Constellation

[FizzyFantom]

WARNING: You may not like this build. It might even make you cry. Read at your own risk.

NEW AND IMPROVED!

 

My old PC was getting a little slow (and there was no space left on the HDD), so I decided to build a new PC to meet my needs.

The objectives with this build were three:

Upgrade my CPU

Improve cooling overall

Fix the "buzzing soundcard" issue

 

Old PC specs:

Acer Predator case (yes it was an off-the-shelf, dont hate me)

500GB Seagate Barracuda (partitioned into half "data" and half for OS)

Intel Core i5 650 (3.2GHz, dual core with hyperthreading)

EVGA GTX 650 Ti SSC (replacing a no-name GT 440)

4GB Samsung RAM

1TB WD Blue (added later for storage reasons)

Asus Xonar DG soundcard (please dont call me an idiot )

 

Sadly I dont have a picture of the PC, but you can look up the predator case (the old one with the giant bulge on the front)

 

This PC was quiet, but the CPU was outdated, the case cooling was terrible and the audio had a continuous buzzing sound underneath everything.

I had planned a complete new build, but with a £1000 price tag and not enough reason to strive for it, it was out of the question for the forseeable future.

No matter, I thought of a solution, and below I will share the horror with you

 

I had a side computer which was used for certain software and LAN gaming with friends, and I decided to use most of this in a new build! YAY recycling!

Below is a picture of the beast itself:

(Dat dust ring)

 

Specs are:

AMD Athlon II x4 631 (2.6GHz, quad core)

Asus F1A55 M LX Motherboard

Asus GTX 550 Ti

4GB no-name RAM

OCZ ZS 650W PSU

Fractal Design Core 3000

1TB Seagate Barracuda

Asus Axe Square cooler

 

Specs of the new build:

Asus M5A97 R2.0 (bought for this build)

AMD FX 8320 (bought for this build)

4GB Kingston HyperX Blu RAM (bought for this build)

4GB Samsung RAM

Fractal Design Core 3000

EVGA GTX 650 Ti SSC

Asus Axe Square cooler

1TB Seagate Barracuda

1TB WD Blue

OCZ ZS 650 PSU

Asus Xonar DG soundcard

Corsair AF 120 Quiet

 

I got some fuel for the build:

 

I then removed all of the hardware from the case, and found the original boxes for this picture:

(The Akasa Apache Black and one Corsair AF 120 were not used)

 

And the empty case:

 

Due to this being a recycled build I wanted to point out the broken fan:

I didnt know how to show the warped side panel, so this is one corner with the opposite held down:

 

I tested the MB, CPU and RAM together to make sure everything worked (no picture of this, but the MB and CPU box, and the RAM)

 

I applied the thermal compound, and you can see the RAM at the bottom of this picture:

 

I installed the cooler with the AMD mounting arm thingy, below is the box the cooler came in and the accesories box:

 

I wanted to share this tiny spanner I used to put in the motherboard standoffs

 

I installed the motherboard and removed the (wrong) PCI slot covers:

 

Below is my front fan configuration:

 

Then I forgot to take a bunch of pictures of the next few steps, but they were basically: install PSU, GPU, soundcard, HDDs, DVD drive and cable management.

Here is the front (which isn't really too bad):

New front cable management!

(That loose sata power connector is now hidden)

 

But as they say, "don't look at the man behind the curtain":

(This is still rather bad)

 

I did away with the "makeshift front USB 3

 

I hope you enjoyed this build log, please give me some feedback! Many thanks, FizzyFantom

 

Temps are here!

Idle:

 

Load (using Prine95):

[Jogostar]

That build screams "Kill Me!" lol.

[FizzyFantom]

That build screams "Kill Me!" lol.

Which one?

[FizzyFantom]

Looking nice man, that's a little powerhouse right there. You should have a crack at doing some more cable management, get it even tidier you know. Nonetheless, well done buddy.

Thanks . It is a huge improvement over the old PC. I'm going to have a look at the Cable management soon.

[FizzyFantom]

Updated with better cable management and temps!