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Ghostwheel
Hello all, it's been a very long time. For those that remember me, I haven't been around in about three years. I know this, because my son is 2 and a half now. A couple of years ago my main rig died an untimely death, freak storm came up in the night and it was struck by lightning. So alas, no more Animus. I picked up a good deal on a gaming machine on Craigslist to replace it temporarily, my intention was to build a new rig a little at a time. Well, a couple of months ago the temporary rig refused to start meaning I had to actually get to work building a new machine. I didn't want to rush it though, and that's hard when you're only access to the internet is your wife's Mac (how I hate these things).
After collecting a few parts over the past few months I'm nearly ready to get to work in earnest. This however is going to be a continuing project, since I've gotten the go ahead from my good lady wife to add my own personal touch to the house via computers. The Ghostwheel project will encompass all of the various machines I'm building. Right now, that includes the following: 2 Gaming Rigs, File Server, and 7 Raspberry Pi based gadgets. I will also be building a 3rd "budget" rig that will be the general purpose machine for the house, it'll be capable of gaming, etc. But it's going to be somewhere in the $300 range.
For those curious about the name of the project, it comes from the Chronicles of Amber. Each machine will be named sequentially as part of the larger project. Now to the stats on the rig I'm currently building.
GHOSTWHEEL INDEX
PERIPHERALS
GHOST
SPECTRE MK I
SPECTRE MK II
GHAST
More coming soon, I actually had to RMA the board and processor already since it refused to post on my test bench, so it's probably going to be a couple of weeks before I get to fire the thing up.
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PERIPHERALS
Coming soon...
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
Keyboard: Corsair K95 RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Corsair M65 RGB Wired Laser Mouse ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Headphones: Superlux HD668B Headphones ($42.47 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z506 155W 5.1ch Speakers ($65.65 @ NCIX US)
Other: Audio Technica AT2020 ($99.00)
Other: Focusrite Scarlett Solo ($99.99)
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I've been juggling and barking at retailers, I've received some, but not nearly all of my parts at this point. One disadvantage of using multiple sources. I ended up with three video cards, I ran into a guy who got into BitCoin mining but wanted out and had no interest in gaming other than tabletop/paper and dice. Long story short, I snagged a pair of MSI 290s and a 270. All used, but only just. This coupled with a bit of good luck lately and I've decided to push forward with my new build. I've updated the parts lists above to reflect the changes.
I'm expecting at minimum to receive the case and processor for the Mk 2 tomorrow. I haven't ordered anything for Mk 1 yet, I will likely order it all in June. I want to iron out the details on the smaller machine first, get it OCd and stable before I switch focus to the bigger brother of the two. If all goes well, I expect to have some pics of the Mk 2 ready next week. Though with the weather I may have to hold off on some of the painting I've got planned (we've had brutal storms here over the past few weeks).
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I wanted to hold off on posting pics till I had more to show, but parts finally started getting here. Enough to at least get some work done (Motherboard and OS won't be here till Weds). There are some custom things I want to add, but these are mostly bolt on things I'm already planning/fabricating. With the way I'll have these two PCs displayed in my setup however, this machine won't really be that visible so I'm not too concerned about making it super pretty, just clean.
And look what Brown did for me this weekend!
First lets look at the case, then we'll get a look at some of the other goodies going inside. This is the NZXT S340. I am actually in love with this little case now. Mine is the black and red version, which comes with a matte finish for the black. I actually really like the finish, but I will say that it scuffs REALLY easily. It's definitely something to consider, if you're obsessive about keeping the thing looking clean. The window is okay, but I've heard it scratches very easy. I'll be replacing the window in the main machine with something a little more durable, once I get to work on it. Also, if you've ever worked on an NZXT case you'll know they're solid so you might be a little shocked when you realize how LIGHT this thing is. It's still solid, but NZXT did a good job of trimming the fat with this case. Which really seems to be the mantra of it's entire design.
