Gripen90s Time Log (PC)

[Gripen90]

Hi y'all

I just thought I'd post my "pc time log". It's how I've upgraded my PC through 2009 to 2013 (roughly).

I'm still using the same case and by todays standards it's not popular and I do get a lot of negative comments about it. When it was out in 2008 the hype wasn't about cable management at all but airflow and decent looks.
I still love this case and therefore I haven't replaced it yet - simply put I haven't found another case which looks appeal to me. ^_^ ... yet !

Cable management can't be done "efficiently" as such, but the airflow is fine inside :crazy:

Year 2009.
Graphics setup: 2x MSI GTX 280 OC Edition 1GB & 1x Realtek GTX 280 1GB
Quick Specs: Asus M4N82 Deluxe, 8GB Crucial BallistiX PC6400 CL4 Ram, AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2GHz Black Edition.
Case: Cooler Master CM 690 nVidia Edition.
Case Cooling 2x 120mm 200rpm front intake fans, 1x 120mm 1850rpm in front of graphics cards. 1x 80mm bottom intake fan 2000rpm. 2x 120m 1800rpm top exhaust fans, 1x 120mm rear 1800rpm exhaust fan, 1x 80mm 2000rpm rear atx motherboard intake fan. 1x120mm intake side panel 1200rpm fan.

Year 2010.
Graphics setup: 3x EVGA GTX 470 SuperClocked 1.25GB
Case: Cooler Master CM 690 nVidia Edition.
Quick Specs: Asus M4N82 Deluxe, 8GB Crucial BallistiX PC6400 CL4 Ram, AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2GHz Black Edition.
Case Cooling 2x 120mm 200rpm front intake fans, 1x 120mm 1850rpm in front of graphics cards. 1x 80mm bottom intake fan 2000rpm. 2x 120m 1800rpm top exhaust fans, 1x 120mm rear 1800rpm exhaust fan, 1x 80mm 2000rpm rear atx motherboard intake fan. 1x120mm intake side panel 1200rpm fan.

Year 2011.
Case: Cooler Master CM 690 nVidia Edition.
Graphics setup: 2x Gainward GTX 580 1.5GB & 1x PNY GTX 580 XLR8 1.5GB
Quick Specs: Asus P7P55WS Super Computer, 16GB Corsair XMS 3 1333MHz DDR3 CL9 Ram, Intel Core i7 870 2.93GHz
Case Cooling 2x 120mm 200rpm front intake fans, 1x 120mm 1850rpm in front of graphics cards, 1x 120mm 1350rpm intake fan in front of CPU cooler. 1x 80mm bottom intake fan 2000rpm. 2x 120m 1800rpm top exhaust fans, 1x 120mm rear 1800rpm exhaust fan, 1x 80mm 2000rpm rear atx motherboard intake fan. 1x120mm intake side panel 1200rpm fan.

Year 2012.
Graphics setup: 3x Club3D GTX 670 2GB
Case: Cooler Master CM 690 nVidia Edition.
Quick Specs: Gigabyte X79UD3, 16GB Crucial BallistiX Tactical 1600MHz CL8 DDR3 Ram, Intel Core i7 3820 3.6GHz.
Case Cooling 2x 120mm 200rpm front intake fans, 1x 120mm 1850rpm in front of graphics cards, 1x 120mm 1350rpm intake fan in front of CPU cooler. 1x 80mm bottom intake fan 2000rpm. 2x 120m 1800rpm top exhaust fans, 1x 120mm rear 1800rpm exhaust fan, 1x 80mm 2000rpm rear atx motherboard intake fan. 1x120mm intake side panel 1200rpm fan.

Year 2013.
Graphics setup: 2x MSI GTX 780 3GB & 1x MSI GTX 780 TwinFrozr Gaming OC 3GB
Quick Specs: Asus P9X79 Pro, 16GB Crucial BallistiX Tactical 1600MHz CL8 DDR3 Ram, Intel Core i7 3930K 3.2GHz.
Case: Cooler Master CM 690 nVidia Edition.
Case Cooling 2x 120mm 200rpm front intake fans, 1x 120mm 1850rpm in front of graphics cards, 1x 120mm 1350rpm intake fan in front of CPU cooler. 1x 80mm bottom intake fan 2000rpm. 2x 120m 1800rpm top exhaust fans, 1x 120mm rear 1800rpm exhaust fan, 1x 80mm 2000rpm rear atx motherboard intake fan. 1x120mm intake side panel 1200rpm fan.

