# Fractal Designs Define XL Build Log



## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 29, 2011)

Alright so first off I would like to take the time to thank Cadaveca for the motherboard used in this build, without that motherboard this project wouldnt have gotten off the ground, thanks again Dave.

I would also like to thank Thermaltake for getting me back in the game with there Toughpower Grand 1050w 80+ GOLD Certified PSU







Alright so lets keep it simple, less talk more pictures since thats what everyone really wants that and a parts list

Intel 2500k
ECS P67 H2 A2
Mushkin 1866 9-10-9 27 2x4gb (8gb)
2x Sapphire 6970 2gb 
Fractal Designs Define XL Black Pearl
2x Samsung F4 1.5tb
1x Samsung F1 1tb
1x Samsung F3 1tb
1x Western Digital 500gb
Scythe Kaze Master Fan controller
Thermaltake Frio + 2x Delta 3300rpm fans
4x Yate Loon 140mm medium speed fans
1x Silverstone Air Penetrator 
Corsair HX 850
and other assorted goods














Heres the inside of the case ill be removing all the white HDD racks and PCI expansion slot covers and having those painted a candy apple red, but that means sanding and multiple coats for a nice finish.





Here i mounted the motherboard to see how things would fit after pulling the stock fans, i noticed a major design flaw, by Fractal, there 180mm fan is thinner then most others, resulting in the silverstone fan being slightly to large so the top left motherboard standoff cannot be used, this is unexpected, ill have to look into possible ways to solve the problem maybe removing some plastic from the outer fan casing will allow it to fit properly, another issue is the fan coming down as far as it does, may result in large heatsinks like my TT FRIO to not fit properly, again this is caused by the fact the 180mm Silverstone Penetrator is slightly thicker then the Fractal Designs 180mm default fan.


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## t_ski (Jul 29, 2011)

In for the first sub!


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 29, 2011)

currently sanding and painting,

so far all is going well, painted the 180mm fractal fan flat black as a back up just in case the 180 silverstone fan has to be removed.


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## bbmarley (Jul 29, 2011)

be nice to see how this turns out


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## Dreadnought33 (Jul 29, 2011)

Subscribed


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## erocker (Jul 29, 2011)

Nice man! Looking forward to seeing the work.


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## Crap Daddy (Jul 29, 2011)

Nice. So you're not waiting for the FX?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 30, 2011)

HDD racks formerly white now candy apple red










and here is the formerly white bladed fan, now flat black and if needed ready to replace the silverstone 180 AP should my TT FRIO not fit.


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## t_ski (Jul 31, 2011)

Just be careful painting fans, as the extra weight of the paint can throw them off balance, etc.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 31, 2011)

yea i tested the fan, it works fine no balance issues, and thankfully it was the only fan i had to paint.

and i think im gonna try and find someone with a sandblaster, and use a different primer for the HDD racks and expansion slot covers, and repaint them they look good but the finished product isnt exactly what i want, in this case its close but that only matters in horse shoes and hand grenades, on another note,

with help from Reayth, and yami2ki ive been working on a custom vinyl decal 
its unfinished but i used Reayths Battlefield TPU, art piece, as a base and then simplified it down, yami cleaned up my lines and gave it a higher quality finishing job, lets just hope it dosent cost me a fortune to have made.

it will have the knife, and even the small TPU logo on the hat, if everything goes well.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Aug 3, 2011)

Vinyl Decal Update.
I still need to do some tweaking but overall Yami2ki did a fantastic job taking my rough idea and smoothing it out


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## crazyeyesreaper (Aug 7, 2011)

Well after making a few calls i contacted some friends was able to find someone to do a full color Print for alot less then the companies i contacted So i would like to take the time and thank Rey aka Reayth here on TPU for his outstanding work and for making this possible. Because of some friends and few acquaintances the full color print will finally be doable compared to the simplified vector versions shown earlier.

Heres the Final Design, now lets just hope it sticks to the slightly rough surface of the Define XL.


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## p0Pe (Aug 7, 2011)

Very, very nice decal work!


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## mATrIxLord (Aug 9, 2011)

:O awesome!!!! sub'ed to see moar pics..


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## n0tiert (Aug 10, 2011)

very nice gfx


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## crazyeyesreaper (Aug 10, 2011)

The Badass piece of Digital artwork you see above was created by

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/member.php?u=92489


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## fullinfusion (Aug 16, 2011)

Subed for an awesome builder!!!!


