Monstrosity-i7 (New Build)

[paulpicks21]

Awesome mate! Is that all the parts you need now? And when will the build commence?

 

[ZaLiTH]

Hmm... Not quite there yet, my PSU is still out there somewhere, just gotta find it first..

I will be doing some minor work on the case in the meantime though.. Even though it's an easier size to manhandle with one arm than my 600T, it's just easier with a case handle hey..

Lol. So, hopefully I'll get to start on that sometime soon.

 

[ZaLiTH]

Well well, I don't want to jinx this, but I may possibly have found someone who can get me a shiny new SS-1000XP2.

I'll find out at the end of the month...

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Well well, I don't want to jinx this, but I may possibly have found someone who can get me a shiny new SS-1000XP2.

I'll find out at the end of the month...

I stumbled on these when I did a search to find out what a SS-1000XP2 was:

SS-1000XP2 Seasonic Platinum-series 1000W Power Supply unit | Laptop Direct

SS-1000XP2 Seasonic Platinum-series 1000W PSU, Modular, 80+ Platinum, 1x M/ B 20+4 PIN, 1x CPU 4+4 PIN, 1x CPU...

 

[ZaLiTH]

I stumbled on these when I did a search to find out what a SS-1000XP2 was:

SS-1000XP2 Seasonic Platinum-series 1000W Power Supply unit | Laptop Direct

SS-1000XP2 Seasonic Platinum-series 1000W PSU, Modular, 80+ Platinum, 1x M/ B 20+4 PIN, 1x CPU 4+4 PIN, 1x CPU...

Hehe.. Thanks, very helpful of you. However, I do know about those shops, but unfortunately neither of them had or would get stock of SeaSonic's 1000W Platinum PSU anytime soon.

 

[ZaLiTH]

Woohoo! At (&^%_)*ing last... Really do hate stupid miscommunication issues.

Almost 7 weeks back (16 May) I was told by a local shop that I had a 4 to 6 week waiting period for my original choice of a SeaSonic 1000w P2... So, somewhat dejected, I set a reminder to contact them later to check stock, and proceeded with hunting down the rest of the machine. With a big grin on my face, yesterday I contacted them again, expecting to get the missing piece of my puzzle.

That grin disappeared today when I found out it's a "special request only" PSU, and that the aforementioned shop only orders them from their overseas supplier when someone purchases one (yet they keep stock on hand of the more expensive CM V1200? which is made by the same manufacturer? wtf??).

Well anyway, this "special request" was put through today, fueled by a few almost nasty comments. Now my 4 to 6 week waiting period starts.

But still, this does mean I'm getting my SS... So it's not a total loss.

 

[paulpicks21]

Dam mate! Unlucky. At this rate Haswell E will be released before you start your build!

 

[ZaLiTH]

So.. Before this thread gets forgotten (it hasn't yet, has it?), I figured it was time for another quick update.

After months of searching and weeks of fighting with a "reputable SA tech supplier" who will remain unnamed, I've finally given up on my dream SS-1000-XP3 PSU. 'Tis very sad indeed, but maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

In it's place, I'll be running the CM V1000. jonnyGURU's review of this gold-rated PSU show it quite safely within the low platinum-rated range. It doesn't have the funky backlit modular plugs, but it's not a bad performing or looking PSU by any standards..

On the fan front, again, no luck finding anyone in SA who stocks Phanteks, so I settled on the Corsair AF/SP fans. I'm getting a few more than originally planned for two reasons; I'm not entirely sure which will work better in the different areas of the case, and I could only find the 120mm variants. So the case front is getting three fans instead of 2.

If things go according to plan, I should get a chance to start making plans for my custom case handle this coming weekend.. Just need to try find time to take my 750D over to a friend's place so we can scope it out and see what will and won't work.

My baby is getting there.. Slowly but surely. I just wish it was easier to source these PC parts in SA. What do you think, 2 month's til it's running? Maybe 3..?

