Project: Fu*k Cancer

[AngeloBJ]

I've been in IT a LOOONG time. And I've done it all at some point in my career so of course it always seems like I'm working on someone else's $hi+

So I decided that it was time to quit cramming my PC under my desk, and build something nice. A show piece if you will. Something I can be proud of and really turn up my inner geek! I don't have a solid direction just yet. I have some ideas...thing's I know I want to include, and some things I know I don't.

That being said...here's what we have to work with.

It's an Antec P180b. I think I got it back in 2005...2006 maybe. As you can see it's gone through the ringer. 5 moves, 7 different builds. The front door's gone. The fan covers are gone...It's a great case! Even by today's standards. But it desperately needs an upgrade. And lets face it...I'll never fit what I want to fit in my next build in this case. It's done its duty for God and country.

A look at the inside, shows I haven't really put much effort into cable management. Then again, the P180b was built for silence not looks

As far as hardware the current stats are as follows:

• Intel i5k 8600 (Factory Clock)
• Asrock Z370 Extreme 4
• 16GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB DDR4 (Factory Clock)
• EVGA GTX 980TI (Factory Clock)
• Corsair CX750M PSU
• M-Audio II Audio interface
• Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD
  
• A DVD-RW I jacked from an old Dell PC about 5 years ago

Use Case:
I'll be using this rig mainly for gaming and streaming. The occasional audio/video editing but it's so rare that I don't mind waiting for render time.

The Plan:
I've decided that I will keep the i5, It's recent and has LOTS of room to grow. I plan on water cooling, so there's major growth potential there. The z370 is a good board with lots of tools for RAM and CPU adjustments so no need to migrate from there. It also has 2 Ultra M.2 slots for the storage upgrade I have planned.

The Graphics card has GOT to go. I'm hunting for a 2080TI. They are becoming easier to get so that will mean I need to upgrade that PSU. Maybe need is a strong word. Should is probably more appropriate. But...If I decide to go with a 1080TI...that might change.

I want to go to M.2 Storage, upgrade the RAM to 32GB, and add an M.2 802.11AC module.

As far as case selection, I want something nice. Like I said a showpiece. I'm thinking Thermaltake Core P3/5 maybe the View 71. But I have my eye on the Lian Li 011 Dynamic.

Which leads me to color scheme. I thought about going all white...but then I'd need to replace a LOT of hardware. So, I shifted gears a little and I think I want to do a Houston Texans themed build. I love football and I'm a HUGE Texans fan...and you don't see that many NFL themed builds. Either that or I'm not looking in the right places...I am just going to have to get the hardware in the case and see where I want to go from there.

So to summarize (a.k.a. To Do List):

• Select Case
• Decide on GPU
• Finalize Theme
• Order Hardware
• Build The Sucker
• Play BF1 till my eyes pop out

 

[hititnquitit]

those are all solid case choices but i particularly like the view71 and 011 dynamic. if your going for a showpiece look you may want to consider the thermaltake 900. especially if your considering a wced rig. it looks exceptional with watercooling and rgb.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...&cm_re=thermaltake_900-_-11-133-328-_-Product

there is a sweet deal on some gskill 3200 ddr4 at newegg. a pair of these filling all 4 slots will look sweet! from what ive heard they are micron ics and should get you up to 3400-3600 with relaxed timings but that can be hit or miss.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820232476

if your only looking to run 2x16gb they are also on sale right now and cheaper than going 4x8gb. the sale ends today tho! ive no idea what ics they are running. definitely not b-die due to the timings but gskill is solid memory. the GTZR designates that its optimized to run on ryzen mbs but it will run on an intel rig with no problems.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232748

an m.2 os drive will only give you a slightly increased boot time. going from your 850(still an excellent ssd) to an m.2 your not likely to notice much if any performance increase. not to mention m.2s are usually far more expensive especially if you go samsung. i would look at a 1tb samsung 860 evo as os drive then use your 500gb for storage. if you were to go with a 970 evo, the 500gb drive is almost as expensive as the 860 ssd. the 970 pro is way more expensive $200 for a 512gb m.2 drive.

it may be wise to hold off on the 2080ti and see what the 1080ti prices look like in a month or so. or better yet hold off until x-mas/new years sales. by then 1080tis should be in the $500 range regularly. the 2080tis may drop in price by then as well. who knows what black friday may bring.

going with a Texans theme would be sweet! theres nothing wrong with showing your colors! especially if they happen to line up with our national colors!
have fun with the build and good luck!

