Project "It's too big".

[d3sl91]

Welcome to project "It's Too Big". 

 

 

 

Where I take something big and make it smaller....

 
 
Backstory:
 
Back in the Good old Days, I built a large computer. I had money, I had space, I had time. I went ahead and spent a ton on custom watercooling, had plans for SLI, and did lots of gaming!
 
 

 

 

 

And, the results were very good, And I was happy. 
 
 

  

 

 

But, then something happened. 
 
 

 

 

 

 

I no longer game much, I am using money for wedding plans and future apartments. And now, I just need to make this computer MUCH smaller. Before anyone says anything about "her taking away my time etc etc". No, this is my decision. I stopped gaming over a year ago, awhile before we started dating. I just, didnt have the time, and had other priorities. 
 
Now, I want something smaller, for the challenge, and practicality. I will not be doing SLI anytime soon, and I never did extreme overclocking with my custom loop anyway. So, being able to move around with a smaller unit, and having that smaller unit in an apartment makes much more sense. 
 
 
The Plan:
 
First off, I have already sold the Switch 810, the Gigabyte Gaming GT, and the custom watercooling. The CPU, GPU, PSU, HDDs, SSDs, will all be staying in the new system. Parts are being ordered and returned as needed. I hope this takes less than a few days for the initial build, but we will see. 
 
There will likely be some intermediary cases and parts before the final product is finished. 
 
 
The Process:
 
 
 
9/21/14:
 
The Case, Watercooling, and motherboard sold on facebook in an hour. Woot! Dismantling tomorrow.
 
9/22/14:
 
Just arrived from amazon, yay cheap 1 day shipping! I have sitting on my desk the first of a few new items that will be entering my life:
 

 

The Z97n-Wifi was, well, just about the only option right now, and the options will not be getting any better for Z97 boards. With the newest socket and chipset starting to saturate the market, these will dissappear. 
I was wanting a Gigabyte Gaming 5. But, the extra $50 for "more red stuff" didn't quite sell me on it. And don't get me started on Asus maximus Rog stuff for $200+
 
The H60 is a "for now" solution. We will see how I like it, but it will possibly be returned for a 240MM solution. 
 
Starting to pull the system apart after a good cleaning: 
 

 

 

More coming, stay tuned!

[d3sl91]

Reserved.

[MblaZe7run]

Project TWSS

 

EDIT: That wouldn't happen to be the mITX motherboard, would it @d3sl91? I would HIGHLY recommend a downdraft cooler instead of the AIO, as that motherboard does not have a heatsink covering the VRM. That, or just don't push your computer terribly hard.

 

EDIT2: Oh, and congratulations are in order Congrats dude!

 

EDIT3: Man, I should just think before I post and have to edit 3 times.. jeez. Source for VRM having temperature issues: I own this board. I had one shutdown due to heat when testing with a G3258. I'm willing to bet that an i7 will affect that more. Although, I think you'll only run into issues with OC (meh, not a motherboard/OCing expert, just know VRM is Voltage Regulation Module, nothing more). I did have that one crash, but that was it, with 28 hours of stressing. Best of luck!

[The Pizza Thief]

Nice build man, and congrats on the wedding! 

 

What case are you going to be using? 

 

Don't know why but I imagine it being something like this. 

 

Spoiler

[juretrn]

It makes me sad seeing such a great build being nerfed. 

But I guess if it's overkill, then it's overkill.

[d3sl91]

Project TWSS

 

EDIT: That wouldn't happen to be the mITX motherboard, would it @d3sl91? I would HIGHLY recommend a downdraft cooler instead of the AIO, as that motherboard does not have a heatsink covering the VRM. That, or just don't push your computer terribly hard.

 

EDIT2: Oh, and congratulations are in order Congrats dude!

 

EDIT3: Man, I should just think before I post and have to edit 3 times.. jeez. Source for VRM having temperature issues: I own this board. I had one shutdown due to heat when testing with a G3258. I'm willing to bet that an i7 will affect that more. Although, I think you'll only run into issues with OC (meh, not a motherboard/OCing expert, just know VRM is Voltage Regulation Module, nothing more). I did have that one crash, but that was it, with 28 hours of stressing. Best of luck!

Wow, thanks for the heads up! I don't plan on a ton of overclocking. In fact - I'm not even doing so right now  with my custom loop ..... I may need to though and see how I can modify the case or cooling to suit that need. 

 

Nice build man, and congrats on the wedding! 

 

What case are you going to be using? 