Meh..

 

[ZaLiTH]

Happy dance time!

I love checking things off my list (OP updated too)... Finally received the last few internal components of my build today. I was only expecting them later this week, so that made my Monday (thanks Ikonix).

So, as it stands now, I have everything I need to start putting this monster together.. If things go according to plan, I'll be doing an open-box-desk-top test run in two weeks' time, and depending on what happens with the custom carry handle work, hopefully I'll get to move everything into the case shortly after that.

I also have to deal with moving house in the near future and work has been keeping me crazy busy, even when I'm not at work. Although, I am glad there aren't more hours in a day, because even if there were, they probably still wouldn't be enough.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Oh, you are going to have some fun! That is an impressive pile of parts!

I know what you mean about work keeping you crazy. I'm so glad I'm retired!

You mentioned earlier you weren't sure about which fans to use where. AF means AirFlow and give the most air movement when the airflow is unimpeded. SP means Static Pressure and give more air movement the AFs in situations where there is resistance to the flow of air. In a nutshell, you use the AFs where the fan will be blowing out from free air to free air, such as exhaust fans. The SPs are best for where the air has to be blown through something like a radiator or heatsink and/or drawn through something like a filter, such as filtered intake fans. The AFs can be used for intakes if you are not going to filter them and they don't have to blow through a stack of HDDs.

 

[ZaLiTH]

Oh, you are going to have some fun! That is an impressive pile of parts!

I know what you mean about work keeping you crazy. I'm so glad I'm retired!

That I definitely will hey, thank you. I've been itching to do this 'dream build' idea for a long time, so I can't really ignore the chance to..

You mentioned earlier you weren't sure about which fans to use where. [snip]

Yeah, I thought it was something like that. Although I must admit, I did go read up on them first just to be sure.. However, this is why I couldn't really decide which ones to use:



(Pic borrowed from TechPowerup, mine is in a friend's workshop..)

Corsair say the fan spaces below those bays are for "free flowing fans". But that doesn't look too open to me... So, I plan to give them both a try and see which is happier there.

 

[paulpicks21]

I am very happy to hear you finally have all the parts mate. It must be very frustrating now not to have the time to put it together but I am sure you will have a lot of fun when you finally do!

You have some great parts and it's going to be one awesome build!

 

[ZaLiTH]

So.. Since my weekends these days seem to be filled with anything and everything except building my monster, I decided to start putting it together tonight instead.

...and I've already run into a few issues. The gorgeous Corsair fans I got are all the 3pin non-PWM type, which I just noticed will not work with my ThermalTake cooler. I just ordered two SP120 PWM versions from a local PC store, so I should hopefully get those before the week is out, but I do feel somewhat daft for not thinking of that previously.

Also, it seems the mounting holes on these SP and AF fans are far from sturdy. Already broke one of them trying to cut into the fan plastic with one of the standard fan screws. Looks like the corner pieces can be removed, so I can flip it around and use the other side, and since the front case fans and the two on my radiator use long screws that go into a metal plate behind the fan, they're safe.. I just hope I can get the case fans mounted without causing any further damage.

One very sad panda right here..

 

[paulpicks21]

Bad luck mate.

If there was an award for the longest build I think you might have it in the bag lol.

I hope the fans arrive swiftly.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

So.. Since my weekends these days seem to be filled with anything and everything except building my monster, I decided to start putting it together tonight instead.

...and I've already run into a few issues. The gorgeous Corsair fans I got are all the 3pin non-PWM type, which I just noticed will not work with my ThermalTake cooler. I just ordered two SP120 PWM versions from a local PC store, so I should hopefully get those before the week is out, but I do feel somewhat daft for not thinking of that previously.

Also, it seems the mounting holes on these SP and AF fans are far from sturdy. Already broke one of them trying to cut into the fan plastic with one of the standard fan screws. Looks like the corner pieces can be removed, so I can flip it around and use the other side, and since the front case fans and the two on my radiator use long screws that go into a metal plate behind the fan, they're safe.. I just hope I can get the case fans mounted without causing any further damage.