 

[AngeloBJ]

those are all solid case choices but i particularly like the view71 and 011 dynamic. if your going for a showpiece look you may want to consider the thermaltake 900. especially if your considering a wced rig. it looks exceptional with watercooling and rgb.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...&cm_re=thermaltake_900-_-11-133-328-_-Product

there is a sweet deal on some gskill 3200 ddr4 at newegg. a pair of these filling all 4 slots will look sweet! from what ive heard they are micron ics and should get you up to 3400-3600 with relaxed timings but that can be hit or miss.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820232476

if your only looking to run 2x16gb they are also on sale right now and cheaper than going 4x8gb. the sale ends today tho! ive no idea what ics they are running. definitely not b-die due to the timings but gskill is solid memory. the GTZR designates that its optimized to run on ryzen mbs but it will run on an intel rig with no problems.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232748

an m.2 os drive will only give you a slightly increased boot time. going from your 850(still an excellent ssd) to an m.2 your not likely to notice much if any performance increase. not to mention m.2s are usually far more expensive especially if you go samsung. i would look at a 1tb samsung 860 evo as os drive then use your 500gb for storage. if you were to go with a 970 evo, the 500gb drive is almost as expensive as the 860 ssd. the 970 pro is way more expensive $200 for a 512gb m.2 drive.

it may be wise to hold off on the 2080ti and see what the 1080ti prices look like in a month or so. or better yet hold off until x-mas/new years sales. by then 1080tis should be in the $500 range regularly. the 2080tis may drop in price by then as well. who knows what black friday may bring.

going with a Texans theme would be sweet! theres nothing wrong with showing your colors! especially if they happen to line up with our national colors!
have fun with the build and good luck!

Thanks for the advice!

I've considered the TT900, my biggest fear is that case is a HUGE blank canvas and since I haven't done a custom build since 2002 and I'm afraid It'll turn into a 14 month project. HAHAHA!

The M.2 is really to clean up the cabling...and for a little more storage. I'm not OCD about much, but I my right eye starts to twitch if I don't have all my things on the same drive.

As far as RAM goes, 8x4 or 16x2 doesn't really matter much. My the time I need more than 32GB I'll be updating platforms.

And don't get me started on the GPU...I want 1440p @ 144Hz so bad.... sadface

 

[Fritzz]

So many fond memories of that case. One of my first real builds back in 2008!!



m.2 - go for it. I agree less cables and stuff to mess with. I bought a 970 Evo and have been super happy with it as my boot drive and moved my other SSDs to game storage. Plus if I have to reinstall windows I don't have to download all my games again

RAM - 16 really is enough, I can't imagine needing more if you are just playing games. Which is an assumption on my part with the CPU selection

2080ti - looked at a few reviews, and if you are like me I don't like sacrificing visual quality to get the FPS my monitor can run, you might have a hard time reaching the 1440p and 144Hz benchmark you are setting for yourself. Obviously depends on the game, setting etc, but if it's a new title with all eye candy on, going to be tough.

Case - I really like the looks of the Lian Li 011 Dynamic


I like you am still running my 980ti on my 1440p\165Hz capable monitor and will be holding off on a GPU till I can reach 1440p and 120Hz minimum. Right now the 2080ti doesn't do it for me and also having a hard time with the $1200+ price tag.

 

[AngeloBJ]

So many fond memories of that case. One of my first real builds back in 2008!!
View attachment 112779
View attachment 112778

m.2 - go for it. I agree less cables and stuff to mess with. I bought a 970 Evo and have been super happy with it as my boot drive and moved my other SSDs to game storage. Plus if I have to reinstall windows I don't have to download all my games again

RAM - 16 really is enough, I can't imagine needing more if you are just playing games. Which is an assumption on my part with the CPU selection

2080ti - looked at a few reviews, and if you are like me I don't like sacrificing visual quality to get the FPS my monitor can run, you might have a hard time reaching the 1440p and 144Hz benchmark you are setting for yourself. Obviously depends on the game, setting etc, but if it's a new title with all eye candy on, going to be tough.

