[Build Log] itsmyjobtoknow's Personal Rig Update v3 | i7-6850K | RX Vega 64 | mATX Custom Loop (Finished)

[itsmyjobtoknow]

 

Table of Content

[10/27/2016]   Update #1 - The Very Beginning

[01/04/2017]   Update #2 - Mark I

[01/11/2017]   Update #3 - Documentation of the X99-Deluxe RMA

[01/21/2017]   Update #4 - The Placeholder Gigabyte X99-UD4

[01/30/2017]   Update #5 - The Return of the X99-Deluxe

[03/29/2017]   Update #6 - Upgrades: 960 Evo, i7 6850K

[08/16/2017]   Update #7 - RX Vega⁶⁴

[10/07/2018]   Update #8 - Downsizing

[02/18/2019] - Update #9 - Final

 

Introduction:

Project Re-Define was my personal rig for almost two years, and as much as I am happy with it's performance and aesthetics, I also gave up a lot of functionality of the case itself and caused a lot of inconveniences. As of posting this, that rig has already been torn apart and transformed back to an air-cooled rig for the time being, the GTX 980 was traded for a R9 390x, and it's noisy. I've contemplated for several days, if I even wanted to do an upgrade, and which platform I would go to if I were to upgrade. An AsRock Z97 Extreme6 and an i7 5775c was my primary choice as I didn't have to change the memory, but for the price of a 5775c, I couldn't do it. Other option was x99, but the motherboard were expensive, and buying new RAM was also expensive, but an i7 5820k was much cheaper than a i7 5775c and has more raw power, so there was that factor. But what set my path with x99 was the fact I found a lightly used Asus X99 Deluxe at my local Microcenter for 161.96USD and my girlfriend was willing to sponsor me for the DDR4. So here I am with this build log.

Yes, the system will be watercooled, but it won't be anytime soon. Still got Project Mochii to finish...

 

Component List:

Intel Core i7 5820k Intel Core i7 6850K 

Asus X99-Deluxe Asus X99-M WS

HyperX Predator v2 32GB DDR4 3200Mhz (4x8GB)

MSI R9 390x Sapphire RX Vega⁶⁴ Sapphire Nitro+ RX Vega⁶⁴

Corsair Carbide 600Q Fractal Design Define C Mini

HyperX Predator 240GB PCIe SSD Samsung 960 Evo 250GB NVMe SSD

Kingston A1000 480GB NVMe SSD

Intel Pro 1500 180GB SSD Samsung 860 Evo 1TB SSD

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5in HDD

Seagate Barracuda 2TB 2.5in HDD

Western Digital Black 500GB 2.5in HDD NVMe SSD

Seasonic Platinum SS-860XP2

 

Water-Cooling Component List:

EKWB EK-Velocity RGB - Full Nickel

EKWB EK-FC Radeon Vega - Nickel Alphacool GPX-A Vega M05

EKWB EK-FC Radeon Vega Backplate - Nickel

EKWB EK-CoolStream SE 120

EKWB EK-CoolStream SE 240

Phantek Reservoir (PH-R160_BK01)

Alphacool Swiftech MCP35X PWM DDC Pump

Mayhems X1 Coolant -  UV Blue

 

Miscellaneous 

Thermalright Archon IB-E x2

2x Noctua NF-A15

2x 3x Noctua NF-A14 LTT Edition

Asus ThunderboltEX II AIC

Ensourced Cable

MNPCTech Aluminium Cable Comb

Angelbird Wings PX1

Corsair H100i Pro 

Alphacool Eiswolf 120 GPX Pro AMD RX Vega M01 - Black

Barrowch Aluminum GPU Anit-Sag Bracket

2x Noiseblocker eLoops B12-PS

Noctua NF-A12x15

 

 

[itsmyjobtoknow]

 

[10/27/17]

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It may look like it worked out of the box, but it didn't. It took nearly three hours of troubleshooting why the motherboard kept giving me a error code (I forget which one it is). It turns out it was an issue with the memory, but no matter how many attempt of trying to boot with a single stick, pressing memOk button, it wouldn't post. I hit a point where I almost wanted to send back the memory because it was either DOA or too high of a frequency, but after a BIOS update...the bloody thing posted. Unfortunately I can't run at the full 3200Mhz, but it boots at 3000Mhz, which was good enough for me.

 

The EVGA PSU, and Gigabyte R9 290 was there purely for testing purposes, just to make sure the board work.

[itsmyjobtoknow]

[01/04/17]

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

Haven't gotten around updating the build log. But the system is essentially built and operational.

Had several issues for the first couple of days with the system:

- the PCI-E SSD was being picky with what slot it was plugged into

- the motherboard will halt during startup because it doesn't detect the keyboard right away

- random crashes due to not enough voltage to the CPU,

- etc.

Have gotten some Aluminum cable comb from MNPCTech but haven't installed it yet. 

Watercooling is already in the works, but won't happen until after AMD announces and releases Vega as that is my ideal card to be in the system. 

[itsmyjobtoknow]

 

[01/11/17]

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For some odd reason the ThunderboltEX II card couldn't be recognized in windows unless it was in the first PCIe 16x slot. 

But the BIOS does recognizes it in any of the slots, and it would act as a displayport passthrough..but otherwise it left my SOL with my Elgato Thunderbolt 2 dock. 

Several Asus reps couldn't figure out the issue, and after being given a complete bullsh*t answer of: "Your hardware isn't compatible", I had it requested for RMA. 

The photos were merely meant for documentation purposes in case the motherboard got damaged during shipping, or got damaged at Asus's end. 

