My first build! With pictures and shiny things.

[Xavier]

Well, it was time to update my rig! I've wanted to do it for months since my aging Nvidia Gt240 and i3 aged like milk instead of wine, and the HDD was already making some threateningly loud clicks. The insurance finally paid the damages of a motorcycle crash I had some months ago (don't worry, the bike is fine  ) so I compared prices, benchmarks and the like for a few days before finally choosing the components. I'm quite satisfied with the result, but I would like some criticism as with what could I improve or what better choices I could have made  .

· Case: Nox Coolbay SX USB 3.0
· PSU: Tacens Radix VI 650W
· CPU: Intel Core i5 4570 3.2GHz
· GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 760 Twin Frozr OC 2GB GDDR5
· Motherboard: MSI Z87 G43
· Primary storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB
· Secondary storage: WD Green 1Tb 5400rpm
· CPU cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 PRO Rev.2
· RAM: 8GB of Kingston HyperX Fury 1600mHz





And the mancave as it stands:

[guncrasher]

nice.  now really show us what you room looks like.



semp

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Other than having a power supply that I'm not familiar with your setup is pretty reasonable for a low cost box. I wouldn't have chosen the Kingston SSD though but I'm sure it will be better than a hdd.

What concerns me the most in your setup is your small screen size. That's your only true need for improvement.

[Xavier]

nice.  now really show us what you room looks like.

Here you go!

Other than having a power supply that I'm not familiar with your setup is pretty reasonable for a low cost box. I wouldn't have chosen the Kingston SSD though but I'm sure it will be better than a hdd.

What concerns me the most in your setup is your small screen size. That's your only true need for improvement.

The PSU brand Tacens is a spanish manufacturer, the build quality is okay for the price but the 140mm fan is atrocious. It stays at max rpm even when the pc is idling, it's a common issue with those power supplies as far as I know. So I replaced the fan and hooked it to the case fan controllers, it's quite silent now.

What SSD would you reccoment? I'd have preferred a 240GB unit but I was on a budget...

The screen does definitely need improvement. It's a 19'' 1366x768 LED, so no 1080p gaming for me  . I've seen some 23'' 1080p monitors for 98€, but it will have to wait a while!

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Here you go!

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The PSU brand Tacens is a spanish manufacturer, the build quality is okay for the price but the 140mm fan is atrocious. It stays at max rpm even when the pc is idling, it's a common issue with those power supplies as far as I know. So I replaced the fan and hooked it to the case fan controllers, it's quite silent now.

What SSD would you reccoment? I'd have preferred a 240GB unit but I was on a budget...

The screen does definitely need improvement. It's a 19'' 1366x768 LED, so no 1080p gaming for me  . I've seen some 23'' 1080p monitors for 98€, but it will have to wait a while!

I would probably have got a Samsung Evo and minimum 250Gb. But if you already bought the Kingston, stick with it. You'll only lose money if you start replacing it now. What you need is a bigger screen - that will improve your gaming experience far more than any other gear you bought.

[Bizman]

The PSU brand Tacens is a spanish manufacturer, the build quality is okay for the price but the 140mm fan is atrocious. It stays at max rpm even when the pc is idling, it's a common issue with those power supplies as far as I know. So I replaced the fan and hooked it to the case fan controllers, it's quite silent now.

Actually the Tacens VI series are made both by Channel Well and Huntkey, both of which are big manufacturers who also design and make PSU's under their own brands.

[Xavier]

Actually the Tacens VI series are made both by Channel Well and Huntkey, both of which are big manufacturers who also design and make PSU's under their own brands.

Didn't know about that, I heard they were manufactured in Spain. Have you had any experiences with their power supplies? Brand recommendations?

[Bizman]

Didn't know about that, I heard they were manufactured in Spain. Have you had any experiences with their power supplies? Brand recommendations?

My source was this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-oem-manufacturer,2913.html. For what I've experienced they aren't among the worst, meaning that they seldom break anything if/when they fail. Nor have they been blacklisted by Finnish electric devices authorities as unsafe. So using one should be OK until it fails.

As for brands, I've learned that Seasonic is one of the most reliable these days, although recently someone had issues with a "monday sample". I don't know for sure, but IMO it would make sense that if some manufacturer makes anything under their own brand, they might try to do things better than the "add your label here" bulk manufacturers. Of course they can't alter the blueprints and flaws in design when they build for other brands, but at least they can affect the quality of solderings and maybe even components.

There's one thing that makes me doubt about the quality of your PSU, though, and that's the trick you had to do for reduced fan noise. Temperature based fan control has been around for decades, so every manufacturer should know how to do it right. If it doesn't work as it should, the PSU should be RMA'd instead of ghetto hacked.

[ebfd11]

With the case you have be careful as it has poor airflow already and you are stuffing alot into it now and your wire management could be tightened up a little more. Hopefully you have a filter on that fan on the bottom as it will bring in alot of dust. Other than those things your rig looks good and hope it lasts for years to come.

LawnDart

[Xavier]

There's one thing that makes me doubt about the quality of your PSU, though, and that's the trick you had to do for reduced fan noise. Temperature based fan control has been around for decades, so every manufacturer should know how to do it right. If it doesn't work as it should, the PSU should be RMA'd instead of ghetto hacked.

The PSU doesn't have the best quality, for sure. Swapping the fan and hooking it up to the case fan controllers is something I do with evert PSU I've used. but I certainly didn't expect the stock fan to be so loud!

With the case you have be careful as it has poor airflow already and you are stuffing alot into it now and your wire management could be tightened up a little more. Hopefully you have a filter on that fan on the bottom as it will bring in alot of dust. Other than those things your rig looks good and hope it lasts for years to come.

