X99 D Frame Mini "And Dont Call Me Shirley"

[Blade Runner]

I need a second work PC that I will be able to move from one place to the other without breaking my back, my STH10 is great but portable it is not!

I also need a spare for backup, when the STH10 sprung a leak in the middle of a big job it caused all sorts of grief and meant having to go back to an old HP which does not like some of my bigger files.

Anyway, I want it to be as fast or even faster than my STH10 but with better graphics capability that will be able to run a VR head set super smooth as well as my main stuff.

The following is the specification as I see it at the moment.

· Motherboard - Asus X-99 M WS

· CPU - Broadwell E equivalent of the 5930K if it is somewhere near the same price, if its silly money I will go for the 5820K equivalent.

· GPUs - AMD – A pair of the new Fury like cards that I read are supposed to be released in the summer?

· RAM - To be decided, DDR4 seems to be dropping in price all the time so I will hang on and see what is available.

· PSU - Super Flower 1000W Platinum

· Case - In Win D Frame Mini with a few mods…………… The short GPUs open up a few new possibilities.

· Water blocks - All EK plexi apart from the mosfet block which they don’t make for this board so another Liquid Extasy block has been ordered, which has a very similar look. All blocks to have RGB LEDs run from a Farbwerk.

· Storage - Samsung 950 Pro and pair of SSDs in Raid 0 for the rest.

· Pump - Aquacomputer XT Ultimate – This new pump has a built in fan controller that is more advanced than the Aquero 6, so they say. It only has to run 4 fans so it will keep down the cable clutter.

· Fans - 4 Noctua NF-F12 PPC PWM 120s

· Rads - A pair of - not sure as yet, it depends on how much room there is when everything is laid out, they won’t be 560’s anyway…….:huh:

· Fittings/ Pipes - Monsoon

· Reservoir - Monsoon Modular – See pic, I have bought a 250mm version as it was all that was available but I will be cutting the tube/ tension bars down to whatever length works best.

· Colours - Mostly black with green fluid/ sleeves and the red bumpers.

It’s going to be a bit of a slow build as I have a lot of mods to do on the case which will need jigs making and then welding, the latter of which I can’t do myself. I also need to make an entirely new motherboard tray which again I want properly powder coating.

Once everything is fabricated and fixed the case will then have to be sent away to be sand blasted and powder coated. I want a really hard wearing finish given that it is going to be moved about a lot and I don’t think my painting is up to that.

I am not sure when the Broadwell E CPUs or the new AMD cards will be available either, so I am in no rush, as I would really like to have those if at all possible.

Here are a couple of pics of stuff that is either on order or has been delivered to date.

 

[barnsley]

This is going to be one to watch

 

[Blade Runner]

This is going to be one to watch

Cheers man, you will have to have some patience though, this one is going to take a while..........

The "case" turned up today along with the PSU, RAM and the radiators.

The SuperFlower light up PSU connectors were concerning me a little, as to whether they have normal pins so that it would be easy to make custom cables; the good news is that they may look a bit odd but the pins are the normal type.

I went with the G Skill 2800 RAM in the end because it has run perfectly on my E-WS mobo and it is on the QVL for the M-WS.

I spent ages looking at the data and reviews for radiators to fit and these Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 240GTX stood out. They seem to have a really good 1000W rating along with being just that bit slimmer than most "60mm" types, every millimetre will count here. I had never really considered them before because of the "hammerite" like finish a lot of them have but these ones are plain smooth satin matt black.


The Aquacomputer Aquastream XT Ultimate has not disappointed, the usual Aquacomputer quality. The new end cap with all the new electronics inside can be mounted remotely from the pump body (With a bit of cable modding) which will give me more options as to where to fit it and still be able to see the OLED screen if I need to.

I have started cutting the case down, I had to wait for it to turn up so that I could measure the tube diameters to allow me to order some matching size for the mods I have planned. For information, the main tubes are 22mm OD and the cross members are 20mm.

Once these turn up I will be able to cut them to size/ shape and get everything down to the local metal fabrication shop for some serious case work.

Im going to get a temporary new motherboard tray cut in acrylic for the trial fitting of everything and once I am happy with the fit, get the same shape made in 5mm aluminium plate to match the tray I have just taken out.

Oh and Arnie the Pug-tzu has given it his approval too so I'm all set to go....

 

[SeanAngelo]

subbed! looking forward to the rest of the build!

 

[Warchild]

I'm more curious about the leak that caused you grief

I have had many disaster moments such as running 2 MCP35X on full pwm only for my drain value to explode off the HD tubing and thus pump the entire coolant everywhere.

