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Can you put a price on beauty (project log)

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Luno papi

Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2020
HISTORY
My last/current pc I wasn’t really involved in the picking process. I simply said I want these brands, this is what I want to do with it, with this budget and go. This time I want to be a little more involved in knowing the parts and picking the parts. I’ve toyed with the idea of building a custom cabinet desk with the pc hardware built in. I’m still toying with this idea but I also have another direction as well with just a regular build in a case but an out there case.


INTRO
The title of this project is literally can you put a price on beauty because realistically I’m not limiting myself to a price limit. What I am going to limit it to is that it has to be BEAUTIFUL to look at like an art work in and of itself. It has to be top level performance. But if I can pick between two parts and see one that is cheaper or marginally less performance but suits the flow and dynamic of the build better that’s the direction I want. This project will be for after the hopeful still September release of ryzen 4000 and nvidia 3000 GPU. So with that time I’m going to be lurking asking and posting to try a good grip on how I want this pc built!

IMPORTANT SPECIFICATIONS
- blue, black and white colour themed
- ROG gear as much as possible
- custom water loops (pretty set on ekwb)
- RGB where possible
- again beauty and performance


 
This isn’t the first place my mind goes to with this build but it’s a logical place to start the motherboard. I really want this to be as visually pleasing as possible while still being a beast. I understand the x570 boards are going to be compatible with ryzen 4000’s so I’m going to assume that’s where I should be looking.

I found one that’s possibly the most visually pleasing mobo I’ve ever seen as the asrock aqua x570. I was really thinking a ROG mobo but if this things performance is as good as it looks I will let that one go. I also found out they only made so many so I don’t know if I can even get my hands on one now?


 
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We can't necessarily help you decide what looks pretty but we can guide your choices with regard to performance and features. The ASRock motherboard you are looking at doesn't get good customer reviews on NewEgg but there are only 12 reviews there. Customer reviews are often not reliable indicators because there are a lot of technological idiots out there but with a very high end motherboard like this I would put more stock in them as the kind of people who would buy these very high end products are usually experienced builders.
 
You mentioned a custom desk or a custom cabinet and that sparked an idea. There are a lot of cutom desk builds out there but the two main problems with tem are 1. they are difficult to make ergonomic as the PC parts are generally where your legs should be, and 2. Once you place the keyboard, mouse, mouse pad, and potentially monitor, on the desk you lose much of the aesthetic you struggles so much to achieve. So why not build a custom hutch for an nice deck. Thinking about some of the beautiful wall mounted cases that are now available it shouldn't be too difficult to invision a hutch with a custom water-cooled PC built into it.

Something like this but in a cabinet.
Capture.JPG

Just a thought.
 
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We can't necessarily help you decide what looks pretty but we can guide your choices with regard to performance and features. The ASRock motherboard you are looking at doesn't get good customer reviews on NewEgg but there are only 12 reviews there. Customer reviews are often not reliable indicators because there are a lot of technological idiots out there but with a very high end motherboard like this I would put more stock in them as the kind of people who would buy these very high end products are usually experienced builders.

You make a good point, I guess that’s what I’m after! I know basics of the hardware but the specifics I don’t know If say ddr4 3000 vs ddr4000 is a big difference or not.

I did happen see the reviews were a bit mixed, but most I found were not the most helpful of reviews to see why they didn’t like it. I’m sure with a bit more digging I’ll find something of a good review to see why the others were not great.

I did also find from google that Linus tech tips used one on his own personal pc. I don’t know what people here think of his input but I do enjoy his videos they have helped me understand a lot. And from his video I got a few up sides for the board. I’ll keep digging and report back what I find though, thanks for your input man appreciate it!


 
You mentioned a custom desk or a custom cabinet and that sparked an idea. There are a lot of cutom desk builds out there but the two main problems with tem are 1. they are difficult to make ergonomic as the PC parts are generally where your legs should be, and 2. Once you place the keyboard, mouse, mouse pad, and potentially monitor, on the desk you lose much of the aesthetic you struggles so much to achieve. So why not build a custom hutch for an nice deck. Thinking about some of the beautiful wall mounted cases that are now available it shouldn't be too difficult to invision a hutch with a custom water-cooled PC built into it.