 

[barnsley]

If you like the looks why not get the 690II? doesn't that have cable management?

 

[maniac]

lol, was it your choice to always go with three way sli and one mismatching card?

 

[Gripen90]

Pictures of as the setup stands today.

The Gaming Rig (December) 2013:
CoolerMaster CM690 Nvidia Edition case
Asus P9X79 Pro (BIOS 3203)
Intel Core i7 3930K (3.2GHz@3.8GHz Core Boost)
Arctic Cooling Freezer i30
Thermaltake Toughpower 1500w PSU
4x4GB Crucial BallistiX Tactical 1600MHz DDR3 Ram CL8-8-8-24 1T@1.5v .
2x MSI GeForce GTX 780 3GB &
1x MSI GeForce GTX 780 TwinFrozr Gaming OC 3GB 3-way SLI
System drive: Intel 330 Series 120GB SSD SATA-III.
Primary games drive: Kingston V-series Gen2 64GB SSD.
Storage drive: Samsung SpinPoint F1 640GB,16MB cache, 7200rpm, SATA-II.
Secondary games drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 750GB, 32MB cache, 7200rpm, SATA-II.
Samsung SH-S203D DVD-Rom/DVD-RW+/-
8x 120mm og 2x 80mm for airflow.
Microsoft Sidewinder X6 keyboard
Logitech G9x mouse
Logitech X-530 5.1 speakers
Asus PB278Q 27"TFT 2560x1440@60Hz 5ms (G2G)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

 

[ShaunB-91]

Why don't you mod it and paint the grey parts inside the case black?

 

[Gripen90]

If you like the looks why not get the 690II? doesn't that have cable management?

I have looked at the CM 690 II Advanced nVidia Edition, but the looks aren't the same and it doesn't look "pleasing" to me. The CM 690 III I actually like the looks of a lot more - and if there's to be a nVidia Edition of it, I'd probably buy that one. I just love green and black colour schemes

lol, was it your choice to always go with three way sli and one mismatching card?

No actually I had 2-way SLi before in july...

and I wanted 3 way SLi later one also with a reference card. But then 1month (August) after I got a super offer on a few weeks old MSI GTX 780 TwinFrozr OC card ! while my intention was to get reference cards only, the offer was so good that I couldn't say no !. So I thought screw it and I decided to get a non-reference in there too ^_^

 

[tinytomlogan]

Its a shame you are new there is a member here thats wants an MSI gaming cooler - he might swap you for his referance one - then all yours would match

 

[Gripen90]

Why don't you mod it and paint the grey parts inside the case black?

I don't really have tools, knowledge, time and perhaps more important the patience for it .
I thought about doing it a few years ago, but never went through with the idea.

Its a shame you are new there is a member here thats wants an MSI gaming cooler - he might swap you for his referance one - then all yours would match

Hehe well it would look nice with 3x GeForce GTX glowing logo's !

 

[barnsley]

Everytime I look at the 690(especially your one) I'm reminded how much of a copy my case is of that design >>.

 

[Dark NighT]

A nice gallery of new bits in the same case every year

However i am kind of curious why you havent replaced that 1500 watt psu for something with better looking cables, more efficiency and fully modular?

 

[Gripen90]

A nice gallery of new bits in the same case every year

However i am kind of curious why you havent replaced that 1500 watt psu for something with better looking cables, more efficiency and fully modular?

I haven't replaced it since it has been reliable for all those years and it's dead silent. It is actually semi modular and it's only the 4 extra PCIE cables that are connected. I would have liked thinner cables though, but it is what it is. As for efficieny I can't really be bothered. The PC's is mostly used for gaming and some times a bit of internet browsing, but it's only turned on like 5~8hrs a week. I haven't got the time to game as much as I'd like any more :mellow:. So getting a more efficient PSU wouldn't really help ! It more energy efficient /saving for me to turn off some of the lamps in the appartement
Also replacing af 1500watt PSU today is insanely expensive. I bought the psu when it was on summer sale back in 2009 for £158 instead of £235.^_^

 

[sheroo]

I have an original CM690 nVidia edition as well. Don't use it anymore, but still have it, as I still love the looks of it. I'm planning on building a gaming rig in it again one day...

