Ghostwheel

[Vertigo]

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.

[TheMainMan]

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.

[Vertigo]

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.

[Vertigo]

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

[Vertigo]

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).

[OvRiDe]

Nice!

[Vertigo]

redacted, monitor dilemna solved.

[Vertigo]

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.

[Vertigo]

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.

[Vertigo]

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.