New Phantom/i12500K Build

[Narj]

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....

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!
Cooler - What the hell, did they sent me part of a radiator from a tractor instead?!!

More to follow

 

[Narj]

I know, you should have seen my wifes face when she walked into the lounge 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!!

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!)

 

[Narj]

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.

Looking quite tidy already on the other side!

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.

 

[Narj]

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...

 

[Narj]

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.

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

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!

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

Waiting on more parts at the moment...

 

[Narj]

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.

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!)

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

That looks awesome!!!

Build is looking nice so far too, you seem to have got the cable management down already.

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!

 

[Narj]

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!

 

[Narj]

RAM in first! Just hope I don't need to take any out anytime soon!

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!)

Ready to install in the case!

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!

 

[Narj]

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?

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...

 

[Narj]

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!

 

[Narj]

Almost there now - just a little tidying to do.

It didn't explode when I powered it on... yet....

OS Install tomorrow hopefully.

BTW to people mentioning that ASRock boards come "bent" - it seems it's normal as mine was like that too.

 

[Narj]

looks great

Cheers, I'm really happy with how it's turned out. Thanks to the guys in Hardware that helped with the spec.

A few pointers to other "noob" people like myself building in one of these cases and using a SA:

- Try rerouting a load of the cables from the top panel as it makes shutting the side a pain if it's all bunched up with your ATX power cable etc

- Get the 8 pin power cable bent into shape ready for plugging in if you're not mounting the board first and using a large heatsink because I gave myself hand cramp trying to manouevre the damned thing into place!

- Get the optional top and front fans, but check what you order - sadly I didn't check for LEDs, although obviously it's down to personal taste.

- Blu Tack "glu dots" work a treat for mounting your SSD to one of the bays.

Cheers - hopefully some stress/stability testing to come soon.

BTW... connected to this is a Logitech G15 keyboard, Razer lachesis mouse and an NEC 24WMGX3 Monitor.

Plans:

1) Hopefully get at least 4.0GHz out of the CPU - not sure about the Memory?
2) Hopefully overclock the GTX560Ti - not bothered about longevity as I'll be getting a GTX580 ~Feb or March.
3) Once the OS is on, Sandbox any internet apps!
4) Take a clean ghost image (any recommendations apart from norton?) for quick restore.
5) Take the old system apart, install a new cooler and try to get the E6300 up to 2.8GHz for my cousin.

Oh, look what else turned up for all my documents and stuff:

Got a very cheap deal on it and couldn't say no!

 

[Narj]

what do you mean? if you mean the bent pin/s then the pins in the cpu socket aren't 'straight' they're meant to be bent to an extent(45o I believe) but in some cases they're more bent then that.

here's mine for example

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=20662063&postcount=31

btw you've got a trust message

By "bent" I mean the board as a whole, not the pins. Will check now!

 

[Narj]

if its working and not getting the error codes then you should be fine on the ben't pins from, the ram is showing as dual channel right?

I got my replacement board from asrock on monday so just need to sit down and finally get my new system built, to think this all started in august taken this long. usually take me awhile to build but this is bordering on the ridiculous.

Didn't check the POST properly, but I've put the RAM in the correct slots so should hope so. I'm too tired to do any more now. This build has made me get over my phobia of removing and re-applying TIM.

Glad you got the mobo sorted mate. I love the features on this board - the power and reset buttons are a nice touch, as is the Dr. Diag thing.

I'm thinking of getting one of those Akasa spot coolers for the GPU and connecting that up to the spare fan connector, might help a bit with the temps if I OC it.

 

[Narj]

OK, changed the BIOS settings for memory to the rated values... 9-9-9-27 and 1600MHz. Stress testing has started. Running Prime95 now.

Here are idle temps with all fans at minimum:

So I think I put the HSF on properly!

Currently the highest core temp is 39* if I turn the fans to medium. With them on min it was running at about 42*.

Any pointers on the other tools I should be using? I have Prime95, SuperPI and Realtemp...

 

[Narj]

Yep, it makes closing the side easier. I still sort of wish I'd got the white version but I can't see it staying clean over the years!

Right, only been runing for 20 mins stress testing but here we are:

I'll go to the pub for a few hours I think then see how it is when I come back. Bit of a disparity has appeared on core 4 though. I don't think it's anything to cry about though. Maybe the TIM needs time to cure or something.

 

[Narj]

Very very nice build man, keep it up

Thanks mate. I will admit to absolutely bricking it while I was putting it together; my hands were shaking and sweating when I was tightening up the HSF pressure screw, expecting to hear a big cracking noise. I bought a full antistatic kit just to be doubly safe as well (would definitely recommend this for peace of mind).

Hopefully others building their own kit after a long time away from hardware like me or for the first time can pick up a few things from here. I'm really grateful to everyone that's answered my dumb questions.

Oh, thanks to OcUK for quick delivery on the parts I ordered from them as well!

 

[Narj]

Sorry, will chuck some final pictures up tonight... kept meaning to but got caught up playing Skyrim.