Wait.. you didn't pay Microcenter for that fan config, did you? Please tell me you at least changed your mind on the Microcenter build and these are your own noob mistakes... :-)
[Reply]

I installed the two extra fans myself. I just had them laying around and figured I'd add two more when I put the GPU in. If temps become an issue I might add an extra one at the top. TBH that fan is tiny anyway and should be replaced.

Everything is pointed in the right direction, you're blind or something.
[Reply]

No, it's fucking not.



The arrows indicate the direction of your fan airflow. Front lower fan is pointing the wrong direction, you potato.
[Reply]

The front lower fan was installed by corsair, moron. It's literally sucking in. I tested it myself. Thanks for playing.
[Reply]

OK, you're right. I can see the text on the back of the fan in the pic.

You should still address the top left corner though. It's a thermal dead zone. You could be moving 80CFM there up out of the case for $9....
[Reply]

WARP CORE :-)


[Reply]

That screen is for hentai, you trekkie nerd.
[Reply]

What was I thinking...obvious choice is obvious. :-)


[Reply]

Yeah, OK. That's badass.
[Reply]

Fuck. That is badass, man. Where did you find the LCARS? I have to rethink my build now. That's how cool I think that is.
[Reply]

i just google image searched for LCARS gifs
[Reply]

So here's some pics of my new baby (don't judge the hot mess all around it):

First boot and post (crazy enough, everything worked on first attempt):



Here are the guts:



Guts powered up:



Full frontal:



I'm a huge fan of the case. It's wide open for air flow but thankfully the PC is pretty freaking silent most of the time. It's to the point where I can hear the constant whine of the pump. Once the rad fans spin up, though, you can definitely hear them. It's still probably, no bullshit, 4 times quieter than my previous one.

I did a super modest OC to 5.5Ghz on the 13700K. I'm sure there's a lot more headroom but I want it cool and it already draws absolutely insane voltages at times. I didn't know 1.4+ v was okay these days. Fucking LOL.

I tried to undervolt but was not successful and decided since the temps are straight $$$ under gaming load at 5.5Ghz, why even bother? So I gave up on that shit after about two days of reading a bunch of guides, trying my hand at it and failing.

Biggest thing I was not looking forward to while building was figuring out all of the RGB shit, which, in hindsight, was actually super easy but seemed like it would be pretty intimidating before I actually started doing it.

I also had to remount the cooler due to not ideal orientation after I initially mounted it. I also had to take the radiator out to reorient the little pump cable to go in the back of the case for cable management. Thankfully, the case was a dream for doing that. It would have been a massive pain in the ass with my old case.

All in all a pretty smooth journey.

First thing I tried was running RDR2 on it. I knew it was such a massive hog on my old PC. That shit runs at 120 FPS at 1440 with literally every setting set to the highest level possible. That's with DLSS set to Quality, though. The game looked great even on lower settings, but is just straight up stunning now.

I'll probably try Cyberpunk 2077 next just to see the eye candy I missed out on when playing compromised on my old PC.
[Reply]

That's also a really fucking sexy build, my friend. I like the tiny little test BIOS monitor.

If you can undervolt and still get stable, by all means. You win better temps. But I'm in the same boat with my mobo auto OC. It will dynamically adjust OC on the fly, and I'm running every game I have at <70C with it maxed out. While running at 5.1-5.3Ghz. If your cooling and airflow is good enough, it doesn't really matter...
[Reply]

Have you tried the new "Path Tracing" option for Cyberpunk 2077? That's a good hardcore test for your system. Path tracing is the future, but it taxes the shit out of current hardware.

I actually managed barely 60FPS with path tracing enabled in CP 2077 benchmark. Surprising with my limited VRAM.


[Reply]

Thanks, man! Appreciate the kind words. That's a 24-incher WFH monitor there, haha. It finally got to experience being the real deal for a few moments instead of being chained to a shitty laptop once in a while.

Re: undervolt, that's exactly where I am at with it. I'm sitting at sub 70 while gaming too but I haven't had a CPU heavy gaming load yet.

Since I have that 360mm AIO, I feel like my temps should be fine. The airflow for me is mostly for the GPU and for the mobo to a smaller extent.

I ended up getting a 2TB 980 Pro from Best Buy for like $80 after a giftcard to go with my 990 Pro main.

4TB in M.2 SSDs is so affordable now, it's hard to believe my first M.2 SSD was a 250GB 970 Evo. I was so stoked when I first got it back in the day, haha.

Anyway, the point is that it's nice having zero SATA cables and mounted drives to worry about. MB's with M.2 heatsinks are standard now and that comes in super clutch.

Crazy what a difference 6 years make.
[Reply]