Project Parvum Argentum - The high power sequel to Loramentum - PSW Swap Update 27/02/17

[Maki Role]

Hello once again!  

 

It seems the time is now right to get the thread going for my latest build adventure, hopefully this one will really be something special.

 

 

 

 

I present to you, Project Parvum Argentum!

 

Brief:

 

A few months back, Justin of Parvum Systems approached me with a proposition.  The idea was to create a wall mounted PC in a similar vein to Loramentum, but with monstrous hardware in mind.  Seeing as Parvum did the machining for my last build, the thought of a collaboration project very much whetted my appetite.

 

So how is this going to differ from Loramentum?  Well, scale mostly.  This build is going to feature a lot of hardware, both on the cooling side and in specs.  In making this project larger, we also wanted to make some parts more daring.  Whereas Loramentum features a simple 2 part clamshell design, we thought it would be interesting to increase that to three layers so that channels can pass over and under each other.  What also differs is what stage I'm starting the log at.  In Loramentum all the main renders were complete before embarking on the build.  Owing to the number of manufacturers involved in this build, it seemed like that would be a tough call, so this time you'll be able to see the design evolve.  I'll update the OP when the final renders for the project are completed so that they don't get lost.

 

I'd also like to give a big thank you to everybody who's decided to sponsor this project and to Justin at Parvum!  Without you guys this project could never have been possible.

 

Specs:

 

So what specs are we talking about here?

 

 

CPU: Intel Core i7 5960X

Motherboard: Asus X99E-WS (kindly supplied by Asus)

RAM: TBD (likely 64-128GB)

Graphics: 4(!) x Nvidia GTX Titan X (kindly supplied by Nvidia)

Storage: TBD

Power Supply: SuperFlower Leadex Platinum 2000W 8-Pack Edition (kindly supplied by SuperFlower)

 

Cooling:

 

4 x 480mm rads

4 x Laing D5

Aquacomputer Aquaero 6 for fan control

Rest is TBD

 

 

First Goodies:

 

Here are the first components to arrive:

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Renders:

The plan is to do a fully rendered version of the build, like I did for Loramentum. As such, I began to model the components that were sent, chiefly the PSU and motherboard. The following images were made using Autodesk Inventor and Blender (using Cycles to render the images).

[Jerakl]

This will be interesting.

 

In the last pic are the components painted white or something?

[Maki Role]

This will be interesting.

 

In the last pic are the components painted white or something?

 

That was a clay render.  They're used to show the geometry used on a 3D model.  Typically this is to spot defects more easily, but in this case I did it to show that they were 3D models rather than photos.

[Norman_the_Owl]

Here we go again

 

I can't tell which of the ones are photos and which are renders. You still amaze me

 

I appreciate the labeling of some of them 

 

Edit: i realized those "renders" were photos all along. So uh, yea, i appreciate the labeling. Not quite as idiot proof as it should be

[ClownFace1511]

How long does it take to do create the parts and render them? Do you build it all from scratch? And what program.

[Nonco]

Aw yis, this is gonna be beautiful

[CtW]

3hype5me

[Maki Role]

Here we go again

 

I can't tell which of the ones are photos and which are renders. You still amaze me

 

I appreciate the labeling of some of them 

 

Edit: i thought those "renders" were photos all along. So uh, yea, i appreciate the labeling. Not quite as idiot proof as it should be

  

Hehe, doesn't help that I've tried to make the renders look like photos and the photos look like renders... Should be interesting seeing what he final models look like compared with the real deal.

How long does it take to do create the parts and render them? Do you build it all from scratch? And what program.

 

They were almost entirely made from scratch by me using a combo of Autodesk Inventor and Blender. I say almost because the PSU fan was modelled by Joe over at Parvum Systems (it's the blade from their F1.0 fan). In all, the PSU took about 2 days and the motherboard 4.

 

Aw yis, this is gonna be beautiful

 

I aim to deliver

 

3hype5me

Choo choo, all aboard the HYPE TRAIN!!

[lovingGamer]

So sexy!

[ManOfGold93]

This is gonna be a beast of a build, ive never heard of the power supply maker but 2k watts, dannggggggg 

-subbed-

[DildorTheDecent]

This is gonna be a beast of a build, ive never heard of the power supply maker but 2k watts, dannggggggg 

-subbed-

Only ever saw listings in the UK as well. 

 

It's like it is exclusive. 

[Maki Role]

So sexy!

 

Thx bae

 

This is gonna be a beast of a build, ive never heard of the power supply maker but 2k watts, dannggggggg 

-subbed-

 

 

Only ever saw listings in the UK as well. 

 

It's like it is exclusive. 

 

Yeah the PSU is an absolute monster, I believe it may be the highest capacity consumer unit you can buy.  I would assume the reason why it's sold here (aside from being an 8-Pack branded limited product) is that many US sockets won't be rated for a power supply this large.  If you have a 15 amp breaker then you're talking about ~1800W, the assumption being not everybody might have 20 amp ones.  In the UK we're rated to just north of 3000W so a big unit like this is fine.  Superflower are a good brand too, they're one of the big PSU OEMs and supply a lot of units to companies like Corsair etc.  This particular unit reviewed very well too, which is fortunate haha.