 

Don't know why but I imagine it being something like this. 

It's partly a suprise, but, mITX

 

It makes me sad seeing such a great build being nerfed. 

But I guess if it's overkill, then it's overkill.

Yeah, same here. a bit sad, but also excited to build a system again

[Guest]

Reserved.

I gotta ask, What case is that, it looks super sexy?

[MblaZe7run]

Wow, thanks for the heads up! I don't plan on a ton of overclocking. In fact - I'm not even doing so right now  with my custom loop ..... I may need to though and see how I can modify the case or cooling to suit that need.

If it helps any, and you'll still be working on this within the next month, I'll be picking up a few coolers to try them out and I can give a recommendation from there. Currently looking at the Noctua NH-L12, be Quiet! Dark Rock TF Low Profile, and CoolerMaster GemenII S524 Ver2. Leaning more towards the CM cooler, to be honest, strictly because of price (woo college budgets). I'll be buying that one, OCing the G3258 as far as I can, then I can relay the results to you. Sadly, I don't have my 4790K yet, and won't until after christmas, but maybe that can help give you an idea of what to expect...

[d3sl91]

I gotta ask, What case is that, it looks super sexy?

Switch 810 from NZXT. 

 

I love it! Lots of room and clean lines. 

[d3sl91]

Well, I stripped the guy down and just got back from selling it:

 

 

I labeled some of the connectors so they would be able to more easily connect and get it up and running:

 

 

Pulling stuff out and taking out the back wiring, its so empty now!

 

 

I had used QDC connections in the watercooling to help with draining. I have adaptors with hoses to plug into these to allow the loop to drain. 

 

 

 

All empty and ready to go! I put a piece of packing tape over the socket, and ended up tying the CPU block to the back of the case as well:

 

 

 

 

Next up: Doing some testing and booting in a temporary case. My work bench is ready.......

 

[d3sl91]

That Overhang Tho:

 

 

It always makes me laugh a bit. 

 

It Lives!

 

 

[d3sl91]

9/24 I got my case. Phanteks Elvolv ITX. 

 

Next to a 780Ti

 

Proof that an HX850 (200mm PSU) will fit. However, I would highly, highly recommend against it. I just didnt want to drop 75-100 on a new PSU.

 

 

Starting to install parts. The standoffs have ridges to keep the motherboard in place, I love that so very much! 

 

 

 

 

I thought maybe I had made a mistake in the size of case. When I first thought of this project, I was thinking Node ITX size. Really small! Heck, I sold my custom watercooling parts for that reason. 

 

But now that I build in this case.... The possibilities the slightly larger size provides is great. Any smaller, and I'd be selling my 780ti and HX850 for a Smaller PSU and shorter GPU. 

[d3sl91]

So, I decided I didn't want that green GeForce logo anymore:

 

 

 

End result is great. Color is off a bit because phone camera:

 

 

 

Have everything in for today:

 

 

The cable management in the back, was not difficult at all....

 

 

 

Glam Shots on the way. More parts arrive tomorrow!

[d3sl91]

Glam Shots of the progress so far.

 

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

[ELSknutson]

love everything but that stock intel cooler

[d3sl91]

love everything but that stock intel cooler

Hah, yeah. Surprisingly quiet though?

 

Getting replaced today.

[d3sl91]

And it's Done!

Just added in the H100i GTX, a rear AF140, and added some flair to the tubing.

 

The lighting will be getting better, as I need a strip near the front as well.

 

 

 

 

 

[d3sl91]

Nice build but why the red coils on the cooler?

 

I  wanted a little more red in the case, so, decided on that. 

 

 

Last bit for now, I got it off the ground a bit:

 

[TheKingCockroach]

Great build! What did you use for the coils around the tubing? I like how that looks.

[d3sl91]

Great build! What did you use for the coils around the tubing? I like how that looks.

 Primochill anti-kink coils. I used the 1/2" Gloss Red ones. 

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Z0I1D8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

 

Unfortunately out of stock on amazon now. 

[ManWithBeard1990]

It's normal-sized.

 

Joking aside I like what you've done to it. The anti-kink coils on the braided tubes is a nice touch.

Are those the Bitfenix Alchemy braided extensions? I have those, they're very good.

[d3sl91]

It's normal-sized.

 

Joking aside I like what you've done to it. The anti-kink coils on the braided tubes is a nice touch.

Are those the Bitfenix Alchemy braided extensions? I have those, they're very good.

 

These are actually silverstone - but I think they both use the same type of braid - a nice soft kind.