Like the water cooling pass through plate on the r40 build, or that beautiful cable management?

seems like that is a no 

[nmil]

1 hour ago, hearthofsin said:

 

seems like that is a no 

Oh didn't see that. I guess the hype overwhelmed me. But he never said anything about dem cables doe.

[hearthofsin]

1 minute ago, nmil said:

Oh didn't see that. I guess the hype overwhelmed me. But he never said anything about dem cables doe.

yeah it happens for me too don't worry homes 
that is true he might be doing something with cables but i feel like p0pe always keep it kinda secret until he can show it off done.

[NoobCase]

sooooo... its been nearly 24 hours.. wheres the damn update?

 

 

j/k... can't wait to see how this turns out...

 

very clean.... only basic tools... mmmm just you wait... you'll end up with some sort of NASA installment.. wasn't basic also the keyword for the Workstation you did?  @p0Pe

 

And forgot my question: The motherboard tray on the retail version will come with pre-drilled holes or?

[ELSknutson]

What a wast of 2 good cards =( 

[asim1999]

Did all the companies sponsor you?

[NoobCase]

1 hour ago, ELSknutson said:

What a wast of 2 good cards =( 

As I read OP this is a build to showcase the capacities of the case not about diminishing returns in performance gain etc.

44 minutes ago, asim1999 said:

Did all the companies sponsor you?

I can't know fore sure but that's how I read the OP. p0pe co-owns Hex-Gear (I think) and they have been doing co-laps with some of them before. I don't think this i like a private person trying to raise all this gear from sponsors

[asim1999]

9 minutes ago, NoobCase said:

As I read OP this is a build to showcase the capacities of the case not about diminishing returns in performance gain etc.

I can't know fore sure but that's how I read the OP. p0pe co-owns Hex-Gear (I think) and they have been doing co-laps with some of them before. I don't think this i like a private person trying to raise all this gear from sponsors

Awesome

[p0Pe]

19 hours ago, NaLu said:

Impressive man... Impressive...

 

13 hours ago, randy hutajulu said:

please... use grey coolant or metal pipes sir.. pleaaseee....

 

but, i'm wit yaaaa anyway..

damn... i'm your big fan sir

 

6 hours ago, xc0mbatx said:

Oh man! That could be a headache! Haha, I hope for your sanity everything is hunky dory. I'm sure we will all find out...

 

5 hours ago, nmil said:

Insta follow once again. Are you gonna do anything crazy with this build? Like the water cooling pass through plate on the r40 build, or that beautiful cable management?

 

5 hours ago, hearthofsin said:

 

seems like that is a no 

 

3 hours ago, nmil said:

Oh didn't see that. I guess the hype overwhelmed me. But he never said anything about dem cables doe.

 

3 hours ago, hearthofsin said:

yeah it happens for me too don't worry homes 
that is true he might be doing something with cables but i feel like p0pe always keep it kinda secret until he can show it off done.

 

3 hours ago, NoobCase said:

sooooo... its been nearly 24 hours.. wheres the damn update?

 

 

j/k... can't wait to see how this turns out...

 

very clean.... only basic tools... mmmm just you wait... you'll end up with some sort of NASA installment.. wasn't basic also the keyword for the Workstation you did?  @p0Pe

 

And forgot my question: The motherboard tray on the retail version will come with pre-drilled holes or?

 

Jees man! Will come soon!

 

The motherboard tray will ofcourse come with pre-drilled holes if that is what you mean. The motherboard mounting plate will come blank, but you can buy ones that fits your parts (such as the EK revo for example)

 

2 hours ago, ELSknutson said:

What a wast of 2 good cards =( 

 

Just wait until I start going at one of them with an angle grinder to fit the intel PCIe ssd

 

1 hour ago, asim1999 said:

Did all the companies sponsor you?

 

Yes

 

53 minutes ago, NoobCase said:

As I read OP this is a build to showcase the capacities of the case not about diminishing returns in performance gain etc.

I can't know fore sure but that's how I read the OP. p0pe co-owns Hex-Gear (I think) and they have been doing co-laps with some of them before. I don't think this i like a private person trying to raise all this gear from sponsors

 

Exactly. It is not as much about getting the most performance for the buck, but about cramming as much high-end gear in as possible. Also to be able to pull as much heat as possible.

