HELIOS - ASSEMBLED 2015-SEP-06 - (Caselabs SMH10 | Black/Copper | EVGA SR-2 )

[Sgt]

Woop Woop, great to see another CaseLabs log :)

 

Some great sleeving here, look really nice. Finally someone that doesn't go red/white. I've seen a lot of SR-2 / SR-X build log (specially on OCN) and it was always the same, red and white. And... I LOVE SR-2/SR-X build, i really can't wait to see more.

I like how you placed your PSU by the way, look really interesting, now i want to see how you'll route your cables :D

 

Keep up the great work :)

[alpenwasser]

I remember first seeing the SR-2 in 2011 or so (I was out of computer building for a few years

and missed it when it came out) and I thought it was just so totally awesome. So I started to

save up and over the past 18 months I have been buying up components for this. It's a bit sad

that the SR-X was such a disappointment, but that doesn't take away from the SR-2's awesomeness

(and I was never going to go for an SR-X anyway, the CPUs would have cost me about double what

I paid for mine).

I do like black/red/white, but as you say it's just been done so many times I felt like doing

something different, and when I came across the PrometheusCU log on Bittech I just knew that

it was going to be black/copper, it's a totally gorgeous colour scheme to me. :)

I actually intend to paint the M/B to get rid of those spots of red on the M/B. Aside from the

fact that the red doesn't really fit into the whole black/copper theme, it's not really a nice

red but more of a salmon colour.

[Nicktrance]

Dat Enermax PSU... so sexy...

[NoobNeb]

This project is awesome read it for the first time today and will definitely be keeping up with it now. The amount of time you're spending on sleeving is insane :O This is going to look amazing though love Case Labs and the SR2.

[Homicidium]

Really not a fan of the Enermax PSU, but that cableing is top notch!

[Nicktrance]

Really not a fan of the Enermax PSU, but that cableing is top notch!

 

How can you not be? *cries* it's beautiful! :p

[Homicidium]

How can you not be? *cries* it's beautiful! :P

 

Nah, don't like the texture of it tbh. 

[Nicktrance]

Nah, don't like the texture of it tbh. 

 

Lol that's exactly why we like it TBH (would have gone extremely well with Linus' rig's wrinkle finish IMO), but to each his own :)

[Homicidium]

but to each his own :)

 

Exactly. There's no need to about argueing about it. You like it, and that's totally fine. I simply don't like the looks of it, but it'll sure work amazing in any rigs. Especially Linus'

[Sgt]

Any plan to add more Titan in the future ?

 

SR-2 with only 1 card might look empty :D 

[alpenwasser]

Dat Enermax PSU... so sexy...

Oh yes :wub:

 

This project is awesome read it for the first time today and will definitely be keeping up with it now. The amount of time you're spending on sleeving is insane :o This is going to look amazing though love Case Labs and the SR2.

 

Thank you for the kind words! :) Indeed the amount of time I'm pouring into this is not

insubstantial, to say the least. ;)

Really not a fan of the Enermax PSU, but that cableing is top notch!

 

Hehe, to each their own. I'd be pretty bummed out if everyone had or wanted an Enermax

PSU, but personally I love them. But as you say, the cabling and workmanship doesn't

really depend on that, thanks! :)

Interestingly, the texture is actually smoother to the touch than it looks, it's not nearly

as rough as I had expected it to be from the pictures.

 

How can you not be? *cries* it's beautiful! :P

:lol:

Exactly. There's no way about argueing about it. You like it, and that's totally fine. I simply don't like the looks of it, but it'll sure work amazing in any rigs. Especially Linus'

 

What I like about the Enermax PSUs is not just their looks, but that (at least for their

higher end products, of which this is one) they don't rely on an OEM but instead develop

and manufacture their own platforms, which makes them quite unique in the marketplace.

And the component choices really are top notch, build quality is through the roof. :wub:

 

Any plan to add more Titan in the future ?

 

SR-2 with only 1 card might look empty :D

I have thought about that, but I doubt it to be honest. I'm going back to college in fall,

so I don't think I can justify another 1000 bucks on a GPU. Most of the time the Titan will

be used for BOINC (so, computing), and aside from the actual cost of the card itself I

don't think I could leave a dual Xeon, dual Titan rig @ 100% for 24/7, the power bill would

just be too high (it's still going to be very high with one card, but that will be feasible,

two cards is just over the line).

However, the top radiator actually covers part of the M/B, which makes it look a bit less

empty, and maybe I'll get a sound card (not sure yet), so I'll actually use the space

quite nicely.

Still, you are of course right, two cards would look absolutely balls in there. Maybe I'll

buy a GTX780/GTX770? I'm not going to SLI them anyway, so the different GPU models won't make

a difference and it will still look awesome. Since they're the same size as a Titan it won't

make a difference optically.

Aargh, decisions, decisions. :lol:

[Sgt]

You could go with 1 770 with waterblock, of course. With some setup you could use this rig as a server/htpc/blahblahblah, it depend of what you do and what you want to do beside BOINC.

 

A 770 is not that expensive (only 400€ for an EVGA classic model). 

[alpenwasser]

Yeah, if I get another card it would probably be a 770 with a water block. But before that

I still need to make some investments for school (I need a public transport travel card for

the entire year which will run me about 2500 CHF / 2000 EUR, if I still have enough money

left after that I'll consider a second card).

Besides BOINC I probably won't do much else with this rig (besides work for college of course).

I might have a look at Steam on Linux, but I probably won't really have time for gaming once

I start college again.

[Sgt]

Keep in mind that you'll probably have a low performance in gaming, motherboard like SR-2 (with Xeon) doesn't perform THAT good in gaming. 

