Little rack

[HoneyBadger]

I was bored and had some components laying around so decided to buy this MyElectronics 19" rack case and do a little, fast build.

Components

• Asus X870i Gaming
• Corsair 6400Mhz CL32 DDR5 - 32GB
• AMD 7600X3D CPU
• Lian Li SFX 750 PSU
• Gigabyte RTX 5060 OC 8GB Low Profile
• Crucial T105 NVME (1TB)
• Noctua NH-L9x65 Chromax Black CPU Cooler
• Noctua Chromax fans 80mm (x2)

I'm slowly moving over to rack cases anyway, and need to pull my finger out and build my 3rd mini rack so I can put this in it.














Cheers!

 

[HoneyBadger]

Cheers both. The case is lovely but very expensive for what it is (£219) and has virtually no accessories and no fans!

It was very nice to build in though, but with all SFF builds some cable route planning always helps.

 

[HoneyBadger]

Noice. How are the CPU temps?

Pretty good. I did stress test a 9800X3D with a -30mv curve on this board, with this cooler which under load never went above 85C with full cores enabled, I.e. no gaming mode or restricted TDP.

I did a -10mv on this 7600X3D (-30mv causes it to crash) and it’s a similar story, doesn’t seem to push past 72C under full stress. Idles at about 45-50C.

On both applications I am using Thermal Grizzly Duronaut.

 

[HoneyBadger]

There is a certain something about rack mounted systems like that. I've seen that rack enclosure for 10" setups but decided to go another way.

Yeah, they do various mini rack solutions as well. I’m an ex sys admin so always appreciate a good rack!

In due course, I’ll convert the separate annexe we have to my full time office and install an APC Netshelter. So far I’ve maxed 3 Ubiquiti small rack which are 6U each so I’ll go for a minimum of 24U.

 

[HoneyBadger]

In my experience you're never an EX sys admin....your 'market' merely changes. Sometimes you have to deliberately not tell people you're technical or they'll suddenly have things for you to do. "It's lovely to see you, haven't seen you for ages.....my computer isn't working properly..." *Facepalm*

Very true. I’m now running my own cyber security consultancy, but I still have family hitting me up to fix their iPad. To be fair the wife is now 1st line, so to speak.

 

[HoneyBadger]

Lovely little build mate, might have missed it but what's that hub on the top of the unit in the last picture?

Cheers!

It’s the Asus Hive 2 control module that comes with the motherboard. It plus in via special usb type C and has a power button, volume control and various USB hubs built in.

 

[HoneyBadger]

Now I hooked up my Corsair Xeneon Edge screen, I could monitor the temps more closely and noticed the CPU (7600X3D) was sometimes running a little toasty. I tweaked it as far as I could in terms of undervolt, but this specific chip does tend to run hot in other chips, to the point whereby I wondered if something was wrong with it because my more powerful 9800X3D runs so much cooler.

Anyhow, I removed the top panel to see if it made a difference and it did, by almost 20C.

I would ordinarily do this myself, but haven't had the time so 2 days at the local car body shop, and £50 cash later, I had the top panel modified, so having more holes in to allow more airflow.

With it on it runs about 15C cooler than a before, so it's making a difference. I only asked the body shop to drill some holes and smarten it up, but they followed the pattern from the front panel, which I also gave them for reference. So really happy with what they did.

Old panel:


New panel: