ARX8 - Laevatein

[ashtaroth]

A bit about myself?

Well I’m just some guy living and working in Australia who had previously asked his friends to make his PCs for him, this is my first build not my first pc but still go easy on me please J

 

The Project

This is an ongoing project (started November 2014) until stated otherwise, so basically this is just a prototype of the final product. Was planning, doing research and asking around here in the community before I was fully committed.

The purpose of this machine (If possible) is to go in a 4 way monitor setup. Three 1440p displays as the main monitors with one 1080p touchscreen monitor on top for emails and general stuff. But for now one 1440p and the touch screen should be fine. Parts will be changed as they come out so for now this is just a trial phase. It is to be used as both a content creation (Photo editing, Video editing, 3Ds Max) and gaming machine.

 

Time frame?

None actually. Hopefully if the gods of moding and lady luck are on my side maybe by the end of 2015 depending if the parts come out. The extension should be in there by  june to july 2015.

 

Why the case?

I chose the Alienware Aurora R4 ALX purely because of aesthetics, I didn’t want a normal box looking computer and I like all the glyphs and lights. I wanted a unique looking case to paint and mod for the first time. It was very hard to find at the time. I was about to give up after 3 weeks of searching last 2014. I was going to go with a NZXT Phantom or a Caselabs SMA8 case until fate unexpectedly led me to one (two actually from the same guy). I took it as a sign and asked the guy who was selling it. All I could say was that he gave me an offer I could not refuse. The project was on!

 

The name: ARX8-Laevatein

Well for those of you who don't know the name is not original. It came from a robot in an anime called Full Metal Panic Sigma. It was Souske Sagara’s robot during the final Arc of the Full metal Panic Series.

According to Alienware the Aurora was designed and modelled to look like a bullet train so if that was the case with all this talk about aliens, trains and tech why not name the thing after a robot?!?! LOL

 

Anyways ARX8 is going to be short for: Alienware Republic Xperimental 8 core

 

Alienware - because of the case

 

Republic - because of the ROG branding (but if no x99 MATX comes out from ASUS then it’s just there for LOLS even if I do have any other ROG product in the build)

 

Xperimetnal – I know it’s spelled with an “E” but fuk dat shiz!!! This machine was an experiment anyways. I did not want to have a normal “box looking” computer so that was it. Plus this is my first pc and watercooling build so it’s all touch and go. I know the amount of radiators that I will need for pushing this thing to the max but hey I wanted to know what I would need for stock speeds.

This machine is a product of a dream and stupidity mixed with a bit of curiosity. Stopgap before the X99 upgrade, just waiting for a good MATX mobo(Preferably Asus), pending Caselabs (Merlin pedestal) bottom add-on or custom machined base for two new 360 or bigger  rads.

 

Lastly you know some of those real world prototypes have “X” plus a few number on them as a name so yeah that’s pretty much it kind of like those” X-planes”.

 

TL:DR Xperimental = Prototype/Trial/Testing nuff said mates…….

 

8 – well obviously it’s going to be an 8 core when its upgraded to x99. I know that for my needs a 5930k would be enough but being me well let’s just say it’s better to be over than under. I’m a guy who doesn’t really upgrade to the latest every generation. I plan on keeping the parts for 5 years (or more) until they are slow or fail. The case will stay with me.

 

Laevatein – I think it’s described as something like a “Sword of fire” in Norse mythology but for this build it’s just the colour scheme which is the same as the robot which is mostly white with black and red maybe even a little metallic silver colour. However like the sword this machine can serve as both a tool (work) and a weapon (a gamers weapon of choice). Still sound badass though!

 

Alright so to cut things short for now this machine is a prototype called ARX-Laevatein until it enters the 3^rd phase which is the upgrade to x99.

 

Project Phases

 

Phase 1 – ARX build start, trial run and operation Status:

 

Completed with test results.

 

Parts list http://au.pcpartpicker.com/b/XMYrxr

 

Warning 24 pictures

 

Didn’t buy the parts all at once because some were out of stock and some just came out recently.

 

I do plan on painting the fans but for now I'll test them out to see. But they are kinda growing on me in a weird way....

 

 

Planning on modding the blackwidow as well. Maybe turning it into a Whitewidow Ultimate Chroma LOL! Chose between the Vengeance K70 "Sails" and the Chroma Chose the BW because I didnt want to touch the k70 its already perfect and it has sails on it!

 

I do have the toys needed my trusty companions. Plus a shed full of tools and maybe trash.

