Mr. Matic's Gaming PC rig build!!

I like it!

 

Thermaltake Core X1? What do you think of that case? I am using one right now as a server box with a 3 disk RAID5 and 1 SSD and it is leaving me feeling like it's insufficient. I had hoped it was better cooling than it is and the build quality left much to be desired.

 

Hmm the build quality of mine is good. All of the panels fit correctly anyways and I haven't had any issues with anything as of yet. I wouldn't say the build quality is as nice as my old Corsair White Knight case was, but I paid less than half of what my Corsair case cost me three years ago so I wasn't expecting top notch quality.

How many fans and what type are you running? I went with an aftermarket 200mm that's not cheap like the one it came with and a 120mm on the back end. I'm also thinking about adding a couple of 120mm's to the top. With just what I have now I have no issues. It helps that my CPU cooler is a water based version that basically pumps all the heat out the back of the machine and the only component the produces much heat in the box, the graphics card, is pushing all of it's exhaust out the top of the case.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/zv9WGX
I've actually got 3x 200mm fans on it controlled by a BitFenix Recon controller on the front. The real concern in mine (no video card as it is fully headless) is cooling on the hard disks and their placement is just not ideal as I've found now. I was excited 'cause I thought it was a pretty cool case when I first picked it up but it's just beginning to wane on me. I'm looking for something else in the Mini-ITX range soon probably.

 

Yeah I only run SSD's in mine so it's no big deal for me. Unless you go to an open LAN box type setup it's hard to find the ITX builds with the drives in the front. It's funny though since plenty of ITX setups are storage.

 

Yup @Sterdog and unfortunately cases like this one are FANTASTIC:

$211 SilverStone Technology Premium Mini-ITX/DTX Small Form Factor NAS Computer Case, Black (DS380B)

http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-T..._UL160_SR160,160_&refRID=1QH1R7MR8RNSV208V90Q as far as fit and such, except, there's no direct cooling on the disks and worse so: no window!

 

I always buy cases with a window though

 

Fractal has some nice cases. Maybe you'd like a Node 304 or a Core 500 from them. Don't think they have windows though.

 

I had a Fractal Design Define R4 and was absolutely in love with it despite it not having a case. I preferred the clean black lines look. Then I saw the R5 and nearly died with the improvements. Next thing I know...

http://pcpartpicker.com/b/v6KZxr



The server gets red lights though 'cause it is running on WD Red hard disks.

 

Neither look like they have much airflow. The 304 looks good though.

 

Holy power draw Batman!

 

Yeah I've looked at that 304 quite a bit trying to decide what to do...

hahahah she sleeps at night. Used to burn up a 950w UPS in ~5m with the server + desktop and monitor when running at full bore.

 

Must be the video cards. My 4790k @ 4.7GHz under load sucks down no more power than my PS3 (fat model) does sitting idle.

 

Yeah I didn't even check which cards he has but 4 x 8 pin PCIe power connectors = massive power bills lol.

In all honestly unless you are running a beast of an FX chip (the one that's like 4.8 ghz stock) your modern CPU isn't going to draw much power. The most my 6600k has hit is around 45 watts IRL at stock speeds. I have no need for an OC yet nor the experience to take it up. When I do I've heard folks posting less than 75 watts even then.

 

The i7-4770K is an 84w TDP so it's not gonna draw much more than that even if over clocked (which of course it is.) The desktop has no hard disks but it does send a lot of data to the server so when the desktop kicks up the write on those disks goes into over drive as well (nVIDIA Shadowplay anyone? hahah)

Yeah the two GTX770's are gnarly as well. FIgure though: it's all my networking equipment, 2 computers, and a monitor, that were all strapped to that battery. The last time my power went out and I "tested" my battery fail over server alone it ran for 2 hours with network active before APCUPSD shut it down gracefully.

I've since moved the desktop off the battery, not enough ports to make it reasonable

 

Also: this is beautiful! http://www.u-nas.com/xcart/product.php?productid=17610&cat=249&page=1

 

Yeah I've never got into the network stuff. Maybe one day. For now I just don't handle the amount of data that I need such a setup. I have 500 GB of OneDrive where I store photos, because who cares if the USS Redmond has access to a bunch of pictures that I throw on FB, and 500 GB of in the desktop storage. I still buy BluRay and I have no inclination yet to rip them all to something else. Like I said, maybe one day.

Talking about 4770k's all my 6600k has done is make me mad at my 3770k. Intel was clearly sloppy for a few years up till Skylake. This i5 processor is blowing my old i7 out of the water when they are supposed to be within 5-10% of each other. I'm wondering if the finally got the thermal paste and other little issues all sorted out because they fear what AMD is cooking up with their new design.

I know lots of people are saying nVidia is holding back the GTX 1080 production to get it right for the same reasons as well. AMD has spent HUGE amounts of money on the new stuff they have brewing... it almost makes me regret building now lol.

 

Eh it's the normal flow of processor development, 1 year is big architecture changes the next year is big architecture advancement. They have some term about how it's like macro gains one year macro improvements the next.

I'm stuck between Linux server administration and networking. I do network engineering now for a VOIP installer and use Linux extensively at home. It's the answer to the world.

 

Also: everyone knows the big benefit between an i7 and an i5 just by design is multi-threaded processing. If you aren't properly using available lanes to the highway building an 8 lane road won't help you either way. It's a shame that most modern applications still don't have a handle on proper multithreading.

 

According to some benchmarks, my 4790k still beats a 6700k.

I used to be a huge AMD fan. The Phenom II X4 965BE was my last AMD chip though. It started back in the socket 7 days when I had a Pentium 233MHz, overclocked it to 266MHz @ 3.6v. Same board, I was able to put in a AMD K6III+, overclocked to 450MHz, on 2.0v!