Case - I really like the looks of the Lian Li 011 Dynamic


I like you am still running my 980ti on my 1440p\165Hz capable monitor and will be holding off on a GPU till I can reach 1440p and 120Hz minimum. Right now the 2080ti doesn't do it for me and also having a hard time with the $1200+ price tag.

God I forgot what that door even looked like!

 

[AngeloBJ]

Made a couple key decisions this week that will let me get this project started! I decided on a case. I'm going to put this in the Lian Li 011 Dynamic in white. It's a pretty case with all the features I'm looking for. The brushed aluminium panel bothers me, but I think I'll paint it an accent color. I also did some OCing on my i5. I was able to get it to 4.6Ghz stable on air. It will go higher and stay relatively cool, but I have to put a TON of power through it to get to 5Ghz. So if I can find the right deal, I'm going to upgrade it I think. Maybe a i9/Mobo combo when we get a little closer to Christmas.

I decided I'm going to get rid of the SSDs and go all M.2. I also decided that I'm going to bite the bullet and overpay for a 2080 TI, but I'm going to wait ill some custom cards come out.

So, I'll be gettin the case next week...If I'm not planning a funeral. and getting started on the case mods.

Until then....Happy Halloween and GO TEXANS!

 

[AngeloBJ]

Sooooo much has happened since the end of October and NOTHING related to building myself a showpiece. Long story short...my wife lost her battle with breast cancer the week before Christmas so as you all can imagine...the last month has been hectic. But...Since I need something to keep me busy I started working on this again. Got parts in, and on the way, and now.....

I can formalize the project!

I've decided to rename the project simply because...It's mine. I can do that! It was my wife's passing that motivated me to get moving on this again so I changed it to remind me why I started in the first place. Maybe I'll actually finish it....anyways...here we go!


Project: Fu*k Cancer

Reclaimed Hardware:

• Intel I5 8600k

New Hardware:

• Case - Lian Li 011 Dynamic (White)
  • Part 011x-d Vertical GPU Bracket (SOLD SEPERATELY....I learned this the hard way)
• Motherboard - Asus Prime Z390-A
• Memory - 32GB (4x8) Corsair Vengeance DDR4 - 3600 (Balance of speed vs cost)
• Storage - Samsung NAND SSD M.2 - 1TB
• Graphics - Nvidia RTX 2080TI FE (More on this selection later)
• PSU - Corsair RM850X
• Cooling 9x Corsair LL120 RGB Fans
• Corsair H150i AIO (Temporary)
• Peripherals - Corsair K70 MK.2 SE
  • Logitech G502
  • Corsair Void Pro Wireless Headphones
  • Corsair MM800 RGB Mousing surface

Considerations:
There were a few things I was on the fence about.

• First was the processor selection. I just purchased an 8600K in the summer. It's not outdated and I can get an....ok overclock out of it on air(I only half won the silicon lottery). So I couldn't justify spending the extra money on a 9th gen for the slight performance boost. 90% of what I do on this machine is gaming anyway so I decided I was better off spending that money elsewhere. If it turns out I can't get a decent overclock out of it on water...I might revisit this
• Next was the motherboard. I have ZERO issues with the Asrock from my previous build. it's a recent Z370 board. This decision was COMPLETELY aesthetic...as you'll see in the photos.
• Third was RAM. Again...perfectly good G.Skill RGB ram in the previous build. It was a slight upgrade going to 3600mhz but 99% of this choice was aesthetics as well.
• RGB. There are a LOT of Corsair parts on that list. I wanted to have control of everything through a single software. The iCue software is great! So I decided to keep all the RGB components, minus the motherboard, within the same ecosystem.
• Finally, the elephant in the room....the AIO. So I completely plan on putting an open loop in this system. But Time, budget, and my need to game, suggest that I do this in phases. The AIO is merely a way for me to transition from air to water and not have to relocate too much in the build doing it. (NOTE: I'll be selling a lightly used AIO in the near future )

REQUIREMENTS:

• Sex appeal - Like me!
• Bullet proof - I want it CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN
• Upgradeable - I want room to grow. Even though we're probably at the end of the LGA-115x lifecycle.
• Play AAA Titles with no issues.
• Handle workstation tasks if required - Occasionally I work from home. The system needs to be able to handle those tasks. (Database, RDP, VoIP)

PROJECT TIMELINE:

