Hi guys, super excited to be posting this. I'm a member of AMD's Red Team Plus, and AMD sent me over a extra special box of goodies to coincide with the Ryzen launch. My plans so far are to build with what I have currently, and as I do tutorials on various modding practices, add to the build log.
Soo.. first off let's see some sexiness
Parts list:
**Sponsored parts**
AMD Ryzen R7 1800X
MSI Xpower AM4
2 x 8gb Corsair LPX 3000mhz
AMD Visiontek Fury X
Have built in my current case (Air 540) and have been testing for stability etc.
Just a quick update on planning stages:
My case finally arrived and she's a beauty. Going to look amazing with the X370 MSI Titanium inside, a real 80's hifi cabinet vibe going on. Will be tearing down and doing some drafting so I can finalize the rest of the plans. Am still waiting for bits and pieces of tools to turn up, and a new psu.
I'm curious as to how MSI boards work with Ryzen. They weren't exactly first choice for AMD chips for quite a while, but FX was a persnickety beast regarding power. With a power envelope closer to Intel's I would expect MSI to be back in the game for Team Red CPUs. And that is a nice board. So I'm in. LOL
oops, somehow didn't have this one on my list.. multiple updates coming..
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So this week has some interesting developments, first of which is that AMD sent me another care package to coincide with the upcoming Ryzen 5 launch. Really excited to swap these in for some testing, and for my daily driver while I'm working on the Ryzen 7 1800X build. The Gigabyte AB350-Gaming-3 looks really well-featured for a more mainstream-focussed board, with design keys from the enthusiast boards.
The other things that happened this week are some progress on a logo for the build, and also all my sleeving materials and tooling arrived. Been lusting after Mainframe Customs Teleios Sleeving for a long time now, and with this build I decided to fully sleeve everything using it. It'll really make the build pop.
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I'm pleased to announce that The House of the Ryzen Sun has been sponsored for a huge dual-loop! Time to see just how many radiators we can fit into the Phanteks Evolv ATX. The components have just arrived, so expect many more pictures as I unbox everything and finalize my plans for tubing routes.
Huge thanks to Modmymods and Alphacool for their support and guidance with this build.
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So after the high of last week’s delivery, I started fitting in hardware as I’d envisioned before shipping and discovered that due to the way the X-flow radiators are designed that while the 360 X-flow radiator was installed I didn’t quite have the clearance I need to mount another radiator onto the back mounting position without putting it outside of the case. Fortunately I’d thought about this in the planning stages, and Alphacool graciously agreed to send another 240mm X-flow radiator in case I ran into issues. Mounting this gives me acres of clearance, but doesn’t quite have the same aesthetic.
I’d still like to use the 360 I think, but have left the 240 on currently to see if anything pops while I brainstorm. I do keep eyeing the back mesh and my Dremel…
The other option here is to forgo the back radiator, and use the 360 and 240 radiators either still as separate loops or as one loop. This would be easier, but who said this should be easy? I set out to build a showcase, dual-loop PC; as I haven’t seen anyone put a dual-loop into this case and it looked like a fun challenge.
Also while staring at the case, I’ve decided to build some custom acrylic backplates for both sides of the motherboard tray. Will be a much cleaner look, especially once I route various parts of cabling behind it.
So while I've been given a puzzle on the radiator side, I've found a solution for one other issue: Airflow. Now we all love the sleek looks of the Phanteks Evolv, but one thing that's generally agreed is that those sleek lines come with a lower airflow from the front panel. Step in Mnpctech with his Evolv Vented Bezel. This is a full replacement for the front panel, using the existing mounting hardware from that panel. I've seen forum posters saying that their temperatures dropped 5 degrees after adding this mod, can't wait to test that out myself.
It's a straight-forward, swap hardware across and mount on the case.
I've left the acrylic cover on so I don't gather scratches as I work, so here's what it looks like from Mnpctech's own website
That’s all the updates I have this week, to give me some more time to think about the radiator issue I’m going to start on cabling this week, and probably some paint of components.
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Lemme reverse*it..
Waterblocks (and roadblocks)..
Those custom Alphacool blocks that ModMyMods did for*me.
So.. I learned something this week. Plans go awry, things break, and even the best-planned builds get sidetracked.
