Rig name: "HAF2modit"

[Cragzman]

Took me a while to think of a project/rig name. But here it is.

HAF2modit​

To be honest, this rig started off about 4 years ago with a cheap-o-nasty mid case, GA-MA790X-DS4, Phenom X4 9950BE, 4GB OCZ Platinum DDR2, OCZ 700W, 250GB WDC hard drive, and a pair of ATI Radeon X1900 512MB in crossfire. Bit of an odd system I know. It was better than my old FX-60 settup.

Since then I have chopped and changed different bits when I managed to get a few quid to rub together. Hasn't been a steady build because of the constant upgrading. Idealy if money wasn't an object, I could have planned out a complete build instead of dribs and drabs.

Anyhoo...... here is my current setup

Mobo: Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3
CPU: Phenom II 965 @ 4GHz
Cooler: Zalman CNPS9700 blue LED
RAM: Kingston Hyper-X Genesis 8GB (2GBx2)
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD7950 - The single middle fan one (messing with overclocking at the mo)
PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 1200W (overkill I know )
HDD: OCZ Agillity 3 60GB + Seagate 1TB (latest version)
Case: HAF-X


Bit of a mess. But since these pictures, I have done a bit of a tidy of cables and made it look a bit more respectable. I really want to mod the hell out of it but stuck on where to start as i'm getting back into messing with my rig again.

Any comments or suggestions will be grand

Cragzman

 

[UkGouki]

id start with a full on window mod probably get a h100i new cpu and motherboard, drop the lg dvd drive or stealth it if you really need it also loose the card reader or again stealth it

 

[jamesriley94]

I personally hate seeing full tower cases unless they're full of hardware / watercooling.
So I'd have to say either watercool, SLI, or get a new case.

Minor thing though - maybe flip the PSU? We like seeing a nice PSU fan on these forums! :lol:

 

[Cragzman]

I have thought about getting a closed loop cooler. I always wanted to watercool both CPU and GPU but seems a tad overkill for a PII 965. Maybe go for a Noctua NH-D14. The Zalman CNPS9700 has served me well, but I was looking towards a red+black theme.

To be honest, i'm not that skilled at modding to a point where I'm chopping parts of the case up. But I would love to. May have to bag a Dremel from somewhere and butcher my old backup case to mess about with. But a huge window would be quite nice on the side.

I have no probs in getting shot of the card reader as it came from my previous setup. As for the LG BD-RE drive, I did see somewhere about a HAF-X stealth mod. May need to google that one again.

I did want to replace all the intake fans with red LED ones and have the case glow like a red thing, in red land, on red day, on planet red world.

For the CPU + motherboard replacement, what would you recommend? Thought about getting a Piledriver until I saw Toms review vid recently on it. Shall I just pop a Piledriver in there? Or save up like a lord and go for an i5 type setup?

 

[jamesriley94]

I have thought about getting a closed loop cooler. I always wanted to watercool both CPU and GPU but seems a tad overkill for a PII 965. Maybe go for a Noctua NH-D14. The Zalman CNPS9700 has served me well, but I was looking towards a red+black theme.

To be honest, i'm not that skilled at modding to a point where I'm chopping parts of the case up. But I would love to. May have to bag a Dremel from somewhere and butcher my old backup case to mess about with. But a huge window would be quite nice on the side.

I have no probs in getting shot of the card reader as it came from my previous setup. As for the LG BD-RE drive, I did see somewhere about a HAF-X stealth mod. May need to google that one again.

I did want to replace all the intake fans with red LED ones and have the case glow like a red thing, in red land, on red day, on planet red world.

For the CPU + motherboard replacement, what would you recommend? Thought about getting a Piledriver until I saw Toms review vid recently on it. Shall I just pop a Piledriver in there? Or save up like a lord and go for an i5 type setup?

3570k and MSI mPower/GD65/G45 depending on budget.
Never Piledriver/Bulldozer.

 

[Cragzman]

The price of the 3570K don't look half bad. I was expecting much a much bigger price. As for the motherboard, undecided on that front. To be honest, I have always used AMD stuff like CPU, chipsets, and graphics cards. When it comes to Intel, so many different chipsets. Thats where I start scratching my head.

Intel CPU looks like the way forward as AMD chips at the mo seem to be going downhill (going by some reviews). But I do like AMD graphic cards. Although I'm not a huge fan of the single fan cooler on my Sapphire HD7950, this thing runs far better than my old HD4870. Just thinking if I should bother sticking an Arctic Accellero on it, or wait until I can bag a rather nice watercooling loop. Just in the process of finding a stable overclock.

Again, thanks for the input guys + gals

 

[Smoke2049]

You have a decent case and the psu for sure , an intel cpu is the way to go imo, and
a nice mobo , a closed loop cooler and some cable sleeving would go a long way in your situation
And one other thing , with lighting pick a theme and stick with it , having all differnet color lighting /cables etc makes the job look half done

 

[SPS]

If you are concerned about aesthetics (which it seems you are) I would probably stay away from the NH-D14 and go for an AIO water loop, namely the H100i. I got a D14 because at the time it was the best non-custom WC'ing solution. However the fact it covers a huge part of the top of the mobo is a shame, especially if your mobo has some smart heatsinks. If it is purely performance you can't go wrong with the D14.