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## crazyeyesreaper (Aug 19, 2011)

Well finally got done with the repainting, had to have the parts sandblasted and sanded to 2000 grit.

Big thanks for the sanding and painting goes out to Wayne, he did a great job
















CPU shot with info


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## MT Alex (Aug 19, 2011)

Yessiree, those look much nicer now, smooth and shiny.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Aug 21, 2011)

Update:
Still need to focus on Cable Managment:
     From the looks ill need to purchase some PCIE 6 pin extender cables so i can hide them beind the mobo tray, and continue to tidy things up as best i can.

Also need to pick up a new fan controller my Kaze Master does not fit, and only something like a NZXT Sentry Mesh or LCD touch screen will do the trick, these deltas are loud without a controller.

Also still waiting on the Vinyl Decal, to finish off the side panel. 

Currently the HDD's sata cables are color coded for Capacity 
Black are 1tb F3 and F1
Orange are 1.5TB F4 x2
Red are 500gb WD


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## DrunkenMafia (Aug 21, 2011)

Looking good man.  If you can get cheap decals how about copying the corsair power supply decal and doing it in red, the blue looks out of place.  You could also put a small red or black cover in front of it.  

Looking good!!


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## crazyeyesreaper (Aug 21, 2011)

yea i had that thought as well, and im working on it now actually in photoshop


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## FreedomEclipse (Sep 4, 2011)

About the case......how goods the cooling/airflow?

Im asking cuz ive chose this case over going for a Corsair 650D and we have similar setups (should have it next week some time)


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 4, 2011)

airflow with default fans is lackluster  and nowhere near good enough, after changing them out for yateloon mediums airflow is fine and still quiet if you wish to use a fan controller, get something like the NZXT sentry Mesh, or a touch screen, any knobs or the like will keep the door from closing,

If you plan to install a newer 180mm fan, pre prepared to have to modify the fan, i had to take a grinder to 1 corner in order for the mobo to fit because the Silverstone AP 181 i used was thicker then the default 180.

nnow other then those few issues case is great, now to wait for my hand to finish to healing so i can finish the build


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## JrRacinFan (Sep 4, 2011)

DrunkenMafia said:


> Looking good man.  If you can get cheap decals how about copying the corsair power supply decal and doing it in red, the blue looks out of place.  You could also put a small red or black cover in front of it.
> 
> Looking good!!





crazyeyesreaper said:


> yea i had that thought as well, and im working on it now actually in photoshop



I wonder is an acrylic cover would fit on that psu?

Like this ...
http://www.xoxide.com/aerocool-acryshield-power-supply-cover-blue.html

But find one in red "??"


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 4, 2011)

im just going to create a new psu badge with another vinyl decal, that changes the color portions from blue and black to red and black


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## FreedomEclipse (Sep 4, 2011)

Thanks.

I planned to get the XL with an silverstone AP181 180mm, 120mm 1850rpm GT. 140mm Be Quiet 1000rpm silentwings and leave it at that.

but since you say its lackluster. Im not sure anymore. 

the 200mm fans on the 650D move about 92cfm and it doesnt have  a place on the side panel to mount a fan (which is one of my main concerns with running 6970s - they get hot)


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 4, 2011)

cooling is fine with replaced fans its the stock fans that suck

i replaced ALL fans
Front
2x 140mm Yate Loon Medium speed fans
Side
1x 140mm Yate Loon Medium
Rear 
1x 140mm Yate Loon Medium
Top
1x 180mm Silverstone AP 181 "Air Penetrator"

Total Air flow
186 cfm Intake
191 cfm exhaust 

2x Delta pushing roughly 85 cfm each through the heatsink straight out the back increasing the airflow of the rear fan to around 80 cfm it ups the exhaust to around 200-210cfm

cooling is silent and adequate maybe not for GTX 480s but the 6970s ran fine for me till they died, temps were far lower then my K62 was.

if your that concerned about airflow

remove the TOP HDD cage and youll have 2 direction of airflow feeding fresh air to the GPUs


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## FreedomEclipse (Sep 4, 2011)

I know know what youre trying to say lol 

I meant that cuz its gonna cost extra on top to replace every fan and thats what im trying to take into account as i also have to stick to a budget.

