On the subject of overkill storage, got this HyperX Predator 960GB in the post today. Mental that just about the most expensive component i've ever bought is 22x80mm. But oooh it's beautiful and dat HyperX packaging smell!
JR
JR
R1.0 INDUSTRIAL
- Thread starter JR23
- Start date
Soldato
That foam smells great. Like new trainers 
On Thursday I got the motherboard so i'm now very very close to having everything, late last night I started piecing it slowly together, taking lots of photographs of course. I'll be using an X99M-WS, it was a difficult decision between this and the Micro2 but as i've already used that in a project for a friend I felt that it was time to give ASUS' WS board a chance.
First thing to mount was the HyperX Predator M.2, I could have waited for the faster Polaris drives but at ~£100 less and with a significantly higher TBW rating I thought it was worth sacrificing the speed for what I consider the much prettier Predator. Can't say I find the 480GB version I have running at PCIe2.0 x2 slow!
Separated from it's PCI slot adapter the density is astounding, each individual chip is the same capacity as my first 2.5" SSD!
The huge socket was readied for a CPU!
After a lot of contemplation I decided to go with a Haswell-E chip for this build as the current mATX WS BIOS seems to have stronger memory support for the earlier generation.
With 4 dimm's in two banks the memory would be a real center point of this build but nothing was quite right, HyperX Predator too agressive, Klevv i'm just bored of seeing in WS boards already, G.Skill again just too complex to completely harmonize with the theme. So Dominator Platinum was the strongest candidate for it's symmetry and subtlety.
I'd fallen out of love with them when they changed to a sandblasted finish after the initial DDR3 production run, but, I still had an original quad channel kit! And as this will become my daily system it meant I could mix them up and continue to stare at the ornately machined heatsinks for another few years.
Very quickly I created a graveyard of Dominator Platinum parts, both old and new. I split the heatsinks off two of the DDR4 modules as well so I could swap the white sticker to the inside.
After a considerable amount of time gently prying off thermal pads and fiddling with tiny screws I had a very crisp looking DDR4 kit!
To match the Nickel/Plexi GPU blocks I also picked up a Supremacy EVO in the same finish.
Now the board is filling up the hybrid of original DDR3 and DDR4 Dominator Platinum looks just right with it's beautifully polished faces and machined tops.
Just enough time to try the board in the case for some strategically teasery lit shots.
Tomorrow I will be making two fan extensions from the Aquaero through the mid-plate to the rads so I can permanently assemble the pedestal. After that i'll be needing the PSU to gradually add cables and tubing until it's complete.
JR
Soldato
Drool worthy.
Didn't know the Dom Plats had changed to a blasted finish. The DDR4 for my build is the first kit I've ever owned and seen in the flesh. Works nicely for me since I'm covering up anything too shiny, but I can certainly see how it could be a "downgrade" of sorts coming from wonderfully milled DDR3 kits.
Still, your work is always greater than the sum of its parts, and this is no exception.
Didn't know the Dom Plats had changed to a blasted finish. The DDR4 for my build is the first kit I've ever owned and seen in the flesh. Works nicely for me since I'm covering up anything too shiny, but I can certainly see how it could be a "downgrade" of sorts coming from wonderfully milled DDR3 kits.
Still, your work is always greater than the sum of its parts, and this is no exception.
Associate
Shame the hardware manufacturers didn't have the foresight in sticking their labels the right way up,... or what would be the inside face of a Ram Module.
Making their labels reversible for Enthusiasts would be more appealing, too many Rig Builders,... I know it would for me anyway.
P.S
Thanks for the Update,... Looking great Pal.
Making their labels reversible for Enthusiasts would be more appealing, too many Rig Builders,... I know it would for me anyway.
P.S
Thanks for the Update,... Looking great Pal.
Baby update today but a milestone nonetheless, i've finished the bottom chamber linking the radiators and fans through the midplate. It seemed like a simple job at first but ended up taking quite a while. The loop was easy, just two 30mm pipes to push in at the same time as everything else.
The fans were a bit more complicated because neither connector would fit through the hole and they needed to be exactly the right length.
But eventually I got there and when all 8 fans spun up simultaneously much success! Hyped to start some big cables and tubes now.
JR
Soldato
You know, your cabling looks unreasonably neat...and you make it look so easy. It's enough to make an otherwise calm man start hating 
Hell, you've even pre-planned and allowed for the mod-cube and cut it into the acrylic...and not only is it flush, but you've chamfered the edges! ...I can tell because your photography is putting mine to shame to!
Hell, you've even pre-planned and allowed for the mod-cube and cut it into the acrylic...and not only is it flush, but you've chamfered the edges! ...I can tell because your photography is putting mine to shame to!
Even before the weekend has started I have lots to update you guys with, each day i've done a little before going to work so not too many pics have been taken but lots of progress. The first orders of business were the 8-pin EPS connectors as they would be right behind the CPU tubes.
After making each individual wire just the right length, threading them all through the midwall and assembling them into cables the next day I planned out what to do with all of the pump cables as it made sense to deal with the fiddly things first.
