First Build

[flametail]

Here sits my first build as it basically sits, only difference is a 1tb WD Black.

List as it sits:
Fractal Design Arc Mini R2
Asrock Z77M
i5 3570K
8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport
EVGA GeForce GTX660 FTW Sig. 2
Seasonig G-Series 650W
240Gb Intel SSD
1TB WD Black
Asus Blu-Ray

Future plans are:
Watercooling
16GB Corsair Vengence

 

[Kopesetic]

Few quick points...

1.) Cable management could be ALOT better.
2.) Optical drives are for people in the 20th century and should stay there
3.) Hardware is a generation out of date, bad because the current gen tech isn't much of a price difference so if you just bought this hardware..../facepalm

On the plus side, your case and PSU are nice choices but that's the only nice thing I can think of to mention on this build. Hope to see some improvements.

 

[flametail]

Few quick points...

1.) Cable management could be ALOT better.
2.) Optical drives are for people in the 20th century and should stay there
3.) Hardware is a generation out of date, bad because the current gen tech isn't much of a price difference so if you just bought this hardware..../facepalm

On the plus side, your case and PSU are nice choices but that's the only nice thing I can think of to mention on this build. Hope to see some improvements.

Out of curiosity,

1. What would you change for cabling? I'm not really a fan of the cables that came with the PSU anyways because of how stiff and flat they are
2. I chose one so I could rip blu-ray movies and install my OS.
3. I went with what I could afford at the time without doing an incredible amount of shopping around. What hardware are you saying is a generation out of date anyways?

 

[barnsley]

Few quick points...

1.) Cable management could be ALOT better.
2.) Optical drives are for people in the 20th century and should stay there
3.) Hardware is a generation out of date, bad because the current gen tech isn't much of a price difference so if you just bought this hardware..../facepalm

Honestly the cable management could be worse. Maybe atleast TRY to be constructive?

 

[flametail]

Honestly the cable management could be worse. Maybe atleast TRY to be constructive?

New guy, 2nd post, didn't really expect any better. I'm used to forums and how they operate.

 

[barnsley]

New guy, 2nd post, didn't really expect any better. I'm used to forums and how they operate.

Wasn't directed at you .

 

[flametail]

Wasn't directed at you .

I know who it was directed at.

But back on subject, what could be changed?

 

[tinytomlogan]

The flat back cable at the bottom should really go out with the rest of the PSU cables to keep it hidden, other than that its just the fan cables on the mobo making it look wrong tbh.

 

[NeverBackDown]

Not bad for a first build. Cable management is okay but if you placed the cable that goes straight to the drive cage and then up behind the mobo tray, it would look much better.

Also maybe try putting the rear 120 fan in the front for positive air pressure. Helps keep more dust out.

Other than that i can't find a fault with it.

Edit: Tom beat me to it regarding the bottom cable

 

[flametail]

Not bad for a first build. Cable management is okay but if you placed the cable that goes straight to the drive cage and then up behind the mobo tray, it would look much better.

Also maybe try putting the rear 120 fan in the front for positive air pressure. Helps keep more dust out.

Other than that i can't find a fault with it.

Edit: Tom beat me to it regarding the bottom cable

As I said before, I plan to replace those cables completely as I hate them and their flat and stiffness.

The case comes with a fan in the front, the back, and the top. I have the front as a pull and the back and top as pushes.

 

[NeverBackDown]

As I said before, I plan to replace those cables completely as I hate them and their flat and stiffness.

The case comes with a fan in the front, the back, and the top. I have the front as a pull and the back and top as pushes.

I understand but for the time being moving the cable would make it look better. Unless you ordered the cables already then no point in wasting time on it.
You mean front as intake and back/top as exhaust? That is the stock configuration, but if you moved the rear 120 under the front 120 you would have less dust build up. You would be surprised how quickly dust will build up and the difference positive pressure will do to slow down the build up. Though in all fairness its up to you

 

[Feronix]

There is no push or pull when there are no radiators involved mate

Doesn't the front of the case take 140mm fans? In that case (no pun intended) you could move the top fan to the front and enjoy more fresh intake and positive air pressure causing less dust to get into your system. Heat passively rises out of the top anyway.

 

[NeverBackDown]

There is no push or pull when there are no radiators involved mate

Doesn't the front of the case take 140mm fans? In that case (no pun intended) you could move the top fan to the front and enjoy more fresh intake and positive air pressure causing less dust to get into your system. Heat passively rises out of the top anyway.

Double checked on that too. Watched a video and it showed only 120mm mounts. Otherwise moving the 140 to the top front and the 120 below it would be the ideal fan configuration.

 

[flametail]

I assume by positive pressure ya'll are saying have the fans pushing air out of the case itself? I have noticed dust in the front of my case where the stock fan it located.

Also, I'll move that cable, I'm not sure why I put it there instead of where the others were anyways.

 

[Bartacus]

I assume by positive pressure ya'll are saying have the fans pushing air out of the case itself? I have noticed dust in the front of my case where the stock fan it located.

Also, I'll move that cable, I'm not sure why I put it there instead of where the others were anyways.

Positive pressure means having more intake than exhaust. That way the system compensates by exhausting air through all the little cracks / slits in the case, thereby slowing the dust buildup since air is being pushed out of all those little places.

 

[flametail]

Positive pressure means having more intake than exhaust. That way the system compensates by exhausting air through all the little cracks / slits in the case, thereby slowing the dust buildup since air is being pushed out of all those little places.

Ok, so I need the front 2 fans as intakes, do I leave the top as an exhaust?

 

[Bartacus]

Ok, so I need the front 2 fans as intakes, do I leave the top as an exhaust?

Sure, that'll work. I've even seen people with ultra-small cases get the best temps with ALL fans as intake, as weird as that sounds. I'd start by ensuring there's more intake than exhaust, and if you have the time, burn the system up and do some temperature testing. Try different fan configs and see what the differences are. If you have the time, experimentation can teach you a lot. But as a rule, you can't lose with positive pressure. Setting all fans as exhaust will result in dust from hell and worse temps.

 

[flametail]

Sure, that'll work. I've even seen people with ultra-small cases get the best temps with ALL fans as intake, as weird as that sounds. I'd start by ensuring there's more intake than exhaust, and if you have the time, burn the system up and do some temperature testing. Try different fan configs and see what the differences are. If you have the time, experimentation can teach you a lot. But as a rule, you can't lose with positive pressure. Setting all fans as exhaust will result in dust from hell and worse temps.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll tinker with it when I get home this weekend.

Any particular software to stress test so I can check the temps effectively?

 

[Bartacus]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll tinker with it when I get home this weekend.

Any particular software to stress test so I can check the temps effectively?

Personally, since you have the stock CPU fan, I'd roast the GPU instead for some heat. A lot of guys here (me included) use OCCT for testing, since you can cook the GPU or CPU with it. You can use GPUz for monitoring your GPU temps, and even log those temps to a text file during testing. Both are very handy tools to have.

 

[flametail]

Personally, since you have the stock CPU fan, I'd roast the GPU instead for some heat. A lot of guys here (me included) use OCCT for testing, since you can cook the GPU or CPU with it. You can use GPUz for monitoring your GPU temps, and even log those temps to a text file during testing. Both are very handy tools to have.

I plan to to watercooled in the near future so I'll hold off on the CPU test, but I'll give the GPU a workout and see what I get. I had GPUz downloaded at one point.