The Define XL costs around $260 over here. the yate loons will probably be about $16 each. and thats not even including the Silverstone AP181 ($40)

If i was paying that much then i might as well go for a higher end case, thats what i was thinking


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 4, 2011)

you need to find a better retailer then

yateloons are $5 here

vat dosent raise that price to 16, so were ever your shopping at there shafting you and hardcore at that,

id look into some US shops see if one of them might ship across the pond, or find a user on here that will, and get your fans that way.

as i only paid like $40 usd for a AP 181 + 4 yateloons


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## arnoo1 (Sep 4, 2011)

why don't you put your hdd's in bottom of the case and get rid of the first hardrive cage(in the main compartment) to get better airflow those 6970's?


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## FreedomEclipse (Sep 4, 2011)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> you need to find a better retailer then
> 
> yateloons are $5 here
> 
> ...





Where am I shopping?? Im Shopping in Europe my man!  best prices are what ive given you unless theres a hardware retailer going out of business and needs to get rid off all their remaining stock at stupid prices.

Eitherway, Im just not that lucky. (not to mention 20% VAT)

Ive not put in the order for anything yet so Ive got plenty of time to lose sleep over the matter until i pull the trigger.

All i know is my Antec 902 has to go.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 4, 2011)

well again have someone from the states hook you up a buddy from the UK hooked me up with ram a few times,


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 4, 2011)

arnoo1 said:


> why don't you put your hdd's in bottom of the case and get rid of the first hardrive cage(in the main compartment) to get better airflow those 6970's?



because o prefer airflow over the HDDs and staggering the HDDs as i have done allows airflow to reach all the HDDs and pass through to the GPUs theres also a side mounted 140mm fan spinning at 1400rpms and if anyone paid attention they would realize the 6970s are completely dead and were RMA'd to newegg ill be replacing them with 6950 Twin Frozr III PE / OC they run about 20-25c cooler then stock 6970s they have a really good unlock chance, so massive airflow isnt a big deal for me

for stock gpus with 1 or 2hdds yea pull the HDD rack

i have 5 HDDs and soon 1 SSD, Id have more HDDs but sadly my motherboard only supports 8 Sata devices, my old 790fx supported 10 so i have downsize a bit.


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## FreedomEclipse (Sep 4, 2011)

right, I found a decent source for Yate Loon Mediums.

Last question  did you hook all the 140mm & the 180mm fan upto the fan controller?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 4, 2011)

for the most part yes

the AP 181 is silent even on High so no need for a fan controller it also has the switch for low or high rpm so a Fan controller for it isnt neccessary
front fans surrounded by noise dampening material make 0 noise so they didnt need fan control either

however my Deltas on the CPU heatsink do indeed need fan control so using the sentry mesh i hooked up 

2x Deltas 120mm 3300rpms
1 Rear 140 1400rpm
1 Side 140 1400 rpms 
i leave the rear on max but my side panel fan makes a weird humming noise at greater then 1100rpm so its been kept at 1000 rpm so as not to aggrevate the shit out of me.

i still have 1 slot open for another fan should i choose to,


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## FreedomEclipse (Sep 4, 2011)

thats cool! Cuz im feeling a little devious and i want to try out these 5400rpm scythe GT's on my Antec kuhler!!


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 5, 2011)

new PSU label so as to finally get everything done and matching.

Used Auto Desk Maya to model everything in 3D then rendered it out and touched it up in photoshop, Did it this way to make sure theres no jaggies to be found overall came out pretty damn good







to show how i did it

the flat plain with the Logo in back of my 3D work is a low res image i used for getting everything lined up it was far to low res to use for a Vinyl Decal but thankfully it was perfect for what i needed it for namely getting everything just the right size to replace the former Decal, Should anyone like a Custom Corsair PSU Decal send me a PM ill edit one up in the colors you want and send it back to you if i got free time.


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## Jmcwhor1 (Sep 10, 2011)

*question specifics*

I like your setup. I just bought the same case and was looking for someone like you. I have a couple questions about your fan replacement. Well really only about the 180mm fan. I see you had to modify it and it seems like it is a pretty simple job thankfully. Do you remember the specs for the stock 180mm fan? What's the depth? Also you know how its held in by the wide clips on either side of the fan? It seems to me that you wouldn't be able to fit a thicker fan in there and still be able to use the clips how they were intended. I am holding off for your reply before swapping that fan as I don't have a problem modifying the corner but I do not want to have to improvise on the clips. Thanks in advance!

