CM Storm Trooper rig

[ThatBattlefieldGuy]

Hey guys just thought I'd share my system with a relatively new case, the CM storm trooper.

A quick look at the specs:

Intel Core i5 2300 w/ stock heatsink(running at 3ghz, locked multiplier FTW)

Asus P8H67 M Pro (looks tiny in this case, but at the time of purchase it was in my budget)

MSI GTX 580 Lightning Extreme (truly awesome card, need i say more)

8GB G.skill Sniper 1600mhz (cheap as chips)

Corsair HX-1050 PSU

Few HDD's

It looks truly magnificent in the dark. Before I bought the case i comtemplated replacing them with Blue Led fans but as soon as i saw this, i was hooked.

I really reckon the optical drive ruins the overall aesthetics of the case but i use it fairly often so it's in for the duration.

Here you see that I've positioned the hard drive cages so it's intaking air from the front and cooling the harddrives and also the rest of the case. Although this method makes your SATA power and data cables a mess, it's a small price to pay.

Can you spot the odd Sata cable out? hehe

The card blocks the first two Sata II's and covers most of the southbridge heatsink.

And to end the pictures, a look through the mesh panel looking at the 580's led's.

Early next year ill have some money saved and ill be buying a 3930k and a Sabertooth X79. I think it will look really mean and in line with the military scheme. Feel free to ask me any questions or potential improvements.

Cheers​

 

[yassarikhan786]

Looking good. One improvement you could make straight off the bat is to get rid of that stock CPU cooler and get a better one. You don't need an aftermarket CPU cooler because you can't OC, but it will just improve the aesthetics a bit.

P.S. That motherboard does look really small in that case.

 

[tinytomlogan]

No need to make the font huge dude our eyes are all pretty good here

 

[ThatBattlefieldGuy]

I apologize about that tom, thanks for changing it.

Regarding the cpu cooler im going to hold off till I invest in sandy bridge E.

Ive been going through this many times in my head but ive narrowed it down to the d14 or a h100 with aftermarket fans. A full wc system I dont feel too sure about because I transport my case from my mums and dads house every week. Can the system leak if moved this often? What do you think guys? I dont plan on doing massive ocs cause im a worry wort but something that does the job well.

Cheers

Ps. It is very tiny haha.

 

[yassarikhan786]

I apologize about that tom, thanks for changing it.

Regarding the cpu cooler im going to hold off till I invest in sandy bridge E.

Ive been going through this many times in my head but ive narrowed it down to the d14 or a h100 with aftermarket fans. A full wc system I dont feel too sure about because I transport my case from my mums and dads house every week. Can the system leak if moved this often? What do you think guys? I dont plan on doing massive ocs cause im a worry wort but something that does the job well.

Cheers

Ps. It is very tiny haha.

Stick to air cooling if your going to be moving the case around a lot. I have no experience whatsoever in water cooling, but I would think that a lot of movement would cause leaks and damage your components.

 

[ThatBattlefieldGuy]

Yeah thats what I thought. Ill most likely go with a d14. More robust and cheaper than the other alternatives.

 

[SieB]

You shouldn't have any probs with watercooling and moving the rig around, just use compression fittings so the tubing can't come loose. As long as your rig isn't sliding around on the back seat of your car and is secured you should have no probs.

 

[Korg]

Defo agree about changing from the stock cooler, and arent you annoyed with the noise it makes?

 

[ThatBattlefieldGuy]

To be honest, my hard drives make more noise.

 

[mrDMxtreme]

About the cooler, I have the d14 and it's great! But I don't move my rig around much. IMO I would tell you to get the h100 because there won't be a giant thing attached to the motherboard, and if the ride is bumpy u may flex ur mobo after a while.

I know either way is safe to transport, but I personally would feel more safe if most of my heat sink was attached to the case rather then my mobo.

 

[ThatBattlefieldGuy]

Youve raised an interesting point. Ill take that into consideration. Thankyou very much mate.

 

[tinytomlogan]

Just lay the case on its side and its fine. Buy the D14

 

[mrDMxtreme]

Just lay the case on its side and its fine. Buy the D14

True didn't really think about that cuz the case is always standing on my desk

i also have a question about that: is it ok for the cable to put the wieght of the rig on them? becuase i know even with cable tidying in some spots the back panel is snug on the cables and i may want to put the case on its side, but i'm wondering if it would affects the psu cables in any way having the rig 'squish' them

 

[tinytomlogan]

It should be fine

 

[V1Viper]

Nice rig mate!

 

[ThatBattlefieldGuy]

So I bought some cable ties...