Something like this but in a cabinet.
View attachment 210837

Just a thought.

I can’t load your image I’m not sure if it’s because I’m using Tapatalk instead of a browser? I have a good friend who owns a really good cabinet making company. So he can make me anything I want. When I first looked at custom desk I know the setup your talking about, And I completely agree once everything is on the desk you loose a lot of the view of the hardware which sort of negates the point of it. The setup I was considering is more so a floor to ceiling wall of cabinetry than a desk. It will match the other cabinetry in house build I’m drawing up atm. Best way I can explain it picture a flat wall of what looks like cabinet panels. Everything can be hidden behind the panels but then the panels can open and fold back to use each space behind. Kind of like a fridge that has a cabinet panel in front of it’s doors and the pull out dishwashers that’s have a cabinet panel hiding it. Except the pc hardware will have a glass front panel. But long story short the reason you mentioned is the exact reason why I decided against the standard custom desk pc build idea. That and the cabinetry will match the rest of the house.


 
The ASRock X570 Taichi ATX is another one that caught my eye and has really good reviews. Looks like something I envision as the board!

If I can’t find more on the aqua and do find more negative reviews on the Taichi. It will be back to my old faithful ROG with a crosshair VIII hero.


 
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I’ve been looking how to setup the custom water loop/s. I’m new to water cooling. But I do want to. I’m really liking what EKWB produce so I’m certain that’s the way I want to go.

Big question, one bigger rad and looping from CPU/MOBO to GPU or a two loops controlling each? I’m sure two loops may offer better cooling however the thought of more parts more chances to fail. Will one loop with bigger rad be a good overall cooling solution?


 
I’ve also read that running one loop in series vs parallel doesn’t make much difference once the system really gets going does anyone know how accurate this statement is?


 
I’ve been looking how to setup the custom water loop/s. I’m new to water cooling. But I do want to. I’m really liking what EKWB produce so I’m certain that’s the way I want to go.

Big question, one bigger rad and looping from CPU/MOBO to GPU or a two loops controlling each? I’m sure two loops may offer better cooling however the thought of more parts more chances to fail. Will one loop with bigger rad be a good overall cooling solution?

I've never run a dual loop set-up, but from my understanding the main reason people do it (besides aesthetics) is to isolate temperatures between the two heat sources. There are a few concerns with running dual loops, the first being a higher chance for a failure as you mentioned. Cost is another concern. Additional pumps, reservoirs, & fittings all play a major roll in the over all price but also the real estate needed to house these components. Dual loops are generally reserved for very large builds.

I’ve also read that running one loop in series vs parallel doesn’t make much difference once the system really gets going does anyone know how accurate this statement is?

This is accurate. Temperature-wise I don't think was more than a degree or two of difference. I've always run in series. In the event of an obstruction I would rather know sooner than later and it's my belief that a parrallel loop could mask this. This is without scientific research mind you, just my opinion of what could happen.
 
I've never run a dual loop set-up, but from my understanding the main reason people do it (besides aesthetics) is to isolate temperatures between the two heat sources. There are a few concerns with running dual loops, the first being a higher chance for a failure as you mentioned. Cost is another concern. Additional pumps, reservoirs, & fittings all play a major roll in the over all price but also the real estate needed to house these components. Dual loops are generally reserved for very large builds.



This is accurate. Temperature-wise I don't think was more than a degree or two of difference. I've always run in series. In the event of an obstruction I would rather know sooner than later and it's my belief that a parrallel loop could mask this. This is without scientific research mind you, just my opinion of what could happen.

Cost isn’t really a concern for me. Aesthetics of the build is probably my upmost with performance but I don’t think with the hardware I’m going to be using performance will be a problem. Aesthetically I don’t mind the look of a series loop so I feel added with the information you have given it should be good. Just basically a big enough rad will be the determining factor?

Also thanks so much for your input it is really helpful!


