Building A Liquid-Cooled MicroATX Gaming Monster

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[citation][nom]hyteck9[/nom]Another vote here too! Post the noise levels please. 2 radiators/fans has got to make some racket, and if it didn't knock the CPU temps out of the park, and it isn't silent... why do I want it again?[/citation]
Same question.
 
[citation][nom]Rizlla[/nom]I take it the 750Gb HDD's were some of the parts just lying around, coz I think it would be better to use 1TB HDD's. Great article I loved it. I would like to see you work in the PNY setup in future SBM builds if it is not stupidly priced.[/citation]They actually were picked for thermal and weight considerations, REALLY!
[citation][nom]DeltaLima[/nom]""Maximus IV Gene-Z’s habit of disabling low idle power states when XMP memory mode is enabled""WHAT? How come you can cheat all you fans? This is absolutly wrong. I think you should do your homework before posting such false information. 1.6GHz idle @ 1v easily done.This board OC like a dream, forget this article and Google for GENE-Z owners and you'll find valuable information. The RoG forums also have an OC guide and another guide how to use the Offset mode.Sorry but almost 20yo Toms just lost some credibility...[/citation]It's 100% accurate and honest information. On the other hand, I see you wrote "Can be done" and see a scam coming...

OK, so lots of things can be done but weren't done because automatic settings were used. BTW, I just tested a Gigabyte board that did NOT disable the feature automatically and did NOT require it to be manually re-enabled.
[citation][nom]rubix_1011[/nom]Asetek does not equal liquid cooling. It's hype like this that really cause people who aren't in the 'know' to think they are.[/citation]Hype? Are you trying to say the Low Cost Liquid Cooling company's products are not the epitome of performance? Because that wasn't even suggested here.
 
[citation]All of these careful tests and considerations lead us to two conclusions. First, we were spot-on by stating that the only deficiency in the SBM $2000 PC was the motherboard’s voltage regulator, which only limited its overclocking capability. Second, it’s now obvious that most power uses can get even more performance in an even smaller size through careful parts selection.[/citation]
Excellent! I really enjoy it when, despite the nattering of drones, you guys can show that the points your experienced authors made were correct.
I too like to take minimalist approach(es) on builds; it could be any or all of budget, power use, noise, and/or size. This one shows that the micro-ATX platform is perfectly viable for an "enthusiast-class" build. I also think that if you're going to use liquid cooling, from a practical standpoint this is the only way to do it; no muss, no fuss, it's just done. I'll add my voice to those asking about the noise on this one though.
 
[citation][nom]jtt283[/nom][citation]All of these careful tests and considerations lead us to two conclusions. First, we were spot-on by stating that the only deficiency in the SBM $2000 PC was the motherboard’s voltage regulator, which only limited its overclocking capability. Second, it’s now obvious that most power uses can get even more performance in an even smaller size through careful parts selection.[/citation]Sorry jtt283, noise wasn't tested. I can tell you that it's similar to the Antec SBM build at idle, so I'm guessing low 30's. And it's similar to the Antec SBM build at full CPU power, so I'm guessing mid 40's. Unlike the Antec SBM build, it doesn't jump out of the high 40's under full GPU load because the fans on the cards don't speed up very much.[citation][nom]DeltaLima_[/nom]No scam. You need to enable the Offset Mode and for that to happen you need to change the VCore Phase Control option from Extreme.Please read http://www.asusrog.com/forums/show [...] erclockingSorry for name change, when I try to post comment it says error, I say fine I'll register but it says email already exist then I try to retrieve password and it says email does not exist in database.[/citation]That's certainly easier than "correcting" what happens when you set some Asus boards to 100.00 MHz. Because when you do that, they jump all the multipliers to 38x yet keep that menu hidden. And when you unhide the menu, they jump all the multipliers up to 42x. So you're forced to set EVERYTHING manually just to get "default" settings 😛
 
I have always equated micro boards with my pos Dell slim-line and wondered why anyone would give up the expansion potential of a full ATX for my horrid experience. Seeing a well-appointed build that does more than I would ever ask of my home pc is a revelation.

As always, a great review.

Although it makes the lack of editorial attention to the news articles even more glaring. (An 8 GB HDD!!!1! :ouch: )
 
[citation][nom]MasterMace[/nom]Isn't the Power Supply the cause of your bottleneck?You're using an 850W PSU on a rig that's pumping 900W.[/citation]You're going backwards, the PC is using just under 770W if you read the last page :) The rest is lost by the power supply as heat.
 
Im surprised you build such a great system and didnt really show what the gpus could do. I would love to see what they could do with a gpu renderer. Small lux or blender cycles. Sorry games fps doesnt matter much to me. But the ability to render a frame a couple seconds faster means hours of savings.
 
the last few system builder marathons made you guys look bad but this article fixes that. You took something slightly unconventional and made it beautiful.

But why the $300 ram? It can't be necessary to pay that much to oc the cpu.
 
Questions of the PNY's LC 580s has popped up on various forums. In my mind, they didn't exist until Tom's said so. Well Tom said so and now I believe it. (I was very skeptical about a cpu+gpu with 120mm rad, and putting in a 2nd one and having to mount another 120mm rad, but those concerns were addressed very well, Thanks Tom!)
 
Are those hybrid air/liquid gpus? That would explain how you are able to get away with so little radiator surface area. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw a GTX 580 and CPU on one radiator. I thought you were building a kettle for a moment.

Is it actually possible to keep the gpu fan levels low? Otherwise it strikes me they'd be very noisy right up against each other.

Though that means you have even more fans than normal, which kinda negates my original reason to liquid cool: silence.
 
[citation][nom]clonazepam[/nom]Questions of the PNY's LC 580s has popped up on various forums. In my mind, they didn't exist until Tom's said so. Well Tom said so and now I believe it. (I was very skeptical about a cpu+gpu with 120mm rad, and putting in a 2nd one and having to mount another 120mm rad, but those concerns were addressed very well, Thanks Tom!)[/citation]I would be skeptical about using it with an overclocked LGA 1366 CPU, but it appears well-matched to the lower-heat overclocked Sandy Bridge[citation][nom]d0gr0ck[/nom]Are those hybrid air/liquid gpus? That would explain how you are able to get away with so little radiator surface area. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw a GTX 580 and CPU on one radiator. I thought you were building a kettle for a moment.Is it actually possible to keep the gpu fan levels low? Otherwise it strikes me they'd be very noisy right up against each other.Though that means you have even more fans than normal, which kinda negates my original reason to liquid cool: silence.[/citation]Yes to hybrid but PNY did not change the fan map. In other words, the fans don't spin up because the GPU is cooled enough by the radiator to prevent it from reaching the higher parts of the fan map. Increasing the graphics card fan speed manually is require only if you want a good GRAPHICS RAM overclock.
 
I liked this build. Glad you put to rest concerns about the PSU; I was one of the ones with concerns, based on the overclocking results of the $2k SBM, and it's good to see that it can do what's asked of it!

Also, the image of the case interior once assembled is impressive. This is why people shouldn't rely on Alienware so much- with some good spatial skills and creativity, anyone can design and build a well-put-together pc, and with experience, even a gorgeous one. I also like the performance (and temps) of these liquid-cooled GPUs. Not too long ago, I wouldn't have even considered liquid cooling for my CPU or GPUs, mostly due to longevity concerns of the cooling hardware. But now, these systems are evolving pretty well and my next build will definitely include some form of liquid cooling, if only on the CPU.
 
And here I thought you guys were going to do some proper watercooling. Take that PNY crap and toss it. Christ, dont advertise that s__t as real watercooling....
 




My thoughts exactly.
 
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