DREAM ENGINE - M1 / Z170 / 7700k / GTX1070

[asone]

D  R  E  A  M     E  N  G  I  N  E

 

This will be my first PC build, and I thought i'd start a build log as i'm gathering the parts over the next couple of months. For as long as I could remember I have been a console gamer. I take gaming pretty seriously, and have played Call Of Duty competitive on a couple of titles. I saw some early gameplay of Battlefield One a few months ago and I was amazed at the level of detail that could be achieved with a gaming rig. Seriously, my jaw dropped. This in addition to the plethora of other wins of building a gaming rig compared to console gaming won me over instantly. 

 

The goal is to play popular FPS such as Battlefield One at 1080p Ultra @ 120fps+, and other larger games such as The Witcher 3 at a more modest 60fps+.

Other demanding uses for the system include programming, 3D modelling + rendering.

 

Here's my build.

• Case: NCASE M1
• Motherboard: EVGA Z170 Stinger
• CPU:  Intel i7 7700k
• CPU Cooler: Cryorig M9i
• RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB DDR4 2666MHz
• PSU: Corsair SF450
• GPU: Founder's Edition GTX1070 8GB
• SSD: Sandisk SSD 240GB
• Case Fans: Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition
• Custom Sleeving: Ensourced

 

I also plan on doing some modding. 

• Tempered glass panel window mod
• New feet design for the M1 to prop it up a little and improve the 'stance' of the case
• Custom sleeved cables as the original PSU cables are super long for the tiny M1

 

Follow me along on my first build and feel free to share tips along the way!

[Guest]

Would defitnely wait 1 month for Ryzen, if you have some time to wait.

[asone]

1 minute ago, FTL said:

Would defitnely wait 1 month for Ryzen, if you have some time to wait.

I have already bought the Z170 motherboard and will be locked into the LGA1151 chipset - which i'm not complaining about. I watched the New Horizon livestream too.

Worst case: the 6600k will come down in price and i'll buy that last. 

[Cody_53027]

I just built my Ncase M1 but with a 6700k a Gigabyte G1 Z170 and Corsair H100i V2. I wish I had gone air cooled in heinsight but it works. 

@FTL

On 12/16/2016 at 2:38 AM, FTL said:

Would defitnely wait 1 month for Ryzen, if you have some time to wait.

Do we know that AMD boards will come in MITX? AM3/AM3+ never had a mITX offering, only FM2.

@asone Use this community spreadsheet for picking components. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Xhd3QG2uIVBgQ7vHgpP_Bd_MNcrfxr8KJW2sY6g33so/edit#gid=10 You could wait until Kaby Lake if you've waited this long too. 7600k or 7700k.

 

Btw, I'm running the same GPU, no issues. Also the Samsung 850 Evo or Adata SU800 would be a better choice. I actually got an Open Box m.2 1TB drive for $225 @ New Egg. I'm currently running zero SATA drives.

[asone]

On 19/12/2016 at 1:14 PM, Cody_53027 said:

I just built my Ncase M1 but with a 6700k a Gigabyte G1 Z170 and Corsair H100i V2. I wish I had gone air cooled in heinsight but it works. 

@FTL

Do we know that AMD boards will come in MITX? AM3/AM3+ never had a mITX offering, only FM2.

@asone Use this community spreadsheet for picking components. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Xhd3QG2uIVBgQ7vHgpP_Bd_MNcrfxr8KJW2sY6g33so/edit#gid=10 You could wait until Kaby Lake if you've waited this long too. 7600k or 7700k.

 

Btw, I'm running the same GPU, no issues. Also the Samsung 850 Evo or Adata SU800 would be a better choice. I actually got an Open Box m.2 1TB drive for $225 @ New Egg. I'm currently running zero SATA drives.

Nice! And that's what I was thinking as well. 

 

I was doing some research, and it looks like the Z170 boards will definitely support the Kaby Lake chips, but only if the boards have had a bios update to support it. I'm unaware on how to update the bios on the motherboard without a CPU, so... there's that. Plus, the EVGA site doesn't show any recent updates for the Z170 Stinger board. 

[asone]

Update I

 

Found a boxing day sale for an EVGA GTX1080 FTW for $699 AUD (-$400), an offer I can't resist. I was going to buy the EVGA GTX1060 for $400, but this is a much more sensible deal and will last me much longer.

