Associate
Current specs (build log below):
As stated below I currently have the CPU running at 4.8GHz stable but in attempt to make an appearance in the OCUK Sandy Bridge 5GHz Club I've managed to peak at just over 5.2GHz (with a core voltage of 1.425 in BIOS and 1.432 in CPU-Z, screenshot here).
I'll be keeping this page up to date whenever anything changes.
BUILD LOG:
So, it was becoming evident that my old Q6600 rig was in need of upgrading and over the last few weeks I've been putting the new one together. I was initially only planning on upgrading my graphics card, watercooling loop and case as my GPU was out of date, watercooling was naff and my old NZXT Lexa Blackline (AKA Darth) had gotten a bit beaten up and wasn't big enough to fit upgraded watercooling inside.
So I started out by buying the new case and in the end I settled on an NZXT Phantom in white. Seems to have been a good choice, the cooling is superb and imo it looks awesome.
From this I think you can see where project Storm Trooper emerged!
Darth being overthrown by the Strom Trooper. (Old vs New.) Click to enlarge.
The onboard HD audio and exceptional warranty along with its performance then lead me to an XFX Radeon HD 6950 (potentially going to unlock in future if needs be) and my watercooling upgrade led me from my BigWater setup to a custom rig comprising the Thermaltake Pump/Res combo (suprisingly good!) an EX Supreme LT CPU block and an EK 120.2 rad. The temps I got with these upgrades added to my Q6600 build (in the Phantom) blew the BigWater 'out of the water' reducing load temps by 16C!!
Old setup in the new case with the upgraded cooling and GPU. (I now have another 200mm fan above the rad!) Click to enlarge.
EK Supreme LT CPU waterblock. Bloody good performer and a great price too. Click to enlarge.
I then bought a Samsung PB22-J 64GB SSD off a mate for £60 but the motherboard I was using (ASUS P5N32-E SLI) didn't do AHCI mode rendering the drive pretty much useless to me. After a bit of umming and ahhing I decided this was the final straw with this mobo (couldn't get my Q6600 past 3.2 with it which annoyed me), took the leap to Sandy Bridge and bought a 2500K, MSI P67a-GD65, 4GB of G-Skill RipjawsX PC12800 C7 RAM and some clear tubing and blue dye so that my WC loop would match my rig. On top of this I went for an extra 200mm NZXT case fan for the roof so that the radiator had airflow through it on both sides, I was planning on doing this anyway though.
Boxes of most of all the major upgrades less the SSD. Click to enlarge.
Now it's all assembled I'm really happy with the outcome, I've spent a LOT of cash (don't even want to total it up) but it's been worth it. I hope you'll agree it looks a pretty sexy build.
Powered down. Click to enlarge.
All systems go - no camera flash. Click to enlarge.
Update 13/02/2011:
Just unlocked and overclocked my graphics card so it's now running as a 6970 with a core speed of 900MHz and is at +20% power.
Looking into adding the GPU into the water loop now too as it's running at 60C idle and 90C on load with the fan going crazy.
Update 16/02/2011:
GPU is now in the water loop with an EK FC6970 Waterblock (pictured below).
Apologies for the crap picture, forgot to photograph before it went in. Click to enlarge.
Temps ran up to about 80C on the CPU and just over 50C on the GPU at simultaneous full load. This was a bit high for my liking so I've inverted the back fan to blow cold air into the radiator. Obviously these temps will never be reached under normal use so they seem OK. I was potentially going to add a second rad but I'm not sure it'll be needed, I have designed a custom fan shroud to channel all air drawn from the 200mm fans through the rad and am waiting on a quote for it being produced.
Build as of today, apologies for the saturation. Click to enlarge.
Update 18/02/2011:
Been doing a bit of GPU overclocking. With stock 6970 volts I've managed to get it up to 980MHz core clock and 1450MHz mem clock. Although I've not tried pushing the mem clock any higher the core clock causes crashes at 990MHz. Over the weekend I'll see if I can up the voltage a bit and hit 1000+MHz core clock and a higher mem clock. GPU is now sitting at 50C max under full load in Furmark (no idea why it's lower than before).
I'm also looking to get a couple of 120mm fans for under the rad rather than having a shroud made which would be pretty expensive as it's too big to be printed in plastic.
Update 20/02/2011:
Well I've managed to get a Unigine Extreme bench at 1010/1535 with voltage at 1.2V. Most it could manage in Vantage was 998/1535 though as I'm not too keen on going over 1.2V. Anyway, I've clocked it down to 960/1520 for everyday use at 1.175V and it seems pretty happy running pretty much everything. Really happy with how my system is overclocking!
