Project T303

bobbarley · 14 Oct 2017 at 23:27

Bit of background and hopefully some regular updates on a refresh of my system. Trying to go for a really high end look on this one.

The family and I moved into our new gaff at the end of last year, which by no small coincidence came with a small office which I earmarked early on under the guise of needing somewhere for when I "work from home"

I moved my system into a Phanteks Eclipse P400 which I got cheap from Overclockers as B grade stock. Big upgrade over my old case, but not long after I regretted having a plastic side window as opposed to tempered glass. The front panel also added nearly 10c to my temps too.

Fast forward a few months and the urge to tinker with the PC was strong. That coupled with not being 100% happy with the Phanteks resulted in me purchasing this gorgeous chunk of sexiness.

In-Win 303

I only realised after ordering it that the new stock has a white interior, making this the last of the old stock. However I quite like the contrasting interior and it should work nicely with the black/white theme I'm going for.

Quick rundown of my specs

i5-4690k @ 4.6GHz
16GB Crucial DDR 3 1600MHz
Gigabyte Z97P-D3 motherboard
Corsair H100i GTX 240mm AIO
Asus 1080 Strix
OCZ ZT 750w PSU
2x240GB Sandisk SSD's
1TB WD HDD

More to follow as I start day 1!

bobbarley · 14 Oct 2017 at 23:49

Got cracking with the case earlier on. Stripped down both sides them popped the SSD's into the case. At first glance It's nice to see matching drives alongside each other being shown off.

However on closer inspection, OCD!! They don't look the same.

Whilst it really shouldn't be anything to worry or care about I might consider getting vinyl wrap of some sort to sort them both out. Haven't decided yet.

I then moved on to the subject of installing my watercooling. I looked at a lot of other 303 build logs and came to the conclusion there's to ways to properly mount the radiator. Option 1 is to mount it at the top on the front of the honeycomb grill, with the fans then on top of that. Whilst easy the problem with that is the tubes on the H100i are so rigid they'd push hard onto the glass case when closed. Which leads to option 2.

POWERTOOLS!

There's a convenient hole on the back side of the honeycomb grill perfect for putting the CPU block through. The only problem is that it's not wide enough. Cue one Dremel tool and newly purchased cutting disc and...

I don't think I did too bad a job enlarging the hole. Thankfully you won't see the inside of the case from the back, and from the front you can't see the hole anyway.

Radiator slots into place as snug as a bug, with tubes going down ready for fastening the block on toward the end of the build.

From the front it looks very neat indeed. I think it was the better option mounting the radiator behind the grill out of the way.

I added two of the three Thermaltake Riing 120mm fans that I ordered. They produce lovely white halos which will sit nicely with the theme I'm going for.

I added the third Thermaltake fan to the top. I'm annoyingly triggered by the fact I cannot get it to sit flush up against the middle fan. I can't screw it in closer with the radiator being in the way, the holes also sadly just don't line up properly to make it possible. I tried using bluetac to stick it on but with the honeycomb grill it's just not getting enough surface area to stick properly. I've also trial fitted an Antec fan to the rear of the case, along with the old Corsair fans that came with the AIO cooler to the bottom for some much needed air intake. I'll fit a third fan to the bottom if it doesn't interfere with the case and USB headers after the motherboard goes in. No LED's for the bottom.

That's as far as I progressed today with regard to getting hardware into the case. Got one or two other bits to round up then it should come together quite quickly fingers crossed.

bobbarley · 14 Oct 2017 at 23:57

For anyone familiar with the motherboard I've got, you'll be aware that the heatsinks are completely unacceptable.

Did a bit of work on them and am really pleased with how they turned out!

Bonus IO shield also colour corrected.

Aneskimo · 15 Oct 2017 at 09:55

Made a cracking start to this, I see what you mean about the gap between the fans is there a possibility of even elongating the whole a little and it can slide/screw over a little? I think you are on to a winner with that case and the motherboard looks stealthy now the heat sinks are colour coded.

BaroUK2 · 15 Oct 2017 at 10:22

Maybe put some rubber around edges in that hole so you dont damage cooling pipes or cables xD

bobbarley · 15 Oct 2017 at 11:42

It's on my list, although in fairness I filed the edges so they're quite smooth now.

bobbarley · 19 Oct 2017 at 20:17

After 4 days of waiting for ParcelFarce to turn up, I finally have my little upgrade.

bobbarley · 19 Oct 2017 at 23:21

Hit a bit of a stumbling block unfortunately. The CPU block has a cable that comes off of it to power/control the included Corsair fans. I switched them for Thermaltake Riing fans, but didn't realise until now that they're 3 pin without PWM, so the Corsair block/Link software can't control the fans, they just blast out at 100% all of the time.

