Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 Build "limbo"

[DStanizzi]

Hey Guys, This is my first post on the forum as well as my first build blog. This isn't a ground up build but more of a "I messed up the first time" build. My first shoot at it is kind of a mess and I will post picture of it when I get home from work. But I promise this build should turn in to something quite beautiful in the next week or two. Feel free to critique it but remember most of the parts are already purchased and I will list my parts before and after the revisions. I'm naming this rig Limbo as it will have a Black and White theme to it. I originally made this build as a "mid-range" gaming rig that would also double as a Photoshop Rig, so don't expect any Titans.

 

"Current" Rig

CPU: AMD FX-8350

Mobo: Asus M599FX Pro R2.0

RAM: 8gb Kingston HyperX 1600mhz

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus (With Noctua Fan)

PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w

Case: Thermaltake V4 "Black Edition"

GPU: XFX 7870 DD "Black Edition"

Fans: Noctua P12, Enermax TB Silence, Thermaltake Thunder Blue LED, Arctic Cooling F12 Pro

DVD Drive: Sony Optiarc

 

 

"Limbo"

CPU: AMD FX-8350

Mobo: Asus M599FX Pro R2.0

RAM: 8gb Kingston HyperX 1600mhz

CPU Cooler: H100i or Seidon 240m

PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w

Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2

GPU: XFX 7870 DD "Black Edition" ( possibly upgraded to a 7950)

Fans: Noctua P12, Enermax TB Silence, Thermaltake Thunder Blue LED, Arctic Cooling F12 Pro, Fractal Design Fans

DVD Drive: Sony Optiarc

(Will be adding nice cable extensions) 

 

 

 

So the main reason I'm fixing this build is the case. Its poorly built and has no cable management what so ever. So I bought a Arc Midi R2 as the title suggests. I'm also gonna be making a nice theme to the case. The changes seem minimal but I think you guys will appreciate the build. Right now I have a NVidia         

GTS 450 in the system as my XFX card's fan broke and is being RMA'ed. BTW XFX has the worst customer service. Also I will be switching to water cooling as well. Either an H100i or a Seidon 240M. Cheers and I hope you will enjoy what my rig becomes. Pictures to come!

[Guest]

Hi and welcome to the forums - I hope you enjoy your time here and feel free to contact any of the moderators or even any of the other users if you need help with anything.

 

I'm interested to see how this turns out. :)

[DStanizzi]

Also question for all you PC builders out there. Should I go for a dual rad AIO water cooler or a really beefy  air cooler. What do the people of the forum suggest? I water to keep with the Black and White theme and I want to over clock that 8350 to at least 4.8ghz. I want this rig to look awesome.

 

Water Coolers:

H100i

Seidon 240M

H100

Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme

 

Air Cooler:

Silver Arrow Extreme

Noctua NH-D14

Dark Rock Pro 2

Phanteks TC-14PE

 

 

What would be my best in terms of reliability, performance, maintenance, and looks.

[TicTac]

Welcome man. i can not wait to see this i love the Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 fav case! :P

[DJ46]

If you want your cooler to work after many years of use, you should get an air cooler. But if you decide to get NH-D14, be sure to buy NH-D14 socket 2011 version and a mounting kit for onther sockets, because it has PWM regulation. And why an air cooler? Because in a watercooling loop you should change the liquid probably every year. But you can't open a AIO cooler (besides H220 from Swiftech). It will work for 3 years and then probably just degrade slowly. Most reliable solution with almost nothing to change or worry about is an aircooler. Only thing you have to watch out wit aircoolers is dust in your case, but that's not a problem in fractal cases.

If you want to get high overclocks, liquid cooling is better. Then I would get a Swiftech H220. But the best solution in terms of reliability without maintenance is an aircooler.

[DStanizzi]

If you want your cooler to work after many years of use, you should get an air cooler. But if you decide to get NH-D14, be sure to buy NH-D14 socket 2011 version and a mounting kit for onther sockets, because it has PWM regulation. And why an air cooler? Because in a watercooling loop you should change the liquid probably every year. But you can't open a AIO cooler (besides H220 from Swiftech). It will work for 3 years and then probably just degrade slowly. Most reliable solution with almost nothing to change or worry about is an aircooler. Only thing you have to watch out wit aircoolers is dust in your case, but that's not a problem in fractal cases.

If you want to get high overclocks, liquid cooling is better. Then I would get a Swiftech H220. But the best solution in terms of reliability without maintenance is an aircooler.

I have looked at the H220 and it looks awesome. I searched everywhere and its Out of Stock. If i could find a link to places that had them I would be way more interested in it. I dont know what happened to everyones stock. 

[DStanizzi]

Sorry for the terrible quality but here is the PC before the changes. Its a mess. But it will change drastically very soon. The Fractal case comes in Tuesday and I cant wait. Much more to come guys. Thanks for all your help so far.

[XiaoPigs]

Kinda messy now  :P  But I'm looking forward to seeing you clean up and modding your build. Good luck! As for your cooler question, I'm no guru about these AIO or aircoolers. Me personally I just use a H100 and it hasn't disappointed me. The H220 would be your best bet if you want the best performance. Linus made a video about it's performance 

[DStanizzi]

So quick update for all you guys following along. I will list all the stuff I bought for the build

 

• Individually Sleeved White ATX Power
• 3x White SATA Cables
• Individually sleeved SATA Power (For DVD Drive)
• Individually sleeved Molex to Dual SATA Power (For SSD and HDD)
• 2x Individually sleeved 6Pin VGA Power
• Individually sleeved 8Pin EPS Power
• Individually sleeved Audio 
• White Zip Ties
• ^all of the above will be in on Friday
• Arc Midi R2(Coming in on Tuesday)
• H100i or H220 (When my next paycheck comes)
• And maybe some white cold cathodes or leds ( When I get my pay check)

[airdeano]

the H100 fits very well in the midi:

 

 

 

 

you should enjoy it very well...

 

airdeano

[DStanizzi]

the H100 fits very well in the midi:

 

 

 

 

you should enjoy it very well...

 

airdeano

Cant wait till this thing is build and looks as good as yours. Thanks man. Cant wait to finish it up and show you guys. I hope you all appreciate the effort im putting in to keep you guys up to date with what im doing with my build. And as always I appreciate your help. Look in to the NZXT Sleeved Cable Extensions. They would look sweet in your build.

[TicTac]

Awesome job man i love dat case :p

[JMcCabe]

Excited to see where you go with this! just purchased this case for $65 on NCIX. Not sure what I'm going to do with it, but I'm thinking of doing a Haswell build (maybe a build log) when Haswell comes out in a few weeks. Hope to see more soon!