 

I'd say if you can save up some money for your college, go for it. Another GPU can still be added once you have a stable situation.

[alpenwasser]

True, few games can take advantage of 8 threads at the moment, let alone 24. :lol:

And Westmere's successors (Sandy/Ivy/Haswell) definitely have improved in single/dual/quad

thread performance.

Still, this is of course not primarily a gaming rig, but a PC built for distributed computing.

[Sgt]

May i ask why you bought XSPC cpu block ?

 

EK released a Full Copper Clean CSQ block (here : http://www.ekwb.com/shop/blocks/cpu-blocks/supremacy/ek-supremacy-clean-csq-full-copper.html) 

 

Also, they are selling SR-2 waterblock, which include the chipset waterblock and 2 Mosfet blocks. They have it with a plexi frosted top, but you can polish them to get a transparent finish.

 

Same for RAM block and for GPU (Titan block look gorgeous by the way).

 

Edit : Sorry, it was for the SR-X, my bad.

[alpenwasser]

May i ask why you bought XSPC cpu block ?

EK released a Full Copper Clean CSQ block (here : http://www.ekwb.com/shop/blocks/cpu-blocks/supremacy/ek-supremacy-clean-csq-full-copper.html)

You certainly may! ;)

I was very torn between the EK full copper one and the XSPC one. In the end it came down to

liking the XSPC block a bit more and the EK one was out of stock for a very long time

everywhere I could order it from (Aquatuning, EK themselves and everywhere else I looked).

I also considered the Aquacomputer Cuplex. What I don't really like about the XSPC block is

the aluminium coloured bracket, but I think I'll be painting that black so you don't have

a silver rim around the block anymore. I do have to admit though: The XSPC block is hideously

expensive, I could have bought three EK or Aquacomputer blocks for the price of two XSPC

Copper Raystorms. :lol:

 

Also, they are selling SR-2 waterblock, which include the chipset waterblock and 2 Mosfet blocks. They have it with a plexi frosted top, but you can polish them to get a transparent finish.

I do actually have the MIPS block for the SR-2, it's a nice black/copper and should go nicely

with the colour scheme. I will probably be replacing the screws with copper coloured ones, or

rather I'll paint them. I'm not sure if it will work very well or if I will damage the paint

when I screw them back in, but I'll give it a shot. If it works the copper screws should make

for a nice little accent on a black block.

 

Same for RAM block and for GPU (Titan block look gorgeous by the way).

 

Edit : Sorry, it was for the SR-X, my bad.

The alphacool RAM blocks actually look quite nice (I've already received them), all I need

to do is add some black contrasts to them so that there's not a too overwhelming amount of

copper in there.

I also got the Aquacomputer Titan block last week (this one), it's a really nice block indeed! :wub:

My main concern with the blocks is actually that I might end up having too much copper in

my rig. I might have to add some more black somewhere to tone things down a bit.

Ah well, first world problems I say. :lol:

[Sgt]

Seems nice.

 

You can't end up with too much copper, copper is awesome :D

Kinda funny, your motherboard waterblock look almost like the Texas \o/

[Bluejay0]

Awesome!

[alpenwasser]

Seems nice.

 

You can't end up with too much copper, copper is awesome :D

Kinda funny, your motherboard waterblock look almost like the Texas \o/

 

Haha, now that you mention it, it does look kinda similar! :D

EDIT:Indeed, Copper is awesome!/EDIT

 

Awesome!

Thank you! :)

[ZEN]

Hey alpenwasser. I just have to mention the Chris Reeve Umnumzaan in your first picture. Knifes and computers is a rare combination but I'm into those two things as well. Also your build is kinda awesome so I'm really looking forward to the finished product !!!!

[alpenwasser]

Hey alpenwasser. I just have to mention the Chris Reeve Umnumzaan in your first picture. Knifes and computers is a rare combination but I'm into those two things as well. Also your build is kinda awesome so I'm really looking forward to the finished product !!!!

Yeah, a kindred spirit! :)

The Umnumzaan has been my EDC for the past few years and I really love it, it's just an amazing

piece of workmanship (albeit ridiculously expensive). Even after several years of use, the lock

and hinge on the Umnumzaan are still in excellent shape, no wobble at all. I also have an Extrema

Ratio MPC for the heavier work when I do outdoorsy stuff (built like a bloody tank).

I do need to get a replacement thumb stub for the Umnumzaan though, one of them has fallen out

and been lost (the knife still works, but it's not ideal of course).

Thanks! :)

[ZEN]

 

I do need to get a replacement thumb stub for the Umnumzaan though

 Thats kinda funny cause I live in Germany and the thumbstub is the reason why you're not allowed to carry the knife here (and also 95% of all other knifes). I EDC a Pohl Force Bravo one instead... 

Yeah, a kindred spirit! :)

 Thats what I thought :) (I gotta admit I had an eye on the STH10 also but shipping costs held me back so far)

[alpenwasser]

Thats kinda funny cause I live in Germany and the thumbstub is the reason why you're not allowed to carry the knife here (and also 95% of all other knifes). I EDC a Pohl Force Bravo one instead...

Yeah I always have to be careful when venturing into Germany that I don't accidentally keep

my usual EDC with me and take something without thumb stubs instead.

 

Thats what I thought :) (I gotta admit I had an eye on the STH10 also but shipping costs held me back so far)

Shipping was ~150 USD, so yes, it's not insignificant. But the heart wants what the heart wants... :D

[ZEN]

But the heart wants what the heart wants... :D

Very good argument. Also Carpe Diem... So maybe I also get one some time in the future :)

EDIT: Quote