Fractal R5 SLILLY UPRADE [Case/SLI upgrade]

[Mussels]

New case is in, Fractal R5.
I realised SLI can be read as silly, so system has its dad joke name now.

Pretty picture shown here to lure you into reading the rest:

SLI image after its all upgraded:

I'll be throwing in pics and before/after results with noise (unprofessional, since i got no sound meter) and temps.

The reason for this case is because its got a bunch of features aimed at silence (proper covers for unused fan slots, with sound deadening foam) and because *all* the drive bays are removable - I only use two SSD's and this case has two SSD mounts behind the mobo tray, resulting in what may be a very clean and tidy build. My current case has 1x120mm intake for the GPU(s) which may not be enough for 970 SLI in a silent build.

http://cdn5.thinkcomputers.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Fractal-Define-R5-page-3-9a.jpg
http://www.silentpcreview.com/files/images/atxgamer-r5/fractal-r5-5.jpg


So the plan for this thread:

1. Lots of pics, before, during, after.
2. Before and after temp results in idle and load
3. "By ear" sound comparison at idle and load. My current setup is audible, barely - but gets warm.
4. Fan upgrades. Probably after the new GPU's arrive in a week or so, i'll order new higher pressure 120mm CPU fans and some more 140mm case fans. Noise/temps comparisons will be done then too. Advice is very welcome for fans.

Current fan choices are the Fractal GP-14 for the case (<20db, 68CFM) and then 2x Noctua NF-F12 (30db, super high static pressure) for the H80 AIO water cooler on the CPU. The idea there would be the case fans permanently on what i deem to be a silent setting, and the CPU fans controlled by the motherboard or the cases in-built fan controller (that could complicate the choice between 3 pin or 4 pin PWM fans)

Spoiler: Glorious Pictures!

My case was incorrectly packaged with a 2 year old. Fortunately, once the case was removed he climbed into the box and remained there for a while.

The provided 'standoff tool' is a friggin godsend, and its worth noting the front fan screws are extra long. You do not want to lose those.

The fractal is slightly taller and slightly wider than my old antec case - despite barely being any bigger, it has heaps more internal room.

The front door is surprisingly simple and elegant, hiding the fan dust filter and the optical bays. Those little plastic clips actually fell out of my 5 1/4" bays, so i dont think they're designed to be removed many times.

Old case setup: Despite being physically similar in size, this case was just so. damned. cramped in comparison to the new fractal. Cable management really stands out as poor now. Dunny roll GPU stand was done for a laugh, but it actually worked.

Two fractal 140mm that came with the case now in the front - even at 12V i cannot hear them. Excellent fans.

Feels like two sizes up on the case at this point, so much room.

Ninja SSD master race

At this point, it felt weird - like only half a PC was present. This is actually complete with everything powered and working :/

This got tidied a little but i forgot to take a pic after.

Spoiler: Temp tests in Benchmarks

Temp Testing:

Using heaven 4.0 in 1280x720, i simply let it run loops in the 'demo' mode to find out the load temp + load fan RPM on my single gigabyte G1 970.

Antec Solo whatever (fix this later): 57C, 1850 RPM. System is barely audible as the PSU and CPU fans havent ramped up, so noise comparisons will be hard. At load this is quieter than my laptop at idle.

GPU in new Fractal case: Might as well be the same.

CPU test:
Antec case + antec 120mm CPU fans (5 mins of IBT, my 24/7 clocks w/ HT off):

New Fractal Sex machine + 2 new Fractal 120mm fans. 9C drop :/

Spoiler: HX1000 to HX750i upgrade

HX1000:
Desktop Idle: 76W

Heaven DX11
60FPS: 280W
120FPS: 399W, cap whine even via audio.
Unlimited FPS: 450W, capacitor whine so bad it came across the analog audio to my TV speakers :O
IBT: + Unlim: 480W

That was a surprise. I run HDMI audio to a receiver from my intel IGP, and analog audio to my TV for teamspeak. Hearing the whine come from the TV speakers was a shock, i've moved that connection to HDMI audio now to avoid the issue.

HX750i:
Desktop Idle: 66W (15% drop, exceptional result there)

Heaven DX11
60FPS: 221W (59W drop - biggest change ~22% improvement)
120FPS: 377W (22W drop, ~6%)
UNLIMITED POWAH: 420W (blaze it? 30W drop ~6%)

IBT: + UNLIMITED POWAH: 467W (13W drop, 2%)

In summary: the HX1000 was way ahead of its time for power efficiency, but a modern platinum unit poops on it at lower loads.

 

[Ferrum Master]

I have the R5.

Versus the R4 which I had too, much less thick metal sheets are used. The case covers and the structure itself is less sturdy, it bends.

The GP14's are good fans btw. I use them and 140mm Silent Wings 2 at the front. The Fronts and one rear GP14 fan is controlled with the case FAN switch, the bottom fan goes to motherboard for me.

