1st high-ish end build

[tjd10684]

Hey everyone first time poster. Just finished my first high-ish end PC build and I thought I would show off to a community that would appreciate it. 

 

At first this whole thing started out as I was just going to upgrade my existing rig. I was going to upgrade the boot drive to an m.2 put in a new cpu and go for a gtx 1080(ti maybe). Well one thing led to another and I decided what the heck just go for it. So I ended up with this spec sheet.

 

CPU - Intel i7 8700k

Mobo - Asus Z370-A Prime

Graphics - MSI RTX 2080 gaming trio 8gb

Ram - Corsair Vengeance LPX 32gb

CPU Cooler - Corsair H100i V2

Boot Drive - Samsung 970 EVO Nvme M.2

Steam Drive - Crucial MX500 1Tb

Bulk Storage - 2x 2Tb 7200 rpm drives (I think one is a WD Blue and the other is a Seagate)

Power Supply - EVGA 650 G3

Cable mod Cables 

NZXT H500i (because why not rgb)

 

Here are the bits in boxes

 

 

Just about ready to work on the build.

 

Thinking cable management

 

 

Cable management complete! Looking pretty good so far.

 

 

Now here is where I ended up screwing up.Notice on the rtx2080 its using 2 8 pin vga cables. Well I didn't know it at the time but you can't just use both vga outputs on the power supply. I'm still not sure why but when using one cable from each output when you go to turn the system on it will not turn on. I mean no post no fan spin no nothing. So I had to ditch my pretty white cables for one of the stock cables that comes with the power supply. It has 2 8 pin vga plugs in a y configuration. Switching to that solved the problem and it booted fine. A quick default settings overclock in the asus bios and were off to the races.

 

 

So I installed some standard programs and also Steam and Fusion 360 then it was benchmark time. Ya I could probably eek out a bit better if I had a 100% fresh system but I wanted a more natural background load going to better simulate the performance I think I'll be getting on a daily basis.

 

Time spy

 

 

I don't know if anyone else still uses this but I like to use passmark as well.

 

 

So is there anything else I should be trying for bench marking? 

 

[Livinloud]

Nice build! I thought about holding off for RTX but I ended up finding 2 1080ti's for $450 each used so I picked those bad boys up. Mine is all watercooled now.

[tjd10684]

I was going to but when I was looking on new egg for the 1080ti this card was only 100 more. So I though what the heck go big or go home!

 

That reminds me I had the fans for the AIO on the other side to pull the air though the rad but with them on that side the gpu would not fit in. 

 

Here is a quick comparison between the new build and the older build that it replaced.

[Z3R0 CHANC3]

I wonder if they make a splitter for the pci-e power output on the psu so you could use both of your custom cables.   Or you could make one if you're handy.

[tjd10684]

Ya I was thinking of just taking the ones that I have (the cable mod ones) and splicing them together near the psu so it will look nice in the case and I dont have to worry about what color my heat shrink is. I guess that would be the fitting thing to do mod the cable mods.

[Z3R0 CHANC3]

Oh yeah that's probably the easiest way to approach the problem.

[tjd10684]

When it would not boot up though I was mostly just concerned that I might have a DOA card. Now that I know it works I'll get that last cable. If for no other reason than because I can lol

 

[Z3R0 CHANC3]

Well you don't spend that kind of money on custom cables to not be able to use them!!

 

I still haven't convinced myself to spend the money on Cablemod even with the 20% coupon!  I manually shortened the stock cables in mine for cable management.   It was a lot of work though, shortening my 24 pin cable and cutting each one at a different length so there wouldn't be a bulge in the braided sleeve!

 

By the way that's a very nice looking build.  Is there enough room for push/pull on that radiator?   It'd be a nice bump in airflow and definitely keep you at positive pressure, maybe even with slower fan speeds.  The way you have it now might actually give you negative pressure and more dust, unless you slow down the 2 case exhaust fans.

[tjd10684]

Ouch I think if I had to do a 24 pin I might just spluge and go to digikey pick up a new connector body. cut the wires crimp on new ends and then replace the body.

 

Alas no. I was hoping to put the fans for the AIO on the inside of the case to make sure they had enough breathing room. The front pannel is pretty close to the fan mount and I don't want to starve them. But with the gpu being the size it is  it just would not fit.

 

Maybe with thinner fans but not the ones I have right now.

[Z3R0 CHANC3]

7 hours ago, tjd10684 said:

Ouch I think if I had to do a 24 pin I might just spluge and go to digikey pick up a new connector body. cut the wires crimp on new ends and then replace the body.

LOL I didn't want to wait for new pins to be shipped.  Pulling pins from the connector doesn't take too long, even using flattened staples.

 

7 hours ago, tjd10684 said:

Alas no. I was hoping to put the fans for the AIO on the inside of the case to make sure they had enough breathing room. The front pannel is pretty close to the fan mount and I don't want to starve them. But with the gpu being the size it is  it just would not fit.

 

Maybe with thinner fans but not the ones I have right now.

Oh ok.  Couldn't tell, it looked like more room between the GPU and radiator compared to my H200 case.

[tjd10684]

Much better. A little solder and double checking diagrams later. The vga wires are as they should be and it feels better now lol.