Hyperion (Upcoming Ryzen Threadripper HEDT build for streaming, 3D modeling, graphic/raster design, and gaming)

Marinatall_Ironside · July 31, 2017

Hello.

This is my upcoming successor to The Storm, a Corsair 900D build, and I, so far have given it the name of Hyperion. Color scheme is still undecided.

So far, I have been assembling, researching, and choosing parts based on my needs, wants, and my aim with this particular build, and so far I've came up with this.

New Parts

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 16-core CPU (3.4 GHz - 4.0 GHz): At first I had the 1920X, which is a 12-core part, but for an extra USD $200 (which works out to USD $50-core and 2 threads extra), I kinda thought it would be worth it to get the biggest, fattest CPU I can comfortably fit. For USD $999, you can't go wrong, as this is a 16-core part and Intel can't get anywhere close with their 10-core one. This CPU has the potential to out-render my single GTX 1080 Ti, and if that's the case, then I'll use the CPU to render out my 3D scenes and models until I get my hands on another GTX 1080 Ti. Plus they solder these CPUs, and if power consumption (which translates to more heat) is similar (or less in some cases), then it means that this CPU is much easier to cool than any of Intel's X299 CPUs, which uses TIM instead to reduce cost of manufacturing. With all of the buzz going around for the fact that AMD has two active dies and two blanks (for even mounting pressure distribution), what AMD stated is that the active dies are set up in a diagonal pattern for even heat distribution.
Asus ROG Zenith Extreme EATX TR4 Motherboard: After Asus premiered this board at Computex, I had to have this when I was planning this out. Asus recently unveiled the PRIME X399-A, which is not terrible. I could also go with something like the Gigabyte AORUS X399 GAMING 7 or the MSI X399 GAMING PRO CARBON AC, but with my history and satisfaction with Asus, I chose that instead. What's possible is 4-way GPU setups thanks to AMD's use of a grand total of 64 PCIe lanes, so 4-way GPU setups of 16x, 8x, 16x, and 8x is legitimately possible, and many boards like this one are showing off by setting up their PCIe layouts to do just that. Plus you can throw in three M.2 drives (Asus mounts two onto a DIMM.2 module).
Thermaltake The Tower 900: This case I can easily pick up at my local Fry's Electronics store. It is massive, has dual 480mm or 560mm radiator support, has 3 5mm tempered glass panels, durable, and very reasonably priced at USD $249 for a high-end watercooling chassis. Yes it's overkill, yes it's awesome, and I plan on keeping this for much longer than the Corsair 900D that this will be replacing.
Enermax Liqtech TR4 360mm AIO Liquid Cooler: I do not think that the CM MasterLiquid Pro 240 that I have will not fit onto the TR4 socket's cooler mounting points. So, this will be my temporary solution to not only cool the CPU, but to use a cooler that will actually work on this platform. I know it's stupid to use an AIO cooler in a case that was designed for first and foremost, custom water-cooling, but you have to do what you've got to do. Plus it's one of the only ones out there that works exclusively with the TR4 socket.

Parts to be re-used

Corsair Dominator Platinum Special Edition 32GB (4x8GB) DDR4 3200 MHz CAS 14 1.35V - Blackout (#338-500): This kit of RAM will be re-used, as I see no point in getting rid of a kick-ass kit of RAM that's minimal in aesthetics, and blisteringly fast. X.M.P. timings are 14-16-16-36-2T, which are tight timings for 3200 MHz, which based on my experience, would not be very easy to pull off.
Asus ROG Strix OC GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB G5X: This monstrosity of a GPU that I currently have will be slammed into the PC. Hopefully I can get a second one of these to run together in SLI. The SLI bridge in mind, I plan on doing an art project with it and make something swanky out of cast acrylic and stick an LED diode into it. It won't be RGB, as I don't know of any RGB LED diodes out there. If any of you could point me into that direction, I will appreciate it.
Corsair AX1200i 1.2 kW Power Supply: An overkill sized power supply for this build. It is approaching the two-year mark since I previously purchased this at Fry's Electronics at USD $269 when it was on sale during the Christmas season. It is not terrible, and reviewers who ran this power supply through its paces say this is an excellent quality power supply. I haven't stressed it out too too hard, and the max I've pulled with this on my X99 system was just shy over 600 watts when I was playing BF4 with an overclocked CPU and a GPU with its power target maxed at 120% and voltage maxed out (GPU and Memory was at stock; couldn't get it stable enough). I can get it to pull more by running power virus workloads (OCCT + FurMark), but that's ridiculous. Plus it uses Corsair Link, which I regularly use to keep tabs on power consumption, and once I set up a dynamic voltage for my overclock on my X99 system, which resulted in similar idle power consumption. I'll be using this power supply until it dies.
- CableMod C-Series AXi/HXi/RM ModFlex Black/Blue Cable Set: This is a sweet cable set that I got for half the price on Amazon from some third-party seller. Hopefully I can move away from these and actually hand-make my own set of cables with the use of Singularity Computers bulk cable and sleeving packs (which gives you a generous supply of them)
PNY CS1311 480GB 2.5" SATA SSD: This SSD has served me well, and it even survived a Secure Erase operation when I recently reinstalled Windows 10 after I had issues with the previous installation (Steam would freeze up the entire system and force reboot). Because I upgraded from Windows 7 to 10 during the free upgrade period, it left behind a bunch of Windows 7 junk, and the best way to remove them was a reinstall.
Western Digital Red 3TB 5400 RPM 3.5" HDD: This drive has served me very well. Yes it spins slower at 5,400 RPM, but it comes with the benefit of using less power and running cooler / quieter. It's also 3TB unformatted, so plenty of mass storage for my game library, miscellaneous files, and most importantly, my projects that I work on in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Blender, and Autodesk 3ds Max and Maya.
All of the Corsair ML120's and ML140's I have: These fans have an incredibly wide control range (400-2400 RPM for 120mm and 400-2000 RPM for 140mm), allowing me to fine-tune these fans for a wide performance range of silence and performance.