I had originally planned to get some tubing routes done this week, but the universe had other ideas.
First was noticing a small chip of glass in the bottom of the case. Hmm, not a good sign at any time, especially with a Tempered Glass case. Getting a RMA was easy (thanks Phanteks), but then having to ship it to Cali to get a replacement wasn’t ($65). Luckily was within Amazon’s return, so back it goes to them.
Now.. I don’t have a case. Okay.. I decide to take apart my fans to repaint the housings.. as the rain starts. Took out my sleeving supplies to start on cabling, and realised that I’d only bought male ATX pins and I need female ones. Did do my first cable crimp though, which went smoothly and gave me needed confidence for when I do get the correct pins.
Test cable sleeving on MNPCTECH Aluminum Billet*Combs
I love how the cable looks on those billet combs from Mnpctech, they’re gonna look great with all the other titanium/aluminum items in this build.
So, bit of a mixed bag this week.. Haven’t really made any progress, but I’ve learned a few valuable lessons on the way. Check all your deliveries within a day of getting them, make sure you have the necessary parts (even if you’re sure you do), and always keep smiling?—?life’s too short to be grumpy and setbacks always happen.
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The Best Laid*Plans..
Or “Strike while it’s hot”
Masterplan is in*effect!
So this week I’d like to talk about the importance of planning, documentation, and forethought.
Having to RMA my case last week was a blow, one that I both hadn’t bargained for or had enough contingency plans in place so the build didn’t lose momentum. I did have some backup plans, but a combination of weather and me ordering the wrong item meant those plans were also a washout.*
That said, the first thing I decided to do once I got the replacement case back was to start on full-scale drawings of the inside so I could work off of those if necessary. This also gave me time to get a better understanding of the case itself, and some time to meditate on the next steps.
The upshot of this is that over the next week I will be doing a lot of assembly work. I have 10 Alphacool Susurro fans that I need to strip down to paint while the weather is cooperating, RAM heatspreaders to remove so I can put the waterblocks on, along with waterblocks for CPU and GPU. I’m also planning to start on cable sleeving, and will be taking plenty of photos to put together some how-to’s after I’m done.
Have also had some time to play with a few other accessories for the build, including these custom machined Ryzen fan grills from MNPCTECH, which look amazing on the Alphacool radiators.
You noticed the tape, right? Can’t put anything past you.. To fit the 3rd radiator at the back, I have to cut the top pci-e mount, which is okay as I’m not using it for hardware. Also need to do some cuts above the radiator so I can mount the fans above it.*
Going to be a busy time, hopefully can start mounting the watercooling loops next week.
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Power! We need more power! or Why my fingertips hurt..
So my usual schedule got delayed this week, have been burning my fingers (nearly) to the bone to try and get all my sleeving done for this installment. TLR is that I vastly underestimated how long it would take, even if picking up the necessary skills didn’t take that long. There’s a lot of thriving after-market cable sellers, and now I understand why. It’s repetitive, it’s tough, and your fingers will burn… lots. That said, it’s incredibly gratifying, not only the process of creating with your hands, but the finished product. Currently I hope to finish the rest of it by next week now I’ve got momentum, but I wanted to make sure to post so I didn’t lose momentum over here.
My writing has been cathartic, and a great way to keep my plans/thoughts/problems both in-mind and in-focus. Thank you, whoever you are, for taking just a few minutes out of your days to follow along with me. I really believe that often the journey is more rewarding than the end. After all, what will I occupy my time with once I’m done?
That said, let’s go back to some hardware, shall we? I finally worked up the courage to remove the heatspreaders on my Corsair LPX DDR4 dimms, and armed with a few quick prayers and a very good guide on Youtube by Peter Brands, I was away.
Few heart-wrenching moments when I thought I’d accidentally hit some of the surface-mount components with the knife I was using, and the dimms were ready for waterblocks.
Interesting to see the smaller size of DDR4 modules vs DDR3
And the finished article, with Alphacool NexXxos DDR blocks from ModMyMods. These are really going to pop on the Titanium Xpower X370 board.
Shiny and Chrome!