LawnDart

The wire managing could be improved a lot, and I'll work on it next week to get better airflow. As far as ventilation goes, I got 3 120mm intake fans (2 front 1 bottom) and a 120mm exhaust. I tested a "balanced" setup on this case, having two intake fans and two exhaust fans, but I didn't see any improvement in the temperature of the components. So, to take advantage of the bottom fan's filter, I switched it to intake.

Here's a screenshot of the temps:




With stress testing the CPU doesn't climb past 50ºC, and the GPU with some overclocking doesn't climb beyond 68ºC. I don't really know if those temperatures are good or not, or how could I improve them. Any suggestions? 

[Bizman]

With the case you have be careful as it has poor airflow already and you are stuffing alot into it now and your wire management could be tightened up a little more. Hopefully you have a filter on that fan on the bottom as it will bring in alot of dust. Other than those things your rig looks good and hope it lasts for years to come.

LawnDart

Could you please explain? I did a Google search for pictures of that case and in my eyes it looked like if it had more places for fans there would be no steel frame left! Is there something my eyes didn't catch? Another thing I can't see is how to tighten the cables much more without twisting them to the point they break their respective connectors. Almost every cable has been tucked behind the motherboard. I must admit the picture, although sharp and clear, doesn't really make justice to the cable management.

[ebfd11]

Could you please explain? I did a Google search for pictures of that case and in my eyes it looked like if it had more places for fans there would be no steel frame left! Is there something my eyes didn't catch? Another thing I can't see is how to tighten the cables much more without twisting them to the point they break their respective connectors. Almost every cable has been tucked behind the motherboard. I must admit the picture, although sharp and clear, doesn't really make justice to the cable management.

I thought he had a different case and I admit my fault. He has 2 fans in front and 1 in back and possibilities for 2 on the side of the case, that's the fault of the manufacture. His Temps dont look too bad and   I saw closer pics of the case and for the space he has you really cant do much with wire management. But one thing i do on all builds is remove all wires that are already pre-installed and route them differently. Then I work with the main connectors 24 pin then 8 pin then vid card connectors and do my darnedest to hide those.

With this being his 1st build I think he did OK on the wire management, And I will give him some advise for the 1st time builder, get some help because once you build one its a dang addiction on doing upggrades.

Also check out http://www.overclock.net/ they have some great people there and some awesome builds you can look at and get ideas from.

LawnDart

[Xavier]

LawnDart, I just checked those forums and they're...amazing. Tons of content and a whole new world about cooling, I didn't even know you can use liquid cooling on a video card 

What you said about the cable management got me thinking. I actually have space to route the mainboard 8 pin connector through the back of the mainboard, and it would be much neater than the way it stands now. Should definitely work on the SATA cables and other motherboard connectors.

Yesterday I suspended the power supply fan on anti-vibration screws, now I can honestly say I'm pleased with the noise level! The only thing I can hear now is the air moving through the case (I silenced the HDD with an anti-vibration mount), and I'm guessing that it would improve with better cable management and less stuff in the way. Got any more tips on how I could make it more silent?

[Bizman]

Got any more tips on how I could make it more silent?

As stupid as it may sound, add more fans! If you can, make them bigger! And yes, I'm serious.

Here's some computer and fan noise facts:

• Fans make noise in three ways. The bearings make noise while rotating, the fan blades make noise while cutting through the air and the grille at the output side of the fan. All of these are increased with the rotating speed.
• The bearings can be of either ball or sleeve type. IMO quality matters more than type.
• There's also different types of fan blades. Some designs are plainly bogus, so do your homework by reading reviews.
• There's also many different types of grilles. A round wired spider web is the best. The honeycomb used in power supplies is also very good for minimum airflow resistance.
• You have to produce a certain amount of airflow for a certain amount of cooling. Clear? That amount can be produced with one little fan whistling like a Sabre Jet, or with one big or several small ones rotating slowly.
• Noise is measured by decibels (dB). Unlike many other values, dB's add in a logarithmic scale. Thus 20 dB + 20 dB isn't 40 dB, it's something like 22 dB. A constant hum below 25 dB is barely audible.
• Rotating speed can be decreased by reducing voltage. The easiest way is to get a fan speed controller. Remember to add fans to maintain the desired airflow!

Hope this short explanation will lead you to the silence level you want.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

As stupid as it may sound, add more fans! If you can, make them bigger! And yes, I'm serious.

Here's some computer and fan noise facts:

• Fans make noise in three ways. The bearings make noise while rotating, the fan blades make noise while cutting through the air and the grille at the output side of the fan. All of these are increased with the rotating speed.
• The bearings can be of either ball or sleeve type. IMO quality matters more than type.
• There's also different types of fan blades. Some designs are plainly bogus, so do your homework by reading reviews.
• There's also many different types of grilles. A round wired spider web is the best. The honeycomb used in power supplies is also very good for minimum airflow resistance.
• You have to produce a certain amount of airflow for a certain amount of cooling. Clear? That amount can be produced with one little fan whistling like a Sabre Jet, or with one big or several small ones rotating slowly.
• Noise is measured by decibels (dB). Unlike many other values, dB's add in a logarithmic scale. Thus 20 dB + 20 dB isn't 40 dB, it's something like 22 dB. A constant hum below 25 dB is barely audible.
• Rotating speed can be decreased by reducing voltage. The easiest way is to get a fan speed controller. Remember to add fans to maintain the desired airflow!

Hope this short explanation will lead you to the silence level you want.

I used to have a case with a 380mm fan. It turned so slowly that you could see the blades but it was silent. That one fan literally covered the whole case.