P.S. I can't say enough how impressed I am with your level of customization and effort you put into this project and how awesome you are for taking your time to post everything. It's more helpful to some of us than you can imagine.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 10, 2011)

Fractal 180mm is 180x25mm if memory serves me right
Silverstone AP is 180x32mm


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## Jmcwhor1 (Sep 10, 2011)

*clips*

What about the clips that hold the fan in place. Do they actually work on the larger size fan?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 10, 2011)

no but theres 2 screw holes and 2 plastic spacers so the fan will stay i drilled 2 extra holes to fully mount the 180 AP


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## erocker (Sep 10, 2011)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> new PSU label so as to finally get everything done and matching.
> 
> Used Auto Desk Maya to model everything in 3D then rendered it out and touched it up in photoshop, Did it this way to make sure theres no jaggies to be found overall came out pretty damn good
> 
> ...



If you want to get a few of those stickers made up, I'll gladly pay for them... As long as I get one.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 10, 2011)

well erocker you fix you TS3 and ill talk it out with you maybe we can reach a deal


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## erocker (Sep 10, 2011)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> well erocker you fix you TS3 and ill talk it out with you maybe we can reach a deal



It's not broken. Just turned off right now. It'll be up shortly


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## Jmcwhor1 (Sep 10, 2011)

*thanks again!*

Thanks again! after reading through your build I am going to do the same. I will post my define XL build here when I get all the parts! Have a good one!


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## erixx (Sep 10, 2011)

Great build, well thought! Cheers Crazyeyes!

But... What is so special about that mainboard? I think you did not tell in this thread, sorry if i am wrong, but it really has me wondering!


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## JrRacinFan (Sep 10, 2011)

erixx said:


> Great build, well thought! Cheers Crazyeyes!
> 
> But... What is so special about that mainboard? I think you did not tell in this thread, sorry if i am wrong, but it really has me wondering!



Think I can answer this: Awesome color scheme and one of the best clocking p67 boards there is.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 10, 2011)

no nothing like that the Board was given to me by Cadaveca, 

basically without Cadaveca the build never would have happened,

and without Reayth the Design of the Side panel would not exist, without those 2 the build wouldnt have been what it is today. updates will be forthcoming middle of next week


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## erixx (Sep 10, 2011)

now I am more intrigued than before, lol

Edit, taht was my answer to racingafan...  Ok CER, keep the good stuff cumming!


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 10, 2011)

currently waiting for 2x 6950 Twin Frozr III PE / OC cards to arrive to replace the dead 6970 xfire setup

also trying to sell some older hardware to get a 256gb Crucial M4 SSD for the 500mb read 280mb write speeds, then i have to send out get the Vinyl Decal done for the PSU, eventually need to make a 120 mile trip to visit some college friends and get the Vinyl Decal for the Side Panel, after which ill be purchasing some Bitfenix Alchemy cables to better do the cable managment and give the machine a nicer appearance on the inside.


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## MT Alex (Sep 11, 2011)

I'd get a quote from DOA, as well.  The cables he makes are top notch.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 13, 2011)

Fresh New GPUs Thanks to Newegg for taking me seriously and replacing my parts promptly now I realize these are as nice to see in a case as my 6970 reference cards were but lets see how these babies do when there full hooked up and ready to go.
oh and as you can see there so sexy and new i havent even peeled off the plastic yet.


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## theonedub (Sep 13, 2011)

Great looking cards, the TFIII is a spectacular cooler.


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## bbmarley (Sep 14, 2011)

what happen to your 6970s?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 14, 2011)

they died

so im taking my chances on the 6950 TF III PE / OC cards


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## bbmarley (Sep 14, 2011)

sorry to hear 

the 6950 TF III PE look like very good cards are you planing to take the shroud off and have it turn red?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 14, 2011)

no they will be left stock the color scheme on the cards matches the colors of the motherboard and CPU cooler, as well as the case internals

also both gpus have been tested both failed to unlock, looks like ill have to clock them up to get my performance out of them.


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## FreedomEclipse (Sep 24, 2011)

Just pulled the trigger on the Define XL Been waiting 2 weeks to get my money off someone and i dont want to wait any longer so I paid an extra $24 to have it on monday.

I have a final question for you. (god i must be seriously annoying now almost copying your mod lol)

will you keep the side panel fan as an intake or an exhaust?

