[Build Log] - Dark Predator Build

[royalba94]

 

Hello Everyone! 

Today I bring you the beginning of my first full project and build log. I am pretty new to this so feel free to leave tips and suggestions. I hope you enjoy!

 

Here is the PcPartPicker link to my build specs and pricing: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/royalba94/saved/7ZLCmG 

I will try and keep this as up to date as possible and document all the costs and parts that went into this build.

 

I'm gonna do my best with the formatting and fix it as I have time

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But now, pics of the parts I have so far! 

 

 

 

More pics and an update soon!

[GarnetDevil]

My keyboard and myself are wetting hard now

[PRTI]

Hardware Porn

[royalba94]

 

Update #1!

 

So last night I figured I would put get the radiators and reservoir installed and make sure things were gonna go according to plan. Of course, nothing went according to plan.

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First thing I noticed (which isn't really a bad thing, just wasn't expecting it) is that the fans that come in the EK Predator 360 Push-pull add-on kit have different length wires. Kinda nice for cable management actually

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Next I installed the slim rad up front with no problems:

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The add-on kit also comes with a nice little PWM splitter:

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Then I tried to install the Predator... No dice, no matter how I rolled

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So, change of plan, I'll mount the predator first. Holes didn't really line up but the mesh is basically the same size as the mounting holes so it worked out:

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I wasn't at all happy with having the ports for the slim rad at the bottom as that would making bleeding the system (especially several times) a proper nightmare. I managed to just get the predator mounted up front pump down (an approved position I might add) by setting it behind the little screws at the bottom front of the case and just letting the mounting holes bend to my will  It also worked out that I have easy access to the port to the reservoir

I'll try and point everything out with my pics

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Next I tried installing the slim rad in the top. I couldn't use the proper mounting holes due to the Predator's length and thickness but the holes of the mesh and the mounting holes are virtually the same size so I was able to mount it at each of the corners. 

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After that I mounted the Bitspower Res to the Res-ov-Wall (As Kyle from AwesomeSauceNetwork puts it  ) and that was relatively easy to do thanks to all of the mounting point and the slits in the wall itself

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Finally I added the fittings to the ports and called it a night

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NOTES:

- I will have to change the tubing coming from the Predator as in it's current position I won't be able to mount the cpu block to the socket. Not too big a deal, just thought it worth mentioning.

- I will likely try and switch the fans around so that the Predator is an intake and the slim rad is an exhaust but we'll see

- Also, the Res looks much better in person than pictures can portray

 

[royalba94]

 

Received some more hardware Friday night! Here's the photoshoot

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Another update with Saturday's adventures soon!

[Remixt]

Looks good so far

[royalba94]

 

Alright, here is the in depth update for Saturday.

 

First off I decided to test the hardware to ensure everything was working and in order. Upon installing the CPU I noticed one of the motherboards socket pins was bent  

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But a little delicate work with my trusty X-acto knife and it was fixed  

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Next up I took the mobo tray from my new caselabs case and turned it into my test bench  Got all the hardware installed and it booted up on the first try!

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I then proceeded to install Windows for an hour or two. 

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They always say that...

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Following Windows and drivers and updates, I emptied the Predator in prep for the Loop setup.

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After draining it I decided to go ahead and turn the fans around on the predator to be intake instead of exhaust. My trusty X-acto knife helped me reuse the special zipties for cable management and succeeded in making it as clean as the original setup

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Once I switched the predator's fans I proceeded to turn the slim rad's fans and found out one of the Vardar's got damaged in shipping. I'll be contacting EK about that but it doesn't really affect anything so I popped it back in place and moved on with the build.

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As I reinstalled the predator and having read the filling instructions I added a bit of tube and a 90° fitting to the top of the predator to help with filling and bleeding the system.

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After that it was time to fix Fractal Design's mistake of putting white PCI slot covers in the Define S.

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Motherboard installed next

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First run of tubing

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Installed the Waterblock on the GPU (forgot to take pics  ) and added it to the loop

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After a fine battle with the bubbles in the pump I managed to pretty much bleed the system and leak test it

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NOTES:

- Just using Distilled water for now, I'm missing a couple parts so the loop will have to be drained and when I fill it again I will add the EK coolant

[royalba94]

2 minutes ago, Remixt said:

Looks good so far

Thanks!

[0ld_Chicken]

That is a NICE looking predator build!

[royalba94]

1 minute ago, 0ld_Chicken said:

That is a NICE looking predator build!

Thanks, I can't wait to see how it looks all put together with the cables and LEDs

[royalba94]

 

Got the missing parts in today

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[Yahtadi]

Please tell me, this is all gonna be hard tube?

[royalba94]

Just now, Yahtadi said:

Please tell me, this is all gonna be hard tube?

