MiniValidus - Work Log
- Thread starter deegee
- Start date
Nice little heatsink mod! Looks much better this way
Yea small, but makes it suit the theme of this build a lot more.
Hi everyone, just touching base to let you know I haven't disappeared.
Originally when I started this project I wanted to fit the X79 board that came out in the shuttle which was an oversized ITX board or DTX. It would have needed some serious mod work but it would have been AWESOME regardless, I couldn't find one so I gave up and decided to go Z97.
On the 13th of March that changed.
If you're unaware Asrock announced the Asrock X99E-ITX/ac the worlds first x99 ITX motherboard. This day, the project halted.
I always wanted this NCASE to be insane, show up at LANs knowing it could go toe-to-toe with full sized ATX machines with the motherboard release that will now be possible.
The Motherboard should be availible any day now, though in Australia retailers are indicating the end of May. CPU choice currently will be a 5820k just due to the funding loss that will happen with hocking off the z97 gear for x99. Hopefully with the Broadwell-E refresh we may see an 8 core K (or C) part or I might be able to push the funds for a 6960X (if it exists) Almost everything will get changed, motherboard, CPU, Memory, SSD and CPU Cooler. If a dual GPU card gets rumoured then bet your bottom dollar i'll be grabbing that way as well, even if it is a MARS.
I am really excited about this motherboard coming out and allowing me to build the NCASE up as I have always wanted. A lot of people question the board as a waste and I do see their point of view but this board is a bit unique and should be looked at from a different angle. No you cant use all the PCI lanes which is the benefit of X99 boards and no you cant stack it full 8 sticks of memory. But the SOC only takes 4 slots of mem and no one seems to be having any opinions on the waste it is 'because its an OCing board'. Basically even with the things the chipset has the capability of doing but this board doesn't let you do you CAN put an 18core Xeon in there if you have the funds and you CAN put 2x16gb DDR4 Dimms in there. You can also utilize the full PCIE 3.0x 16 slot and an M.2 PCIE drive. That's why im so excited about this board.
It will raise challenges requiring custom mounting for the slimmer CPU socket design and squeezing dual 240mm radiators into such a small case but, that's what dremels are for right.
Hopefully the board will come sooner than the end of May but that's what we're waiting on
and that's where the project is.
Revised hardware;
5820k
Asrock X99E-ITX/ac
2x8gb DDR4 initially, hopefully change to 2x16gb as availability and compatibility improves.
SSD Samsung NVME 256gb + 2x 1tb Samsung Evo SSD's
GPU yet to be announced
Originally when I started this project I wanted to fit the X79 board that came out in the shuttle which was an oversized ITX board or DTX. It would have needed some serious mod work but it would have been AWESOME regardless, I couldn't find one so I gave up and decided to go Z97.
On the 13th of March that changed.
If you're unaware Asrock announced the Asrock X99E-ITX/ac the worlds first x99 ITX motherboard. This day, the project halted.
I always wanted this NCASE to be insane, show up at LANs knowing it could go toe-to-toe with full sized ATX machines with the motherboard release that will now be possible.
The Motherboard should be availible any day now, though in Australia retailers are indicating the end of May. CPU choice currently will be a 5820k just due to the funding loss that will happen with hocking off the z97 gear for x99. Hopefully with the Broadwell-E refresh we may see an 8 core K (or C) part or I might be able to push the funds for a 6960X (if it exists) Almost everything will get changed, motherboard, CPU, Memory, SSD and CPU Cooler. If a dual GPU card gets rumoured then bet your bottom dollar i'll be grabbing that way as well, even if it is a MARS.
I am really excited about this motherboard coming out and allowing me to build the NCASE up as I have always wanted. A lot of people question the board as a waste and I do see their point of view but this board is a bit unique and should be looked at from a different angle. No you cant use all the PCI lanes which is the benefit of X99 boards and no you cant stack it full 8 sticks of memory. But the SOC only takes 4 slots of mem and no one seems to be having any opinions on the waste it is 'because its an OCing board'. Basically even with the things the chipset has the capability of doing but this board doesn't let you do you CAN put an 18core Xeon in there if you have the funds and you CAN put 2x16gb DDR4 Dimms in there. You can also utilize the full PCIE 3.0x 16 slot and an M.2 PCIE drive. That's why im so excited about this board.