Just ordered a PWM fan controller. Hopefully I can connect the input of it to the CPU block, then all the fans I require to the controller. then use the Link software to reinstate my custom fan curve.

SeanAngelo · 20 Oct 2017 at 00:18

looking good on the progress! i like what you've done to the motherboard!

bobbarley · 20 Oct 2017 at 00:33

Thank you! She's almost finished. Just waiting on the fan controller then I can tidy up a few of the cables as well. Also could do with one extra fan for continuity.

4790k is rock solid 4.6GHz @ 1.3v. When I have some time will push the clock a little higher, see what else it's capable of. Nice 25% CPU increase, should tide me over for a year or two until I decide where to go next.

SeanAngelo · 20 Oct 2017 at 01:30

bobbarley said:
Thank you! She's almost finished. Just waiting on the fan controller then I can tidy up a few of the cables as well. Also could do with one extra fan for continuity.

4790k is rock solid 4.6GHz @ 1.3v. When I have some time will push the clock a little higher, see what else it's capable of. Nice 25% CPU increase, should tide me over for a year or two until I decide where to go next.

can't wait to see the finished build!

thats a nice overclock you got there! what are the temps like?

or have you not tested it yet?

bobbarley · 21 Oct 2017 at 19:15

Finally she's almost finished!

So pleased with how the system looks, nice classy white. I just need to get some cable comes to neaten up the white extensions. Then waiting for my fan controller to arrive so it doesn't sound like a 747 on take off.

Overall it's a nice case to work with. If you plan to watercool then I'd definitely recommend taking a Dremel to it like I did. Cable management is also quite difficult with this case, I definitely recommend planning everything before screwing it down. I routed a lot of cables underneath the motherboard. That said, it's spacious inside which is great.

Airflow is interesting. My average temperature is higher than inside my old case (Phanteks P400), but maximum temperature is lower! I get around 33c average when browsing the internet etc, just under 60c when playing games, and it peaks at 75c when running benchmarks. Not sure if that means anything. GPU wise when benchmarking, if I have the fans on 100% is peaks at around 58c with the core overclocked to 2050MHz.

Pleased with the overall look of everything. A friend commented it's a bit too flash (he's a Mac lover), however I think the opposite. To me it seems pretty sophisticated and understated.

I just need to install the fan controller and do a little more on cable management. then might replace the bottom fans at some point.

Final Specs

In-Win 303 case
i7-4790k @ 4.8GHz
16GB Crucial DDR 3 1600MHz
Gigabyte Z97P-D3 motherboard
Corsair H100i GTX 240mm AIO
Asus 1080 Strix
OCZ ZT 750w PSU
2x240GB Sandisk SSD's
1TB WD HDD
11 fans lol

BaroUK2 · 21 Oct 2017 at 19:25

Looks very nice and neat. Nice job

famas · 21 Oct 2017 at 19:59

lovely build buddy. the 303 is a great looking case.

bobbarley · 21 Oct 2017 at 21:04

Thanks guys. Yeah the 303 is a beautiful case. It's not perfect but I'd say the advantages definitely outweigh the negatives!

bobbarley · 23 Oct 2017 at 19:29

Had this bad boy arrive today.

Can confirm it works a charm!

AIO CPU block > PWM Fan hub > Whatever fans I like

All controlled via Corsair Link software in Windows

Aneskimo · 23 Oct 2017 at 20:49

bobbarley said:

Such a clean look to it, congratulations mate

FL630 · 24 Oct 2017 at 14:19

How do you find this cases airflow with the 3rd fan venting into the PSU?

It's a stunner of a case but I always think it looks so restrictive. It's on my shortlist of new cases but that could be a major issue.

bobbarley · 24 Oct 2017 at 20:24

No PSU issues to speak of. It'll be taking air partially cooked by the GPU and directly it into the psu's intake fan. So it's still fairly effectively exiting the air out of the case.

I average about 32c at idle, however your mileage may vary due to ambient. At 100% load the CPU temperature hits 77c occasionally, with average being closer to high 60's. That's with an overclocked 1080 and 4790k.

mods1965 · 25 Oct 2017 at 06:23

Great set-up. That is a great case!