 

The case came with a brand new x79 Rampage IV gene Mobo plus box and stock Dell 875 watt PSU

 

 

Arrived April 16 2015. I wanted to have two EVGA Titan X Hydro coppers but alas the waiting was killing me. The itch was real and unscratchable. Everything was out of stock here in Australia so I went with one gigabyte for now with two attached Titan X water blocks at the back. Ordered the backplates direct from EK.

 

Needed a few 90 degree fittings and extenders so didn’t use the 120mm rad for now. Test for leaks and one sprung (just very very slow drops actually) from the cpu fittings. Reset and no more leaks was only using the 240 for the titan and the 4820k.

 

Arrived May 1 2015.

 

Done for now.

 

Still need to fix some wires and sleeve some cables though…

 

 

 

 

Watts under full load no OC.

 

U.I  

 

Test Results

Machine idle/LIght workload at stock no OC:

 

For SIngle Card set up:

 

26c Water, 27c 4820k, 27c Titan X

 

SLI:

 

27.9c Water,  27c 4820k, 32c SLI Titan X

 

 

Under load:

 

For SIngle Card set up:

 

41c Water, 38c 4820k, 50c Titan X Max

 

SLI:

 

53c Water,  57c 4820k, 59c SLI Titan X Max

 

Pump limit is up to 60c

 

Noise:

Idle/Light : Inaudible

Load: noticeable but tolerable

 

Conclusion:

So in conclusion I think even with the addition of the i7-5960x I would not need to add the extension but I don't want to add more to the water temps. I tested this during Autumn so its starting to get cold. I don't know what temps summer could bring in so better safe than sorry. This test was a little iffy due to the weather factor so for now it is not valid. Beside I want to OC and make the machine silent. I can now see the appeal of a truly silent PC. To Linus media group and the community I thank you all for answering my questions and giving me the courage to do my first PC build. see you guys on the next phase! 

 

Phase 2 – Base Extension Status:

Pending. On the drawing board but kinda decided, still considering a few things.

Phase 3 - X99 ARX8 Upgrade Status:

Just waiting on the matx MOBO don’t know for how long……. Looked at others, interested in gigabyte but according to reports it is not SLI friendly due to spacing plus usb 3 issues. EVGA has wonky layout but maybe 3 way SLI capable but to do that I have to do the forbidden technique to fit it in the case. Asrock well not really interested but it is reported as the better performer. However it has reports of cost cutting forgot where I saw it beside the colour was a bit off for me.

[Aytex]

does minecraft run?

[ImBleu]

I now want to do this... 

[Norman_the_Owl]

Just so you know, JJ from Asus has confirmed there is a mATX X99 board from Asus on the way, fairly soon.

 

Almost certainly the Rampage V Gene

[ashtaroth]

Just so you know, JJ from Asus has confirmed there is a mATX X99 board from Asus on the way, fairly soon.

 

Almost certainly the Rampage V Gene

 

Hmm well uhm that is some good news wonder what its going to look like and how it stacks up compared to the others? Any other sources?

[Norman_the_Owl]

Hmm well uhm that is some good news wonder what its going to look like and how it stacks up compared to the others? Any other sources?

I can't find the tweet, but he tweeted it out a while ago. That's the only real source i have.

[ashtaroth]

No worries mate thanks for the info. If its just fresh news then it will be up in the ROG site soon.

[ALXAndy]

This I like. I like it a lot.

[simson0606]

unfortunate that you hide those glorious titans away.. apart from that nice build!

[ashtaroth]

unfortunate that you hide those glorious titans away.. apart from that nice build!

 

Yeah it is kinda unfortunate but hey the shroud is there not just for aesthetics besides the windows are too small anyways. I didn't want to show much, could have made the window bigger but I thought that showing less was kinda good. Keep them curious to what's inside. Also the shroud funnels the cool air from the PCIE fan directly located under the 5.25 drive bays. Serves as additional air cooling.

 

Lastly thanks for the kind words. 

[ashtaroth]

Fed-Ex dropped of something unexpected yesterday. On tracking ETA was Friday 22 of May arrived Tuesday 3 days early. 

 

[ashtaroth]

Phase 2 - Base extension:

Alright so I'm back with an update to the ARX - Laevatein. I wanted to postpone this one till October so that I had time but some parts were just lying there and others were already inbound. I also did say that by June or July the extension should be there but its mostly because I got the itch to tinker with the thing again. I only just remembered about that June to July thing a few days ago, was too busy with other things and maybe because gaming and productivity with this thing was fun so basically I forgot about the project!! Laevatein is under construction ATM so BRB.