Not this build. I'll be doing another one fairly soon that will be hard tubing

[royalba94]

 

Here's the update from last night

 

First up, I installed the Backplate on the GPU (+1 for QDCs  )

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Following that I managed to plug everything and get a few more drivers, programs, and the like installed. Not super picture worthy but I got one for ya.

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Look forward to a much better update tomorrow as I have more than just an hour like tonight  

 

I'm also thinking I'll be doing a PSU shoud so if you have any suggestions for that I'm more than willing to hear them!

[royalba94]

 

Alright, Here's the update

 

First I drained the loop and added the drain system for easier maintenance down the road. And then I filled it back up with the EK clear coolant (which seemed to create less bubbles on the reservoir incidentally)

 

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Following that ordeal, I installed the Cablemod rgb LED lighting kit. Pretty happy with the results, I think I happened upon the best spot for the strip

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I realized I hadn't taken a picture of the dust filter I got for the top of the case so here it is

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Finally I started to work on some more software and configuration setup but it was about 1AM at that point so I decided to call it a night.

 

NOTES:

-Unfortunately my custom cables have not arrived yet so the build won't be complete until about Wednesday next week but I'm sure it will look great

-Tonight will mainly be configuration, Overclocking and setup stuff because the guy I'm building this for wants it over the weekend (Can't blame him) so there won't be too much to show but I'll try and have at least something interesting  

 

[Charles Root esq.]

I love the matte black hose! If I weren't committed to doing a hardline build right now, I would have seriously considered that.

[royalba94]

On 8/12/2016 at 1:54 AM, Charles Root esq. said:

I love the matte black hose! If I weren't committed to doing a hardline build right now, I would have seriously considered that.

Thanks! I'm happy with how it has turned out. Looks pretty good for soft tubing if I do say so myself

[royalba94]

 

Hey everyone, Sorry for not updating the last few days. The system has been with the new owner over the weekend and I just got it back today so I can finish up the Cable Management and dial in the Overclocks  Excited to see how far it'll go!

[Ironi]

im sorry but can i fap on this build? This build is such a amazing  build. (about that fap thing... dont take it siriously xd)

[royalba94]

6 hours ago, Wulfje said:

im sorry but can i fap on this build? This build is such a amazing  build. (about that fap thing... dont take it siriously xd)

I'll take that as a compliment  Glad you like it. Should be another update a little later today  

[Remixt]

On 8/8/2016 at 0:04 PM, royalba94 said:

-snip-

I like the build, but I think it could benefit from some clear/hard tubing.

[royalba94]

Just now, Remixt said:

I like the build, but I think it could benefit from some clear/hard tubing.

I agree, it would look even nicer with hard tubing. Only problem is this build is for a friend and he's not very computer hardware savvy and I needed to keep it fairly simple for him to add in another card later on. In all likelihood he'd probably come back to me to do it but in that off chance he wanted to go with the soft tubing just in case.

 

Thanks for the advice and looking!

[Remixt]

32 minutes ago, royalba94 said:

I agree, it would look even nicer with hard tubing. Only problem is this build is for a friend and he's not very computer hardware savvy and I needed to keep it fairly simple for him to add in another card later on. In all likelihood he'd probably come back to me to do it but in that off chance he wanted to go with the soft tubing just in case.

 

Thanks for the advice and looking!

Any time! If your friend likes the way it looks then no worries! Some people just want the performance and aren't that worried about aesthetics. I'm sure this thing is a beast.

[royalba94]

Just now, Remixt said:

Any time! If your friend likes the way it looks then no worries! Some people just want the performance and aren't that worried about aesthetics. I'm sure this thing is a beast.

Should be able to get the update up soon which will mainly be about the before OC benchmarks. I'm still relatively new at OCing so if anything seems off I'd love any tips.

 

Speaking of which, is it normal to be able to run +175mhz (core) in Unigine Valley but have a hard time getting +150mhz (core) to work in 3DMark (firestrike and timespy) and 3Dmark kept saying that I cancelled the benchmark when I didn't even touch the keyboard or mouse. I'll probably just have to re-install it but I wondered: have you ever run into that before?

[Remixt]

1 minute ago, royalba94 said:

Should be able to get the update up soon which will mainly be about the before OC benchmarks. I'm still relatively new at OCing so if anything seems off I'd love any tips.

 

Speaking of which, is it normal to be able to run +175mhz (core) in Unigine Valley but have a hard time getting +150mhz (core) to work in 3DMark (firestrike and timespy) and 3Dmark kept saying that I cancelled the benchmark when I didn't even touch the keyboard or mouse. I'll probably just have to re-install it but I wondered: have you ever run into that before?

Yeah that can happen, firestrike is heavily taxing on your system so it tends to reduce stability when pushing overclocking limits.

 

Jay has a great guide for overclocking pascal GPU's here.