[itsmyjobtoknow]

 

[01/21/17]

Spoiler

 

While the X99 Deluxe was away for RMA, I found a damn good deal at Microcenter for an open box Gigabyte X99-UD4 for 71USD. 

Couldn't pass up, and all it was missing with an IO Shield. 

Although it did me issues while booting up initially, the board has been more stable although the BIOS was crap compared to the X99 Deluxe. 

That being said, it served as a temporary board for the time being. 

[itsmyjobtoknow]

 

[01/30/17]

Spoiler

 

 

Board came back from RMA, and I also brought an ThunderboltEX 3 card just for testing purposes. 

To my surprise, Asus didn't manage to screw me over. The BIOS has some new options I didn't see previously.

The board did work and so did both Thunderbolt card, although I had to mess around with some settings to get it fully working in Windows. 

[itsmyjobtoknow]

 

[03/29/2017]

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These upgrades has happened awhile ago, I just haven't gotten the time to post them online. But here they are.

The 960 Evo was a gift from the girlfriend, so I decided to get an Adapter (Angelbird Wings PX1) that way it can go into the system.

Unfortunately the Angelbird Wings PX1 had white LEDs all around the pcb, and I've read somewhere that de-soldering the zero ohm resistor would disable it, which it did. 

 

Also found a 6850K on eBay for 510USD shipped...a better deal than what my local Microcenter had. 

Only reason I upgraded to a 6850K was play with the Broadwell Architecture, remove the restriction that the 28-lane CPU placed in the physical PCIe lanes, and to actually run my RAM at 3200Mhz. 

 

The XMP profile for 3200Mhz didn't allow the system to boot with the 5820K and the profile with 3000Mhz caused the base clock to be 125Mhz which cause the entire system to be unstable from time to time. 

[itsmyjobtoknow]

 

[08/16/2017]

 

Got myself a RX Vega⁶⁴ (standard).

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure why I am excited to convert this into a single slot GPU when I watercool....But I am.

[CA8OOS3]

great build so far, aside from the RMA for the Asus X99 Deluxe how has it been as a board? I am actually getting a great deal Open Box from Microcenter on the board for $115 complete with everything.

 

I have a 5820k and 3000mhz ram so hopefully your instability issues were just some fluke .

[itsmyjobtoknow]

On 8/24/2017 at 0:32 PM, CA8OOS3 said:

great build so far, aside from the RMA for the Asus X99 Deluxe how has it been as a board? I am actually getting a great deal Open Box from Microcenter on the board for $115 complete with everything.

 

I have a 5820k and 3000mhz ram so hopefully your instability issues were just some fluke .

Solid performer.

[itsmyjobtoknow]

 

[10/07/2018]

 

It's been awhile.

Graduated University with two degree in June.

Got a new job Desktop Support job that's been keeping my occupied. 

 

Anyways, system has been downsized.

The goal for a remote system has been dropped.

Machine has changed multiple times from the last update, but this is the current form before I add my watercooling gear into it.

 

Changes:

• Corsair Q600 -> Silverstone TJ08B-E -> Fractal Design Define C Mini
• ASUS X99-Deluxe -> ASUS X99-M WS
• Corsair H110i GT -> Noctua U12S -> Corsair H100i Pro
• RX Vega 64 Stock Cooler -> AlphaCool Eiswolf 120
• Storage Drives

 

 

[itsmyjobtoknow]

 

[2019.02.18]

 

Where do I begin......

Well my Reference RX Vega 64 started to die on me around  the end of October...

Good news was that Sapphire was willing to RMA my card even though I had a waterblock on it.

Unfortunately they could only return a Nitro+ RX Vega 64, which is a good a bad thing.

Good being that it had a custom PCB and potential to overclock, undervolt better.

Bad being that custom waterblock were hard to come by.

 

But Performance-PCS had listed a singular Alphacool Block that fit my card, and I quickly snatched it.

 

If I were to change something in the future, it would be the radiators, fans, and the GPU itself.

Noiseblocker Eloops are great fans, but only when there is nothing in front of it.  

EK-Coolstream SE were chosen because I had one already and the clearance between the GPU and the front were very tight. After building it, I see I could possibly squeeze in a 30mm radiator (preferably HardwareLabs GTS) instead of the 26mm I opted for.

Sapphire Nitro+.....I kinda lost the silicon lottery. Can't push the memory overclock past 1020MHz on HBM while my Reference could easily do 1100MHz.

 

TDLR: Reference Vega64 got RMA'ed, got a Nitro+ Vega64 in return. The combination of case, fans & radiators isn't optional in this configuration.  

 

Changelog:

• Added:
  • WD Black NVMe 500GB SSD
  • Samsung 860 EVO 1TB SSD
  • Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5in HDD
  • Barrowch Aluminum GPU Anti-Sag Bracket - Silver
  • EK-CoolStream SE 120 & 240 Radiator 
  • Phantek Reservoir (PH-R160_BK01)
  • Swiftech MCP35X PWM DDC Pump
  • Mayhems X1 UV Blue Coolant
• Changed:
  • Reference RX Vega⁶⁴  -> Sapphire Nitro+ RX Vega⁶⁴
  • Alphacool Eiswolf 120 -> Alphacool GPX Vega M05
  • Corsair H100i -> EKWB Velocity RGB Full Nickel
• Removed:
  • WD Black 500GB 2.5in HDD
  • Seagate Barracuda 1TB 2.5in HDD

Before Coolant:

Spoiler

 

 

 

Final Photos: