Hi,
So basically, I decided that 2020 will finally be the year of upgrading my PC, after years with my "Titan Tanto" build from Overclockers(from 2014!), which I have upgraded twice, from the original i5-4670K to an i7-4790K, and from the GTX780 to a GTX1080Ti late last year.
The final spec of the new build was decided and components bought last month(with the CPU purchased on launch day):
CPU: Ryzen 5900X ( somehow managed to get one on launch day from OCUk, shipped the day after launch)
Ram: 32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro (2x 16GB 3600MHz) + 2x dummy RGB modules
Mobo: MSI X570 Tomahawk
GPU: MSI 1080Ti Gaming X
Storage: 1TB WD Black NVMe + 1TB WD Blue NVMe
PSU: EVGA 750W GQ Gold Semi-Modular
Cooling: Corsair H100i Platinum RGB for the CPU ( ended up adding another Corsair H55 for the GPU)
Case: Meshify C, light tint window
So, relatively straightforward build, right? Well, turns out, not so much.
In my last case I had the Corsair H100i mounted at the top as the exhaust, and during gaming it could get pretty hot, plus the GPU was making a huge amount of noise, so after doing a bit of research, I decided to put the H100i radiator at the front of the new case, as an intake - with the logic being that it will pull in air into the case and it won't noticably increase its temperature, so it won't affect the GPU much, but keep the CPU much colder. Especially with the 5900X having a higher TDP than my old i7-4790K, that should have helped.
Well, maybe the theory was good, but in practice it was a disaster.
These are the photos from my first assembly:
Now, this looks like it should have worked.....but it didn't.
I assumed the two noctua fans + the antec prizm fan for the exhaust would be enough to get rid of the hot air generated by the GPU in this case. Nope, absolutely not what happened.
At full load, the GPU was COOKING. Like, with the side panel closed in just couple minutes the temperatures were hitting 84C which is the thermal limit of the 1080Ti, and the whole thing would throttle. And of course the fans were running at 100%, so it was super loud. Not good.
So...after few days I decided to rework everything about cooling in this case, and install water cooling on the GPU just to have it nice and quiet. I was concerned whether this case would actually fit another AIO in there....but yes, it absolutely does(although it's a little bit tight).
So the total work that I planned was:
1) move the H100i to the top, set as exhaust
2) install an H55 on the GPU, install at the rear vent, as exhaust
3) install 2x Noctua 140mm fans at the front as intake
With more components having arrived, I was ready to improve things:
First I had to remove the shroud from the 1080Ti, which was a first for me - there's something scary about removing cooling from the GPU, it feels very fragile for some reason! But as it turns out, on the Gaming X it literally couldn't be simpler, it takes 4 screws around the core + 3 on the edge and the whole thing pops right off:
Installing the G12 was relatively straightforward:
And voila, Corsair H55 installed on my 1080Ti, about 30 minutes of work total:
Now, it was time to assemble everything(like I said, it was a pretty tight fit with both the rear and top AIOs having to squeeze next to each other:
And.....it all works and is absolutely beautiful:
Final thoughts:
I *love* how the X570 Tomahawk allows you to control every single fan header independently, and you can even select whether you want PWM or direct voltage control for each fan. That allows such a crazy level of customization when it comes to noise levels it's great.
Final Fan setup:
1) CPU fans on the H100i - custom fan curve, sitting at 500rpm until the liquid hits about 35C, then slowly ramping up to about 1200rpm. After 8 hours or running at max load I've seen them get to about 1000rpm max though. Very very quiet.
2) GPU fan on the H55 - controlled by the GPU, got a GPU fan to PWM adapter. So most of the time it's doing nothing, then at 63C it starts slowly spinning at 500rpm, and keeps the temperatures there. Nothing more is required. Even after an hour at full load the fan was still only doing 600rpm. Completely noiseless.
3) Front Noctua 140mm - set to permanent 600rpm. Completely quiet and bring plenty of fresh air that way
4) VRM section fan on the Kraken G12 - set to max speed, but somehow it's barely audible from inside the case. Spins at about 1300rpm.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the read and the photos, and my experience with how NOT to build in the Meshify C case. Any questions - let me know
So basically, I decided that 2020 will finally be the year of upgrading my PC, after years with my "Titan Tanto" build from Overclockers(from 2014!), which I have upgraded twice, from the original i5-4670K to an i7-4790K, and from the GTX780 to a GTX1080Ti late last year.
The final spec of the new build was decided and components bought last month(with the CPU purchased on launch day):
CPU: Ryzen 5900X ( somehow managed to get one on launch day from OCUk, shipped the day after launch)
Ram: 32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro (2x 16GB 3600MHz) + 2x dummy RGB modules
Mobo: MSI X570 Tomahawk
GPU: MSI 1080Ti Gaming X
Storage: 1TB WD Black NVMe + 1TB WD Blue NVMe
PSU: EVGA 750W GQ Gold Semi-Modular
Cooling: Corsair H100i Platinum RGB for the CPU ( ended up adding another Corsair H55 for the GPU)
Case: Meshify C, light tint window
So, relatively straightforward build, right? Well, turns out, not so much.
In my last case I had the Corsair H100i mounted at the top as the exhaust, and during gaming it could get pretty hot, plus the GPU was making a huge amount of noise, so after doing a bit of research, I decided to put the H100i radiator at the front of the new case, as an intake - with the logic being that it will pull in air into the case and it won't noticably increase its temperature, so it won't affect the GPU much, but keep the CPU much colder. Especially with the 5900X having a higher TDP than my old i7-4790K, that should have helped.
Well, maybe the theory was good, but in practice it was a disaster.
These are the photos from my first assembly:
Now, this looks like it should have worked.....but it didn't.
I assumed the two noctua fans + the antec prizm fan for the exhaust would be enough to get rid of the hot air generated by the GPU in this case. Nope, absolutely not what happened.
At full load, the GPU was COOKING. Like, with the side panel closed in just couple minutes the temperatures were hitting 84C which is the thermal limit of the 1080Ti, and the whole thing would throttle. And of course the fans were running at 100%, so it was super loud. Not good.
So...after few days I decided to rework everything about cooling in this case, and install water cooling on the GPU just to have it nice and quiet. I was concerned whether this case would actually fit another AIO in there....but yes, it absolutely does(although it's a little bit tight).
So the total work that I planned was:
1) move the H100i to the top, set as exhaust
2) install an H55 on the GPU, install at the rear vent, as exhaust
3) install 2x Noctua 140mm fans at the front as intake
With more components having arrived, I was ready to improve things:
First I had to remove the shroud from the 1080Ti, which was a first for me - there's something scary about removing cooling from the GPU, it feels very fragile for some reason! But as it turns out, on the Gaming X it literally couldn't be simpler, it takes 4 screws around the core + 3 on the edge and the whole thing pops right off:
Installing the G12 was relatively straightforward:
And voila, Corsair H55 installed on my 1080Ti, about 30 minutes of work total:
Now, it was time to assemble everything(like I said, it was a pretty tight fit with both the rear and top AIOs having to squeeze next to each other:
And.....it all works and is absolutely beautiful:
Final thoughts:
I *love* how the X570 Tomahawk allows you to control every single fan header independently, and you can even select whether you want PWM or direct voltage control for each fan. That allows such a crazy level of customization when it comes to noise levels it's great.
Final Fan setup:
1) CPU fans on the H100i - custom fan curve, sitting at 500rpm until the liquid hits about 35C, then slowly ramping up to about 1200rpm. After 8 hours or running at max load I've seen them get to about 1000rpm max though. Very very quiet.
2) GPU fan on the H55 - controlled by the GPU, got a GPU fan to PWM adapter. So most of the time it's doing nothing, then at 63C it starts slowly spinning at 500rpm, and keeps the temperatures there. Nothing more is required. Even after an hour at full load the fan was still only doing 600rpm. Completely noiseless.
3) Front Noctua 140mm - set to permanent 600rpm. Completely quiet and bring plenty of fresh air that way
4) VRM section fan on the Kraken G12 - set to max speed, but somehow it's barely audible from inside the case. Spins at about 1300rpm.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the read and the photos, and my experience with how NOT to build in the Meshify C case. Any questions - let me know
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