Frustrating not being able to install the main components in the machine, but there was plenty to keep me busy for a couple of hours. Hopefully once the final package arrives Weds I'll have a pretty easy install so I can get to work putting the new system through it's paces. A note on the CPU cooler, if you do like I did and replace the stock fan (recommended), be very careful with the retaining clips to either side. They are plastic and can give you a heart attack if you're not careful. Fortunately, they seem to be suitably flexible rather than rigid. So, I didn't have to get creative making things work.
I have salvaged two of these for this build, giving me 4tb of mass storage to compliment the 500g of OS, Programs, and Games I'll have on the SSDs.
Some Preliminary Wire Management, I would like to note here that if you're interested in building a machine with this case that you install and route the cables for your SSDs prior to installing the Power Supply - otherwise you're going to have a bad day.
That said, this case delivers on hiding wires. And I really like the way the SSDs are presented inside the system.
Funny enough, after I took these pictures the Be Quiet! fans arrived. Since this machine isn't really the showpiece of the setup I'm using 4 fans from Be Quiet and a Noctua for the Heatsink salvaged from my old rig.
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That is a neat little case, but I'm a little suspicious about the front intake airflow. It all feeds into that red slot on top? Is it enough?
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Top and bottom, it's sufficient. It's on par with the front intake in a Similar Fractal Design case.
For the price it's a pretty solid case, definitely enough left over to buy good fans after picking it up.
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Operating System arrived, neither UPS or NCIX know where
My motherboard is.... I am a sad panda.
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That's terrible :( Hopefully one or both of them figure it out for you.
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Good news! My motherboard finally arrived today, in fact I'm posting from the new machine right now while updates install.
I'm still waiting on my capture card (I'll be streaming from the main rig through this one, and when not streaming using it for video encoding, rendering, etc).
I can't believe how quiet the machine is, and how fast. Right now I'm only running a single EVO, wanted to keep it simple until I had everything working. So, this weekend I'll be working on getting this rig running right. Next week I'll show off some numbers, I'm pretty confident it'll actually work just fine as a gaming machine until I build the big boy. I also intend to write a thorough review of this case and probably a few other parts I've picked up. So, keep a weathered eye on the horizon.
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The motherboard finally arrived on Friday, it wasn't shipped until Thursday apparently, and no response as to "why it was shipped a week after the other part of my order was shipped". Or why I was told it was shipped at the same time previously.
*sigh*
Anyhow, with basically everything just waiting for the board, I figured this would go pretty quick and easy. Here's the board with it's 212 EVO cooler, since this is my encoding/secondary rig it will not be visible generally. So, I decided to throw a Noctua fan I salvaged from my previous machine on the cooler.
Then it's fingers crossed time, I nearly burned the thing to the ground when the fans started up and the screen stayed dark. Then I realized the monitor was on a separate power strip, that was turned off.
Here's how it looked at that point, I hadn't finished wiring yet, only had 1 SSD and none of the HDDs hooked up. Also had to hook up the lights and start tucking and tying cables.
Did I mention I really had to play with that fan to get it sitting just right?
Here she is all buttoned up on her new home (this is a Parsons end table from Wal Mart, cheap and the perfect size for two of the cases).
Someone had asked me, I was curious myself the power indicator on the black/red case is indeed red.
Better view of the internals before the glass is scratched to hell and back.
But what about when it gets dark? That's when she truly shines...
Some quick thoughts, I'm absolutely in love with this case now. However, it's going to be a tight fit pretty much no matter what you put in it. Some forethought and restraint can go a long way toward making this thing go together smoothly. For example, route absolutely all of the wires before putting in the power supply. I'll be test benching the main rig before installing it in the case for that very reason. The Cooler Master 212 EVO fits, barely. And on this motherboard the ram in slot 1 will interfere with this cooler, so food for thought if you're looking at something similar (2/4 slots are the recommended config for a 2 dimm config by MSI thankfully).
Additionally, I have to give it up for the fans. Be Quiet came highly recommended and they didn't disappoint, in fact my only complaint is that they're TOO quiet. So far, while running World of Warcraft on default settings I haven't gone over 45% speed on the fans, staying at 25C across all cores.