[ELSknutson]

1 hour ago, NoobCase said:

As I read OP this is a build to showcase the capacities of the case not about diminishing returns in performance gain etc.

I can't know fore sure but that's how I read the OP. p0pe co-owns Hex-Gear (I think) and they have been doing co-laps with some of them before. I don't think this i like a private person trying to raise all this gear from sponsors

It's still a wast and it is still pointless  to be running 4 Titan x's and 3 Titan x's is OP 4 is pointless and a blantent wast of money it's like buying a Lambrogini and putting 26inch spinner rims on it.  Also I perfectly fine with you going to them with an angel grinder to make a PC look good. 

 

[p0Pe]

 

11 minutes ago, ELSknutson said:

It's still a wast and it is still pointless  to be running 4 Titan x's and 3 Titan x's is OP 4 is pointless and a blantent wast of money it's like buying a Lambrogini and putting 26inch spinner rims on it.  Also I perfectly fine with you going to them with an angel grinder to make a PC look good. 

 

 

I think you are missing the point of this build, and I cannot explain it much better than NoobCase did.

[ELSknutson]

1 hour ago, NoobCase said:

As I read OP this is a build to showcase the capacities of the case not about diminishing returns in performance gain etc.

I can't know fore sure but that's how I read the OP. p0pe co-owns Hex-Gear (I think) and they have been doing co-laps with some of them before. I don't think this i like a private person trying to raise all this gear from sponsors

It's still a wast and it is still pointless  to be running 4 Titan x's and 3 Titan x's is OP 4 is pointless and a blantent wast of money it's like buying a Lambrogini and putting 26inch spinner rims on it.  Also I perfectly fine with you going to them with an angel grinder to make a PC look good. 

2 minutes ago, p0Pe said:

 

 

I think you are missing the point of this build, and I cannot explain it much better than NoobCase did.

No I completely see the point but your missing the point. We get that the case can hold 4 card, that you want the system to be OP ,and That you got all the stuff for free from the various sponsors.

True ehusiast will see that 4th card in there an know that it has no point in the build unless you were running a Xeon processor. But with the 5960X that card is nothing more then added weight to the system. And for that it makes it pointless and sets a bad example to the people who look up to your builds as a reference to base there builds on. 

 

A true enthusiast would have left the card out and put it towards something more useful. Instead your floating it around like a rapper with gold teeth. 

[p0Pe]

11 minutes ago, ELSknutson said:

No I completely see the point but your missing the point. We get that the case can hold 4 card, that you want the system to be OP ,and That you got all the stuff for free from the various sponsors.

True ehusiast will see that 4th card in there an know that it has no point in the build unless you were running a Xeon processor. But with the 5960X that card is nothing more then added weight to the system. And for that it makes it pointless and sets a bad example to the people who look up to your builds as a reference to base there builds on. 

 

A true enthusiast would have left the card out and put it towards something more useful. Instead your floating it around like a rapper with gold teeth. 

 

Evidently not.

 

" This build proves as a "test build" in the prototype case to make sure that it has the thermal capacity, and space that is needed for an ultra high-end build."

 

If I did not put 4 cards in there, I would not show exactly that.

 

[p0Pe]

Alright, next up I want to show off a few more parts that are going into this system, as well as reveal the color scheme - Blue & grey.

 

 

As I will watercool the entire build (except for ram and motherboard as that does not really give off a lot of heat) there is bound to be a LOT of watercooling stuff!

 

 

I choose the new EK RES X4 (I think it is called?) because I wanted to see how their glass reservoirs where, and oh my god it is so frigging BIG! And also quite well built. A warning for people wanting to use the built in LED strip, put it on something so you can dimm it down as it is as bright as a THOUSAND suns!

 

 

As you saw in the previous update, I will be using 3 of these bad boys. These are PWM controlled D5 pumps, and I plan on running them at setting 1 at all times, hence why I am using 3 (I could most likely get away with just using one or two, but again, I wanted to show how much I could cram in)

 

 

I choose to sleeve these in a bit of a funny way. I made the cables very short, so I can just run them trough the motherboard mounting plate, and from there directly to either a power source, or a controller.