 

[Blade Runner]

I'm more curious about the leak that caused you grief

I have had many disaster moments such as running 2 MCP35X on full pwm only for my drain value to explode off the HD tubing and thus pump the entire coolant everywhere.

I have had 2 separate leaks on the STH10, both from the screw in LED holders on light port rotary fittings.

I was running much brighter LEDs in these than what comes with them as stock and it seemed to heat the acrylic too much, which made them very brittle around the O ring lip which leaked.

I have replaced them all with blank plugs and no more leaks, fingers crossed

 

[Mysterae]

Looking forward to seeing more .

I like the look of that Aquastream Ultimate pump, probably the best pump for £80!

 

[Bartacus]

Subbed! Slow or not, this man does good work.

 

[Blade Runner]

Looking forward to seeing more .

I like the look of that Aquastream Ultimate pump, probably the best pump for £80!

It could well be, if its half as good as the blurb says it is, it should be the best by a long way.

Subbed! Slow or not, this man does good work.

Cheers Bart.

I did a few mock ups of the main components this week, trying to get a layout that I could make work with 2 thick rads and 2 GPUs.

The pic below is what I have settled on for the general layout, it may be tweeked a little but there is no going back as I have already cut off all the cross tubes that need to be moved to make this work how I want it.

On the old PSU cage I have managed to keep the parts with the threaded holes which the glass panels screw onto which saves a bit of setting out hassle.

The handle on the top does not really work with the I/O on the motherboard, it would cover quite a few sockets so I am going to replace it with another tube but set higher and all in line with the mobo.

The other cross tubes have been removed to allow a new frame in the base to take the PSU and the pump which will let the PSU sit a little lower and give more clearance for the SATA sockets.

It has taken nearly all day to cut off and file down these tubes...... :-( The holes where they were must be some kind of guide? For the locations of the tubes? Whatever they are, most will be covered by the new cage or if not will be filled with weld and filed smooth. I may even enlarge a couple of them and use the main frame to run a few cables in it they are clear all the way through.

Still waiting for the new tubes to be delivered and when they get here I shall be able to make a start putting the case back together.

 

[B NEGATIVE]

I do like a DFM.

 

[Blade Runner]

A little more progress this week, I was fed up with filing so I thought I would get the heat spreaders on the RAM. Pretty straightforward apart from the thermal pads which were individual and very fiddly to fit.

I thought that I could leave the front cross tubes in place but after a bit of measuring they were not in the right place so off they have come too.

There is not a lot left of the original frame now so I cut a wooden bar to hold the frame the correct distance apart before I cut any more off.

All the new cross tubes have been cut and shaped ready for welding, I was lucky my half round file just happens to have a radius that matches the frame.

The new radiator mounts have also been cut ready for welding. I could only get 28 x 28 x 5mm aluminium angle which meant having to cut these down lengthways as well as at the corners. 5mm thick aluminium is not exactly easy to cut with hand tools at an office desk so I did the lengthways cuts with a small angle grinder and then spent a lot of time getting a nice true edge on them.

I could have gone with a lot thinner angle but I went with the 5mm thick stuff for both aesthetic reasons and also to add a bit of body so that vibrations would be less likely to effect them. They are both going to be rubber mounted to the frame with some 14mm O ring I have on order.

There may be a change of plan with the GPUs, I thought that AMD were going to release a new Fury X when they start selling their new GPUs but from what I read over the weekend it may just be bigger GPUs that are due for release this summer. Its not a problem a couple of Fury X's is more than enough for what I need.

ETA. I have never really liked the way the adaptor fittings are so long on the pump inlet and outlets. With the Monsoon fittings I am using they don't need to be that long so I have cut them down as far as I can.

A little time with the hacksaw and a bit of dressing with a whetstone and they are done and I much prefer the low profile look! These will be painted black to match the other fittings when I get to the painting stage.

 

[Blade Runner]

The frame is away for welding so I tried out my new toy, a Dremel type grinder that has a drill stand and a few other accessories.

Never been a fan of Dremels but I really like this Proxxon, so, so quiet in comparison and the speed control is on a dial, so no big steps. Its so quiet that you can use it in the house without really annoying the rest of the family!

I used it in the stand to drill a 5mm RGB LED hole in the CPU water block. Using a round cutting tool was much better than the way I have done it in the past with a normal 5mm drill.

I cant fit the RGBs on the RAM blocks, the 2 stick blocks are just too small but as soon as the GPU blocks get here I will alter them too.

ETA. Another little job done a bit out of sequence, a small fan splitter with the small, solder type connectors that will fit through a much smaller hole in the chassis than it would be needed if I had used the regular crimp type.

Also got two of the fans spliced together, another two to do and that's the air movement taken care of.

