Project: Irrational Exuberance

[Neutrino101]

Hi All,

I have started to keep the first post updated to help any new readers get a feel for the project who may not have been following from the start. After a few months of research and waiting for bits to be released the following components will now be going in to the system.

Case: Parvum L1

CPU: Broadwell E i7-6900K

Motherboard: Asus X99 Deluxe 2 (EKWB X99 Acetyl/Nickle Monoblock)

Memory: 64GB Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 3000Mhz

GPUs: 2 x Gigabyte GTX 1080 FE SLI (EKWB Acetyl/Nickle block and backplate)

Storage: 2 x Samsung 950 Pro 512GB M.2 SSDs & 2 x Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSDs in Raid 0

PSU: Seasonic P Series 1200W Modular Power Supply

Radiators: 2 x EK-Coolstream XE360 1 x EK-Coolstream XE480 & 1 x EK-Coolstream PE360

Coolant: Mayhems Pastel Yellow

Fittings: Primochill Revolvers

Tubing: 13/10mm Acrylic visible (Some soft tubing in lower compartment for ease of maintenance)

Fans: 15 x EK-Vardar F2

Original Post Below:

I am relatively new to the forums however having enjoyed reading all the project logs I have decided to start one for my new build.

Having really enjoyed seeing everyone's Parvum builds I have decided to use a Parvum case for this build. After looking at the available cases I decided that it would be a lot of fun to try and fill the new Parvum L1.0 with as many radiators as would fit with the aim of creating a very quiet system with excessive cooling power.

When considering colour schemes I was drawn to my old Corsair RM750 power supply as I like the combination of the black, white and yellow. To that end I have ordered a Black Parvum L1.0 with White highlights and intend to use a combination of Black and White internals with Yellow Coolant. Despite serving as inspiration the trusty old power supply will not be used in this build.



My radiators arrived today from Overclockers UK with 1 x EK-Coolstream PE 360 Triple, 2 x EK-Coolstream XE 360 Triple & 1 x EK-Coolstream XE 480 Quad.



I have combined these with 15 x EK Vardar F2 fans which I intend to run as slow as possibly to still achieve decent cooling.



The only other component that I have ordered so far is a pair of Samsung EVO Pro 512 GB SSDs which I intend to run in RAID 0.



I intend to decide upon the rest of the components as I progress the build over the next 2 months. Initial ideas are below:

CPU: Broadwell E
Motherboard: Asus X-99 Pro (Or new Black and White Board if released with Broadwell E)
GPU: SLI GTX 1080 or equivalent

The plan is to use acrylic tube in the main compartment with flexible hoses in the lower radiator compartment for ease of assembly/draining etc. More to follow shortly including loop plans, wiring etc.

I intend to keep this log updated regularly and would appreciate any advice or suggestions from the community as this is my first foray in to project logs.

 

[Neutrino101]

Are you doing a dual loop or single?

My initial thought is for a large single loop, it appeals to me more than a dual loop in this case however I am open to ideas so will consider both going forward. I need to look at reservoir/pump placement once the case arrives and finalise plans for the loop. Not sure how long the lead times are for Parvum at the moment, ordered the case at the start of the week so we will see when it arrives.

 

[Neutrino101]

An RM750 to power hardware that needs all that cooling!! I really think the balance is out.

All that cooling is 5960X plus 4x 980Ti territory and thats 1350 watts draw easy.

I am indeed in the market for a good PSU for this build. The RM750 is simply what has inspired my colour scheme for the build, I should have been clearer that I will not be using it. I have always liked the Black with white and yellow colours on it, unusual to be inspired by the colours on a PSU but it is what has steered my choice for the build. I am going for a black and white case with black and white internals highlighted by yellow coolant, hopefully it will recreate the colours I like from my old RM750 which is currently powering my VR PC behind the TV to run the Vive.

Whilst internals are not yet set in stone I currently have my eyes on the upcoming Broadwell E 6900K and 3 way SLI GTX 1080 providing both are released within the next few months. Is there a suitable PSU you would recommend? I am very much open to advice and suggestions.

 

[Neutrino101]

I have given the PSU for this project some thought this evening and despite not knowing the exact power requirements of the hopefully soon to be released Broadwell E and GTX 1080 I believe that the "Antec High Current Pro 1300W 80+ Platinum" should be suitable for an overclocked 6900K and 3 Way SLI 1080.