I've also decided to go with the SF600 for the PSU instead of the SF450, just to give the GTX1080 a little more headroom for overclocking, plus headroom for other future components (light strips, fans, ssds etc.)

 

Motherboard, RAM, and the NCASE will arrive this week!

[Cody_53027]

22 minutes ago, asone said:

Update I

 

Found a boxing day sale for an EVGA GTX1080 FTW for $699 AUD (-$400), an offer I can't resist. I was going to buy the EVGA GTX1060 for $400, but this is a much more sensible deal and will last me much longer.

I've also decided to go with the SF600 for the PSU instead of the SF450, just to give the GTX1080 a little more headroom for overclocking, plus headroom for other future components (light strips, fans, ssds etc.)

 

Motherboard, RAM, and the NCASE will arrive this week!

I did the SF600 as well. If a 1080 is in Budget, definitely a good move.

[asone]

Update II

 

First parts arrived today!

 

The most beautiful ITX motherboard to ever live? I think so.

 

I feel like these two parts match really nicely. Some more glamour shots..

[Hasle]

Certainly is a lovely looking board. Just have to work/bend the I/O cover a bit if you're fitting a graphics card with a backplate.  

[asone]

37 minutes ago, Hasle said:

Certainly is a lovely looking board. Just have to work/bend the I/O cover a bit if you're fitting a graphics card with a backplate.  

The graphics card will have a backplate, thanks for the tip!

[asone]

Update III

 

Merry Christmas!

I was blessed with peripherals and SP120's today. 

 

Corsair K65 LUX RGB - this is my first mechanical keyboard which my lovely girlfriend bought me. Let me just say, the typing experience is amazing.

 

Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition - Static Pressure fans which I'll use as intakes in the bottom of the M1.

 

Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum - this feels amazing, can't wait to put it to good use in FPS.

 

Purchasing the GTX1070 Founders Edition tomorrow night, and the NCASE M1 should arrive Monday!

[alphastrata]

I feel like i'm too poor to even look at that RAM

[asone]

Update IV

 

NCASE M1 has arrived!

 

 

Honestly, I was planning to wrap the case in Matte Black but the silver is just so beautiful..

Still plan on doing a tempered glass side panel mod though, I want to show off the beautiful components. Seeing as all of my components are silver / black / grey, I think they'll fit this colour nicely!

 

Also, EVGA are sending me a new BIOS chip for my Z170 Stinger Motherboard with the Updated firmware to support Intel's new Kaby Lake chips, so this build will now have a 7600k over the planned 6600k. Seeing as Skylake chips increasing in prices by the week (who knows..), I think this is a sensible decision. Plus being one of the first NCASE M1 owners with a Kaby Lake chip will be pretty cool.

[Festive]

Sorry to be the one to break it to you but witcher wont run at 120+fps at MAX settings on a 1070... Shit, my 1080 doesnt do that. You will be over 60fps 100% of the time but not 120. Most other games like BF1, your system will tear through, easily pushing those high framerates. Your mobo/ram/case look beautiful though. Good Job on those.

[asone]

31 minutes ago, Festive said:

Sorry to be the one to break it to you but witcher wont run at 120+fps at MAX settings on a 1070... Shit, my 1080 doesnt do that. You will be over 60fps 100% of the time but not 120. Most other games like BF1, your system will tear through, easily pushing those high framerates. Your mobo/ram/case look beautiful though. Good Job on those.

Edited! Thanks, I doubt I'd need 120+ in those slower paced games anyway. 60+ would be nice. Main priority is 120+ in BF1 ?.

[asone]

Update V

 

Just some planning for the side panel mod. As far as i'm aware no one has modded a side panel in this way.

It's typical to mount the glass / acrylic on the inside of the side panel, however I will be mounting it on the outside, inspired by the Enthoo Evolv TG and S340 Elite.

Instead of using thumb screws to mount the panel to the case, I will be using the normal side panel mounting mechanism (the pins which click into the case).

 

Here are some rendered plans..

 

The window itself will be 280x210mm on the 315x240mm side panel. The cut-out will extend pretty close to the internal pins but still leave enough surface area on the outside of the panel to stick to the tempered glass.

 

I'm planning on painting the side panel black, to give the illusion that it's the interior of the case.

 

The glass will actually extend beyond the original side panel and cover the entirety of the left side of the case, covering the side of the front panel (13mm of it). I'm planning on 3D printing a Black ABS cover that will fill the gap that is left between the tempered glass and the side of the front panel here.