Update 22/02/2011:
Right then. I've bought a couple of new fans to sit on the radiator rather than relying on the 2 big ones above it to pull the air through, as I mentioned above the shroud wasn't going to be feasible. The fans I went for are Akasa Vipers (same as Apaches but can hit a higher RPM). At full belt they push a LOT of air which makes a bit of noise going through the rad but not too much, it's not really a problem though as on low they're silent. They're currently going through the Phantom's fan controller but I'm probably going to put them onto the mobos PWM socket at some point to adjust them automatically with CPU temp.
New temperatures are:
Anyway, the most important upgrade (judging by the feedback from you all) has also been implemented and the awful PSU cables now run straight round the back with GPU and Mobo cable extensions neatening it up significantly.
Latest pic with rad fans and cable extensions in. Click to enlarge
The fan blades are a bit garish but I quite like them, might spray/dye/re-colour them at some point.
Update 22/02/2011:
Updated specs, photos and update here well overdue. Had an overhaul over the last month or so: another GPU, new PSU, second SSD and spruced up the WC loop somewhat.
___________________________________________
Hope anyone who's read this far has enjoyed it.
Project Storm Trooper out.
G
- Case:
NZXT Phantom White
2 x 200mm NZXT Fans (Top Out)
3 x 120mm NZXT Fans (Side and Back, All In)
[*]Mobo:
MSI P67a-GD65
[*]CPU:
Intel Core i5 2500K (at 4.8GHz)
[*]RAM:
4GB G.Skill RipjawsX PC12800 C7 (1600MHz, 7-8-7-24)
[*]GPU:
Watercooled XFX Radeon HD 6950 (900MHz CC/1400MHz MC)
MSI TwinFrozr III Radeon HD 6950 (900MHz CC/1400MHz MC)
[*]SSD:
40GB Intel SSD 320
64GB Crucial M4
[*]HDD:
500GB Seagate Barracuda
500GB WD Caviar Green
1TB WD Caviar Green
[*]Cooling:
EK Supreme LT CPU Block
EK FC6970 Full Cover VGA Waterblock
EK CoolStream XT 120.2 Rad w/ 2x 120mm Akasa Vipers
EK Multi-Option Res X2 150 Advanced
Alphacool Laing D5 w/ EK X-Top
3/8" White PrimoChill PrimoFlex Tubing w/ Compression Fittings
De-Ionized Water, Silver Kill Coil and Mayhems Deep Blue Dye
[*]PSU:
Cooler Master Silent Pro 850W
[*]Optical:
Pioneer BD-Rom
[*]Mouse/Keyboard:
Mionix Naos 5000
Razer Black Widow Mechanical Keyboard
Razer n52te SpeedPad
As stated below I currently have the CPU running at 4.8GHz stable but in attempt to make an appearance in the OCUK Sandy Bridge 5GHz Club I've managed to peak at just over 5.2GHz (with a core voltage of 1.425 in BIOS and 1.432 in CPU-Z, screenshot here).
I'll be keeping this page up to date whenever anything changes.
BUILD LOG:
So, it was becoming evident that my old Q6600 rig was in need of upgrading and over the last few weeks I've been putting the new one together. I was initially only planning on upgrading my graphics card, watercooling loop and case as my GPU was out of date, watercooling was naff and my old NZXT Lexa Blackline (AKA Darth) had gotten a bit beaten up and wasn't big enough to fit upgraded watercooling inside.
So I started out by buying the new case and in the end I settled on an NZXT Phantom in white. Seems to have been a good choice, the cooling is superb and imo it looks awesome.
From this I think you can see where project Storm Trooper emerged!
Darth being overthrown by the Strom Trooper. (Old vs New.) Click to enlarge.
The onboard HD audio and exceptional warranty along with its performance then lead me to an XFX Radeon HD 6950 (potentially going to unlock in future if needs be) and my watercooling upgrade led me from my BigWater setup to a custom rig comprising the Thermaltake Pump/Res combo (suprisingly good!) an EX Supreme LT CPU block and an EK 120.2 rad. The temps I got with these upgrades added to my Q6600 build (in the Phantom) blew the BigWater 'out of the water' reducing load temps by 16C!!
Old setup in the new case with the upgraded cooling and GPU. (I now have another 200mm fan above the rad!) Click to enlarge.
EK Supreme LT CPU waterblock. Bloody good performer and a great price too. Click to enlarge.
