Project: Caedus (Phase 1)

[Zell84]

This build has been a long time coming but it's finally up and running. I wanted to see how far I could go with an AMD build and this is where I'm at so far.

 

 

CPU: AMD FX-9590 4.7 GHz

Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z 32GB 2400 (4 x 8GB)

GPU: ASUS R9-290X DirectCU II

Storage: ASUS RAIDR PCI-E 240GB SSD, Samsung 840 PRO 256GB SSD, WD Velociraptor 1TB 10,000 RPM HDD

PSU: Corsair AX1200i

CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X60

Case: NZXT Phantom 820 Gunmetal Grey

Optical Drive: ASUS BW-16D1HT Bluray/DVD/CD Writer

Fans: NZXT Sentry 2 fan controller, 2 x 120mm NZXT Fans, 1 x 200mm NZXT Fan

 

Pics: http://imgur.com/a/o2ugh

 

 

After some fine tuning I was able to get Windows 8.1 Pro loaded on the RAIDR and Ubuntu 13.10 loaded on the 840 Pro. The only issue is I can't load Windows from Ubuntu's bootloader like I can in my other dual boot systems. I have to manually select the specific drive through the UEFI, but everything runs so fast that this is a minor inconvenience.

 

I've ran the system through several stress tests including Prime95 for an hour and the Kraken X60 kept the temps below 65 C (though the Kraken software is almost useless....) I used memtest for the ram at 2133 for 4 hours with no errors. I ran Furmark, 3D Mark, and Unigine Valley to stress the GPU and it ran more than fine with the slight OC profile from ASUS. Temps got to 84 C at 50% fan speed. So far I've played Skyrim, The Old Republic, AC4, and Crysis: Warhead all at maxx settings. FPS with TOR are never below 50, and never below 45 for Crysis. Assassins Creed 4 is never below 55 FPS. Skyrim is performing flawlessly at 60FPS with a couple mods. I currently have this build using a 52" TV at 1080P 60hz via HDMI. This is what I use to run the bench marks. I was also able to encode a standard DVD in less than 25 minutes using Handbrake on Ubuntu (2x Pass.)

 

Near future plans are to add two more Velociraptors and put all three of them in Raid 5. Farther on down the road I'll be looking to add another 290X, some sleeved cables, and some water cooling bits from Alphacool. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. I'll keep you guys updated. Let me know what you guys think, or if you have any questions or noticed something that I messed up on during the assembly. Cheers.

 

[CCap]

Honestly, you're the first person I've ever seen own the 9590. The build all in all looks excellent, and you have very nice cable management in the front, and it makes the build look awesome. How do you like the NZXT sentry? I'm considering getting one for my build, and a firsthand opinion would be awesome.

[Zell84]

Honestly, you're the first person I've ever seen own the 9590. The build all in all looks excellent, and you have very nice cable management in the front, and it makes the build look awesome. How do you like the NZXT sentry? I'm considering getting one for my build, and a firsthand opinion would be awesome.

 

It works fairly well. If you're like me and love numbers then this thing is perfect. It wasn't enough for me to know the CPU and GPU temps, so I got this to manage case temps. The airflow is pretty awesome and if the temps are accurate, the hottest part of my case never gets above 29*C. The looks and programming are all easy to use and read and it compliments the case very well. Plus it's not as expensive as other products that do the same thing. Cheers.

[Liam-McShane]

Interesting that your firestrike score is lower than mine (specs in Sig), i got 9561. How is that Raidr treating you? Anyway nice clean build, love it. 

[Zell84]

The RAIDR is great. Windows recognized it and installed it without a problem. Truth be told i had a harder time installing Ubuntu on the Samsung since it didn't take to the full encryption too well, much to my chagrin. Yeah I've ran Firestrike again with the 290 over clocked and it scored better. I'll post the results today. To be honest i think working with the 9590 presents some challenges since it's a bit volatile, in my opinion. But it's a challenge I look forward to. Can't wait to put it all under water.

[TheSLSAMG]

Very nice, but why did you go for a 9590?

[Zell84]

I'm going for an "Ultimate" AMD Build and chose the best AMD Chip for it. Since it can run at 4.7 stable out of the box, I figured I'd never have to worry about any bottle necking when it comes to performance.