Entirely coincidently it also happens to be exactly the right Black, Yellow and White colour to match the build. I appreciate all the feedback to help me make sensible decisions during this project. This is without doubt the most ambitious build I have done to date.

 

[Neutrino101]

Today I have been looking at the fans. The EK Vardar fans have been highly recommended by a lot friends and I can see why. I hooked some up to test and they are virtually silent and appear to move a lot of air compared to some old Silverstone fans I tested them against. They are however best described as ugly ducklings in the standard black and grey and would be more at home in an industrial factory or warship than a computer case.

As I have some time whilst I wait for the case to arrive from Parvum I have decided to spray the fan blades white so that they better match the White/Black theme of the project. Whilst it is possible to buy all white or all black as stock I really wanted to have a 50/50 mix to match the rest of the case. I suppose I could have bought 15 all white ones and 15 all black and swapped the blades but that would have got needlessly expensive. I have attached a photo of the freshly sprayed white blades next to the stock grey so that you can compare.



Personally I think it makes them look a lot better so will continue and spray the other 14 tomorrow...

 

[Neutrino101]

Agree that they look better and just finished spraying a couple of the ugliest duckling's (Noctua's, who would have thought !) myself for my build. The fans on my Predator are Vardar's in push pull so I may spray my blades white also (seeing as I have a can of primer and matt hite available). Did you leave the blades on or take them off?

They would be very difficult to spray with the blades on thanks to the cooling holes etc, so I took them off first.



The label on the back peels off relatively easily and comes off in one piece. The C-Clip is pretty easy to pop off with a very small precision screw driver. Be careful when you do as the spring under the ball bearing is pretty strong on these. Most times everything has still been held in place after removing the c-clip by the plastic o-ring that is located under the c-clip on top of the ball bearing and still holds everything in place by slightly fitting under the groove at the top of the fan shaft. Its easy to remove by slightly pushing it around until it pops out of the retaining groove on the shaft but have your hand above in case it all flys off at this point. The rear ball bearing and spring should now either fall out or pop out and then you can simply push the blades forward and they will come off. You need to mask the vent holes from the inside so nothing gets inside during spraying then seal the middle of the fan with masking tape as in the above photo. The blades are actually pretty rough, slightly pitted plastic so sanding them before spraying has made little difference and the primer held happily without doing so. 2 Coats of Halfords white plastic primer followed by 2 coats of Halfords Gloss white appliance spray did the job nicely.

Assembly is a bit fiddly thanks to a relatively powerful spring. The trick is to compress the rear ball bearing against the spring and then use the plastic o-ring to engage with the retaining groove on the fan shaft. This will hold everything in place whilst you then get the c-clip back on. You need to then align the o-ring and ensure that it is central to the ball bearing and not too far in to the retaining groove or the fan will have excess resistance when turning. A little bit of sewing machine oil dropped on to the o-ring finished things up.

In summary the Vardar fans are a bit fiddly to strip but entirely possible.

 

[Neutrino101]

So from all the early information it looks like we will all be limited to using only 2 way SLI with the new GTX 1080's.

This does produce a few planning problems for this build. As the 1080's are looking relatively frugal in their power requirements then the amount of cooling/PSU I am planning will be total overkill for simple 2 way SLI even when mixed with a Broadwell E 6900k or 6950x.

I do however intend to upgrade to 1080 TI/New Titan in 12 months or so and these may support 3/4 way SLI or require considerable more power each. I would rather not have to add more radiators and change the PSU in 12 months just to change to the new cards so will need to balance the build to have enough overhead to upgrade easily in 12 months time.

Anyone got a Crystal Ball handy?

 

[Neutrino101]

Do you know about EK-Vardar F4-120ER?

I looked at them however as far as I could see they are only available in all white or all black, not black outer with white blades like I am after. If you can get black and white mixed then I have missed them.

I also ruled them out as they have a base speed of 2200 rpm. I understood that PWM control range is only accurate from 50% to 100% of base rpm so the slowest I could run them via PWM would be 1100 rpm which is above the 800-1000 I was aiming to run them at during normal use. Once again if I am misinformed then please let me know.

 

[Neutrino101]

Just realised that ER stands for extended range so they can do 25-100% speed via PWM, so yes I have failed to do my full homework here. I assumed they all had the same PWM range as the F2's. If they make them in Black outer with white blades then that would be somewhat annoying, if not then I am happy that the F2 will do the job I need them to.

