Finished Dedicated Folding Build

[Chronos5618]

So at long last, I managed to get around to putting together a dedicated folding rig, which will probably end up being used as a server and LAN rig at some point. Codenamed BOB (Timeriders reference anyone?), the component list is as follows-

 

CPU- Intel E3 1246 v3 (3.5GHz)

GPU- MSI 970 (soon to be SLI)

Motherboard- Asus Gryphon Z97

Cooler- Kracken x41

RAM- 8Gb Hyperx Fury

PSU- EVGA SuperNova GS 650W (Gold)

Storage- 120Gb Samsung 840 EVO + WD Red 2Tb

Case- Enthoo Evolv

Fans- 4x Noctua NF-S12b redux + 1x Noctua NF-P14s redux 

 

I was lucky and picked up the processor of Ebay for about £100 less than what it retails for here in the UK, which gave me a bit of wiggle room in the budget for some other stuff. Chose the Gryphon for the cooling features and server grade components which is nice to have in a rig that will be folding pretty much 24/7. It is for the same reason I removed the case fans and put in the Noctuas instead. I was slightly disappointed that I couldn't fit three in the top (older versions of the case allowed it), but two still give ample cooling and the whole rig is whisper quiet, particularly when I use the Thermal Radar to configure the fan profiles. 

 

Sound was also the reason for going with the MSI 970, which is quietest out of the 970s (that I could tell) and is unaudible under load, which is another plus as the rig will be running in the same room as I work. Same with the power supply- efficient but not noisy.

 

In fact, the loudest thing in the case at the moment is the Kracken, which I am still in two minds about. Though it is very quiet, the pump makes a very subtle knocking sounds every few seconds, which is getting on my nerves. I had the same thing with my H105, and it went away after a couple of days running, but if it doesn't sort itself out in the next 24 hours I think I'll send it back and get an air cooler with some more Noctuas. The other problem the cooler gave me was mounting it in the back 140mm space. Though the Evolv says it should fit, it was exceptionally tight and took a fair bit of forcing to fit in. Though it is firmly held now, it took nearly an hour of work to get it mounted, which was time I had been expecting to waste. So overall, not convinced watercooling the rig is worth it (only chose it because of the low profile and easier portability for LAN stuff), but it does look nice. 

 

Other than the back radiator mounting, the Evolv was a pleasure to work in and looks great. Went with the gunmetal version as it fits with the grey of the fans and the black armoured motherboard and RAM. It was a complete coincidence that all the components followed the same scheme (wasn't planning on making it a themed build at all), but the rig has a subtle military theme going on, which I'm happy with. Cable management was a breeze, the aluminium construction is solid and the hinged side-panels with click-in pins worked an absolute treat. Would recommend to anyone.

 

Lastly, the storage was a combination of an old SSD and the WD Red, which I chose because speed isn't really that important and using the rig as a server made reliability a priority. 

 

Running some stability tests and setting up fan profiles now, but after that (and once the cooler issue is ironed out) I'll set this rig to work on Folding. Will be throwing in another 970 at some point, so keeping my eyes peeled for a bargain.

 

Here's a link to a few snaps of the finished build...and a few random shots with a macro...because macro shots are always fun! - http://imgur.com/a/U6Cxw#0

 

P.S. Mods, if you think this belongs in the "Build Logs" section, feel free to move it. Only put it up here as I figured it would be of most interest to other Folders

 

 

[blackadder]

Very nice. I would love to have a separate system to fold and boinc. I do worry about the strain on the pc. Also yeah, i would go air cooling, just eaiser to spot a failure.

[Br3tt96]

Looks very clean!

[Chronos5618]

Very nice. I would love to have a separate system to fold and boinc. I do worry about the strain on the pc. Also yeah, i would go air cooling, just eaiser to spot a failure.

 

Yeah, I am tempted, though on closer inspection it turns out the noise I was hearing was actually the hard drive spinning up. First time I've had a system quiet enough to hear that. I think I'll see how the water cooling goes, and if necessary invest in a air cooler.  

[Imakuni]

Yeah, I am tempted, though on closer inspection it turns out the noise I was hearing was actually the hard drive spinning up. First time I've had a system quiet enough to hear that. I think I'll see how the water cooling goes, and if necessary invest in a air cooler.  

Since you have a lot of extra RAM (for folding), you could try making a RAM Disk and install the FAH Software there, so you free the need for the HD, and thus can make it stop spinning. Whenever you want to game, just turn the RAM disk off, it'll also turn off FAH.

[Chronos5618]

Since you have a lot of extra RAM (for folding), you could try making a RAM Disk and install the FAH Software there, so you free the need for the HD, and thus can make it stop spinning. Whenever you want to game, just turn the RAM disk off, it'll also turn off FAH.

That's a good idea, though I think I installed the client on the SSD, so that shouldn't be much of a problem, and only happens when I'm doing other stuff, not folding. I guess it's just the type of hard drive, but until terabyte SSD's come down in price, it will have to do.

[Whaler_99]

Folding wouldn't be causing disk access, barely using any except when downloading or uploading. And only needs a bare minimum of ram.

Nice build you have. 

 

Noise on the pump is most likely some very stubborn bubbles stuck. For lack of a better term, have you shaken the crap out the system yet? This will usually help to free things up. When filling my WC loops, you be surprised how much shaken I have to do to get all the air out. And yes, have run into issues myself mounting rad's in the rear of cases. 

 

You don't need spend a lot on air cooler, just get a decent stack and replace with good fans.

[Chronos5618]

Folding wouldn't be causing disk access, barely using any except when downloading or uploading. And only needs a bare minimum of ram.

Nice build you have. 

 

Noise on the pump is most likely some very stubborn bubbles stuck. For lack of a better term, have you shaken the crap out the system yet? This will usually help to free things up. When filling my WC loops, you be surprised how much shaken I have to do to get all the air out. And yes, have run into issues myself mounting rad's in the rear of cases. 

 

You don't need spend a lot on air cooler, just get a decent stack and replace with good fans.

Thanks for the advice I've had it running quite a bit and everything has worked itself out- pump seems fine and I realised that the reason the hard drive was running was because it was using Crashplan. Now that is sorted, the whole rig is lovely and quiet!

[mrswagbhinav]

How much PPD do you get with that rig

[Chronos5618]

How much PPD do you get with that rig

About 310,000