Ive got the same reference 6970s as you previously had. and theres a little vent on the cooler  that dumps some of the heat inside the case. 

the rear 140mm fan mount will be replaced by 2x120mm scythe GTs which are cooling my Antec 920.

since i only use 1 optical drive im gonna be using the 120mm fan mount and put in an akasa apache i have lying around so that would be 2x140mm and 1x120mm in the front. I dont run with that many hard drives so I can remove the hard drive caddy from the top bay thats covering the fan - so that will blow cool air directly on my 6970s

Ive gone with you on swapping out all the stock fans for a Silverston AP181 and some Yate Loons.

If i dont have the side panel as an exhaust. I dont think the system would have enough positive airflow/pressure. Id be pushing more cool air into the case then its dumping out.


(If im buggin you - let me know and i will do some trial and error )


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 24, 2011)

its fine positive negative didnt matter much in this case,


the 2 fronts give air to the HDDs and some fresh air reached the GPUs

then the side panel 140 i used to force feed air to the gpus,

the rear 140 and top 180 AP were exhaust,

positive pressure aka more air in then out means air will get forced back out where its coming in, this reduces dust to an extent, negative means intake air is more free flowing but means far more dust, in all honesty i doubt it impacts cooling all that much,

and the AP 181 is rated at 130 cfm at max speed which is still silent 

130 + 70 = 200 cfm exhaust
70 70 70 = 210 cfm intake without the top 120mm in the front panel airflow is rather balanced almost to a 1 to 1 ratio, except with the delta fans on the cooler they push the rear fan to spin faster exhausting more air to the point it is a near perfect 1 to 1 intake exhaust ratio eitherway you will want the side panel as an Intake trust me on this,

if your really worried about air flow, leave the top 180 where it is, paint it if you have to i had no issues painting mine and it was still stable and had no issues with balance, and use the 180 where the HDD rack is its not a perfect fit but you can with a bit of modding or ingenuity, put the  Silverstone AP right behind the GPUs,  this forces air directly between them both, and straight out the vented back, it does help temps quite a bit, with the side panel intake as well.


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## bbmarley (Sep 24, 2011)

so its been a few days since i was back in this thread 

what overclock you get for 24/7 on the 6950s after playing with em?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 24, 2011)

900/1325 i havent bothered with removing the CCC limits yet as im still waiting on parts,

essentially, this build log will be revamped soon with an all new build lol

hopefully going to swap out 

Motherboard,

add in a 128gb Crucial M4 SSD
a brand new Samsung T24A350 TOC 24inch 1920x1080 monitor
and soon some sleeved cable extension and replace the dead Samsung F3 with a brand new one fresh from RMA, also still havent had the chance to take a trip south to pick up the Side Panel Vinyl Decal, or PSU decal.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Oct 11, 2011)




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## MT Alex (Oct 12, 2011)

Spiraling the PCI-Es to your GPUs is a pretty slick idea.  Immagonna give it a shot in my case.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Oct 12, 2011)

yea it helps keep it the same length and eat up the extra length as well so i have less to tuck behind the panel also keeps it need and tidy otherwise the cables sagged down and didnt stay nice and neat. was also a pain because using zip ties etc to make it look like ass so the braided PCIE plugs was the only solution i could think of

ill redo everything later once the SSD arrives and i get a new mobo


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## FreedomEclipse (Oct 12, 2011)

Does have 2 crossfire bridges make any noticable difference?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Oct 12, 2011)

it kept BF3 from having artifacts for me but normally no it dosent matter  I just have less issues with 2 bridges so i leave them both on


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## [H]@RD5TUFF (Oct 12, 2011)

needs some pics


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## crazyeyesreaper (Oct 12, 2011)

thats all you get pic wise... for now lol if you want more pics donate to the crazy is broke as fuck and cant pay the bills fund 

still need to get some cash and get a ride south to pick up the Case Decals and PSU decals, then hopefully get a PCIE 3.0 Z68 board etc etc also waiting on the 120gb Adata S510 ssd

550mb/s read 510mb/s write among other things.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Oct 15, 2011)

seems like build will never get done 850HX cannot power 8 sata devices properly causing system shutdowns has to be replaced. but dont really trust corsair at this point so need to find alternatives. guess time will tell.


