Phate decides to try a Compact build.

[Phate.exe]

So I've had it more or less together for a couple weeks, but I haven't gotten around to making a build thread.

 

Parts list

Case:  Inwin 301, black

PSU:  Rosewill Quark 650

Motherboard:  Asrock AB350M Pro4

CPU:  Ryzen 5 1600X

RAM:  Corsair LPX 3200 2x8gb kit, white

CPU Cooler:  Cryorig H7

Storage:  Plextor M8Pe 512gb nvme SSD

GPU:  Sapphire R9 Fury Nitro

Display:  LG 27UD58 27in 4K IPS with Freesync

Fans:  Arctic F12 PWM, Silverstone 120mm slim fans

Misc:  Cablemod white sleeved PSU cable extensions, 3d printed cable clips, Phanteks RGB LED strips, generic 5050 RGB LED.

 

This is basically the first build I've actually decided to care about how it looks, rather than just stuffing everything inside the case and not worrying about the abomination inside once the side panel is on.

 

First things first:  Normally the Inwin 301 looks like this:

That red light on the front is pretty cool, but it looks stupid if the inside of the case is lit up ANY color that is not red, plus I hate red LED's, so that shit needed to go.  There's a SATA power connector that powers the front LED's, so just leaving that unplugged is enough to disable them, but I wanted to go farther.

 

Managed to free the front panel module from the case after some disassembly, then removed carefully pried open the clips holding in the Inwin logo and diffuser.  Then I stuck the 5050 RGB LED strip around the inside edge, and cut a slot for the strip and wiring to come out, and put it back together (middle image is actually after I installed the RGB strip).  You can see the red surface mount LED's along the outside edge of the board, so the RGB LED's should provide similar lighting.  I need to make an adapter cable to go from the connector on my cheap generic RGB strip to either the Phantek's strip, or to the other RGB header on my motherboard.

 

Got the mobo with CPU and SSD mounted.  For some reason  I don't actually have a good picture of it, but I got bored and decided to paint the rear IO shield because the shiny stamped silver looked cheap, and I wanted to try out the can of Metalcoat purple that I bought, which is kinda visible here.

 

Mounted the CPU cooler and installed the ram.  Purple IO shield is a bit more visible here, but was a solidly pointless thing to do.

 

Everything installed, before I finished cleaning up the cables.  The front fans didn't fit between the fan mount and the GPU, so they initially had to go between the fan mount and the front panel.  This didn't work, which is why I bought some slim fans.  Fury Nitro's a thiccboy, so I couldn't fit standard fans between the card and the bottom of the case.  This is the other reason I bought a few slim fans, although before I put them in I'm going to experiment with a shroud to both support the GPU's weight as well as prevent air from re-circulating through the GPU.

 

Put the side panel on just to get hyped up about it:

 

After cleaning up the cables a bit, I put it all back together and was rewarded with this, taken while the bios was updating.  The whitebalance on my phone got a bit confused, it's actually purple, not blue.

 

I used Onshape (the cad program I use at home) for all the layout to make sure everything would fit, as it was mandatory that both workstations could be in use at the same time while still having enough room to not feel on top of each other.  Modeled how much space I had in that corner of the room, as well as made rough models of the case for all three computers (new, old, and my server), monitors, keyboards, chairs, and 3d printer.  Ikea is awesome for this, as all of their tabletops are pretty available in different sizes and made to be modular.  I was able to use two Ikea Linnmon table tops (47inx23in) for the workstations on each side, along with the Linnmon corner desk.  When I modeled things, I was less concerned about the supports aside from the height, but I ended up using two Alex drawer units for support between the straight sections on the side and the corner piece.  The legs are just silver Adils table legs.

 

Here is all of that stuffed into a Honda Fit (the corner desk is tied to the roof).

And the finished product for one side.  I need to get the cable management figured out (as well as get the other two computers set up again).

[SkulD]

I really like how it turned out, makes me question my inclination for AIOs for cooling.

[Damascus]

Nice choice on the front rgb, that was the first mod I made on mine

[Phate.exe]

Just now, SkulD said:

I really like how it turned out, makes me question my inclination for AIOs for cooling.

So funny story about that.  This is actually me going BACK to air cooling because I didn't want to screw with a water loop.

 

My old machine, which is now my girlfriend's computer for gaming/working from home has poverty-spec full loop with a 140mm rad and a 240mm rad, with chinesium bykski waterblocks on both the CPU and the GPU, and a big 5.25in bay reservoir.  It's a goddamn abomination of soft tubing and cables with little to no management aside from "can I close the side panel", but holy crap does it work.

 

My new machine is basically silent at idle, and I can't really hear the CPU cooler spin up either.  But that GPU gets loud when I'm playing Doom at 4K.  Undervolting it helps a ton, and I also have some airflow issues I'm sorting out a bit, but I actually kinda miss the fact my water cooled machine sounds exactly the same not matter what the load is.

[Phate.exe]

Just now, Damascus said:

Nice choice on the front rgb, that was the first mod I made on mine

Yeah, hoping to make that cable this week so I can finally see how it looks.  RGB is fun.  It's easy to go full-cancer with it, but it also just lets you tune to color to be exactly the shade you want.