Normally upgrading to Piledriver is absolutely pointless, unless you are tight on funds and already own a 990fx mobo, which you do. So it may actually be something to consider if money really is an issue.

AMD graphics cards are bitchin', they cannot be compared to the AMD CPU end of the business.

 

[Cragzman]

At the mo, money is a problem. But I have decided that the Intel platform would be the best option in the long run. A Piledrive would be a pointless exercise if Intel keeps on churning out uber CPU's. Also it would be a refreshing change. Probably the first pieces of kit i would get would be some red LED strips to put around the top and bottom of the case, replace the side fan with an LED Megaflow or some other variant, and get an H100i.

Until I can get a few quid, I will have a look at a stealth BD drive and sort those multi coloured cables out.

Oooohhh and a rather tall table to put the rig on so I can show it off woooooooo!

 

[BPRSM]

Looks good
Never been a fan of them CPU coolers though.

 

[Cragzman]

Just a quick one. If I was going to put an H100i in the roof of my HAF-X, should I not bother with the 2 megaflows on the top? Or is it wise to keep them?

 

[Cragzman]

UPDATE.....

I have just ordered an H100i to replace my existing Zalman CNPS9700. Should have it installed tomorrow i hope. Also thinking about replacing the stock HAF-X fans with red LED Bitfenix Spectre Pros. Messing about with airflow at the mo. I may bung in a 140mm red LED fan in the upper drive bays so it will look noice at the front.

For a tester, I cable tied an old Antec 120mm tricool in the hard drive bay to feed air to the graphics card as I have done away with the GPU air duct. Ugly looking thing. Also the fact that my graphics card has a central fan, the duct isn't really ideal.

Soon as I have the H100i installed, pictures shall be posted. Let me know what you guys think

 

[Cragzman]

UPDATE

Hallo again peeps. I thought it was about time to give an update on how my bodge it rig is getting on and if there was any feedback on what to do next.

Since my last post, I have done a tiny bit of a tidy and added a couple of bits and bobs. To start with, I scrapped the Zalman CPU cooler and replaced with an H100i, chucked in some Bitfenix red LED fans, and had a go at tidying the cables. To be honest, cable management is one of my weak points. But tad better than it was.

Setup now as follows:
Phenom II 965 @ 4GHz (1.450v LLC Ultra High) cooled by H100i
GA 990FXA-UD3
8GB Kingston Hyper-X 1600MHz
Sapphire HD7950 @ 1075MHz\1250MHz (OC still in progress)
OCZ 60GB SSD boot drive
1TB Seagate HDD
CM 1200W Silent Pro Gold
Bitfenix Spectre Pro fans (1x140mm @ rear, 1x140mm in drive bay area, 1x200mm side)
Stock Megaflow fans at top and the 230mm red LED at front
HAF-X

Looks better than last time but still not happy. Here is what I'm thinking.

1. I'm going to put the DVD drive in some sort of caddy as it looks so untidy in there.
2. The funky multi coloured cables going to the bottom of the mobo are going to get braided eventually. All of the cables will be braided either black or red.
3. I'm finding that the red LED fans are a bit of an eyesore. Possibly replace some of them with Corsair AF fans for the case and SP ones for the H100i so i can use the coloured rings.
4. Do something with the power supply to hide the gold stuff. And maybe turn it around "fan-up".
5. Hope in the not too distant future, I will get an I5 3570K and an MSI Z77A-G45 Gaming motherboard to stick to the red theme so I can give the old gal a kick up the arse.

The main aim in the future is to custom watercool the whole lot with red coolant (as you can tell I'm a sucker for red). Also mod a tad to remove the bottom drive cage and hide the drives. Maybe jam in a 240 rad in its place with a 360 rad at the top? Who knows. Had a crazy idea of doing a white HAF-X, but maybe thats a bit too much work. Going to practice on an old Casebuy case with a Dremel and paint to say i have done that.

Money is quite evil at the mo so this is a gradual build. Any comments or flaming welcome hehe.

 

[Remmy]

1) Is the optical drive absolutely necessary? Unless you cover the bays or something, they generally always look untidy.

2) Braiding is always a good choice, out of black and red I'd go for red in this build.

3) I agree, they're very bright. Get some AF/SP fans, and the red rings look much more classy. Get some white lighting in there to make all the red accents pop.

4) Good call, whether you turn it round, or make a cover for the label it will look a lot better. The little details go a long way to make a better looking rig

 

[Cragzman]

To be honest, I don't really use the optical drive that much. I will be removing that and bung it in a caddy or something. White LED strips at top and bottom did cross my mind. Just thinking what to do with the front 230mm red LED fan. Maybe just switch off the LED and keep the fan.

 

[Remmy]

Yeah that's certainly a possibility if you're on a tight budget