New Phantom/i12500K Build

Narj

Narj

Narj

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Joined
19 Feb 2010
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London
I thought I'd track the build of my new PC here. I've always done a bit of tinkering but haven't built a new PC for about 3 years now, maybe a bit longer so I'm a bit nervous!

I seem to have ordered 8GB Memory instead of the 16GB I'd intended but nevermind, that'll be enough for now!

This is the stuff I ordered:

1 x NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Case - Black
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 560Ti OC Twin FrozR II 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM
1 x Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit Dual/Quad Channel Kit
1 x Thermalright Silver Arrow CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA775/AM2/AM3)
1 x Sony Optical 24x DVD Writer, AD-5280S-0B, SATA, Black, OEM

I've also just ordered some of the white NZXT braided cables.

And here's the first delivery....

newpcbits1.jpg


The plan is to get a better GPU in a couple of months when hopefully, prices on the GTX580s drop.

First impressions:

Case - Oh my god it's massive! :eek:
Cooler - What the hell, did they sent me part of a radiator from a tractor instead?!! :eek: :eek:

More to follow :D
 
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redfist said:
I know, you should have seen my wifes face when she walked into the lounge :eek: even the people next door heard her saying "and where are you going to put that!" Normally I would have a joke and tell her..... but not when she's in that mood!! :D:D
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Haha... I was dithering as to whether to go for the white model but I just know in a couple of years it won't be so clean looking. :)

What's with the manual telling you to mount the PSU upside down? I've mounted mine the other way so I presume it sucks cold air in from the back and expels out the bottom... (you can tell I've not done this for a while!)
 
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PianoBasher said:
Haha... I was dithering as to whether to go for the white model but I just know in a couple of years it won't be so clean looking. :)
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Isn't that why people get marrried..... mines nice and clean :eek: (looks over shoulder):D

PianoBasher said:
What's with the manual telling you to mount the PSU upside down?
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Manual.... what manual. I've installed my PSU facing down and not had any issues
 
I've put all the cables in the right places ready for when the motherboard goes in. Obviously no cable ties yet until I'm sure everything reaches/is the right length. The amount of cables coming down from the top means it's quite difficult to keep them loomed and tidy. I think I might cut the ties and reroute them.

newpcbits2.jpg


Looking quite tidy already on the other side!
newpcbits3.jpg


It's been a long time since I built anything from scratch so the USB3 plug caught me off guard a bit. Also the HD AUDIO/AC97 connector threw me until I read the motherboard manual.
 
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Looks nice.... I had the same idea with the GPU and bought pretty much the same as you but the phantom and I have been suprised by how good it is.... capable of playing everything at a reasonable quality and FPS
 
I think I'm definitely going to reroute a load of those cables. yes, I know it isn't visible but I think the PCI-E and a few other cables can go another way (parallel on the cable management). The ATX cable makes it a mess, and I've ordered the white braided extension cables to make it look better.

Quite annoyed that the XFX doesn't come with any single long SATA power cables really but ho hum!

Update to come in the next few days as bits arrive! I think the Silver Arrow is so massive that I'll have to fit it outside of the case...
 
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Looking good, should be good to see when finished

redfist said:
I know, you should have seen my wifes face when she walked into the lounge :eek: even the people next door heard her saying "and where are you going to put that!" Normally I would have a joke and tell her..... but not when she's in that mood!! :D:D
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Must be a standard reaction from the OH when they she the case as I got moaned at for getting such a large case.
 
Decided to reroute some cabling to make it a bit tidier (in the sense that everything isn't just bunched together in one part of the case). Cable ties are still loose so the full effect isn't really visible yet. :p
newpcbits4.jpg


Optional NZXT fans arrived this morning, 200mm for the top 140mm for the front.

newpcbits5.jpg


Plugged the molex for the top panel into my existing PC for testing - all I can say is wow, NZXT have done a great job on the fans - they are whisper quiet and even with all of them on at full power, it's still *much* quieter than my existing rig!

newpcbits6.jpg


Shame the optional fans didn't come with Blue LEDs but maybe there's a mod I can do for that? :confused:

Waiting on more parts at the moment...
 