 

 

Only one of the pumps has all 4 wires sleeved, as the other two do not need the RPM signal. They will be hooked up to the same PWM plug, so multiple RPM signals would just mess things up.

 

 

All three sleeved. I am not a big fan of sleeving pumps, but it has to be done, and I think I nailed it quite well.

 

 

To control the watercooling loop for this build, I went with the Aquaero 6.

 

 

One of the only reasons I choose this over the cheaper aquaero 5, is because of the full PWM channels. One will be for the pumps, another for the top fan cluster, and another for the bottom fan cluster.

 

 

Now, I do have a few problems with this controller. First off, it is a VERY expensive fan controller, and this extra heatsink is probably not needed, but it is available, and my initial thought is "hey, it is a fan controller, it will get hot, so I better cool it the best I can". Why is this piece of alu not included in the 200$ fan controller!?! I mean, come on!

 

 

My second problem with it is that there is no "XT" version like there was of the Aquaero 5, basicly a version without the screen. I do not need the screen, so now I have an expensive screen that I will never use

 

 

Third and most annoying! This little component on the PCB is not put properly in before it was soldered in place. The little "bend" tabs are to hold this component in place while soldering, they should not be that high up.

My previous aquaero 5 had the same problem, so I think this is a general problem with these products, so watch out before you cram your heatsink down on top of it.

 

 

Other than that, it looks great, and I love it to bits. Best fan controller you can get, and have more software options than you could ever need.

 

 

Everything mounted on the mounting plate.

 

 

As mentioned before, the lights that comes with the EK res is SUPER bright, so I will be running these to the aquaero, and dimm them down. Sleeving those ends was quite interesting as I had to file off some of the alu on the holder it sits in for the sleeved cables to fit.

 

 

The cables from the pumps goes into extender plugs that sits firmly in place in the mounting plate (made by drilling a hole, and filing it square)

 

 

This little cable was a proper pain to make. It is the cable that will join all the 3 PWM signals from the pumps, and go into one fan plug. That way when the fan controller tells the pumps what speed to run at, they will all 3 run at aprox the same speed.

 

 

Everything mounted on the rear. You will notice that the bottom pump has another cable that goes into the fan controller. This is the RPM signal so that I can read the pump speed, and since all 3 is going to run at aprox the same speed, I do not need this one from the other two pumps.

The downside of this is that the two top pumps could theoretically die on me without me being able to see it in the software, but what are the odds?

 

 

Closeup of the splitter.

 

 

And how everything looks from the rear. I still need to mount the cable from the reservoir lights though.

More to come soon!

[ELSknutson]

40 minutes ago, p0Pe said:

 

Evidently not.

 

" This build proves as a "test build" in the prototype case to make sure that it has the thermal capacity, and space that is needed for an ultra high-end build."

 

If I did not put 4 cards in there, I would not show exactly that.

 

Again that doesn't make any sensce with the cards you chose. If you wanted to prove you had room you Would have been better off with something like a 980ti kingpin or a wind force card not a stock card that will fit into most itx cases. And thoughts cards also put out allot of heat similar to the Titan x's.  And if you can fit 3 dual slot cards in a case you should be able to fit 4 unless you have some funkie piece jotting out on the bottom. Also the Titan x's are blower style coolers that blow the hot air out the back instead of inside the case. Also having 4 Titan X's will bottle neck your CPU causing the 3ed GPU to run an a much reduced rate if at all and the 4th to basically me a paper weight and not run at all due to the CPU bottlenecking. Again doesn't make sensce.  

[Loleo]

2 hours ago, ELSknutson said:

-SNIP-

Before OP replies to you let me just say this, you obviously has different opinions and a different thought process. So why not just agree to disagree? I can just see you filling up with replies to this thread arguing with OP and that won't be good. I'm quite hyped for this build log so let's not ruin the fun shall we? He wants four titans and you have to deal with it, it's his build log after all. When you make your build log you can put in three titans or two or one 980ti. It's just immature and uncivilized to continue to bash on each others opinions. I hope you understand and OP don't reply to him more, focus more on building and updating this good looking build log!