My most recent build - 'Sidegrade'

[Norseman4]

(Never been down this far in ltt, didn't know there was a build log section. Didn't find it using the search feature either. So here I go again.)

 

In an effort to appease my current itch to assemble a new computer I decided to 'side-grade' my current (i5 6600K) machine by transferring it into a smaller case. (From a Corsair 250d to a Cooler Master Elite 130)

 

I watched the official Cooler Master YouTube video showing a AIO cooled system and the funky way the drives attach. Commentary said that there would be more than enough room for a push/pull setup on a front 120mm radiator having a 3.5" drive on the floor, so the side drive bracket could be removed. Since the air cooler that I had was too tall, I went with the Cooler Master Masterliquid 120.

The MB transferred over flawlessly, of course. Assembling and mounting the AIO was also very easy, given the thumbscrews used to mount the fans.

The 3.5" HDD, on the other hand did not fit in the designated area, even after removing the two lower thumbscrews on the inner fan. I had to re-mount the side drive bracket and use the upper mounting location for the drive, since the lower location impacted the AIO's hoses.

 

Next was moving my two slim ODDs, in the appropriate 5.25->2x slim ODD adapter, using the tool-less mount mechanism on the case, the GTX 1070, and the modular PSU.

It's amazing just how long the cables actually are and I thought several time, 'How am I supposed to cram all this into that? This case, however, allowed the cables to be folded against each other and moved out of the way to the sides so that there is a clear(ish) tunnel from the fans to the rear of the case. This is the first case that, from the get-go I honestly cared about cable management since none before had been a showcase or were so da[r]ned small. (Even the 250d had plenty of room below the main chamber to shove all the cables into after the fact.)

 

It looks very good, and after messing with fan curves (upward) has acceptable fan noise, meaning for me almost none at 4'.

 

Immediately after the build, however I noticed the CPU temps under a 10 min CPU-z stress test, were much higher than I expected, not dangerous though, simply disappointing. Normal operations were cool enough so I didn't worry about it too much. The next afternoon I smacked myself since I could not remember removing the plastic from the cold-plate of the AIO. After 20 years, I finally made that mistake.

 

Temps dropped 15C when that was corrected.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/n6KBf8