• Phase 1 - Basic system build, configure, install, baseline benchmarks, etc.
  • Order Parts
    • Case (COMPLETE)
    • RAM (COMPLETE)
    • GPU (COMPLETE)
    • Storage (COMPLETE)
    • PSU (COMPLETE)
    • Cooling and GRB Components (COMPLETE)
  • Primary mockup and assembly
    • Disassemble Case (COMPLETE)
    • Install components (COMPLETE)
    • Temporary cabling (COMPLETE)
  • Install and configure
    • OS (COMPLETE)
    • Drivers (COMPLETE)
    • Benchmarking tools (COMPLETE)
    • GAMEZZZZZ (COMPLETE)
• Phase 2 - Benchmarks and Overclocking
  • Stock Baseline (COMPLETE)
  • GPU OC (COMPLETE)
  • CPU OC (COMPLETE)
• Phase 3 - Custom Cabling
  • Finalize color scheme
  • Measure cable lengths
  • Order cables
  • Install Cables
• Phase 4 - Open Loop Cooling
  • Design loop
  • Order
    • CPU Block
    • GPU Block
    • Reso
    • Fittings
    • Tubing
    • Flow Meter
    • Thermometer
  • Install
  • Fill
  • Test
  • Benchmark Thermals

All photos will be located here: http://s26.photobucket.com/user/claark/Custom PC Build/story

 

[deaedius]

Somewhere in that project you forgot about how any challenges where sales will oversell and the project team under delivers and you have a half baked product, all because you are The Expert

Overall that is a sweet thought process and progress on the build and how you came to where you are now, def a sweet looking build! Well done!

 

[AngeloBJ]

Here are some photos from Phase 1.

The 011 Dynamic straight out of the box:

Naked and afraid:

With the PSU installed. I was a little pissed at the shade of white on the RM850....If it pisses me off too bad I may have to paint it. I ordered a second glass door for the back side...it's gotta look good yo!

Board and RAM in place:

All cabled up (for now):

And one with all the lights on:

NOTES:

It makes me nauseous looking inside at this shitty cabling...But for now it will have to do. Custom cables will be happening ASAP!

The initial build didn't go without issue....So the LL fans, if you want the pretty RGB they only blow one way. Which ment I had to have filtering for the intake areas on the back of the case where there were no air filters. The magnetic strips come off the filters rather easily if you are careful and I was able to cut the mesh with scissors. So I made some filters for the back of the case. (See below) After I get the vertical GPU mount in, I will also make a filter to go beneath the PCI Card covers.


My "custom" air filters:

That's it for now. I'm sorry it too SOOOO damn long to get this project kicked off. But I think I've made good progress in a short time.

 

[pendragon1]

looks good but "fu*k canter"?

 

[AngeloBJ]

looks good but "fu*k canter"?

Oops


/fixt

 

[SineDave]

Sooooo much has happened since the end of October and NOTHING related to building myself a showpiece. Long story short...my wife lost her battle with breast cancer the week before Christmas so as you all can imagine...the last month has been hectic. But...Since I need something to keep me busy I started working on this again. Got parts in, and on the way, and now.....

So sorry to hear about your loss man..fuck Cancer indeed.

 

[mangapc]

Sorry for your loss. Build looks great I sure your wife would have loved it.

 

[Joust]

In to say - sorry for your loss, man. The build does look great.

 

[hititnquitit]

Your F*CK CANCER build looks to be a sweet one! Im truly sorry for your loss man.

 

[AngeloBJ]

More work today! Got the layout for the cable on the backside of the case done. I'm going to sleeve and re-run all of this when I install the custom power cables but this is how it it will look.

And the vertical GPU bracket came in:

I also did some overclocking on the AIO. I got the CPU to 4.8 stable. I could have gone higher but I started hitting temperature issues. Maybe I'll delid the CPU when the open loop goes in.

 

[AngeloBJ]

So I started working on planning the water cooling loop today. I want to do something silly with 2 resos and a standalone pump. I'm still playing with ideas but built this in SketchUp this week.

It's still a work in progress...mainly because my Sketchup skills are....um....in progress.

But I'm digging it so far.

 

[AngeloBJ]

Swapped out the black LL120s today for white ones. I like this look MUCH better!

 

[BrainEater]

I really like your color scheme !....Nice rig !

 

[sabrewolf732]

love the white. cant wait to see everything on water