 

[Neutrino101]

I have continued to finish spraying the 15 fans today. I have however come across an anomaly that I hope that some of the more technically minded members of the community might be able to help me solve.

Out of the 12 fans I have stripped so far 11 have had red copper wire wound around the motor however 1 has had normal copper wire and stands out as different from all the others. Normal red is shown on the left in the picture below and the odd fan out on the right.




All the fans have the same Vardar F-2 packaging and all have the F-2 lables on the back. Is this simply a different batch or has something like a furious Vardar snuck in to my collection? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Neutrino101]

Still waiting for the case to arrive from Parvum so have started to look at the radiators/fans this week.

Below are a few images of the newly sprayed white and black EK Vardar fans placed on the EK rads with some Primochill Revolver fittings.





I plan to get some long 35mm screws (which I will paint white) so that the pair of radiators can be mounted in the lower compartment of the Parvum L1 with the fans on the outside of the acrylic mount and the rads inside to maximise the internal space for airflow. Thanks to the design of the case the fans will still be covered by the outer side of the case.

Next on my list is a good PWM fan controller, anyone got any recommendations? As it is a Parvum build the controller will have to be mounted internally, probably in the rear compartment.

 

[Neutrino101]

Sorry for the delay in posting, still waiting for the case to arrive from Parvum so everything has been on hold for a few weeks. My advice to anyone ordering a big case direct from them is to order it at least a month before you plan to start the build so that you don't end up waiting on the case.

The good news is that Broadwell E is now here so I can go firm on the ASUS X-99 Deluxe 2 motherboard with a Broadwell E 6900K processor. I will combine this with an EK Waterblocks monoblock. Total cost for the motherboard, processor and waterblock should be just over £1200! Ouch!

On the graphics card front its looking like I will be going 2 Way SLI 1080. All the talk of not recommending more than 2 way with 1080s has put me off the 3 way plans and I can't bring myself to have a 1080 just for Phys-X. The big choice is FE cards or one of the custom cards. I was slightly concerned to see that the FE cards with the EK waterblock can't use the new faster SLI bridge and have to use the old one. I'm not sure how much difference this will make but it has given me pause whilst I wait to see what custom solutions arrive with waterblocks in the coming weeks. Anyone know how much difference the new SLI bridge will make? I have also seen hints that all the custom cards are limited in overclock by a hard voltage cap so are no better than the FE no mater how many power connectors they have. Will wait for some reviews to see if this is true.

 

[Neutrino101]

Just a quick update for everyone. I am still waiting for the case to arrive so everything is still on hold at the moment. Sounds like Parvum have had a very busy month with a few unlucky supply delays. Still hopeful the case should be here later this week. Whilst waiting I have decided upon more of the internals as follows:

Motherboard: Asus X99 Deluxe 2

CPU: Broadwell E i7 6900K (Complete with EK monoblock)

Just realised that OC UK provide the above as a pre assembled bundle for only a few quid more than the parts, as it will save me some work will order this evening.

RAM: 32 GB Corsair Dominator (8x 4GB) (May upgrade to 64GB)

Storage: 512GB Samsung 950 Pro SSD M.2 and 2x 512GB Samsung 850 Pro SSD (Raid 0)

GPU: 2 X GTX 1080 SLI (undecided between FE with EK block or waiting for the custom cards at the end of the month)

Also ordered in some longer screws so that I can mount the lower radiators with the fans on the outside of the compartment and rads inside requiring the screws to go through the fans and the 5mm acrylic before securing to the rads. Will spray the heads white to match the colour scheme on the fans. Also couldn't resist getting a new hard tube bending kit from monsoon.

Hope to have more updates shortly as parts arrive. Any advice on the GPUs would be appreciated, anyone got a pair of 1080 FE under water yet? If so would you recommend or hold out for custom cards?

 

[Neutrino101]

Mmm, 8 cores at 3GHz (pre-overclock of course). 40 PCI-E lanes. 2x16 GPUs + 2x4 M.2 SSDs in RAID0 = perfect fit! Hmmm, why does the board not have a second M.2 slot Can you RAID them across the on-board M.2 and an add-on PCI-E board?

I looked in to this but couldn't find an answer, may just get 2 of the M.2 SSDs anyway and use the PCI-E board that comes with the X99 Deluxe 2 and find out. Not sure if you can install the OS to a Raid drive however, tried a few years back and couldn't get it to work.

