The Utterly Imbalanced CaseLabs TX10-D build(s)!

[VSG]

Welcome to my build log now sponsored kindly by Hellfire Toyz, EVGA and FrozenQ PC Mods

Background

My first ever build originated late last year with the Corsair 900D, Asus Maximus VI Formula, i7 4770k and dual AMD R9-290x cards all on a custom loop. But even before I could finish the loop, the mining craze hit and I sold off my Hawaii cards for a small profit and went with 2x EVGA 780 Ti Classified KPEs instead. So that went well for a few weeks till I realized a single Corsair AX1200i jsut wasn't enough power for this system when benching on water. I began looking towards CaseLabs then and put on a feeler post on Craigslist to sell the 900D. Then the magic happened

I traded my 900D build (As seen below during the leak test stage):

for this:

Excuse those potato pictures since they were taken with excitement without setting up my dSLR. I really made out like a bandit in this trade. That is a TX10-D with pedestal and extended top along with plenty more goodies. So now, I do a massive benching/gaming rig on one side and one that's, well, just there for my girlfriend to replace her aging laptop that is pretty much a desktop these days due to the degraded battery.

Update log

Coming soon

 

[VSG]

Reserved for final pictures

 

[VSG]

Components for side 1: Modelling/Benching/Gaming

Main Components

Platform: x99 only if the $1000 Haswell-E octacore overclocks well, else x79
Processor: Intel i7 5930k (Anticipated, not obtained yet)
Motherboard: Undecided
Ram: DDR4, brand/model undecided
GPUs: 2x EVGA 780 Ti Classified K|ngp|n Edition cards (Bought)
PSUs: Corsair ax1200i, EVGA Supernova 1300G2 (Both bought)
OS: Windows 7 (Bought)
SSD: Undecided
HDD: Hitachi Travelstar 1 TB 7200RPM (For Steam, bought)
HDD: Toshiba 3 TB 7200RPM (For backup and storage, bought)
External HDD: Hitachi 4TB USB 3.0 (Bought)

Cooling

1) CPU/Motherboard/RAM loop

CPU Block: EK Supremacy/Koolance 380I (Have the Koolance block, will see if the EK block is better for Haswell-E)
Motherboard block: Depends on the board (Undecided)
RAM block: Undecided, depends on if DDR4 even benefits from watercooling
Radiators: Alphacool Monsta 480mm (Bought)
Fans: Corsair SP120 QE PWM push/pull on the Monsta (Bought)
Fan controller: Aquaero 6XT w/loop temperature sensors and flow meter
Reservoir(s): FrozenQ Mods 400mm Liquid Fusion Cylinder in Fluorescent Red (Bought)
Pump: Laing D5 (Undecided on exact model)
Tubing: Primochill Advanced LRT Clear in 1/2" x 3/4"
Fittings: Assortment from various brands
Coolant: Undecided

2) GPU loop

GPU Block(s): EK GTX 780 Classy in Acetal/Nickel (Bought)
Radiators: Watercool Mo.Ra 3 Pro 9.140, Hardware Labs Black Ice SR1 560mm
Fans: Gelid Wing 14 in push/pull on the Mo.Ra (Bought), Undecided on the SR1
Fan controller: Same Aquaero 6 XT as above + secondary voltage controller for Mo.Ra fans (Undecided)
Reservoir: FrozenQ Mods 400mm Liquid Fusion Cylinder in Fluorescent Blue (Partly bought)
Pump: Swiftech mcp35x2 or the upcoming mcp50x2 (Not bought)
Tubing: Primochill Advanced LRT Clear in 1/2" x 3/4"
Fittings: Assortment from various brands
Coolant: Undecided

Peripherals

Monitor: Dell U2713HM (Bought)
Keyboard: Roccat Ryos MK Pro w/Cherry MX Brown switches (Bought)
Mouse: Roccat Kone XTD (Bought)
Speakers: Creative GigaWorks T40 Series II (Bought)
Headphones: Sennheiser HD598 w/FiiO e17 (Bought)

The cooling here isn't set in stone, I got plenty of space to put in a Phase change unit for the CPU but I am not a big fan of the noise. I might also consider a Bong cooler as the front flex bay compartment will be mostly unoccupied. I am open to thoughts and suggestions!