One very sad panda right here..

Try putting a little bar soap on the fan screw threads before screwing them into the fans.

 

[ZaLiTH]

Try putting a little bar soap on the fan screw threads before screwing them into the fans.

Well now, in all my years in the computer world, I've never heard that one.. Makes perfect sense though, since it would allow the rest of the screw thread to slide more easily once the front has cut into the plastic. I'll give it a shot tonight, thanks for the tip.

 

[Layback Bear]

ZaLiTH that bar of soap trick has been around for hundreds of years.
It started to the best of my knowledge when driving nails in hardwood like oak. They soaped the nails so they could drive them without bending the nails.
I have had many brands of fans and never had the problem you are having. Try using another set of screws. One set could of been made out of specs.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

ZaLiTH that bar of soap trick has been around for hundreds of years.
It started to the best of my knowledge when driving nails in hardwood like oak. They soaped the nails so they could drive them without bending the nails.
I have had many brands of fans and never had the problem you are having. Try using another set of screws. One set could of been made out of specs.

Actually, when driving nails in hardwood, soaping the nails could cause the wood to split. What works better is to use a hammer to blunt the point of the nail a bit. That causes the wood fibers to crush under the end of the nail, making a hole, instead of merely getting pushed aside, possibly causing a split. Having a hammer with a properly dressed face (slightly crowned and smooth, but not polished; a checkered face is great for rough work but not for finish work) also helps to prevent bending, along with hitting the head of the nail squarely (who knew hammering nails was an acquired skill?).

If the wood is so hard the nail still tend to bend, drilling a pilot hole is necessary. A quick and dirty way of making a pilot hole if the appropriate bit wasn't available was to chuck the pointed in of the same size nail in a drill and cut the head off square. The sharp edge that remained would drill a hole with a bit of effort (that tricked worked best on brads smaller nails).

Nowadays, pneumatic nail guns are the best way to nail without bending (not to mention faster). Even for small projects around the house (and an occasional large one), I use a pneumatic brad nailer that handles 16 ga. brads 5/8" to 1.5" long. One of these days, I'm going to break down and get a little pin nailer.

Soaping was done on screws. Paraffin (wax for you folks on the east side of the pond) also worked but could stain wood.

I minored in Industrial Arts Education when I was in college and worked in cabinet shops for a short while after graduating (jobs were scarce at the time) until I landed in a much better paying job with good bennies, mostly working in warehousing. I learned the soap on screw threads trick, however, from my daddy when I was a kid (he also kept a block of paraffin in his little workshop for lubing screws).

Corsair fans have sad reputation for breaking at the screw holes (I've seen a lot of complaints about that in reviews and on the Corsair forums). Soaping may or may not help but it costs little to nothing to try.

 

[ZaLiTH]

Corsair fans have sad reputation for breaking at the screw holes (I've seen a lot of complaints about that in reviews and on the Corsair forums). Soaping may or may not help but it costs little to nothing to try.

I only realised this after getting them.. Not sure how I missed the complaints beforehand, the info I found would have made me think twice. I'll only know once it's all running whether or not it's worth the extra effort. Must admit, they do look really awesome though.

One other point I'm going to try is holding a spacer of sorts inside the corner from the outside edge. While turning in the screws, the whole rubber section in the corner twists and bends horribly.. I'm hoping that holding it more firmly will help a bit with getting the screw to cut in more cleanly. Times like this that I really miss that darn left hand..

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...While turning in the screws, the whole rubber section in the corner twists and bends horribly.. I'm hoping that holding it more firmly will help a bit with getting the screw to cut in more cleanly. Times like this that I really miss that darn left hand..

That's why I suggested the soap. It's lubricating qualities may allow the screw to turn more freely in the rubber without twisting it (the rubber, not the screw) all out of shape.

What's going on with the left hand?