I'm running a few tests and configuring some software still, but this week I plan to start clocking this thing to see how we did on the Silicon lottery. So far though, no complaints.
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I'm happy to say I did well, I'm clocked at 4.6 on the processor while retaining the 25C and fans staying under 50% consistently. Also, I now have a better idea as far as clearances go, this is important.
You will notice that the way I've oriented the PC is on a stand with the window facing out. My plan is to create a sculpture that will be attached to the red plate that is used to route wiring behind the motherboard tray. I'm tinkering with the idea of adding a motion sensitive servo skull (if you're familiar with Warhammer 40k, think servitors, basically). The idea is to have a skull mounted on a servo with a motion sensor, when someone walks by the skull will follow them. This will be controlled by a Raspberry Pi inside the case (hidden in back).
I wanted to do something special, the trick is to keep this from inhibitting air flow. However, I'm seriously considering an all in one cooler like the NZXT Kraken for the main rig to get better overclocking potential. We'll see though. Still very much in the planning stage, but I'm excited.
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I had to go back and re-read your posts a few times before I understood what you're planning with the skull. Now that I get it though, that sounds pretty cool but creepy for anyone walking by. Please make the eyes glow when it moves.
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Thanks, yes TheMainMan I'll be doing that for sure. One eye will glow with a red LED that will be triggered by the motion sensor. The motion sensor itself will actually be in the other eye.
Also, apologies for the images disappearing. I'm migrating things to a new host (just deleted my 11 year old Photobucket account) while I consolidate things. I'll fix the broken image links as soon as I have everything moved to it's new home.
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All the photos are missing could you re up them please?
But from what i have read so far sounds really cool!
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Images have been moved to their new home, I have some plotting to do before I get to work on the servo for the main case. I'll probably get the case in a couple of weeks and get cracking.
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So, here's where I'm at currently. I've added a third HDD to Spectre, this one is an automated backup drive that I rigged up. I am actually removing the front IO and installing a couple button for the backup. It's only powered when it's backing up, which keeps that data pretty safe. So far I've tested the mod and it works perfectly fine, it's all about getting the actual button I'm going to use picked out and installed.
Right now the plan is to add the second machine, and get to work on the NAS boxes. I'll be building two, as well as a pretty beefy router. And of course a family computer and currently I've also got plans for four Pi based micro PCs.
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Looking forward to where all this goes. I've got a particular interest in NAS boxes these days so I can't wait for those updates.
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Right now I'm sorting out the logistics and money, taking time right now to plan everything out and especially what software I want to run. I'm definitely going to be running Linux on most of the machines. I'm pretty much sold on Fractal Designs for the NAS cases, those Nodes look slick.
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One problem I've always had with previous mods is that when I've done them I've been super happy, then after "living with the computer" for a while found little things I'd do differently if I could go back. I've spent some time with the case/computer and now I've got a good feel for where I want things/how I want things done. For starters, I'm adding a power/reset switch using Bulgin Vandal switches to the back of the case just over the exhaust fan. The way I have my setup staged the rear of the PC is facing my monitor so easier to reach those switches I need. That means the front IO (actually located to the front/top of the case is redundant.
Looking at the available space on top of the case I have a couple of thoughts, the main one though is that I will be adding a Raspberry Pi enclosure for Twitch streaming. Using the existing holes from the front IO to route the wires into the case. I'll be sacrificing one of the six SATA ports to power the thing, which will give me one free. Currently I have 2 Samsung SSDs and 2 Hitachi 2TB drives hooked up. I'm likely going to add a hidden HD somewhere as a backup/recovery drive, I just have to decide where I'm going to put it and how big I want to get it. I'm thinking at this point I might go with a small form factor drive from a laptop to save space and hide it behind the motherboard tray.
I've also decided I like the lights all right, but when I get into modding the case I'm almost certainly going to replace them. They're spaced too far apart so the lighting ends up being very uneven. I definitely like the white though.
The big news though is about the visuals, I'm upgrading next month to an MSI 980 TI. I'll be upgrading my screen from my current ACER 21 inch 1080p to a 39.9 inch 4K screen, which comes in at a good price and from the looks of the Tek Syndicate review should work perfectly with the pair of TIs I'll be running.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o553bTyFElQ
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So...