 

[Gripen90]

I have an original CM690 nVidia edition as well. Don't use it anymore, but still have it, as I still love the looks of it. I'm planning on building a gaming rig in it again one day...

Yea, that's why I really have a hard time letting it go to something else and more "cable management friendly" . I just love the design and looks ^_^

The "work" table

 

[Gripen90]

New side panel done. For a first timer and with hughe thanks and help from my little brother I think it's a fine result.
At the very top left there's some honey comb cuts left from the original panel where the fan mount was. We had to leave a bit there to get some few mm's left so we could put silicone on the backside to make the plexiglass bind. However I'm planning to buy some matt enamel paint (I though I had more but it was all dryed up), to touch up the edges so they don't look so rough.
I also added a new NZXT Sentry Mesh fancontroller to the front, and it looks super and flows great with the existing mesh front.

 

[sheroo]

Do you think an h100i would fit in the top?

 

[Gripen90]

Do you think an h100i would fit in the top?

I think it does

 

[chewythefirst]

Each to there own with taste but..... i have to say that IMHO that case looks god awful.

Every time i see a case with a black paint job outside and uncoated silver look inside i thing of a cheap dell pc.

The case would have been the first thing i upgraded before going near the GPU's.

If you like the look of the case you should really look at geting the 690 iii.

 

[sheroo]

I collect PC cases like some people collect cars and imo its a classic...

 

[Gripen90]

Each to there own with taste but..... i have to say that IMHO that case looks god awful.

Every time i see a case with a black paint job outside and uncoated silver look inside i thing of a cheap dell pc.

The case would have been the first thing i upgraded before going near the GPU's.

If you like the look of the case you should really look at geting the 690 iii.

Well thank you !:huh::huh:...

Cases with a paint job outside an uncoated interior just bring good memories to me ! and I say screw looks ! - it's what inside that matters.
The Cooler Master CM 690 case is one of the icons that set the standard for where cases are today ! and therefore you see so many "copies" of the CM 690 concept from every manufacturer. The CM 690 is from a time (2008) BEFORE the cable management frenzy ! it's from a time where a PC was still regarded as a funtional piece of machinery and NOT an art piece !

It's comparable to todays modern cars ! if you pop the hood to see the enigne, you see nothing but plastic covers hinding everything ! it's not like before where you saw cables and hoses and saw the engine in it's bare nakedness.

I know there are a lot of newer cases with better cable management options. My other PC has an Aerocool XPredator X3 case and it has decent cut outs etc. (see here http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?t=59598)
The problem is that there are so many cases and none really appeal visually to me other than the old CM 690 series cases with rounder edges etc. Even the CM 690 II and CM 690 III cases I don't like that much. If CM 690 III comes in a nVidia edition some day I might consider it.
I'm simply in love with the neon green and black scheme on the CM 690 nvidia edition case. When I first saw it in 2008 it was my "dream case" - I got it in 2009 and still I love this case very much. The PSU is a bit too long an the cables are thick so they can't go around the motherboard tray. But I'm not concerned as long as they are tugged away from the line of airflow.

I actually have a Corsair Air 540 case standing ... while the hardware would look great in there, I really don't like the overall looks of the case - and frankly because also so many use that case so it's a bit dull for me personally. That made me go ahead and make a new side panel for the CM 690 to spice things up and let it run for a few more years.

Last rant is that I do think at neat and tidy PC looks nice, but nowadays a lot of people (not saying all) are so (pardon my French) anal aboutPC looks inside/outside and you may not be able to see a single cable and if people have a few god forbind cables laying that aren't tugget away or zip tied, then it's a disaster.... perhaps that why we don't see a lot of more cases shown because they get bashed with comments like "cable management" all the time.
I know I do ! I've had this case for 5 years and each time if posted Pictures of changes/updates all I get "clean that up, 'dat cable management" - some times I don't even want to show because I'm tired of those comments.
While a clean PC looks fine it also has a real industrial look to it - and that's what I think happened - PC looks are getting industrialized and streamlined so much that only certain looks are looked positively up -> kinda like the model industri hah ?... all about looks not really about the grunt.

Rant of now ... sorry no personal attack - but some time I just really get fed up with this "have to look like this" talk. :nutkick::beerchug:

 

[sheroo]

I've got a workaround for that unpainted interior, when I've sorted it I'll share it with you...