Corsair 900D Build

[eagle2508]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this, since it's my first post don't shout at me too much if it's in the wrong place lol

Once I get my hands on a Corsair 900D case I intend building my dream rig, I've been a long time saving so hope it's worth it! I was hoping for some advice about power supplies and a couple other things.... I have my eye on the Corair AX860i but I'm not sure if it'll be enough.... Should I step it up and go for the AX1200i just to make it that bit more future proof?

I thought these would look good behind the grill in the bottom compartment, they would be connected to the RX480 in push. BitFenix Spectre PRO 120mm Fan White LED. Is there better fans around with white LED's that anyone can recommend?

I think the Lamptron FC5 V2 5.25" Bay Fan Controller - Black is now discontinued, could anyone recommend a fan controller with a min of 20w per channel?

Huge thanks in advance for any help!

Build:

Intel Core i7-3930K
2x 7970 with XSPC Raystorm GPU Waterblock
Corsair Obsidian 900D Super Tower Case
Asus X79 Sabertooth
OcUK Tech Lab - V12 Watercooling Kit 360 (XSPC EX360 Radiator & D5 Pump/Bay Res)
XSPC RayStorm CPU WaterBlock
Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO
XSPC RX480 120mm Radiator
Samsung Green 16GB RAM
Asus Xonar D2X 7.1 PCI-E Sound Card
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB HDD
Lamptron FC5 V2 5.25" Bay Fan Controller - Black
LiteOn IHAS124-04 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black)
6x Noctua NF-F12 PWM 120mm *PWM Fan
Enermax Cluster UCCL14 140mm Fan
4x BitFenix Spectre PRO 120mm Fan White LED - Black
2x Enermax Cluster UCCL12 120mm Fan

 

[SnubbenBlubb]

Awesome build! I would suggest going with 1200i instead!
But otherwise your build seems to be good!

 

[alpenwasser]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this, since it's my first post don't shout at me too much if it's in the wrong place lol

Once I get my hands on a Corsair 900D case I intend building my dream rig, I've been a long time saving so hope it's worth it! I was hoping for some advice about power supplies and a couple other things.... I have my eye on the Corair AX860i but I'm not sure if it'll be enough.... Should I step it up and go for the AX1200i just to make it that bit more future proof?

I thought these would look good behind the grill in the bottom compartment, they would be connected to the RX480 in push. BitFenix Spectre PRO 120mm Fan White LED. Is there better fans around with white LED's that anyone can recommend?

I think the Lamptron FC5 V2 5.25" Bay Fan Controller - Black is now discontinued, could anyone recommend a fan controller with a min of 20w per channel?

Huge thanks in advance for any help!

Build:

Intel Core i7-3930K
2x 7970 with XSPC Raystorm GPU Waterblock
Corsair Obsidian 900D Super Tower Case
Asus X79 Sabertooth
OcUK Tech Lab - V12 Watercooling Kit 360 (XSPC EX360 Radiator & D5 Pump/Bay Res)
XSPC RayStorm CPU WaterBlock
Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO
XSPC RX480 120mm Radiator
Samsung Green 16GB RAM
Asus Xonar D2X 7.1 PCI-E Sound Card
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB HDD
Lamptron FC5 V2 5.25" Bay Fan Controller - Black
LiteOn IHAS124-04 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black)
6x Noctua NF-F12 PWM 120mm *PWM Fan
Enermax Cluster UCCL14 140mm Fan
4x BitFenix Spectre PRO 120mm Fan White LED - Black
2x Enermax Cluster UCCL12 120mm Fan

Hi there, and welcome to the forums

• From what I can tell, the Ocuk V12 kit already comes with a Raystorm CPU block, you
  don't need a second one if I've understood correctly. Correct me if I haven't.
• Since the 900D has the space, why not go for 2 x 480 mm radiators in 60 mm thickness?
  Of course you would then have to buy all the parts separately, but the components you intend
  to cool with water would not make it a pointless investment imho.
• Official TDP for the 7970 @ stock is 230 W, and 130 W for the 3930k. Even when overclocked,
  an 860i should be able to power these components, but something ~ 1 kW or more would give you
  a bit more headroom. The 1200i is certainly a good PSU. Seasonic also make great PSU's (the
  Corsair AX760 non-i version, for example), and their range has something ~1000 W model if you
  would like to have a look at that. Whether or not you will ever need more power only you
  can decide.
• Also, be aware of the frame rating issues with the Radeon cards in crossfire.
• Look on ebay for the FC5v2 in black, I've found quite a few offers. NZXT also make a fan
  controller that can handle 50 W per channel if I recall correctly.
• Why mixing fan brands? It's mostly a matter of taste and preference I suppose but I would
  be bothered to have different looking fans in my build. But that's for you to know.
• I have the Spectre Pro in both the 120 and the 140 version (though no LED's), and am so
  far quite happy with them. Some other people seem to have had bearing troubles, but mine
  have so far been very nice. They are well-suited for undervolting since neither the bearing nor
  the motor make any annoying noises (at least none of the ones in my possession).
• Don't know the RAM, so can't make any statement on that.
• If it was my own rig, I would probably chose an external optical drive if I really needed one,
  but that's just me . Advantage is you can also use it with other computers and it doesn't
  uglify your build.

