Project Log : Fall Of Schwarz/The White Hölle

[DaveLT]

This time I mean it! I want to really build a WC rig small case mod not a case mod. 

Spent too much time waiting for stuff and case modding the last time and in the end I move all my stuff into my switch 810.

 

 

Since my hardware is nothing of interest I'll be listing only the other gear

Case : Phanteks Enthoo Pro

PSU : CoolerMaster V1200 Platinum

GPU : Powercolor R9 280X Turboduo

HDDs : 1TB WD1002FAEX WD Black, Hitachi 7K1000.C 1TB, Toshiba 3TB (Hitachi platform)

Fans : 5x AFB1212M PWM, 2x 4710KL-04w-B59, 1x CoolerMaster Jetflo

RAM : Kingston HyperX Genesis 1600 OC'd to 1866

CPU : Intel Xeon L5639 (3.6GHz OC'd, 6core)

Keyboard : CM Storm MECH

Mouse : CM Storm Mizar

Headset : CM Storm Pulse-R

WC Gear :

EK Supreme HF Acetal+Nickel

XSPC Razor 7970 (new style)

Magicool 360

Magicool 240

Hard acrylic tubing (10x14mm)

Compression fittings for acrylic tubing, Black acrylic reservoir

D5 Vario w/ EK X-Top Rev.2

 

No fan controller as this build doesn't need it. It's sometimes cool but nah.

 

I must thank eugene @ hydra for helping with the RMA.

 

View my original link of this log : Project Log : Fall Of Schwarz/The White Hölle OCN

 

a right angle aluminum "bending tool"

 

Bitspower users ... Does this look familiar to you?

[DaveLT]

Sorry for the potato pics.

3tb yeh. 

 

Made some PWM splitters last week

Of course, a look at my current state of rig

Testing LED strips I made for terence(52)

Of course this will go into my rig!

[DaveLT]

Switching the res for this one :

Rewired my D5 and added RPM monitoring

CF'd also. Not a very good job but good enough for me.

You know I've been tempted to use this for a long time to control my motors

I'll be using something much smaller than the first one I used with H&H anyway

 

Changing switch 810 for phanteks enthoo pro. time to redo build log picture! Stay tuned!

[DaveLT]

Apologies for fingerprint marks and poor product shot.

[DaveLT]

My writeup on the enthoo pro :
Obviously, this is not an big chassis like the switch 810 and will not fit rads in the same places as the 810. But, the enthoo pro makes use of it's displaced size very well by allowing you to configure most of the case to what you like. 

Most of the case can be dismantled for painting but there is some of it that are riveted, for reasons unknown. It should have been screwed in as well.
It looks good, classy and simple. None of the busy looking designs like a HAF Stacker ()
Radiator support : Obviously, it won't be so simple since a bottom 240 will slam right into your PSU if you use a 190mm long PSU like I do. Just that 20mm difference in depth makes it pretty much impossible for you to install a 240 rad.

Otherwise, you can always keep the bottom HDD cage if you want to use HDDs like I do and install the 240 without the optical bay on the middle 120mm fan slot, with the other 120 in the area where the optical bay used to be.

Of course, the key points I have to raise is that the Enthoo Pro is well-built and has a PSU cover along with a optical bay AND HDD bay cover which hides up most of what you wouldn't want to see.
Cable management space at 27mm which admittedly isn't the most but there's a bulge in the bottom allowing for even more cable management in the very bottom which makes it far more brilliant than my 810 for cable management which doesn't have much
The doors are hinged like the 810 but doesn't require 1000 pounds of force to pull it out of orbit and doesn't have silly plastic door latches that will break if you open the doors frequently (which I do)

The paint is glossy, which is a shame as that makes it VERY sensitive to fingerprint marks. It's a perfectly smooth finish though and the "brushed parts" are actually plastic! Great.

With only the bottom HDD you can hide the reservoir and pump if you so desire as well.
Actually, the velcro straps for cable management are fantastic.