I just got a call from an old friend of mine, we had talked about my plans to wire the house. He's basically the IT department for a company that I used to work for fabricating industrial duct work. The short story is, he's got a dual xeon super micro motherboard for me. So, yeah looks like the home server project is going to be moving forward ahead of schedule (and a bit more robust than previously expected).
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redacted, monitor dilemna solved.
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I'm glad I waited to pull the trigger, new and improved version of the monitor was recently released which addresses the complaints I had with the original.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-AMH-A409...item4af02c0757
I've decided to go with a pair of 390x cards from MSI. I'm ordering the first one this week, it'll be running in the editing/streaming box until I move over to the big rig. With regards to the main rig, I've decided to do something completely different than originally planned. First, I'm getting completely out of my comfort zone: I'm going to be doing a full custom water cooling loop.
I'm also going to be mounting the beast on the wall above the monitor, it will be a custom acrylic case. The current plan is water cooling the 390x cards and running them on an x99 motherboard. I'll be using a remote to power the machine on, and to change the lighting. The current machine will continue to stay in it's current orientation, to the side with the window facing out.
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It's been a while, so let's catch up.
Later today my new monitor will be arriving, the AMH A409U, a 40 inch 4K 60hz screen from Korea. Trouble is, it's a bit hefty for my current computer desk (I've been using a cheap folding table as a desk while I figure out what I really wanted). I've decided to do some DIY and build my own desk however, so I've been working on re purposing some things I had laying around. For starters, there's the frame from my old L shaped desk. The top was a hot mess, so I removed it and kept the largest section of the frame. I then added an old headboard I had laying around my shop. The headboard is probably from the 60s, it has a core made of hard wood by a thin veneer of dyed, pressed wood (originally it was a fugly shade of green). I've stripped the veneer and taken off the legs. I'll be adding something special on the top/back end. Today though I'll be spraying it black and getting it ready for use until I can completely finish it.
Here's the headboard mounted to the frame, prior to removing the veneer...
Removal process...
After removing the veneer...
And during painting...
I'll be adding a glass and plexi to this, glass on top and shaped/heat bent plexi to the back. The plexi will be used to mount my new NAS, a couple of Rasperri Bi devices, an external DVD drive, etc. Basically I'm going to have some electonic devices and wires "hovering" around my screens. Speaking of, I'll also be adding a 24 inch monoprice screen to either side of the 40 inch, these will be at 90 degree angles, for checking up on websites, the PIs, etc while I'm doing things on the big screen.
As for the computer itself, I'm in the process of upgrading it. When I originally built it, I had the intention of using the 270 graphics card as a temporary solution until the dust settled, with Computex, etc over and my new screen chosen I decided on a pair of 980 TIs from MSI. I've had to bulk up the power supply from the current 550 to an 850w from EVGA, right now I have one TI in and running like a champ. I'll be sleeving the new PSU before installing it. But, the numbers for the TI so far have been impressive. Here's how the thing stacks up in the benchmarks at 1080p.
3DMark Firestrike
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/8836197?
Which just served to make me more anxious to add the second card ASAP. Also, as has been asked earlier having lived with the S340 through the summer (in Arkansas I might add), it's proven not only quiet in it's configuration but also perfectly cool. I imagine with a water loop it would of course be even better, at least in temps. The front panel hasn't proven to be any real hindrance so far. Temps haven't gotten high enough to make the fans spin up in my system much at all, even in the summer months. For a relatively inexpensive case it's proven to be a very solid performer.
Now, I've got to go get back to work. Time for a coat of paint on the desk top. I'll be back to add pictures to this point a bit later.
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So, a few things...
First, the desk thing just wasn't working. I tried to make it work, but the inner boards got warped and it was enough that the whole thing buckled about an inch toward the middle/rear. I got my new monitor and quickly realize I needed something level and sturdier. Strangely the answer came from IKEA. I picked up 3 of the LINNMON desktops and of course legs to go with them. They were delivered last week and assembled, though I had to send one back as it was damaged during shipping.