Happy hunting

 

[Mark3Max]

Hi eagle2508 and welcome to the OC3D forums,
A 1000w psu would probably be enough , but I think with the hardware you are wanting the 1200i would give you plenty of headroom.
+1 for what alpenwasser said.
Good luck with your build .

 

[eagle2508]

Thanks for the replies and the welcome :-D

Yeah it comes with the kit, I just put it up in case people didn't know what the kit included.

Cost more than anything and the kit comes with a 360 rad so thought it would also give a little more room for tubing going from the res etc as I would mount that at the top bay.

Hmmm, if the 860i gave a lot of headroom I would go for that but running in crossfire or SLI and everything else it's not going to leave much space is it.... I was hoping to get 4.5Ghz out of the cpu.

Do you think it would be a better idea to go or a 7990 or the 690? Rather than two physical cards?
I've always liked the ATI cards but wouldn't say no to going Nvidia.

The fans on full view would be the same brand, spectre pro will be behind the grill and Noct's hidden mostly at the top.

Hmmm haven't considered that... An external optical is something to think about

Thanks for the advice guys

 

[Devo234]

The fans on full view would be the same brand, spectre pro will be behind the grill and Noct's hidden mostly at the top.

you dont really want to have different fans on the same rad because it'll cause problems with your airflow through the rad. keep the fans all the same dude

 

[alienware]

Do you think it would be a better idea to go or a 7990 or the 690? Rather than two physical cards?
I've always liked the ATI cards but wouldn't say no to going Nvidia.

As of right now the sad fact is that if you are looking at any multiple GPU set up of any sort (including single PCB dual GPU cards such as the 690 and 7990) then AMD can not be used in any circumstance.

I don't know if you have heard of Frame Rating as Alpen said but you really should do your homework on it as it's of crucial importance. You can find out more about it here, but, in essence I will put in a brief explanation of what it does for you. Thread here >

http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?t=52258

Brief explanation, which you can find in the thread there ^

To those who don't want to watch the 20 minute video.

Basically this guy (Ryan) has used a method that 'marks' frames per second with coloured bars. There are a few types of FPS but the ones being highlighted here are Runts and Dropped frames.

A runt is a 5 pixel high frame that counts as a FPS in FRAPS but can actually hinder performance. A dropped frame is just that, a frame that does not count as it wasn't fully carried out.

A hardware device is used to record the game with the bars down the side. At that point a software app is used to read the bars. Once that is done it outputs to an XML file where the Runt frames and dropped frames are removed, showing the ACTUAL FPS that your eyes are actually seeing.

IE - Radeons in Crossfire are sending out two types of useless frames that don't do anything. Once removed you get the actual FPS count (or Observed as Ryan calls it).

If you follow the links in the thread up there ^ then you can find the links to the testing performed. Basically the upshot is that right now under 50% of games running in Crossfire X scale properly. This is down to runt and dropped frames which actually make the experience worse than running on one card because it does not happen on one card.

That leaves you with a choice of basically which Nvidia multiple GPU system you want to go with given that Crossfire X is so problematic with no fix on the horizon.

Dual 670s is a nice system to have and certain cards run on 680 PCBs so you can get full sized 680 blocks for them.

 

[pcjunkie429]

you dont really want to have different fans on the same rad because it'll cause problems with your airflow through the rad. keep the fans all the same dude

^^ This ^^

Different brand/spec fans will cause turbulence and not perform near as good as having the same brand/spec fans on it. Plus, it will look like you just were throwing the rig together with spare parts, lol.

 

[eagle2508]

I should of explained a little better, my mistake.

On the top 360 rad it'll have 6 Noct fans in push pull, this rad will be partially out of sight. That's what I meant.

On the bottom rad it'll have just spectre pro fans in push.

I won't be mixing fans on any rad...

Thanks for explaining about the crossfire issues AlienALX, I'll stick to Nvidia now in one form or another!

If I went to a Nvidia 690 rather than having 2 cards, would it be a safer bet then to save a few quid and go down to the AX860i? Since I wouldn't be powering two seperate cards it should leave me with some more headroom... Am I right or wrong with this assumption?

 

[alienware]

If I went to a Nvidia 690 rather than having 2 cards, would it be a safer bet then to save a few quid and go down to the AX860i? Since I wouldn't be powering two seperate cards it should leave me with some more headroom... Am I right or wrong with this assumption?

AX860i would be fine with a 690 mate. More than enough.

 

[eagle2508]

AX860i would be fine with a 690 mate. More than enough.

Fantastic, can't wait to start getting this beast put together....! I just have to save a little more and by the time I've done that the 800D should be in stock :-D

Thanks for the help and advice everyone

 

[Vlada011]

Great case for water cooling, really.
And Obsidian 350D is very nice.
I compare with Lian-Li PC-V750 and for same price
Obsidian 900D offer much more for extreme configuration.