It will raise challenges requiring custom mounting for the slimmer CPU socket design and squeezing dual 240mm radiators into such a small case but, that's what dremels are for right.
Hopefully the board will come sooner than the end of May but that's what we're waiting on
and that's where the project is.Revised hardware;
5820k
Asrock X99E-ITX/ac
2x8gb DDR4 initially, hopefully change to 2x16gb as availability and compatibility improves.
SSD Samsung NVME 256gb + 2x 1tb Samsung Evo SSD's
GPU yet to be announced
So this thread has gone without any serious updates for a long time...
The first update in parts has come as this build will go through its evolution (re: complete swap out)
I am proud, and super excited that RamCity.com.au have helped me out in supplying me with a 256gb SM951 M.2 disk! Compared to the Crucial M550 im running now its 3-4x faster! With the M550 clocking in at about 550mb/s reads and 500mb/s writes and the SM951 blitzing that with 2100mb/s reads and 1500mb/s writes!
I'm still waiting on this damned motherboard to be released in Aust and then things should start to get very interesting!
The first update in parts has come as this build will go through its evolution (re: complete swap out)
I am proud, and super excited that RamCity.com.au have helped me out in supplying me with a 256gb SM951 M.2 disk! Compared to the Crucial M550 im running now its 3-4x faster! With the M550 clocking in at about 550mb/s reads and 500mb/s writes and the SM951 blitzing that with 2100mb/s reads and 1500mb/s writes!
I'm still waiting on this damned motherboard to be released in Aust and then things should start to get very interesting!
So the first part for the move to X99 arrived yesterday.
Some Crucial Sport 2x 8gb 2400mhz DDR4. Nice and cheap, reviews suggest they overclock well.
I'm hoping to upgrade to 2x16gb modules in the future.
I was hoping to have the motherboard by now but unfortunately not
Stay tuned!
Some Crucial Sport 2x 8gb 2400mhz DDR4. Nice and cheap, reviews suggest they overclock well.
I'm hoping to upgrade to 2x16gb modules in the future.
I was hoping to have the motherboard by now but unfortunately not
Stay tuned!
It's photo time!
New CPU now that we are going X99, the Intel 5820k
And, after a long tedious wait, I present to you...
The ASRock X99E-ITX/ac
Mmmmmmmmmmmm 2011-3
Might as well start throwing it together!
And finally the system together, note: not finished, but together.
Man this is one very compact build. Custom cables will a lot but custom loop in this with dual rads is going to be a real challenge. Also you don't want to know how I got that GTX980 in there...
Thanks for stopping by, now for lots of measuring and the procurement of watercooling parts!
New CPU now that we are going X99, the Intel 5820k
And, after a long tedious wait, I present to you...
The ASRock X99E-ITX/ac
Mmmmmmmmmmmm 2011-3
Might as well start throwing it together!
And finally the system together, note: not finished, but together.
Man this is one very compact build. Custom cables will a lot but custom loop in this with dual rads is going to be a real challenge. Also you don't want to know how I got that GTX980 in there...
Thanks for stopping by, now for lots of measuring and the procurement of watercooling parts!
Isn't it funny how projects change...
This machine is now X99 and will be getting dual 240's with custom loop. Talk about eating your own words!
TheOrangeOne
New member
This is epic! I have a weakness for small, powerful rigs, and this is definitely both of those things!!
I am please to announced that we have a new sponsor in...
Sponsor image removed - maximum of 200x200 (or 300x100 px)
I was casually chatting with a guy named Eddy about my R2-D2 build and we got onto this project and he offered to help. Thanks Eddy! Greatly appreciated!