 

[Blade Runner]

Got the frame back from the welders this week so I have given it a quick coat of primer on the bare aluminium and a dusting of paint just to seal everything until it is powder coated. They have done a really good job, I am pleased with the welds, pretty close to the In-Win welders which is not an easy thing to do.

The 10mm plate at the bottom of the case is to add mass to try and minimise vibrations from the pump and PSU. It has added a bit of weight but I think it will be worth it in the end.

The new handle at the top works well with the GPUs and I/O, I forgot to get it knurled like the original so I think I will split a motocross handlebar grip and fit it in the middle, I may even be able to find one in the right green colour?

The radiator/ fan mounts are also now fitted with their rubber mountings which is 14mm O ring which fits tight inside the 20mm frame. These frames held well just with friction which allowed me to fit the rads and lay everything out to make sure there is clearance for the PSU plug and the pump at the other side.

With everything laid out as I want it I have marked a few holes for the mobo which will let me get some standoffs fitted. The radiator frames are also now marked ready to get some M4 countersunk screws which will be tapped into the frame and fit into 3.5mm holes drilled in the O rings.

Earlier in the week I also started on polishing the water blocks. The edges of all the blocks are machined and quite okay as they are but I wanted a mirror finish. I got some wet 'n' dry paper in 600, 1000, 2000, 3000, 5000 and 7000 grits and by spending a bit of time it is quite easy to get them really shiny finishing off with acrylic polish.

 

[Wraith]

Never was a big fan of the D-Frame always thought it was a horrid looking thing but B-Negative changed my opinion with his project Lutro build and now I see this. I must say that the modding potential of the frame is awesome and what you've done so far is impressive, honestly can't wait to see more.

 

[Blade Runner]

Never was a big fan of the D-Frame always thought it was a horrid looking thing but B-Negative changed my opinion with his project Lutro build and now I see this. I must say that the modding potential of the frame is awesome and what you've done so far is impressive, honestly can't wait to see more.

Cheers Wraith

I got the reservoir and pump positioned today, after many attempts and head scratching I ended up going with the smaller reservoir tube and the outlets at the back.

The drain down valve always seems to give me hassle and this one is no different. I had to make a little bracket to hold the valve properly in place. When the final assembly is done I will bond the bracket to valve to stop any vibrations.

 

[Warchild]

I'm curious why you always go for such a big and bulky pump. For a case like this, wouldnt you prefer something lower profile?

 

[Blade Runner]

I'm curious why you always go for such a big and bulky pump. For a case like this, wouldnt you prefer something lower profile?

I wanted the Aquero like fan control of this new Aquastream (And the display), a D5 on the end of the reservoir would have been a lot easier Where's the fun in easy though?

 

[Blade Runner]

I had planned on not having a traditional PCI-E bracket and making something to screw the cards to that hung off one of the top tubes. When I test fitted the GPU it just was not going to work or look tidy so back to the drawing board.

My Lian-Li testbench gave up her PCI-E bracket and I cut it down to size to fit. By fitting this it meant moving the mobo down the rear panel and then moving the rear panel up to give clearance for the SATA ports, a lot of work!

It all should work now and I am happy enough with the positions of everything now so I have ordered a small sheet of 5mm aluminium. Once this is cut to shape and the various holes drilled and tapped I can get everything powder coated and start to put it together properly.

I got a couple of the pipes cut and bent this evening which are the return from the radiator to the reservoir and the feed to the pump from the reservoir.

 

[Blade Runner]

The first of the 2 Fury X cards turned up this week which let me fit the water block and check that the pipes and fittings would fit between it and the radiator.

It was tight, I had to use the alternative inlet on the SLI block which means using a little adaptor fitting to get out of the recess in the block.

Using this fitting made the Monsoon rotary foul the rad so a bit of filing later and I made the fitting sit into the recess which gained me about 10mm and let everything fit okay.

Now I know all the pipes and fittings will fit as I want, I am going to strip it all down again and make the aluminium motherboard tray.

Off topic but it did strike me as a great waste, stripping down the GPU. I think enthusiast GPU cards should be available "bare" as an option, the amount of stuff I took off that card just to put in the recycling bin is not good. Even if they were nearly the same price at least it would be less of a waste?

 

[Blade Runner]

Finally got the motherboard panel cut to size, a bit of time with the angle grinder then lots and lots of time with a file and sander has got the panel pretty true.

Just got to start drilling holes in it now and hope I don't make a mistake!

ETA. The holes are all now drilled and the standoffs installed.

This weekend the plan is to do one more trial fit of everything and if everything is okay, a strip down and then off to the powder coaters next week.