 

[VSG]

Components for side 2: Productivity

Main Components

Platform: Z87
Processor: Intel i7 477k(Bought)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus 6 Formula (Bought)
Ram: Corsair Dominator Platinum 2x8 GB 1866 C9 Kit (Bought)
GPUs: A mid end card for CUDA and Adobe CS Live (Undecided)
PSU: Something 500-600 W max (Undecided)
OS: Windows 7
SSD: Samsung 830 512 GB (Bought)
HDD: Toshiba 3 TB 7200RPM (Bought)

Cooling

CPU block: Either EK Supremacy or Koolance 380i (See above for Side 1)
GPU block: Undecided
Motherboard block: EK M6F Acetal/Nickel
Radiator: Phobya G-Changer 120, XSPC AX480
Fans: Corsair SP120 QE PWM (Bought)
Fan Controller: Undecided
Reservoir: Bitspower Z Multi Water Tank 400mm (Bought)
Pump: Swiftech mcp35x (Bought)

Peripherals

Monitor: Acer 1080p Monitor (This is what she has now, I really want to get a better one for her soon)
Mouse: Logitech Performance Mouse MX
Keyboard: CM Storm Trigger w/Cherry MX Blue switches
Speakers: Undecided

 

[VSG]

Please excuse the phone camera pictures, my dSLR battery charger had died when these were taken so the next few pictures are not the best.

Rad fans so far:

That's 18 Gelid Wing 14s and 20 Corsair SP120 PWM fans. I wish I knew about the Corsair PWM issue before but you do what you can! At least I got a great deal on these fans. II will need at least 4 more 140mm fans.

I also want to warn people about the QC of the Aquacomputer Aquaero 6 (XT or Pro versions)- they seem to not adhere completely to the 5 1/4" bay standard dimensions. Plenty of owners have had issues fitting it in, I was lucky with the 900D. In this case it was a lot more snug than I would like. Thankfully, CaseLabs made an accessory just for this (http://www.caselabs-store.com/flex-bay-5-25-device-mount-short-nonconforming/) and I will be ordering it soon. In the meantime, I went ahead and installed the passive heatsink accessory. When operating low PWM signals, the device gets pretty warm so this would help dissipate the heat better- especially with a fan blowing at it.

and then installed it into the case along with one DVD drive:

 

[VSG]

I went ahead and got some Cougar CF-V14HB fans for the SR1 and a Datavac compressor. The fans are very, very nice indeed! The compressor is also definitely worth the money and I got my rads as dust free as possible. The way I have it planned is to have all rads on quick disconnects so I can easily remove the rad/fan assembly and take it outdoors for dusting. No point spending money on restrictive filters that will also limit how I can use the rads.

I also got a Swiftech 120mm rad after this picture was taken. In the meantime, about them Cougars:

I think I am a believer in the Cougars now, and I love the drop-in radiator mount concept- especially coming off the terrible to use side mounts in the 900D. Today I go back to the Mo.Ra mount and attempt some drilling.

If anyone else is interested, here are radiator volumes for the rads I have measured so far:

1) Phobya G-Changer 120 (Pretty much an Alphacool UT60 120): 220 mL
2) XSPC AX480: 300 mL
3) Alphacool Monsta 480: 670 mL
4) HardwareLabs Black Ice SR1 560: 490 mL

 

[rtwjunkie]

I'm liking this build!

 

[VSG]

Thanks, got more updates ready to post but don't want to rush the thread too much.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Of course not. But I imagine it's going to be a long process anyway. So, will both sides be able to be used at the same time when it's finished?

 

[VSG]

Yes, both sides can be simultaneously used since for all intents and purposes they are exclusive. The case has 2 sets of Start/Reset buttons and each side has their own set of components. Side 1 is for me, side 2 is for my girlfriend. She currently has an ultrabook that barely does what she needs and has to go to her lab to get any work done.

 

[Vario]

Nice. Thanks for sharing, awesome case!

 

[TRWOV]

sub'd

 

[VSG]

Thanks for coming along for the ride. It will be a long, but hopefully fun one. The major wait is Haswell-E here, so thankfully I can get building with the existing stuff here- and plenty of stuff there is too! I got my camera gear ready to go but have next to no experience with product photographing:

The main issue here is that of lighting and space. The case is massive so I can't really move it anywhere, and so I am forced to use existing lighting and materials I have- so no light stand or light box just yet.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

That's one helluva case.

 

[VSG]

That it is! I got yet another package from PPC 2 weeks ago. Other than the odd fitting, splitter and flexbay solid covers I got 2 more things I am very excited to use

I will only be using the Blitz kit on the unfortunately known to be "dirty" Alphacool and Phobya rads, the others will be just fine with hot water flushes + distilled water rinses hopefully. That's still a pretty decent kit for the money.