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PianoBasher said:
Shame the optional fans didn't come with Blue LEDs but maybe there's a mod I can do for that?
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I'm sure there is a mod you can do that, think if you look at the NZXT forum there is a couple of posts on this.

I don't have access to MM at the moment (should be soon) but once i do I could swap one of my ones as i have 3 led ones in my case (didn't think when i was buying the additional 2!)
 
PianoBasher said:
What's with the manual telling you to mount the PSU upside down? I've mounted mine the other way so I presume it sucks cold air in from the back and expels out the bottom... (you can tell I've not done this for a while!)
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As far as I know they draw in at the fan with the exhaust out the back, which is probably why it is telling you to mount 'upside down' but as long as you have a gap under the case it will be fine drawing air from the bottom.

PianoBasher said:
Shame the optional fans didn't come with Blue LEDs but maybe there's a mod I can do for that? :confused:

Waiting on more parts at the moment...
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Tealc on here did a guide on how to make put leds onto a fan: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18172810

Build is looking nice so far too, you seem to have got the cable management down already.
 
Greboth said:
As far as I know they draw in at the fan with the exhaust out the back, which is probably why it is telling you to mount 'upside down' but as long as you have a gap under the case it will be fine drawing air from the bottom.
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That would make more sense however I haven't powered up the PSU yet... drawing in cold air from the bottom would be by far the most sensible approach (seeing as the floor will be the coldest part of the room!)

Greboth said:
Tealc on here did a guide on how to make put leds onto a fan: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18172810
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That looks awesome!!!

Greboth said:
Build is looking nice so far too, you seem to have got the cable management down already.
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Yeah, almost there. The only thing that concerns me is whether I should get the HSF mounted while the motherboard outside or inside the case. I can see it being a bit fiddly seeing as it's so damned huge. Hopefully more updates soon when I have the parts I need!
 
Pics to come, but suffice to say that I am now refamiliarised with removing and re-applying TIM. Glad I bought the Akasa remover and purifier now!

Basically I somehow managed to mount the thing 90* the wrong way, oops!

By the way, the large rice grain method seems to spread very evenly looking at the surfaces of the Silver Arrow and the CPU when I removed it!
 
RAM in first! Just hope I don't need to take any out anytime soon!

newpcbits7.jpg


CPU cleaned with Akasa purifier, Put a large rice grain of the Thermalright stuff on it and then the heatsink was mounted (the right way round this time!)

newpcbits8.jpg


Ready to install in the case! :D

newpcbits9.jpg


I was a bit nervous tightening the middle screw, it feels quite tough to move now so I won't force it any further.

I've mounted the SSD in one of the bays. I used the Blu-Tac glue spots to fix it on. Holds firm but it's still possible to remove it without making a mess!
 
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panyan said:
the anti-static bracelet that is plugged into the wall - that has three pins right?

it is plugged into the top one, which on a normal plug is the earth, what happens to your wrist then you plug it into the other ones? :p :p :p
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LOL... they are just blanks, not sockets. ;)

OK, 3rd time lucky, the board is in the case. First time I put a standoff in the wrong place, 2nd time the IO panel at the back wasn't line up properly... Grrr...

newpcbits10.jpg
 
IT'S ALIVE!

Pics in a bit, charging up my camera battery. I've got it onto the initial BIOS screen and the CPU's running at 32 (it's stupidly hot in this room though, about 25 for some reason!). I'm assuming temp will drop when I'm not using the integrated graphics.

No graphics card installed yet, I want to test for stability once I get an OS on it. All I can say is I'm amazed at how quiet the system is. I've left the SA fans on full blast and I can barely hear them at all - amazingly quiet!

Getting the 8 pin power plug in afterwards was an absolute nightmare - you need the hands of a child to do this easily with a SA in the case!
 
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