Alright so this is not really part of the case (but it is going to be screwed on anyways) so It needs a name! I guess I'll call it the XL-3Booster.

Yeah yeah Its not an original name as well but that is part of the theme of this build so bear with me!

So the meaning behind the name?

XL - It just stands for extra large LOL!!! There is a XXL one but that one is way too big so yeah I'll stick with this one.

3 Booster - So this base extension "boosts" (oh the jokes that could be made B) ) three things:

• One is obviously the overall height of the case
• Two is cooling performance
• Three is to increase overall system performance

  Because with the base I have more space which means I can have a bigger power supply or have room for more parts, I can also use my custom bios to burn max those Titan X's

Alright so without further ado.

Warning pics plus text incoming

So something arrived in the mail a few days ago. Basically just some Primochill revolver fittings, Hard tubing, 480 Rad, QDC's, Fans ETC. All sitting on Laevateins' parts box (a box holding boxes :blink: )

Took out the Titan X's and the radiators to reset, rewire and rethink.

Alright so all in all I have 10 Noctua NF-f12's in the build but I only need 9. 10 is alrght but whatever. That is however not including the 3 92mm and 2 60mm fans. So the #10 NF-f12 was volunteered to go on a special mission of utmost importance. The probability of success is slim, maybe even none but if it succeeds then it would change the lives (really?) of all the noctuas in this build. So if all goes well 15 + 1 more 92mm fan so 10 120mm, 4 92mm and 2 60mm fans = 16 fans. :lol:

Base extension. Thats it I guess?

If you were wondering where that vented PSU grill went then look no further! I am ofcourse a firm believer and practitioner of the ghetto arts so there's that. Fans may or may not stay, I just put them there for laughs at first but now maybe for rear exhaust? Hmmm......

It does work, kinda. It looked nice without the fans but with them on its subjective really. I tried to put them outside and looking at it from the side the case looks like a ship with propellers.

Ok so back to the base. May or may not need a bigger PSU but we shall see. For now I wanted to add RGB LED to the base so that it would match the lights on the case. Those LED's may or may not be the permanent solution though. I need to ask some friends first to know if what I want would be possible.

Le work space........ There is a bigger one downstairs but its winter here in Australia. Not as cold as others but still winter so moved indoors.

These were the original HDD/SSD mounts that the case came with. Only problem is that it needs a right angle sata (I think it was sata power because it already has the other one) so that I could fit it back. Unfortunately cablemod does not have one. Gotta keep looking or I could mod the original cables as well. We shall see.....

Mission control ARX - Laevatein is docked and ready for modification.

After filing, cleaning and a few adjustments. Base is approximately an Inch bigger on the sides because of the detachable side panels. Just waiting on the casters to arrive (damn it USPS!) and it can go from the table.

Anyways I think that I should also mention that I also planned to do a bigger mod on the case but for now that is still pending. I wanted to put a certain EATX mobo in there because the mATX mobo I want might not ever come into reality. I know its a stupid reason but I suddenly had a "bright Idea". I usually ask around here on the forums where to get certain stuff and if it would work.

I mean it is doable, did all the measurements and successfully removed and repositioned some parts but the biggest concern was that it would affect the case aesthetics. That PSU shroud was the problem, It needed to go if that mod was to be achieved. Just the top part though.

If I removed the shroud that blue electrical contact for the side panel would not connect losing case lights and I certainly don't want to ghetto mount that one. In my book there are limits to the practice of the ghetto arts.

Looks a bit cleaner than before, still have to order those sleeves though. Its not the final layout but this is it for now.

Hopefully if all goes according to plan by Thursday or Friday this should be finished but if the #10 succeeds than Its going to take longer. :rolleyes:

[ALXAndy]

Good stuff

[ashtaroth]

Good stuff

Thanks.

Still has a lot of planning and ironing out to consider before it can enter Phase 3 of the build but its getting there. The only other case modder that I know who attempted this was Kier with his Aurora ALX-XL then again he's a pro I'm a noob.

Seeing as Asus had no interest in releasing a x99 ROG mATX mobo due to a very small market. I considered modding the case to be able to handle the Asus Rampage V Extreme (RVE). As I said its doable but still poses that main problem of the PSU shroud. If I do manage to somehow attach that pcb for the lights then I would go for the mod. Still weighing the pros and cons.