 

[PHaS3]

I have the R4 Looking forward to your build dude

 

[Mussels]

I've been pondering putting my spare 2x2TB drives in 5 1/4" hot swap enclosures so i could have 2x512GB SSD's always on, and by opening the door and flicking a switch 4TB of space appears. Benefits for power/noise/heat savings, longevity boost for the drives and bonus nerd cred.

 

[Mussels]

thoughts on jamming 140mm fans with 120mm mounts onto the H80?

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/22575/noctua-nf-a15-pwm-140mm-fan-with-120mm-mounts

 

[Ferrum Master]

meh. double posting.

 

[Mussels]

meh. double posting.

meh, post that replies to neither of my double posts

 

[PHaS3]

mmm I wouldn't jam the 140mm fans onto the 120mm H80. Makes me think it wouldn't gain you anything (apart from being marginally quieter?) on the cooling front.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Second to what @Ferrum Master said. If you've not bought the R5 yet, get the R4. A number of their models are still available for reasonable prices. The metal is thicker and sturdier, all the bays are still removable and two SSD can go on back. The unused fan slot covers for the top are different, and more soundproof. Overall, a much better buy!

 

[Norton]

Second to what @Ferrum Master said. If you've not bought the R5 yet, get the R4. A number of their models are still available for reasonable prices. The metal is thicker and sturdier, all the bays are still removable and two SSD can go on back. The unused fan slot covers for the top are different, and more soundproof. Overall, a much better buy!

Agree 100%

Go with the R4 if you can. The only reason to go with the R5 instead would be if you need some of the minor design changes in your build that the R5 offers... compare reviews.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Well not that R5 is a bad case. All removable cages are very good(it needs a roll bar really then inside, a bit modding), and it has a bit more space for cabling in the back side. I don't use actually 3.5inch drives anymore. I slapped a laptop 2.5incher on the backside too, much more quiet than those 3.5inch ones, for spammy data backups, it is enough.

But really NF15? I have one spare from NH-D15s... It is worth one quarter of the case price and ain't that much better really. And it is brown lol.

 

[Mussels]

after research, yeah the 140mm fans on the H80 is a bad idea. most of the air pressure is on the outside of the fins which would get wasted.

 

[Mussels]

double posting again for the bump/notifications.

Case is in, store only had limited 120mm fan selections - so i went with two i could run at near full speed all the time. Fractal Silent Series R3.
46.5CFM, 1W, 0.78 mm H20 static pressure, 20.5db(a)

those at 9v will probably get me the silence i'm after, vs higher noise/power fans i'd run at 5v or 7v.

no SLI yet, so i'll be focusing on temps and GPU fan speed in current case vs new, with a second round of testing when the SLI arrives (comparing w/ and w/out side fan intake too)

 

[Ferrum Master]

The mid switch position gives 7V actually.

 

[Mussels]

The mid switch position gives 7V actually.

looking into third party in-line 9V adaptors, only ~$3 each. Freedom for hard wired 5/7/9/12 seems perfect.

First post updated with some results, pics later.

 

[Mussels]

many many pics included now, rig is super clean with the new case.
i always thought i had terrible cable management skills, i guess i just had terrible cases.

SLI cards are due to arrive within 7 days (i'm praying before this weekend) so updates will come in then with/without the side fans.

With the front fans at 12V and the CPU fans at 'medium' controlled by the H80, the system is what i call 'silent' - at 5am this morning i turned it on and it sounded like ducted heating or cooling in the far distance, just a faint air moving sound.

 

[peche]

nice build, great pics... !
Regards,

 

[Ferrum Master]

You should add the bottom fan too. GPU likes that fan.

You need some decorations too

 

[Mussels]

next idea: ghettoing those top vents slightly open for a little bit of cooling with no noise leakage.

In my mind i'm totally seeing it look like some kind of robot dinosaur... with no legs? i'll get back to you on that.

 

[Toothless]

This thread basically equals to how I felt when I went from my Raidmax Agusta to my Phantecs Enthoo Pro; not that much outside size difference but oh goodness all the interior space.

 

[Mussels]

GPU's just arrived but i've got an 8 hour shift at work today (and the next 4 days, ugh) so i'll take my time and throw in results when i can.

got that basic bench of the old GPU, so i'll re-rest with one and two of the new GPU's in the same setup as well as some wattage meter results

single GPU comparison:

Fans stay off til ~60C. I'll be poking that to see what kind of games i can run passively. Fans RPM is a lot lower - with the fans off in passive mode i can hear a difference between my CPU and case fans at low/high speeds now, so the gigabytes gentle whoosh must have blurred it all together.

 

[Ferrum Master]

I can see 3 FPS meters in one screenshot. WOW And each of them shows something else

 

[Mussels]

I can see 3 FPS meters in one screenshot. WOW And each of them shows something else

and people wonder why benchmarks have error margins

 

[Caring1]

Very nice.

 

[Mussels]

terrible pun chosen for system/thread name.

hard to figure out what tests are relevant really, since the new GPU's idle and load hotter than the old one - but its due to the totally different fan curve on the cards.