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## fullinfusion (Oct 15, 2011)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> they died
> 
> so im taking my chances on the 6950 TF III PE / OC cards


How the hell did the cards die?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Oct 15, 2011)

they just died. so they were replaced but so far its cost around $1500 in replacment parts and now the PSU is going corsairs gonna replace it but at this point i just dont trust there units anymore.

corsair straight up stated to me there PSU sata cables cant handle the power draw for multiple HDDs so while they give me 12 connectors you cant even use 8 of them without triggering a protection mechanism in the unit. shutting the rig down. and since the 850HX was shutting me down when in the BIOS thats unacceptable, PSU might have caused the GPUs to die but i cant be sure

but at this point i need a new Unit and preferably not Corsair, i sent a Thermaltake rep a PM to see if i can get a sponsor and get a new PSU that will handle this rig but its highly doubtful the TT rep can help me, most likely gonna have to sell a bunch of stuff to get a new PSU worth having, if i can even raise the cash for that. might have to sell a 6950 to cadaveca


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## FreedomEclipse (Oct 16, 2011)

good luck getting that sponsorship  I think the only way youre gonna get it is if you use their cases, their coolers and whatever else they make in your rig with a few big Thermaltake logo stickers or decals slapped or etched all over the case.

you never know though.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Oct 16, 2011)

yea probably wont do anything for me

sad tho so many high end PSU's are actually utter junk for multiple sata devices

i am seeing 1000-1200w units with only 25amps on the 5v rail and 25amps on the 3,3v shared for  150w max,

6 HDDs at spin up will use 210w alone not counting optical or more drives.

corsair also admitted there PSU design cant handle 12 sata devices there cables with the sata power dont supply enough power so if you use them all its likely to not function properly. Fantastic corsair your 12 sata plugs means only 6-8 are usable and even then its spotty lolz

only PSU ive seen with ample 5v and 3.3v is Silverstone 1000w 80+ unit which has 40amps on the 5v and 3.3v but they only provide 6 sata plugs max. lol just cant catch a break.

I dont think im going to find a single PSU that meets my needs. and im not paying $300-400 for a PSU just to power HDDs seems rather asinine


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## Chanc3 (Oct 17, 2011)

First post on TPU!

Lovely build there, I've got the ECS P67H2-A that I'm actually trying to sell so I can afford this months rent 

Great choice of GFX cards, I've got the MSI GTX570 TwinFrozR III and it goes perfectly with the motherboard.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Oct 19, 2011)

well seems the build just isnt going as intended,

PSU is officially completely dead 

motherboard wont post 

honestly at $1500 in replacment parts soon to be $2000+ im about ready to throw in the towel, only thing holding this together is the chance the HX 1000 thats on its way will boot the rig, heres hoping. altho im a glass half empty type these days.


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## Chanc3 (Oct 19, 2011)

Fingers crossed over here in the UK for you!


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## jasper1605 (Oct 19, 2011)

Dang man, I just read through this entire post to follow along what you were doing.  It seems awesome what you've got in your head for it.  Best of luck on getting a working PSU!  Just out of curiosity, why so many harddrives for ya?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Oct 19, 2011)

3d rendering

I do character design for games which means

3d models, multiple texture files, source images etc

my source image libraries are in the 100's of gigs range,

single high res texture files are 30-50mb and i might need 7-15 of said texture files for each character it adds up quick add in 500-600gb in steam library, and then another 200gb in other games, along with OS files, multiple backups in case of HDD failures etc i essentially have 3 TB of data 1TB Program drive and 1.5TB of file backups not included the Adata 120gb SSD.

so theres really only 5 HDDs 1 SSD 2x Optical so its not that much really now when you look at my previous rig which had 10 sata ports lol and they were completely full on more then 1 ocasion.

think of it this way RAGE is 1TB by itself uncompressed, now imagin 5-6 years of work crammed onto HDDs with multiple save files, at set intervals lol well im sure you get the idea it EATS hdd space like no tomorrow.


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## MT Alex (Oct 19, 2011)

That, feller, is a royal bummer, a supreme load of shit.  Looks like it may be time to take up needle point, or armed robbery, which ever is less painful.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Oct 27, 2011)

well since corsair failed me seems Thermaltake is stepping up and bringing there A game

Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1050w 80+ Gold powersupply is on its way, also going to swap to a different mobo soon so stay tuned, to the crazy channel and cross your fingers people that i dont blow up more parts. 