So I mentioned that I’ve been burning my fingers.. but it’s for a good cause.. Custom cabling really makes custom builds to me. It’s a labor of love and proud as I am with the end result currently, I’m fairly sure that I’ll go back and redo this one once I’ve done all the others and my skills improve. The OEM cables for my psu (EVGA G2 850W) have capacitors on them for ripple suppression, and I wanted my custom cables to have this also. It makes it a little more difficult to sleeve, and I figured out a better way of doing it on the 2nd cable I did, so I want to go back and redo the other one to match.
Only a small update for this week, jigsaw and a couple of things I needed to cut the thicker acrylic I have have arrived. Was going to mock up the gpu loop with flex, but decided to strip the paint off of the block so that's also on hold. So far I've been finishing one job, and creating 4 more. I think I'm getting close to the tipping point where I won't be adding as many jobs to the list, or they'll be end-time finishing jobs instead of hurdles.
Have almost finished all the PSU cabling now, just the 24-pin to do now. The PCIE ones turned out beautifully and am really happy with the coherent design.*
Well that took a lot longer than I’d anticipated. Still have a couple of strands to put into the main 24-pin cable but happy with the results so far. Still have to sleeve various other things, but I’m going to let my fingers heal up before tackling those. Seeing these finished in a pile has given me renewed vigor to tackle the rest of the build.
Alphacool NexXxos Fury X Waterblock
Next stage is some mods to the waterblock for the Fury X that I’m using in this build, and to put the gpu loop together with flex tubing to test my desired config.
Until next week, Mod On!
I was hoping to show some progress on the watercooling side this week, but the powdercoat on the Alphacool NexXxos block is super tough - Aircraft Stripper barely took it off on a couple of corners.
I did finish my ATX cables though, so here's some glamour shots in-situ
Did some animating while I wasn't able to build.. Reckon they can carry anything heavy for me..
Have also had another crack at taking the coating off of the GPU block, without much success. Have one more idea of how to remove it which I’ll be trying later today. Powdercoat remover didn’t really do much to it, so trying sodium hydroxide as it might be anodized on. I know I could paint it, but I’m a big fan of bare metal and there’s a lot of it in other places of the build.
I just got word that I’m receiving something very interesting from Alphacool soon, really excited to share that with you all once it arrives.
Until next time, Mod on!
It could be the start of a corny joke.. but it’s really the start of something beautiful. After a whole bunch of false starts, finally success! The anodizing is gone and the bare aluminium on the Alphacool NexXxos GPX block is revealed. Will be so much more in keeping with the overall theme of my build.
Black anodizing removed from the Alphacool NexXxos GPX*block
Anodizing removal in dilute NaOH*solution
I’ve also solved one long-standing problem with the build. I’ve always wanted to paint the support frame on the Alphacool Susurro fans, as the blue doesn’t fit with the theme of the build. Was scratching my head wondering how to take the fans apart, as they don’t have an accessible c-clip as most fans do. Got to the point where I was going to irreversibly disassemble one so I could see how they’re made, when I decided to have one more go at pushing the fan hub off. Previously I’d balked as it seemed like something was going to snap, but if I was ready to write one off anyhow…
Success!
Once one came off, all 10 were disassembled in no time at all. Turns out there’s a slightly oversized flexible washer on the end of the spindle, so it holds the fan on with a combination of friction and pressure. Time for paint!
Ahh, that’s*better!
Now that’s out of the way and not taking over my workspace, I can get back to figuring out the radiator placement on the top of the case and the acrylic pieces that I’m making for the inside.
Just one more thing for this week, I was lucky to win a prototype tube bending kit from Alphacool (1 of only 7 currently). The Eiskoffer kit is fantastic on first impressions, and I’m really looking forward to learning how to use it as I get closer to the tubing stages of this build.*
I’m so in love with this*case/kit
Thanks again to MNPCtech, Modmymods and Alphacool, who have been awesome throughout this process.
Few minor tech support issues, but with the purchase of a new Crosshair Hero WiFi (AC) we're back on track. Have got Ballistix Elite (32gb kit rated at 3466) in there currently for some testing and review.
Still working on an issue with my GPU, hopefully that will get resolved soon and regular updates will now hopefully resume.
Thanks to you all, and to my sponsors, who have been nothing but patient through these hiccups.
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