I made a thing (2nd build)

[StackUnderflow]

This build is currently my everything-machine. I've built this over a period of 2 years, upgrading parts and adding in things as I went along. It currently hosts 10 LXC containers and 4 KVM VMs. This machine runs:

• pfSense router
• Web/SQL Hosts for various projects
• Minecraft host
• NAS with Plex DVR
• Work VM for when the work cluster is too slow
• Gaming VM with USB3.1 Gen2 and GPU PCIe passthrough (couch gaming)

 

With all that being said, here's my parts list, with prices that I bought at, prices new (at launch, approximated for some) and current price if you were to buy this stuff now.

Item	New Price	Current Price	Price I bought at
Xeon E5-2667v2	2057	175	180
Xeon E5-2667v2	2057	175	180
EP2C602-4L/D16	530	350	330
64GB DDR3-1333 ECC	200	64	100
2TB Seagate	82	85	82
256GB SK Hynix NVMe SSD	200	35	85
512GB WD Black NVMe SSD	170	110	150
960GB Corsair MP510 NVMe	130	130	130
ASUS Hyper M.2 X16	65	55	65
CM Hyper 212 Evo	35	35	35
CM Hyper 212 Evo	35	35	35
Dell Quad NIC	40	25	25
Athereos Wifi card	10	8	10
USB 3.1 Gen 2 card w/ Type C	25	25	25
EVGA GTX 980 SC	550	150	350
EVGA 650W GQ	100	100	81
Kingspec 32GB SATA SSD	20	20	20
Total	6306	1577	1883

I have used up all 5 of the PCIe ports that came with the motherboard.

 

Here are some pics of this janky setup:

 

This is my setup, display output to 4k60, accessories are keyboard with Cherry Blues and G502.

 

Side view

 

This little display I picked up from Amazon for $40 with the case. It was made for Raspberry Pi. It's actually insanely useful because the mobo only outputs to VGA, so I have to break out a VGA monitor to update or change the BIOS, this little display takes care of that. It's powered by a USB->Molex->SATA converter setup.

 

Closer look at the window mounting mechanism (it's just tape)

 

With the side panel open, I tried to make this as clean as I can. The only 2 visible cables are the power going to the USB card and GPU (as well as the leads for the tiny screen). Note the wifi card being held together by twist ties...

 

Back side (Extension from top to bottom: Wifi, 4xM.2 x16 cards, USB Card, quad NIC, GPU, empty slot to get VGA output back into the case for the little display)

Todo:

• Reinstall the PSU basement, have to reroute a bunch of Mobo connections to not use the bottom grommot
• RGB?

Edit: forgot to mention this but tip for anyone using the Enthoo Pro and SSI-EEB motherboards: Remove the grommots to the right of the motherboard. They will raise your board and make it uneven and your board can be warped. I noticed after screwing in every mobo screw that the top right of the board is way above the standoff. I fixed with washers for a time until I figured out that the grommots are the problem.

[Bananasplit_00]

sweet side display mod!

[Mr.Humble]

I'm a huge fan of the understated, industrial-like aesthetic with the case and the display. Nice work!

[StackUnderflow]

10 minutes ago, Mr.Humble said:

I'm a huge fan of the understated, industrial-like aesthetic with the case and the display. Nice work!

Thanks! I'm kinda jibed that the screen is covering the 2nd CPU cooler, but my choices are either to cover up the CPU cooler or the GPU and I have 2 CPUs but only 1 GPU...

14 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

sweet side display mod!

Thanks! I thought about epoxying the case to the arcylic case but that's a bit too permanent for my tastes right now, and the tape holds it up OK, though it's a bit jank.

[Mr.Humble]

8 minutes ago, StackUnderflow said:

I'm kinda jibed that the screen is covering the 2nd CPU cooler

It looks really good right where it is as far as I'm concerned. But, is the display assembly too thick to fit next to where the M.2 expansion card is?

[StackUnderflow]

3 minutes ago, Mr.Humble said:

It looks really good right where it is as far as I'm concerned. But, is the display assembly too thick to fit next to where the M.2 expansion card is?

I don't think so, to be honest I only tried the 4 corners and found that one to be the least intrusive. It also has the added benefit that I can see what the screen is showing sitting behind the TV since the screen is right above the TV. The middle left could also be a potentially good spot that I can see that doesn't cover up the 2nd CPU heat sink, though it could be weird because it will cover up different components based on if you're looking at it from above or below. But I haven't experimented with that yet.

 

My dream for that display would be for it to be a transparent LCD back lit by the RGB in the case (like this but not bulk https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/TFT-transparent-LCD-panel-display-for_60698827885.html?spm=a2700.7724857.normalList.52.34d03978W5OBhQ). Though that is too expensive for "non essential" hardware.