Additionally, I had a run in with some good luck and ended up with a whole new rig that I built on Halloween. Here's the parts list:
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i GTX 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M7 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card
Case: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case
PSU: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional OEM (64-bit) / Linux Arch Dual Boot
AIO Fans: Corsair Air Series SP140 Quiet Edition 49.5 CFM 140mm Fan (2)
Case Fans: Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition 39.9 CFM 120mm Fan (4)
Headphones: Superlux HD668B Headphones
Monitor: AMH A409U UHD 40" 3840X2160 16:9 4K LED Monitor 60Hz
It went together really fast, and worked beautifully from the word go. I'll be adding another SSD for my Steam drive, as for the machine I built over the summer? It's going to a good friend of mine. Finally convinced him to give up his Laptop gaming ways and move on to a big boy gaming platform. Below are some pics of the rig itself, along with my OC/Benchmark results from the Tek Syndicate GPU Benchmark thread.
As you can see the AMH A409U is a MASSIVE monitor, I've pretty much retired my triple monitor setup at this point, though I plan to go with a secondary monitor in portrait mode to the side for keeping up with Twitch chat, things like that.
Getting closer to calling this project finished, I want to add a few things like drawers and some new stuff for the desk. The mouse, keyboard, and speakers have been with me since I joined this forum... The speakers died yesterday, and the keys on the keyboard are started to stick. The mouse still works, but it's definitely not made for this resolution. I also need to come up with a wallpaper that doesn't look silly at this size, old one looked great until it got stretched.
The observant among you might notice something odd about this, my exhaust fan isn't moving because a hose from the AIO has made contact with the blades. I didn't catch this early, and so this morning my machine overheated. I decided to redo my overclocking and benchmarks since obviously my results previously were likely somewhat skewed, those results are posted below. I would also like to note how annoying it is that I can't turn off the green LEDs for the Power, Reset, and Post Code panel on the motherboard. What's the point of having this perfectly color matched system if they're going to do that? I would've been fine with white, or red. But it had to be green. And they had to make it where I couldn't turn it off. I'd rather not have the buttons or the panel at all if they're going to be bright green.
Otherwise, the board has red LED accents which are nice, like the buttons and panel however you can't adjust these in any way.
A few notes on the H440 from NZXT, I don't know how many of you have had a chance to build a PC in one of these, but it's got a lot in common with the S340 that I used back in June. The main difference is there's a bit more room in general. 5 slots for HDDs instead of 3, though I prefer the way they handled HDDs in the S340 honestly. The front mounted fans in the H400 can be a pain when installing video cards or top mounted radiators like the 280 rad I put in. Even my MSI 980 TI was a tight fit.
The extra touches though like the seven 120mm fan mounts 1 exhaust (can also mount a 140 here), 3 up top (2 140m option)
and 3 in front (2 140m option) and the lighting are nice. The filters are better as well, most notably the bottom filter for the PSU. The one included with the S340 doesn't do jack for keeping the power supply clean. Also, I'm happy with the rear IO lighting, a nice touch if you're orienting your case like I have done with mine. And the adjustable fan mounts make things a lot easier. The sound proofing material is also quite nice, I have to admit I have a hard time knowing if my PC is actually on most of the time.
And here's the Benchmarks, after I got my cooling situation under control I toyed around with the settings on the MSI OC dial, it appears that it changes base clock settings as well as the CPU clock. So, I wanted to get it sorted out before I started messing with the GPU. All told I got a monster OC on this thing, enough so that I'm seriously considering doing a custom water loop when I add the second TI.
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That's a shame about the desk, I was curious to see what you had in store for us. Looks like everything still worked out in the end. Nice Rig and Happy Birthday!!
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Thanks OvRiDe, I haven't completely scrapped that desk. But with the weather turning I don't think there's much I can do with it just now. I'll revisit it in the summer, since I've got a 1500 sq ft shop/cave in the back yard I've always got room for more desk space ^_^
Most likely it'll house my shop computer / 3d printing station.