CPU tubes were simple 90° bends, measured, cut and fitted straight off.
The next cables I wanted to move onto were the PCIe 8 pins, hence I needed to fit the cards and everything that went before them.
It was pleasing to see when I looked down between the cards that the M.2 was still visible.
Still rocking the nut technique for Parvum alu PCI brackets using screws from the inside to locate the cards and then tightening them from above makes it so much easier to locate two cards and all the tubing simultaneously.
Very quickly the build is starting to look complete! The reservoir is the only big piece which is absent for now.
What can I say, MDPC-X, such consistency, much parallel.
Things are moving along equally as rapidly in the back too with the pumps completed as planned, and the SATA's too, all shade 19.
Yes, a PSU has appeared from nowhere, I was so impatient to open it and try it in the case on the day it released that I may have completely forgotten to take pics of it. But it's amazing!
Now i'm ready to start GPU cables! That may take some time for there are many.
JR
Soldato
And here I am struggling to find time and space to sand and polish a GPU backplate!
Lovely as always dude
Lovely as always dude
Soldato
Looking great. Is it just the perspective of the picture or are the 90 bends of the pipework to the CPU lower profile than normal? If so, did you freehand bend them or are there a set of mandrels that it would be useful to know about for 90 bends close together?
They are just the 'standard' 25mm radius you get from a monsoon mandrel, I really want to try the Bitspower 12mm OD kit to see if that little reduction in diameter helps with 12mm tube.
JR
Soldato
I've got the Barrow 12mm mandrels. Was surprised to find they're plastic but actually it helps because they're not cold when you start to wrap the hot pipe round them - of course, you can just warm up an alu mandrel. The Barrow are a larger radius than the Monsoon though.
I found a small piece of the furry side of velcro in the Monsoon cutter makes it perfect for 12mm OD...although still far too easy to cut into the metal if you're cack-handed like me
I found a small piece of the furry side of velcro in the Monsoon cutter makes it perfect for 12mm OD...although still far too easy to cut into the metal if you're cack-handed like me
Soldato
I've seen MNPCTech 1 inch billet feet used for 12mm OD tubing, so that's a bend radius of 18.7mm, pretty much a 1.5D centre line radius. Part of my routing will be reliant on getting down that small - I'm gunning between 15mm and 12mm CLR.
I'm a long way off tubing though so you'll probably get there before me, JR
I'm a long way off tubing though so you'll probably get there before me, JR
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Luckily I was so productive last week as a spontaneous 400 mile road trip stole most of my time this weekend! Still I had all of Sunday to make 6x PCIe cables, 2x SATA power, one molex and a 24-pin, which wasn't too impossible but it did mean I didn't really take any photographs of the process. (I will on PARVUM FTW next week, promise)
The PSU which spawned in last week without introduction is Silverstone's new 1200W Strider Platinum, they have added lots of much appreciated features over the Strider Gold, a semi-passive 140mm air penetrator, a lot lot more 8-pin connectors on the PSU itself and a power switch!
Combine all that new stuff with the amazing finish, unrivaled 1:1 pinout, Enhance OEM for the 1000/1200 Platinum and it's hard to imagine what else could possibly be done. But somehow Silverstone managed to go that tiny bit further and move all the annoying little white stickers which have to be there onto the side rather than the fan face, gg.
Surprisingly I had already built and partly sleeved an R1.0 with two Pro Duo's, that time I made each set of cables into a 24-pin it was very impressive but the way they all twisted over to get through the midwall just didn't seem natural.
So with mine I decided to treat them as individual 8-pins and keep them stacked horizontally through the midwall rather than end to end, they don't appear quite as disciplined but still a great flow and it did make the back side considerably easier which weirdly I find more important.
The 24-pin on the other hand I kept really tight to the board, just like the EPS and it's great too.
Well that is every cable finished, only one piece is left, the reservoir! Here it is fitted into the top 'accent' of the case.
Wats dis then?
JR
Soldato
That wouldn't be Aurora 2 in silver, by any chance?
Rubbish.
I feel like you need to make some epic sticky post about cable braiding, you clearly have the shrinkless look nailed so would be good to know your technique/tips on how to plan the cables/do it.
Also i'm curious as to whether Parvum ever considered actually retailing those custom plexi/res panels - pretty sure they would sell like crazy and once the design is done obviously its not like its much more difficult to produce over the usual panel.
Top work though, i'm almost looking forward to braiding some stuff later... Probably short lived excitement once I start!
I feel like you need to make some epic sticky post about cable braiding, you clearly have the shrinkless look nailed so would be good to know your technique/tips on how to plan the cables/do it.
Also i'm curious as to whether Parvum ever considered actually retailing those custom plexi/res panels - pretty sure they would sell like crazy and once the design is done obviously its not like its much more difficult to produce over the usual panel.
Top work though, i'm almost looking forward to braiding some stuff later... Probably short lived excitement once I start!
Soldato
Well you have nailed the theme. I actually started to feel quite depressed going through the pics lol.
Soldato
Associate
A weekend bump is deserved so more people can appreciate your amazing skills and photography. Always a pleasure to see.