If I have three gripes with it (which I do) is that the built in fan controller is very weird you can't have it powered from the SATA plug unless you enjoy running fans at full blast which defeats the point of the fan controller. Also mine came broken so I never knew how it reacts to control.
Another gripe is that I can't install a 45mm rad with a single row of fans easily, being that it has only 65mm clearance and it is not offset so it will hit my VRM heatsink and RAM clips on my EX58-UD5. 
Of course, the other one is that the built 200mm runs at 900rpm out of the box. It is indeed the very phanteks fan you can buy off the shelf so it's a good fan but it's quite loud and you cannot really have it spin lower than 600rpm easily if you're using voltage resistors. Normally I don't like 200mm fans because there aren't any good ones that I usually know of but I probably approve of this one if there's nothing in the way apart from the screen filter which is great, unfortunately HDD cages is in the way so no.

And also having taken out the PH-F200SP and put in the stock PH-F140XP cooling my R9 280X TurboDuo is a lot easier.

So now, main things I would like to see phanteks improve on, extending the top of the case by at least 10mm for more rad clearance and a rough paint coat would be nice. Glossy is nice to look at but not nice once you have your fingers on it

Nonetheless, it's going to cost 200$ here and fit and finish is fantastic. Only 200$ for a case this customizable is definitely a winner. Is it a perfect case? I don't think so. Is it a great modder's case? Yes!

[DaveLT]

Moved everything into the enthoo pro on saturday.

That is one :) of a logo. Hmm ... time to buy a CM Storm logo!

Bleh. Focus fail.

The CM Jetflo 120

Top of the enthoo pro. Starting to see a resemblance to the 810 eh? The HDD activity light is hidden behind a tiny little hole.

Focus fail again.

The 200mm I will not use. It's good but ... I wouldn't use it for good reason.

 

I'll most likely keep the 24pin. It's weird pin arrangement makes it a PITA to sleeve and it already has a lot of slack in the cable so if I use a extension cable management will be a nightmare

[DaveLT]

I wish to share the PSU I'll be using for this build

CoolerMaster V1200 Platinum

 

For this first-to-be-completed rig of mine, I have decided to go full-out and buying a 1200W PSU even though I don't need 1200W and I could have bought a Seasonic X660 and I thought might as well give the V1200 Platinum a shot as I might want to upgrade for more GPUs in the future

 

Is it sensible? No. Buying a 1200W system for a rather basic rig like mine is not.

But what did I buy it for? The looks of it even though it's under a PSU cover now in the phanteks.

But to be honest, it's really well built and the branding is printed on the PSU, not printed on a sticker.

And also, it's really quiet. A Seasonic X660 won't be this quiet, I value low noise and it shows by going for low speed Deltas that have high static pressure so I won't need push-pull and I can control them too.

 

Being based on the Seasonic XP3 platform it is definitely a good performer and coming in rather cheap compared to the others it didn't break my wallet either.

[DaveLT]

I shall announce a new upcoming addition to the project log : NZXT Sentry 3!

[DaveLT]

White ... Or blue? /scratcheshead

Testing some LED segments. Achieved the effect I want, job done.

I'll buy extra LED strips to light up other areas

[DaveLT]

Been working on my rig a bit more

YAY ROG STICKERS.

Sanding down the rad to remove the terrible stock paint job.

People like brushed aluminium don't they. This it it.

CF'd me MECH.

Yeah. Focus fail. 

But let me talk you through the reasons of choosing the CM Storm MECH for my build.

 

1) It's a great solid keyboard.

2) It will kill someone in the head if you hit them hard enough ...

3) Although it is a great lan party keyboard it is also heavy and very large.

All in all, it's a great keyboard for me because it's easier to modify the appearance by painting it or giving it a new splash of paint.

Why is it solid I think? It does away with the nonsensical (sometimes) rubber coating and having hard coated plastic in lieu for the bits that aren't aluminium that you touch.

The plastic is reasonably well thick, actually very thick

The best part? It looks great.