Parts Wishlist (to add on once I acquire them)

Aquacomputer Aquaero 6 LT USB Fan Controller: Since I want full control of the cooling ecosystem, this piece of hardware will do just that. Singularity Computers has been regularly using the higher-end ones (the Pro and the XT to be specific) based off of this, and Daniel Cannon demonstrated its capabilities. So this is something I want to acquire.
NZXT Internal USB Hub: For the number of USB 2.0 devices, the Aquacomputer Aquaero Pro LT and the Corsair Link dongle that came with the AX1200i will be competing with USB 2.0 space. So this expansion hub will alleviate that by giving me three more internal USB 2.0 headers and two external USB 2.0 ports (Something that I have no plans on using).
(Yes, another) Asus ROG Strix OC GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB G5X: 'cause why not. For game development as well, this will allow me to play around and tweak/optimize multi-GPU setups. I'm too cool for 3 or 4-way GPU setups, and yes, I can set up the 3D renderer to use more than one GPU, which means the potential to outrender a 16-core CPU.
Samsung 960 EVO 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD: This is a wickedly-fast drive. If I get this, I'm just going to clone my 2.5" SSD data onto this and secure erase that one. Plus it will go well with this build, since it is high end for crying out loud!
Another PNY CS1311 480GB 2.5" SATA SSD: So that way I can set up a RAID 0 array for all of my games and anything else I can reinstall if this array goes poof. A RAID 0 array will double your capacity and performance at the expense of redundancy. So 960GB unformatted (assuming the other SSD was new, which is not).
Creative Sound Blaster X7 Desktop USB DAC/Amp: Since I'll be losing out on the SupremeFX Hi-FI DAC (which is excellent, don't get me wrong), I'll need to find a worthy replacement for it for my Sennheiser HD 598 SE. So the first thing that comes to mind is the Creative Sound Blaster X7. What I want to hear is your opinion on this device (from actual users on here of course).

Water-cooling list

EK-Supremacy EVO Threadripper Edition - Nickel / Dark Plexi: EKWB recently posted a Facebook video of a (rather brief) unboxing of this waterblock for the TR4 socket. It is a big ass CPU waterblock.
2x Phanteks Glacier G1080 Ti ROG Strix RGB Waterblocks: Yes, it's a RGB waterblock. And yes, they're one of a few available on the market, and this happens to be one that is more obtainable.
2x EK-CoolStream CE 560 (Quad): If the Thermaltake Tower 900 can fit a pair of 560mm radiators, why not? Plus, I get the added benefit of being able to run all 8 of the ML140's at a lower RPM, translating into reduced noise output.
Assortment of Bitspower rotary fittings (single and dual), extensions, and angled fittings - Black chrome: No exact number yet. The best way to approach this when planning any kind of loop is to have the blocks and reservoirs on hand so you can visualize the layout of the loop.
Bitspower 16mm push-in fittings, black chrome: Based on my past experience with hardline compressions, I want to go with push-in fittings instead because the wrench that comes with a good number of fittings sets (namely Monsoon) can actually scratch the hell out of the tubing at the fitting end, and they're not very durable. So I want something that's easy to use, and works well.
Bitspower 16mm Brass Pipes, Black Chrome: Sourcing these was very difficult. The only retailer in the U.S. is TITAN RIG, which they sell on Amazon. Luckily I have one reliable source to choose from, as Performance PCs does not sell this particular size and color.
2x Singularity Computers Protium D5 XL Reservoirs with silver rings and clear acrylic tops: These reservoirs are some of the best looking, but also the most flexible in terms of what you can do. Rotating the top is as easy as loosening the ring and rotating the top. No threads on the cap at all. Problem is, is finding a mount that will allow me to mount the reservoirs freestanding in the case itself.
2x Alphacool Eisepumpe VPP755 D5 pumps: These pumps are some of the best-valued ones I've seen, and they are also hybrid control (PWM/manual operation). For PWM function, the dial on the pump sets the maximum RPM limit.
Mayhems X1 Clear Concentrate: This coolant, although not opaque, can be dumped down the drain when it's time to replace the coolant, as the opaque ones contains titanium oxide along with another oxide, which are not exactly environmentally friendly and require you to take the coolant to a local recycling place, like one that recycles motor oil.
Mayhems Dyes: For dyes, I'm looking at a blue dye along with another dye color to create the color scheme of the Andromeda Galaxy. Something I'll look into once I acquire all of this stuff here.

I do plan on selling the Intel Core i7-5930K, the Asus Rampage V Edition 10, and the Corsair 900D (no fans, new side panel) as used items, individually, and any money I get from those items will be going towards this build. I'll be paying whatever difference per component (hopefully the money I get from the 900D is enough (tax included) to pay for the Thermaltake Tower 900)

Compared to what I have, I get 10 more cores, 20 more threads, and 24 more PCIe lanes, a tremendous upgrade to what I have now! In this time, it has never been more exciting for computer hardware thanks to AMD now. With their success, they have more cash to throw at R&D to make an even better product!

So whaddya think?

Edited August 10, 2017 by JurunceNK
Changed name of the build and edited the watercooling list, plus the last notes.