 

Thought I'd leave you all with a little clip showing off the motherboard model:

 

[Ceatra]

.... *no words*

 

Now you can join the SLI club (And I think you're the only one with 4 GPU's, dunno)

 

Dem sekxy doe, geez! 

[ManWithBeard1990]

Will the GPUs be perpendicular to the board this time or are you going to try to make SLI work with the risers that show them off so much nicer?

[Maki Role]

.... *no words*

 

Now you can join the SLI club (And I think you're the only one with 4 GPU's, dunno)

 

Dem sekxy doe, geez! 

 

Bah I'm sure there'll be couple in there with quad setups.  I've actually been running SLI since 2011 believe it or not.  Had QuadSLI 590s before swithing to SLI Titans, promised myself I'd never go back to four again but I couldn't resist

 

Will the GPUs be perpendicular to the board this time or are you going to try to make SLI work with the risers that show them off so much nicer?

 

Indeed they'll be perpendicular this time.  We were originally going to have them laid flat, but the space they took up was rather impressive, we also weren't sure how well the risers would work with 4 GPUs.  2 seems to be fine with good risers, but 4 is iffy enough at the best of times, we figured it would be for the best if we didn't go down that route.  One positive though is that the motherboard is rotated 90 degrees so that the GPUs are vertical, which should show them off nicely.

[Anthony10]

Oh... My... God...

[starwarsguy99]

Looking forward to this.

I feel so jealous..

I want those parts...

[Rageoclax]

As usual thank you for this marvelous build log you will be bringing us @Maki Role. 

 

There is no doubt that this system will be unparalleled in quality and design.  

 

A couple questions for you:

1) At this current point in the build, what challenges do you foresee that may cause the largest complications?

 

2) What lessons/experiences from Loramentum do you believe will be the most influential when creating this system? I assume drilling holes for the fittings near the water channels would be a great lesson this time round. 

 

Thanks again!

[Maki Role]

Oh... My... God...

 

 

Because ive seen your work i am hype for this @Maki Role

 

Thanks and welcome along for the ride!

 

Looking forward to this.

I feel so jealous..

I want those parts...

 

Really looking forward to giving them a go tbh.  Been so busy doing the CAD work I haven't tested them yet.  The only 2011-3 CPU I have to hand atm is inside another rig so I wanted to get all the modelling done before rebuilding a whole system.

 

As usual thank you for this marvelous build log you will be bringing us @Maki Role. 

 

There is no doubt that this system will be unparalleled in quality and design.  

 

A couple questions for you:

1) At this current point in the build, what challenges do you foresee that may cause the largest complications?

 

2) What lessons/experiences from Loramentum do you believe will be the most influential when creating this system? I assume drilling holes for the fittings near the water channels would be a great lesson this time round. 

 

Thanks again!

Thank you for the kind words, hopefully this will live up to the hype!

 

Some interesting questions actually.  The biggest complication is likely to be the motherboard monoblock I reckon.  We decided that it would be a cool idea to design our own, based around a Supremacy Evo CPU block.  We're essentially creating a custom block top that will join into a custom PLX chip waterblock.  Should be exciting if I get all the measurements right.  The crossover channels might also be challenging, but I'll go into more detail there at a later date, got some cool plans on the way.

 

As for what I garnered from Loramentum, I guess the first thing is don't leave it on the table on an unfinished stand  I think having all the ports pre-machined is a big one that I'll always do from now on.  Drilling them yourself is nerve wracking and very prone to failure thanks to the large drill bit size.  Funnily enough, the area where I think I've most improved on is in the flight cases for my rigs.  Since they inevitably like to walk about, I always build them now.  I invested in a load of new equipment that makes the whole process much simpler, quicker and with a better finish than before.  I'll definitely be doing one of those for this build too so that it can make it to LANs safely.

 

UPDATE!

 

 

So I thought I'd share some of the stuff that's been going on today.  The plan is to make a monoblock for the Asus X99E-WS that will cool everything important on the board.  The stock heatsinks are beautiful, but apparently the PLX chips can get a little toasty when using 4 GPUs, which we will be doing.  According to some users on OCN they've experiences random crashes when the chips get too hot.  The solution is just provide a bit of airflow, which is very easy in a normal case.  However, since this is open faced, I can't guarantee that will always be available.  That and we thought it would be cool.

 

Here's the lower section thus far:

 

 

 

[Anthony_95]

0.o that's beautiful ! 

[Ceatra]

Smexy *meow* *meow*

[Bsmith]

"renders" i hate that word lately when i them next to photos

[ALXAndy]

D.fucking.rool.

[ungreedy]

ummm... that is some chunk of hardware you have there, holy cow!

 

subbed can't wait to see where this goes

[colinreay]

I like trying to decide which are renders and which aren't and then checking the label to see. I've failed almost every time. Some manufacturer needs to get you on board for rendering/product design, whether that be bikes, pc stuff, etc. Truly amazing, and subbed!