Update! Upgrades/Changes to First Build!

[KagedStorm]

Hey all!

 

Back again with my build, wanted to give y'all a peek on what I have upgraded it with since my last build post.

 

ThermalTake V100 case (incl. top-left LED-less exhaust fan shown above CPU cooler)

GIGABYTE A320M-S2H

Ryzen 7 2700 w/ Wraith Spire [slightly overclocked to 3.4 GHz]

XPG GAMMIX 16 GB [2x8] 3000 MHz

Samsung Evo 1 TB NVMe*

SanDisk 1 TB SATA SSD

Western Digital 500 GB HDD

MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB*

EVGA 600W 80+ Certified PSU

ZALMAN Blue LED 120mm exhaust fan

RAIDMAX Red LED 120mm exhaust fan

Kingwin 140mm intake fan (front case)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long story short, bought the Kingwin fan. Then was able to buy a 980 Ti for $200 USD to replace my 1050 Ti. But then realized my Corsair CX 450 can't power the graphics card. I already paid $200 so what's another 60-70 bucks to make sure it gets the power it needs? Went to Best Buy and bought the EVGA 600W to replace the CX 450, and saw a Corsair Commander Pro. I needed a fan controller since I was getting creative with cable management for all my fans. The bad kind of creative. The Commander unit I got turned out to be a dud so getting that returned tomorrow or sometime during the week. Would've saved me a lot of trouble not getting it in the first place lol.

 

While I was in there I had to move some of the fans around since the Kingwin fan no longer fit on the open side-panel due to the 980 Ti, so I moved it to the front fan brackets right on level with the GeForce card. Since I had my own fan splitter already due to having the other fans, I put the Zalman and ThermalTake fans back on the 4-to-3 pin splitter since they don't have Molex connectors, and connected the Kingwin and Raidmax to my Molex line. Since I was replacing the PSU I at least had a good opportunity to undo all my weird cable management from when I first built the thing. Still might be a bit messy for others' tastes but I think it's fine, and pretty good for my second time going into it for cable management. 

 

Only thing I don't like about the upgrades is that my CPU is now sitting at a higher idle temp, probably due to the GPU being right below it, and the whole machine in general feels hotter, especially under load. I feel like it's due to the more wattage running inside it. Since I had the 1050 Ti (and a super-low profile normal 1050) which ran on motherboard power, I figure it's cuz I'm not used to a card that needs its own external power and one that really gets the job done rendering-wise. Other than that it's great! Windows is booted instantaneously, anything I put on the NVMe loads like nothing, and I feel like I can really start on video editing/rendering with all this power under the hood.

 

Let me know what you think!

[Hold-Ma-Beer]

Looks great, but could be better

I'll suggest you to route the front panel connectors from behind and under the mobo, stuff the long 24 pin motherboard connector, CPU power and SSD sata,power cables in the PSU shroud. You can also rotate the front intake fans so that the cable is closer to backside and route them from behind the mobo. Having tons of cables hanging out in the front might affect airflow!

[KagedStorm]

On 1/5/2021 at 4:27 AM, Hold-Ma-Beer said:

Looks great, but could be better

I'll suggest you to route the front panel connectors from behind and under the mobo, stuff the long 24 pin motherboard connector, CPU power and SSD sata,power cables in the PSU shroud. You can also rotate the front intake fans so that the cable is closer to backside and route them from behind the mobo. Having tons of cables hanging out in the front might affect airflow!

Took your advice! Routed the front panel cables through the holes at the top near the front panel and routed them directly under where they needed to be, tidied up some of the other cables, then rearranged the fans, moved all except for one and rotated all of them to make for a neater look for the cables. Had to force the cable management side panel a little bit, the groove on the panel itself isn't as deep as it looks and this case isn't the best for cable management, but now the main part of this chassis looks pretty good in my eyes! Pics below

 

 

 

[Hold-Ma-Beer]

Looks much cleaner! 

A little bit more can be done. I've noticed how tight the backside of your case is, which might be a reason why you cant stuff them behind the mobo. I'll suggest 2-3 minute changes. Choice is yours, as your PC looks adequately clean.

1. The power cable for SSD can be routed from back [ since its a 90 ]

2. The 24 pin cable can be brought through the upper cut out, and the excessive length be stuffed in the PSU shroud.

3. Zip tying the front panel connectors [ below the GPU ] for a little cleaner look.

Thats all

Also, if you could, buy some ring RGB fans like

 

I use them personally and they look and work dope.

 

[KagedStorm]

Thanks!

 

The SATA power cable is already routed through the back, I'm using the lowest one due to lack of CM side panel space so the other connectors are shoved in between the PSU shroud and bottom of the front panel. I'll see about routing the mobo connector through the top since I agree a little more can be done to improve its aesthetics. I can also slide the zip tie already on the front panel connectors since I left it loose enough to easily adjust as necessary.

 

The fans look dope too, been looking for a fan system but got burned from buying a lemon Commander Pro lol.

 

Thanks again!