Chief Broken Rig - over an out


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## MT Alex (Oct 27, 2011)

A sponsorship PSU, or did you have to shell out cash?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Oct 28, 2011)

sponsorship so expect a TT logo in post 1 when it arrives along with lots of sexy photos of the new PSU.


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## FreedomEclipse (Oct 28, 2011)

nice one! Glad to see Thermaltake lending a hand.


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## MT Alex (Oct 28, 2011)

That is totally bitchin'.  It's about time you got a swing in the right direction.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Nov 3, 2011)

UPDATE: Big thanks goes to thermaltake, the new PSU arrived safe and sound and expertly packaged, it feels like tank and looks sexy as hell dont believe me? take a look

also i hate this camera, with flash on the ISO is 600 if you turn flash off it maxes the ISO at 300, which means any tiny shake ruins the picture, oh well unimportant enjoy the awesomeness.


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## FreedomEclipse (Nov 3, 2011)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> UPDATE: Big thanks goes to thermaltake, the new PSU arrived safe and sound and expertly packaged, it feels like tank and looks sexy as hell dont believe me? take a look
> 
> also i hate this camera, with flash on the ISO is 600 if you turn flash off it maxes the ISO at 300, which means any tiny shake ruins the picture, oh well unimportant enjoy the awesomeness.
> 
> ...




Proof that begging for free shit over the internet still works 

(Im kidding of course!! special thanks to thermaltake for providing the PSU!)


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## crazyeyesreaper (Nov 3, 2011)

well i have to buy the mobo to match it all aka Asrock Z68 Fatal1ty Professional to bring everything together thats $255 price tag, then i need to grab a UPS 910w minimum gonna run me another $150 easy so still got $400 in purchases to go to the point i sold my PS3 to afford it lol


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## FreedomEclipse (Nov 3, 2011)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> i sold my PS3 to afford it lol



Lets be serious here for a moment....

You didnt need that console anyway!! its not good enough for you!


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## crazyeyesreaper (Nov 3, 2011)

uh yes yes it was good enough. 

Metal Gear Solid 4 man... loved that game

beat it on Big Boss Extreme in 8 hours. needed to do it in 5hrs to get the Big Boss Emblem but i failed, still was never detected never died and never used a ration, it was a complete and utter hell but i managed, gonna miss playing that game.....


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## FreedomEclipse (Nov 3, 2011)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> uh yes yes it was good enough.
> 
> Metal Gear Solid 4 man... loved that game



no it wasnt!! Be a man! wait for an emulator then run it on the pc like a boss!


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## crazyeyesreaper (Nov 3, 2011)

lol show me where theres been any development of a PS3 emulator that shows promise, there are alot of games i enjoy but they just dont exist on PC PS3 had the greatest number of these games, gonna miss it but a stable system for Skyrim / BF3 is more important.


well got everything hooked up need to install the FRIO but since ill be buying a new mobo soon i havent had the energy to bother yet.


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## FreedomEclipse (Nov 6, 2011)

Oh  btw. did that PCI fan controller that came bundled with the case fit in the Vertical PCI slot?? I couldnt get mine to fit proper. - I dont used it anyway but i was just curious


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## crazyeyesreaper (Nov 6, 2011)

uh the PCI expansion fan controller fried when i used it,

my 2x Deltas caused the think to actually start to smoke, and pretty much die within 1-2 mins, the controller is pretty much worthless. stick to real fan controllers.  that little controller they give you is ment for there low power low rpm fans.


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## FreedomEclipse (Nov 6, 2011)

I dont need to use a fan controller. Im just asking if you got it to fit the vertical pci slot.

I think my case might have a manufacturing defect of sorts as i cant fit anything in that slot aside from the original PCI cover/bracket


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## crazyeyesreaper (Nov 7, 2011)

mine fit but was hard to turn, if thats what you mean. otherwise its more there for things like PCI fan bracket, if i ever get bored enough ive thought of making a custom PCI slot fan bracket to mount some 120s on as a custom setup


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## FreedomEclipse (Nov 7, 2011)

Nope thats not what i meant but you answered the question anyway. 

I was thinking of sticking and akasa 'blower' fan there or something similar as the reference 6970s still dump a little heat inside the case. but i cant seem to get anything to fit in that slot.

Normal horizontal PCIslots are fine though


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## ChaoticG8R (Apr 22, 2012)

Finish this build you jerk!


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