My Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Build

rynomuncher · January 20, 2016

Hi guys! Just wanted to share my completed build for 2016! (I forgot to take pictures during... sorry).

I started this build in August last year after my old build couldn't quite keep up with my new Acer XB270HU (and I wanted M.2 support). When I first got the Acer I thought, "I can live with 60fps in most games..." Boy was I wrong; 90fps is pretty much my minimum now.

I put my previous PC together in early 2012 just in time for Sandy Bridge. It was my first PC where (almost) all of the parts were brand new!

My 2012 PC:

Intel Core i7 2600K at 4.5Ghz and 1.30V
- Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo (everyone has to own at least one)
Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3R
2X Zotac GTX 260 216 Core in SLI ($40 AUD from ebay just to tide me over until Kepler came out) --> Gigabyte GTX 670 Windforce --> Gigabyte GTX 780 Windforce
4X4GB Corsair Vengeance LP at 1600Mhz
Corsair Force 3 60GB --> Samsung 840 Pro 128GB
2X Seagate Barracuda 1TB
Antec TruePower 750w
Windows 7
Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced

It served me well but we all know the longer you own a computer the more small problems you have with it. The first BIOS chip on the motherboard died about a year into me owning it, the case would constantly be stuffed with dust (I live in a dusty area), the USB 3.0 ports would refuse to run at anywhere near 3.0 speeds and most of all it all ran HOT - not really helped by a sub-par CPU cooler and me overclocking the snot out of the 780! I had a lot of fun with this PC and it taught me heaps about what I wanted in my new build.

My new build needed to be mostly more of the same but I wanted to try and fit more enthusiast parts into a smaller enclosure. With the Evolv being announced at the end of 2014 I knew I wanted this case. Many seem to think it looks 'ugly' or 'bulky' but I love the size, shape and feel of the case. It was easy to build in and is super easy to clean. At CES 2015 the Acer XB270HU was also announced and that was basically the point I knew I wanted a new PC. I also wanted to give CLC a go too and use two separate CLCs

2015/16 Upgrade:

Intel Core i7 6700K at 4.4Ghz and 1.35V (for now, I haven't had much time to toy around with it)
- Corsair H100i GTX
Asus Maximus VIII Gene
Gigabyte GTX 980 G1
- NZXT Kraken G10 and Corsair H55
2X8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX at 2133Mhz (for now)
Samsung SM951 256GB as boot
Samsung 850 EVO 500GB as game drive
Crucial M550 512GB as secondary game drive
Seagate Barracuda 3TB for movies etc (I know they're not particularly reliable but it's hardly used)
Corsair RM650
Windows 10 Pro
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv M-ATX

Peripherals:

Acer XB270HU
Leopold FC500R
Steelseries Sensei RAW
Samsung... something or other 23inch "Skype/TS only" monitor
Audio-Technica ATH-PG1

And now some pictures of the finished product!

I have to admit that I didn't really think about any sort of colour scheme for the build... but I don't think it turned out bad.

My fairly poor cable management. Thanks Phanteks for only including one SSD bracket...

As you can see I managed to keep the G1 backplate while being able to use the Kraken G10! The height of the G10 bracket is pretty much equal to the height of the G1 backplate. Additionally, the nuts used to secure the bolts on the top of the card fit perfectly into place where the original screws went.

I'm pretty impressed with the photos I can take with my Note5 too. I'm 100% a photo noob and using the pro mode I think I got some fairly ok results.

I really love the build quality of the case; the panel gaps are almost perfect.

The final product (You can also see my disused Logitech X-540; I just don't need loudspeakers anymore!)

Thanks for reading through this long ramble. I am sorry if the formatting or anything else isn't correct. Please let me know if anything needs a fix!

colinreay · January 20, 2016

This looks beautiful! If you don't mind my suggestion, I would take off that power supply sticker, and get some white/red or white/bk extensions in the future!