RVE= Add ins and expandability but at what cost? The removal of one of the two HDD trays, cutting up the shroud, cutting up the metal plate near the GPU's, attaching extra pcie slots at the back, moving that cable management slot an inch and modding the mATX stand offs to accomodate EATX. Only x99 mATX board that I would consider using is that Asus mATX silver workstation one because it freaking shiny and has AC wireless or the new blacked out EVGA micro. Hopefully by October those are out.

As for the electrical I wanted the MIO Board to control all the lights but first I need to find the exact same LEDs on the Aurora and know how to extend them. The source of the lights is not a problem its just wiring know how and knowledge if the MIO board can supply enough power for two more LED strips. There is already one extra LED on the window of the case so that it turns into the colour of whats outside.

Lastly I also had this in mind......

This guide is actually very detailed and looks very easy to do. Got it from the author himself. Cool guy from the EVGA forums very helpful.

Anyways too much going on with this thing but hey I knew what I wanted and what I signed on for so......Onward into the unknown!!!

[ashtaroth]

So casters arrived in the mail today!

 

Its finally moving!!!!!! Damn thing is heavy and that is without coolant yet. It was around 34ish Kg on full operation when it didn't have the base.

 

 

As for #10

[Gilbert]

I thought at first the white box might not look great, But it matches really well and isn't obnoxious, which is nice.

[ashtaroth]

I thought at first the white box might not look great, But it matches really well and isn't obnoxious, which is nice.

Thanks. I actually thought the same when i was doing mental math and measuring them in my head. I knew from my data that lengthwise would be alright and that width was going to be a few inches off (just 1 inch exatly) but not sure how much IRL. So I went all in and just bought the pedestal to find out.

[ashtaroth]

Dang took a while due to some unforeseen circumstances at work but finally finished Phase 2.

 

Got the new PSU. Swapped out the 850 with the 1200. I will need the power once this project reaches phase 3. Maybe even now, still tinkering with the custom bios for the titan X's.

 

Got the tubes and the silicone insert. I actually only needed two lol but used three for practice because I forgot to use the silicone insert while bending, noob move right there folks.

 

Finally sleeved the remaining cables as well as the 5.25 pump res combo.

 

Some extra storage. Was planning on putting them in a NAS but might as well use them on Laevatein.

 

Thanks to AW's tool-less drive bays those WD reds fit in easy. Snug fit with springs to detach the drives. I did use the silverstone PP07 right angle sata power for them to fit. CableMod's sata power was too long.

 

Changed the card reader from a thermaltake to a NZXT which helped a bit with the cable management. Plugged it directly to the MIO Board. Helps to have a "2nd Mobo" in the case.

 

Well cable management isn't my strong suit, looks like I have something in common with the case lol! With a little more work I could probably make it look better but then again I would have to take apart again for phase 3 so till then cables stay that way. The cables in the radbox are managed so no worries there. As for the tubes. bending those was fun, just don't forget your silicone insert hahah. Hmm doesn't look too bad for a first time, baby steps. System has been bled and running for 32 hours straight with no problems.

 

 

You guys are probably getting tired of green or purple so here's red! Oh wait.....

 

Total system wattage and other results to follow when I'm done benching. As for #10 its time for the usual government statement of "we can neither confirm nor deny anything at this point in time we will update you as soon as we find new results". 

 

So stay tuned for the final phase 

[Analog]

Phase 3 - X99 ARX8 Upgrade Status:

Just waiting on the matx MOBO don’t know for how long……. Looked at others, interested in gigabyte but according to reports it is not SLI friendly due to spacing plus usb 3 issues. EVGA has wonky layout but maybe 3 way SLI capable but to do that I have to do the forbidden technique to fit it in the case. Asrock well not really interested but it is reported as the better performer. However it has reports of cost cutting forgot where I saw it beside the colour was a bit off for me.

 

I can vouch for the ASRock X99m! It's an amazing little board! The quality is excellent and it comes packed in soft foam, none of that carton stuff.. Supports a nice overclock on my 5960X without getting too hot as well as on my RAM, despite the latter not being officially supported in the FAQ sheet. Strongly recommend it. 

 

PS: Also has the most overbuilt VRM of any other X99m board, as well as the most phases. 

[ashtaroth]

I can vouch for the ASRock X99m! It's an amazing little board!

Yeah Ive heard reports that Asrock was the better performing matx board. I looked at the Asus x99M WS and the Evga micro 2 as other options but they still have their deficiencies. Gonna wait maybe until October to make a final decision or for something good to come out. Might even wait for Broadwell-E (hope not). Anyways thanks for your insights on the product, I might consider it.