 

[fullinfusion]

sub'd this is going to be sweet

 

[HammerON]

Sub'd as this looks to be an interesting build

 

[TRWOV]

sweet mother of God, so many rads

 

[VSG]

Really? Here I was looking at triple 180mm rads just because I have a mount and place to put it in

But let me tell you this: 18 fans and the 72 hex screws are not easy to mount on the Mo.Ra:

I know, I know.. I will have to cable manage better and drill a few more holes to give power/control the fans above but at least I am making full use of the extended top now. I also installed the SR1 below the Mo.Ra on the left side of the case:

With everything put in place, it looks a lot neater:

Now, I will need to add in more 5 1/4 devices so that front bay area isn't fixed by any means. I also got a Diva 'Dapter (aka the Double D's) from Darlene (IT Diva on OCN):

For those who have no idea what this is, it is a amplifier board to boost the PWM signal off an Aquaero. Now the newer batches of the Aquaero 6 are supposedly already boosted, but this will help fully control devices such as Corsair SP120 PWM and the Laing D5 PWM that don't exactly adhere to the Intel PWM standard. Since I have 16 SP120 PWM fans in here, I am eager to test it out.

While all this was going on, I got in touch with Thermenewho have been making thermal paste from graphene. While their gen 1 paste from graphene oxide wasn't ground breaking, I got 2 samples of their new gen 2 paste and it is really promising. We have a home built device to measure electrical and thermal conductivity of thin films and I tested this against MX-4, PK-3 and AS-5. I don't know how the latter 3 measured their values but, other than PK-3, the actual values I got are different than what they report- especially AS-5 which was noticeably worse.

Thermene, on the other hand, came in at 11.44 W/mK which is the best of the 4 I tested. The measurements done took cure time into consideration and the mounting is not a variable either so I am very impressed by it. I was in no way sponsored to say this and I will be using it in my build (and likely everywhere else in the future). PK-3 was quite close too for those who are wondering.

 

[fullinfusion]

Really? Here I was looking at triple 180mm rads just because I have a mount and place to put it in

But let me tell you this: 18 fans and the 72 hex screws are not easy to mount on the Mo.Ra:

I know, I know.. I will have to cable manage better and drill a few more holes to give power/control the fans above but at least I am making full use of the extended top now. I also installed the SR1 below the Mo.Ra on the left side of the case:

With everything put in place, it looks a lot neater:

Now, I will need to add in more 5 1/4 devices so that front bay area isn't fixed by any means. I also got a Diva 'Dapter (aka the Double D's) from Darlene (IT Diva on OCN):

For those who have no idea what this is, it is a amplifier board to boost the PWM signal off an Aquaero. Now the newer batches of the Aquaero 6 are supposedly already boosted, but this will help fully control devices such as Corsair SP120 PWM and the Laing D5 PWM that don't exactly adhere to the Intel PWM standard. Since I have 16 SP120 PWM fans in here, I am eager to test it out.

While all this was going on, I got in touch with Thermenewho have been making thermal paste from graphene. While their gen 1 paste from graphene oxide wasn't ground breaking, I got 2 samples of their new gen 2 paste and it is really promising. We have a home built device to measure electrical and thermal conductivity of thin films and I tested this against MX-4, PK-3 and AS-5. I don't know how the latter 3 measured their values but, other than PK-3, the actual values I got are different than what they report- especially AS-5 which was noticeably worse.

Thermene, on the other hand, came in at 11.44 W/mK which is the best of the 4 I tested. The measurements done took cure time into consideration and the mounting is not a variable either so I am very impressed by it. I was in no way sponsored to say this and I will be using it in my build (and likely everywhere else in the future). PK-3 was quite close too for those who are wondering.

I've never heard of that TIM before!

Can I have a tube?

 

[VSG]

I've never heard of that TIM before!

Can I have a tube?

It's not bad at all, since that update I have done Gelid GC Extreme and a couple more. But go ahead and contact these guys: http://www.thermene.com/

They are nice people and will send you a tube for testing. I spent one tube in testing and am using the other for this build, that's how impressed I was with it.

 

[erocker]

Nice, I didn't know they came out with a different formula. I'll have to give it a try. A 5c difference over Tuniq TX-4 isn't too shabby! I'm not convinced it will make much, if any difference at all on a (lidded) Ivy Bridge or Haswell chip, but my TIM needs replacing anyways.

 

[THE_EGG]

Holy mother of case batman! And those radiators :O

Looking like a sweet as build man. Looking forward to seeing the final product!

Also after buying a few Cougar fans myself a couple of months ago, I am also a 'Cougar Convert'.

 

[chinmi]

this build gonna be great. sub'd for further read later on

 

[VSG]

Nice, I didn't know they came out with a different formula. I'll have to give it a try. A 5c difference over Tuniq TX-4 isn't too shabby! I'm not convinced it will make much, if any difference at all on a (lidded) Ivy Bridge or Haswell chip, but my TIM needs replacing anyways.

Ya, lidded Ivy/Haswell aren't very good on average. Luckily whoever did the TIM + IHS on mine did a relatively good job. I can do 4.7 GHz on the 4770k at 1.4v. Not the best chip, but enough for benching and the individual core temps are pretty similar.

I haven't done a temperature test yet, that's why I got a couple of 120mm rads. I will do it for all the TIMs I have with me soon.