[Gungpae]

Nice car

[SkulD]

3 minutes ago, Phate.exe said:

So funny story about that.  This is actually me going BACK to air cooling because I didn't want to screw with a water loop.

 

My old machine, which is now my girlfriend's computer for gaming/working from home has poverty-spec full loop with a 140mm rad and a 240mm rad, with chinesium bykski waterblocks on both the CPU and the GPU, and a big 5.25in bay reservoir.  It's a goddamn abomination of soft tubing and cables with little to no management aside from "can I close the side panel", but holy crap does it work.

 

My new machine is basically silent at idle, and I can't really hear the CPU cooler spin up either.  But that GPU gets loud when I'm playing Doom at 4K.  Undervolting it helps a ton, and I also have some airflow issues I'm sorting out a bit, but I actually kinda miss the fact my water cooled machine sounds exactly the same not matter what the load is.

I just noticed that you didn't install the front fans? or did you add them later on and forgot to take a picture of them? because that may help with temps and noise levels.

 

Also, i will go back to air cool for my next build too.

[Damascus]

5 minutes ago, Phate.exe said:

Yeah, hoping to make that cable this week so I can finally see how it looks.  RGB is fun.  It's easy to go full-cancer with it, but it also just lets you tune to color to be exactly the shade you want.

Yaas, working on a custom rgb backplate as we speak.

[Mr.Meerkat]

1 minute ago, Damascus said:

Yaas, working on a custom rgb backplate as we speak.

AHHHHH! MY EYES! IT'S TOO PURPLE PINK   

[Damascus]

1 minute ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

AHHHHH! MY EYES! IT'S TOO PURPLE  

I took a video of rainbow vomit but it was too big, let's go with the man lies card

[Phate.exe]

6 minutes ago, Gungpae said:

Nice car

Honda Fit's are great, and about 30-40 horsepower shy of amazing.  It's my girlfriend's car that we abuse by loading it up like that for ikea trips, because I'm still salty about not being able to find a Subaru Legacy GT wagon with a manual transmission, and settled for a sedan.

 

3 minutes ago, SkulD said:

I just noticed that you didn't install the front fans? or did you add them later on and forgot to take a picture of them? because that may help with temps and noise levels.

 

Also, i will go back to air cool for my next build too.

Yeah, I realized that I forgot to grab a picture of it with the fans in during the build.  They're in there for any pic with the computer running, just between the front panel and the fan mount.  With the Arctic F12's, the fans were too close to the front panel (about 5mm gap), so they didn't flow worth a damn.  I replaced them with a set of Silverstone Slim 120's and airflow is definitely much better.  Now the only issue is that the fans on the Fury Nitro are powerful enough that they manage to suck the exhaust air back into the GPU cooler, so it ends up just cycling the same air through the card until the fans spin all the way up (making the problem worse).

[aisle9]

Don't get me wrong, it looks great, but calling a Micro ATX build "small form factor" makes my custom build inside an HP Slimline s3200n chassis cry.

[Phate.exe]

Just now, aisle9 said:

Don't get me wrong, it looks great, but calling a Micro ATX build "small form factor" makes my custom build inside an HP Slimline s3200n chassis cry.

The case is the same size as a Phanteks Enthoo ITX, which somehow is considered SFF.

[aisle9]

1 minute ago, Phate.exe said:

The case is the same size as a Phanteks Enthoo ITX, which somehow is considered SFF.

How the hell is an Enthoo ITX considered SFF?

 

Didn't mean to take anything away from the build. It really does look stunning, and the work that went into it is top-notch. I just refuse to consider a Micro ATX case, even some bigger ITX cases (looking at you, Manta...and apparently Enthoo ITX) to be "small form factor" unless it's that Jonsbo thing that YouTube has popped a tent pole over right now.

[Phate.exe]

Just now, aisle9 said:

How the hell is an Enthoo ITX considered SFF?

 

Didn't mean to take anything away from the build. It really does look stunning, and the work that went into it is top-notch. I just refuse to consider a Micro ATX case, even some bigger ITX cases (looking at you, Manta...and apparently Enthoo ITX) to be "small form factor" unless it's that Jonsbo thing that YouTube has popped a tent pole over right now.

Would you feel better if I used the word "compact"?

[aisle9]

Just now, Phate.exe said:

Would you feel better if I used the word "compact"?

I would certainly be less triggered, yes. Could probably sleep better tonight.

[Phate.exe]

Just now, aisle9 said:

I would certainly be less triggered, yes. Could probably sleep better tonight.

Fixed just for you.  This thing really is about as small as you can get while still running a standard size internal PSU and an mATX board, and I've definitely seen a number of ITX cases that are the same size.

[aisle9]

12 minutes ago, Phate.exe said:

Fixed just for you.  This thing really is about as small as you can get while still running a standard size internal PSU and an mATX board, and I've definitely seen a number of ITX cases that are the same size.

lol thanks. It really does look awesome.

[Phate.exe]

1 minute ago, aisle9 said:

lol thanks. It really does look awesome.

Thanks, I had a slight vision for what I wanted with it, and I think I accomplished most of it.