 
So I’ve been playing around with part picker. After a bit of consideration if the new ryzen 4000 cpu’s do not show a real need to change from my 3950x currently, I will probably reuse it. I will pretty much no matter what be upgrading to a new 3080 when they are released. I’ll also be using a custom ek water cooling system for both cpu and gpu

So in this list I’ve narrowed some things down that I would like to use. Let me know thoughts and feedback please :D


https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/zPBhzN


 
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That PSU is massively overpowered for what you need. If you are set on using the ROG Thor (which is based on Seasonic, a very respected company) than I would recommend the 850W version unless you are planning a pair of 3080's and massive overclocks to the CPU and GPU's (which your Ryzen is incapable of).

I also think 64GB of ram is excessive for 99% of users. If you are a power user and do frequently push beyond 32GB of ram than feel free to disregard this comment. But for gaming and the like, you'll just be taxing the CPU's IMC harder than necessary.

One last thing to consider, the M.2 drive you have listed have heatspreaders installed on them and the motherboard provides them too. You will need to choose which heatspreader to use and fitment may be the deciding factor. I wouldn't be surprised if you need to remove the heatspreaders from the drives, especially at the top slot. This is just a hunch and just something to think about and research.
 
That PSU is massively overpowered for what you need. If you are set on using the ROG Thor (which is based on Seasonic, a very respected company) than I would recommend the 850W version unless you are planning a pair of 3080's and massive overclocks to the CPU and GPU's (which your Ryzen is incapable of).

I also think 64GB of ram is excessive for 99% of users. If you are a power user and do frequently push beyond 32GB of ram than feel free to disregard this comment. But for gaming and the like, you'll just be taxing the CPU's IMC harder than necessary.

One last thing to consider, the M.2 drive you have listed have heatspreaders installed on them and the motherboard provides them too. You will need to choose which heatspreader to use and fitment may be the deciding factor. I wouldn't be surprised if you need to remove the heatspreaders from the drives, especially at the top slot. This is just a hunch and just something to think about and research.

Thanks a lot man! I am pretty novice in understanding things but I’m getting there slowly. Honestly even if some things come out overkill I have 2 main aspirations for this build. To be visually pleasing so everything to tie in well and overall aesthetically pleasing. As well as even if I never use this pc to its full potential it has to be powerful as far as home pc’s (bragging rights but I game a lot so performance is important). For that reason I just didn’t want empty slots say for the memory so wanted to fill all 4 slots.

The power supply is simply to stick with the rog theme and it has a display (again purely looks) I had no idea that it came in an 850w. For the moment I think I will just run one GPU but I may upgrade in the future if running multiple actually benefits games more. That is one I will definitely gladly swap to the 850w!!

I have one of those m.2 drives in my current pc and they have served my needs so I just went with them again. But I didn’t build my current pc, I had a computer company build it for me. And it used the rog strix x570E mobo so I wonder if they had to do what you mention. Very interesting though I guess they do it because not all mobos have the spreader themselves? I’m definitely gonna be on google for that one!!


 
So plans are changing! Previously this was to build a show piece around custom made cabinetry. Changes now are I will probably be moving a couple times over the next few years. So I’m still aiming to reuse my 3950x and use a new 3080 when they come out very soon! But I want to build it into a case that is a little more flexible with being moved but still is more than just a box on the outside and is visually pleasing. Also something that possibly may be more portable.

I recently saw a build with an NZXT H510i Elite case. And I like it a lot, I’ve seen a few builds from google that include custom loops.

My only concern is the most rad I can put in this is 1x280mm and 1x120mm. Making 400mm of rad in total. Ek’s configurator seems to think that it will
cope entering a 2080ti as obviously no options for 3080 yet.

Any thoughts on this?

Edit - CPU and GPU loop just to clarify


 
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I’ve heard this but it shouldn’t really matter as much for a good custom loop? Maybe with blower GPU ect wouldn’t be the best

Blower GPUs exhaust heat out of the case, unlike typical dual/tri-fan models. Here's another quote for you:

"The H510 Elite is a $170 case being launched alongside an $80 case that’s nearly identical, which itself is almost identical to a $70-$75 case that it’s replacing."

But you've inferred price is not a factor.

Here's another one for you:

"We’ve mentioned noise levels several times already throughout the course of this review because of the gusty turbulent noises the fans made at high speeds. At max fan speeds, we measured the case running at 45.9dBA, one of the loudest cases we’ve tested"
 
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