Some hardline tubing
Hardline fittings
They have 2x hardline 'reamer' tools a normal one and the 'heavy duty' version. I opted for the heavy duty very, as tight as Australia can be on 'weapons' I was surprised they let this thing is! It's HUGE and sold metal!
As space will always be a concern a 30mm thick 240mm radiator. I really like the low FPI of these radiators for super low RPM fans.
Now this is actually kinda the star of the show here, I had all kinds of concerns on how I was going to get the STRIX 980 in this case. Fortunately the GPX block is the same height as a reference PCB meaning I will JUST sneak it in the case, EXCELLENT!
It's no secret that I was switching out the H100i for an expandable AIO and that I wanted a Kelvin. I managed to get my hands on the Kelvin S24, came with some fin damage out of the box which i'm not stocked about, but not a deal breaker...
So now the exciting part starts of planning the loop. I am waiting the reservoir still though and i'll have to make a custom bracket for the Kelvin to fit the slim ILM mount on the ASRock X99E-ITX stay tuned its about to get exciting!
Also a little sneaky peaky, anyone know what this is?
Last edited by a moderator:
very close, I guess it looks like an array because they are all joined but they're all individual 'NeoPixels' or individually programmable RGB LEDs.
Wraith
Bettyswollocks
So are you going for some Arduino lighting action?
You know it!
Though I've never done it before it will be fun to learn some coding!
Wraith
Bettyswollocks
I like your style
"Every day is a school day"I like your style
Cant do any damage by having a go! Keep learning things to keep the mind young
I'm back! haha.
Getting sorted after moving has taken a lot longer than I thought but seeing some friends completed builds recently has motivated me to get. this. thing. done.
So with no further delay here's just couple of pictures of items you haven't seen yet. Im uploading these pictures then tearing down the PC to get the work done!
Firstly the legends at FrozenQ hooked me up with this purpose machined reservoir for the NCASE. Its externally mounted but looks the part at the tubing holes line up perfectly with the grommets in the case. I used their Double Helix "T-Virus" res in the NCASE and am super happy to get this special frosted version for this project.
I was also a bit cheeky here. I bought some cable extensions from a local retailer (PCCaseGear) but because the NCASE is so small, I can just cut and repin one end and use them as replacement cables. $40AUD for a set of replacement cables? Excellent!
Now with that out of the way, how about we tear this thing down for some motherboard trickery, custom cables made and liquid cooling, as Game of Thrones says in opposite land "summer is coming" and in Perth, Australia, the summer is no joke! So lets get this bitch under water.
Thanks for everyone's support so far, it is greatly appreciated. Keep creating.
DfknG
So... little update...
Threw the GPU block on the card and man does it make it look sexah!
Doing some test fitting,
Those equally sexy little 15mm thick Silverstones. Not sure why I like these so much.
Then I flipped them so radiator was on the bottom and the fans on top because I was having some issues around the front I/O
Then I flipped them back because the GPU block is taller than I was hoping so my thougts were if the radiator was on top the block could recess into it a little and...
THE WHEELS FELL OFF THE WAGON!
Now, it's OK... I have a plan...
Probably not a popular one,
Not a wise one,
But a plan...
There is nothing left in this build with warranty, nothing...
Why oh why didnt I buy a reference GPU.
Wish me luck!
Threw the GPU block on the card and man does it make it look sexah!
Doing some test fitting,
Those equally sexy little 15mm thick Silverstones. Not sure why I like these so much.
Then I flipped them so radiator was on the bottom and the fans on top because I was having some issues around the front I/O
Then I flipped them back because the GPU block is taller than I was hoping so my thougts were if the radiator was on top the block could recess into it a little and...
THE WHEELS FELL OFF THE WAGON!
Now, it's OK... I have a plan...
Probably not a popular one,
Not a wise one,
But a plan...
There is nothing left in this build with warranty, nothing...
Why oh why didnt I buy a reference GPU.
Wish me luck!