 

[Princess Luna]

On 21/12/2016 at 4:01 AM, asone said:

Update I

 

Found a boxing day sale for an EVGA GTX1080 FTW for $699 AUD (-$400), an offer I can't resist. I was going to buy the EVGA GTX1060 for $400, but this is a much more sensible deal and will last me much longer.

I've also decided to go with the SF600 for the PSU instead of the SF450, just to give the GTX1080 a little more headroom for overclocking, plus headroom for other future components (light strips, fans, ssds etc.)

 

Motherboard, RAM, and the NCASE will arrive this week!

I know the feeling, I bought my Titan X for the price of a 1060, with 5 months of use only, on the box and all, managed to OC it nice and I'm doing better performance than my brother with a 1070, he also insisted i5 6600k +OC while I went with the i7 6700.
 

[asone]

50 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

I know the feeling, I bought my Titan X for the price of a 1060, with 5 months of use only, on the box and all, managed to OC it nice and I'm doing better performance than my brother with a 1070, he also insisted i5 6600k +OC while I went with the i7 6700.
 

Damn that's a deal! In the end I decided to go in the middle, I found a GTX1070 for $529 (AUD) which should arrive tomorrow.

[asone]

Update VI

 

While I wait for some more hardware to arrive, I thought I'd get started on the new feet design for the M1.

The angles and design of the M1 are sharp, but the feet are round and peggy, which kind of throws off the aesthetic. Good thing I have a 3D printer 

 

Here are some renders, 

 

Showing the bottom of the feet here, with 1mm of rubber with a 12mm diameter cut-out for the screw to pass through.

 

First 3D printed prototype (the front, right foot). Print settings were 0.3mm layer height, ABS printed at 242Cº / 110Cº bed temperature (glass bed).

 

I like the way it looks, and will mirror the model to fit the other side. The finished feet will be sanded, primed, and painted black to give a nice, finished look. 

[ccRicers]

That glass panel and the square-ish feet look great. I never knew how good the M1 case would have looked with those kinds of feet.

[garukno]

*drool drips* *gulp*

[stealth80]

On ‎16‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 8:43 AM, asone said:

I have already bought the Z170 motherboard and will be locked into the LGA1151 chipset - which i'm not complaining about. I watched the New Horizon livestream too.

Worst case: the 6600k will come down in price and i'll buy that last. 

Hi, I just checked the games you wanna play and just wanna advise you to maybe switch in the 6700/7700k (ofc only if you can fit in your budget) due to the issues starting to occur with frame times etc in CPU intensive games :

 

In the below post look at the frame times of the i5 (blue and green) compared to those of the i7 (red and brown):

 

 

Ofc this is only advice

 

And how is that keyboard? I'm trying to decide between the K65 and Asus Claymore

[asone]

1 hour ago, stealth80 said:

Hi, I just checked the games you wanna play and just wanna advise you to maybe switch in the 6700/7700k (ofc only if you can fit in your budget) due to the issues starting to occur with frame times etc in CPU intensive games :

 

In the below post look at the frame times of the i5 (blue and green) compared to those of the i7 (red and brown):

 

 

Ofc this is only advice

 

And how is that keyboard? I'm trying to decide between the K65 and Asus Claymore

Thanks! I'm definitely considering it, the benefit of hyper-threading of the i7 over the i5 is definitely starting to show in newer games. I think I may go end up going with the 7700k seeing as i'm waiting for Kaby Lake anyway. 

 

I'd highly recommend the K65, the thing is so rigid and well constructed. The leather wrist rest is awesome, and as far as I know the Asus Claymore doesn't come with a wrist rest? The K65 is also $30-40 AUD cheaper.

[asone]

5 hours ago, ccRicers said:

That glass panel and the square-ish feet look great. I never knew how good the M1 case would have looked with those kinds of feet.

Thanks! I think they look great too. The glass panel is only a render for now but i'm contacting a laser cutters and custom glass companies to get that underway. If you have an M1, i'd be happy to send you the .STL files so that you can get them printed yourself.

[asone]

Update VII

 

GTX1070 Founder's Edition arrived today. This thing is such a beast, and I love the cooler design. I can't wait to tear through 1080p on this thing.

 

I've watched hours and hours of reviews on the GTX 10-series cards, drooling pretty much through their entirety, and can't believe I actually own one of these now.. For me, seeing that 1070 standing proud against the M1 hit me right in the feels. 

 

Almost there.