 

[Neutrino101]

Ordered the Motherboard, CPU, EK monoblock and M.2 SSDs, still waiting on the case. Should have enough parts to post some progress in the next week. Will try and see if I can set up a raid 0 between the onboard M.2 and a PCIe M.2 and let you know the results.

Sadly I will be stuck racing a yacht around Ireland for the next 7 days so won't be posting for a week. Hope to have lots of photos of newly delivered kit for everyone when I get back in a week.

 

[Neutrino101]

So, like a lot of people posting here I am still playing the waiting game for bits to arrive. Almost everything is ordered now so I can give everyone an update on exactly what will be going inside when it finally arrives:

Case: Parvum L1

CPU: Broadwell E i7-6900K

Motherboard: Asus X99 Deluxe 2 (EKWB X99 Acetyl/Nickle Monoblock)

Memory: 64GB Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 3000Mhz

GPUs: 2 x Gigabyte GTX 1080 FE SLI (EKWB Acetyl/Nickle block and backplate)

Storage: 2 x Samsung 950 Pro 512GB M.2 SSDs & 2 x Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSDs in Raid 0

PSU: Seasonic P Series 1200W Modular Power Supply

Radiators: 2 x EK-Coolstream XE360 1 x EK-Coolstream XE480 & 1 x EK-Coolstream PE360

Coolant: Mayhems Pastel Yellow

Fittings: Primochill Revolvers

Tubing: 13/10mm Acrylic visible (Some soft tubing in lower compartment for ease of maintenance)

Fans: 15 x EK-Vardar F2

I decided against the original plan to use a pair of ASUS Strix 1080s as almost everything I have seen so far of Pascal indicates that when under water no amount of extra voltage is helping with the maximum stable clock speed and the FE are just as good and cheaper than any of the AIB cards. The only AIB cards that are outperforming FE cards appear to be doing so simply due to a better cooler so under water they are wasted money.

Next on my list is braided cables, does anyone know of a good black/white set that will fit the Seasonic P Series 1200W Modular Power Supply? If not then looks like I will have to do them myself...

 

[Neutrino101]

No, but I have just discovered that paracord is available in different thicknesses if that helps. I know it doesn'tl, you're after the easy solution - I can relate to that (I wanted Magic Foam to completely wash, wax and Polish my car with no effort ) - but if you end up having to make your own....paracord is a cheaper way of doing it. Personally I prefer the less shiny look...but I do appear to be in the minority *shrug*

Hope the yacht was in some way relaxing :-?

I will probably end up making up the cables myself, will have a look at paracord, I hadn't thought of using it but it is worth an experiment at least to see what it looks like.

I think there is a gap in the market for "Magic Foam" if I could find something to wash, wax and polish my car in one I would definitely buy it!

Racing was fun last week but the West Coast of Ireland is sadly not exactly relaxing in a yacht.

 

[Neutrino101]

Parts are finally starting to arrive after what has felt like weeks of waiting for some progress.

Today my EK-FC1080 Backplates arrived.





Sadly I am still waiting on the 1080s so nothing to fit them to yet...

I also received a pair of flexi SLI bridges that I intend to use until I can find or make an HB bridge that fits the 1080 EK blocks. By all accounts using 2 x flexi has the exact same results as using an HB bridge just wont look as good short term.

Just received shipping notification so my Motherboard, CPU and block should all be arriving tomorrow with the GPUs hopefully later in the week. Still waiting on the case from Parvum, 2 months now since it was ordered and the last week has seen radio silence, hoping they have not been adversely affected by Brexit. Still I am confident it will be worth the wait.

 

[Neutrino101]

The Asus X99 Deluxe 2 arrived today with the i7-6900K and the EK-Monoblock, the Haribo was however absent from my order!!

Pictures below showing the ASUS Deluxe 2 with the Monoblock Fitted, I went for the black Acetyl/Nickel block as I though it would go better with the black white theme than the bright Nickel/Transparent option.









For those wondering why the X99 Deluxe 2 looks a bit different with the block fitted its because you have to remove the substantial stock Mosfet cooler/heatsink to fit it.





The motherboard also comes with tonnes of extra goodies like a thunderbolt card, built in wifi, m.2 cards, extra fan controller etc which I will photograph if any one wants to see them.

Hopefully tomorrow the flexible tubing/fittings and drain valve for the lower compartment should arrive.

 

[Neutrino101]

Has anyone got any experience of U.2 SSDs? I have been looking at the motherboards U.2 port this evening and now have a sudden desire to use it.