I then bought a Samsung PB22-J 64GB SSD off a mate for £60 but the motherboard I was using (ASUS P5N32-E SLI) didn't do AHCI mode rendering the drive pretty much useless to me. After a bit of umming and ahhing I decided this was the final straw with this mobo (couldn't get my Q6600 past 3.2 with it which annoyed me), took the leap to Sandy Bridge and bought a 2500K, MSI P67a-GD65, 4GB of G-Skill RipjawsX PC12800 C7 RAM and some clear tubing and blue dye so that my WC loop would match my rig. On top of this I went for an extra 200mm NZXT case fan for the roof so that the radiator had airflow through it on both sides, I was planning on doing this anyway though.
Boxes of most of all the major upgrades less the SSD. Click to enlarge.
Now it's all assembled I'm really happy with the outcome, I've spent a LOT of cash (don't even want to total it up) but it's been worth it. I hope you'll agree it looks a pretty sexy build.
Powered down. Click to enlarge.
All systems go - no camera flash. Click to enlarge.
Update 13/02/2011:
Just unlocked and overclocked my graphics card so it's now running as a 6970 with a core speed of 900MHz and is at +20% power.
Looking into adding the GPU into the water loop now too as it's running at 60C idle and 90C on load with the fan going crazy.
Update 16/02/2011:
GPU is now in the water loop with an EK FC6970 Waterblock (pictured below).
Apologies for the crap picture, forgot to photograph before it went in. Click to enlarge.
Temps ran up to about 80C on the CPU and just over 50C on the GPU at simultaneous full load. This was a bit high for my liking so I've inverted the back fan to blow cold air into the radiator. Obviously these temps will never be reached under normal use so they seem OK. I was potentially going to add a second rad but I'm not sure it'll be needed, I have designed a custom fan shroud to channel all air drawn from the 200mm fans through the rad and am waiting on a quote for it being produced.
Build as of today, apologies for the saturation. Click to enlarge.
Update 18/02/2011:
Been doing a bit of GPU overclocking. With stock 6970 volts I've managed to get it up to 980MHz core clock and 1450MHz mem clock. Although I've not tried pushing the mem clock any higher the core clock causes crashes at 990MHz. Over the weekend I'll see if I can up the voltage a bit and hit 1000+MHz core clock and a higher mem clock. GPU is now sitting at 50C max under full load in Furmark (no idea why it's lower than before).
I'm also looking to get a couple of 120mm fans for under the rad rather than having a shroud made which would be pretty expensive as it's too big to be printed in plastic.
Update 20/02/2011:
Well I've managed to get a Unigine Extreme bench at 1010/1535 with voltage at 1.2V. Most it could manage in Vantage was 998/1535 though as I'm not too keen on going over 1.2V. Anyway, I've clocked it down to 960/1520 for everyday use at 1.175V and it seems pretty happy running pretty much everything. Really happy with how my system is overclocking!
Update 22/02/2011:
Right then. I've bought a couple of new fans to sit on the radiator rather than relying on the 2 big ones above it to pull the air through, as I mentioned above the shroud wasn't going to be feasible. The fans I went for are Akasa Vipers (same as Apaches but can hit a higher RPM). At full belt they push a LOT of air which makes a bit of noise going through the rad but not too much, it's not really a problem though as on low they're silent. They're currently going through the Phantom's fan controller but I'm probably going to put them onto the mobos PWM socket at some point to adjust them automatically with CPU temp.
New temperatures are:
- Idle temps with the fans on low are roughly 5C lower than before at a 26-27C average (although my room's quite hot at the moment).
- CPU under full load in IBT (GPU Idle) hits 66C but settles around 65C with the fans at max RPM.
- Graphics card at full load in FurMark Xtreme Burning Mode (CPU 25%) sits at 41C with the fans on max. This is overclocked at 960/1500MHz.
- CPU and GPU both under full load (FurMark + 3xPrime) peaked at 72C but settled around 70C, again fans on max. They were hitting 82C after 20mins before and still rising slowly.
Overall I'm pretty happy with these, I did have to shorten the bolts supporting the CPU block to get the fans in but otherwise it was pretty straight forward. Why EK give you silver fan bolts with a black rad I'll never know!
Anyway, the most important upgrade (judging by the feedback from you all) has also been implemented and the awful PSU cables now run straight round the back with GPU and Mobo cable extensions neatening it up significantly.
Latest pic with rad fans and cable extensions in. Click to enlarge
The fan blades are a bit garish but I quite like them, might spray/dye/re-colour them at some point.
Update 22/02/2011:
Updated specs, photos and update here well overdue. Had an overhaul over the last month or so: another GPU, new PSU, second SSD and spruced up the WC loop somewhat.
___________________________________________
Hope anyone who's read this far has enjoyed it.
Project Storm Trooper out.
G
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