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Case Mod - In Progress X99 mITX NCASE M1 - Project MiniValidus

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by d33g33, 2 Mar 2015.

  1. d33g33

    d33g33 What's a Dremel?

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    Hi guys,

    Worth catching you up on a NCASE build im working on now im on Bit-Tech so, let me catch you up, apologies in advance for the massive first post.

    After recently selling my very liquid cooled R4 I am moving onto the next project.

    It wont be too crazy but with some light modding work for a bit of individuality. It has a bit of a troubled personality this PC, I did want to go silly, Titan Z's were $1600 which was very tempting but while i'll use it for gaming initially (while I prep for a X99 build) really it will be used as a tidy little desktop in a common area of the house, so it has to be built accordingly.

    So with the intro out of the way on with the build, a heap of parts have been ordered so I should have some updates come in over the next couple of weeks.

    Firstly the case.

    I was stoked I managed to get hold of a NCASE M1 v2,
    [​IMG]

    And the most significant thing about this case its its teeny tiny size. Its literally a shoebox... (iPhone 5C for comparison, I didn't have any bananas handy at the time)
    [​IMG]

    Here's a quick look at the GPU, An Asus Strix GTX980. Apparently there are some issues around getting the Strix GTX970 into the NCASE but the GTX980 is a bit thinner in the right places.
    [​IMG]

    So the CPU, an Intel 4790k, Vietnam made. I will be benching this, then delidding and lapping the CPU and then retesting. I'm looking forward to these results.
    If you've seen 1 CPU box, you've pretty much seen em all.
    [​IMG]

    Next the motherboard! Its an Asus Z97i-Plus. I kinda wish they did a Pro/Deluxe like what they did with the Z87 series with the big power delivery but really, I guess it doesn't matter. (I could have got a Z87 but that colour scheme, Yuk!)
    [​IMG]

    16gb 1866mhz Dominator Platinums, so unnecessary, really when you think how closed in the PC will be but, I got them really cheap from the US compared to Australia and just knowing they are in there, damn they look good.
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    Storage will be a 512gb Crucial M550 M.2 Disk. This is still a Sata 6 disk so it wont be the fastest disk ever but it will be plenty fast enough. Really I went M.2 so I can mount it to the underside of the motherboard, perhaps inconvenient placement but very space saving and, no sata power/data cabling!
    [​IMG]

    Finally for this post is the PSU, a Silverstone SX600-G. It isn't getting the best reputation at the moment with some noise on start up, hopefully I am lucky and don't have the issue, If I do i'll hack in a workaround.
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    New Keyboard! Ducky Legend with MX Browns :D
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    Everything together including a custom test bench I had made
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    Here's a quick timelapse of it going together (no monetization here don't stress)


    Also just knocked in a quick OC on the 980 Strix, gotta say, i'm impressed.

    Both my GTX670 and 780Ti had coil whine like a bitch, this card is SO QUIET and its on an open test bench right next to me.

    I'll probably leave it here for now +200 on the core no over voltage, 125% TDP, will experiment more once its on water. 1518mhz and stable.
    [​IMG]

    Looks like i've been really lucky with this build.

    Starting to dial in the OC and the CPU seems to be a winner! 5ghz @ 1.285v
    [​IMG]

    Validation
    http://valid.canardpc.com/tkueis

    I had some time on the weekend so decided to delid and lap the 4790k. Its 'risky' business but after delidding my 3770k I couldn't not do the 4790k

    What is delidding? Well its where you separate the metal plate called an IHS(integrated heat spreader) on top of the CPU and replace the thermal compound between the CPU die on the CPU and the IHS.

    What is lapping? It is where you take the IHS and sand it perfectly flat to maximize metal to metal contact between the IHS and the CPU cooler.

    So with that out of the way I used the 'vice only' method, the CPU PCB on one jaw of the vice and the IHS on the other jaw, slowly slowly and off it came (took a video) Sorry no photos.

    I used the corner of some plastic packaging and TIM remover and wiped the PCB clean of glue.
    [​IMG]

    Next, we tackle it with some Wet/Dry sandpaper, I tape it down to a piece of glass as that gives me an extremely flat surface.

    600grit, you can see that the outer edge is the highspot on this CPU's IHS.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Next onto 800grit, farewell any CPU markings.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    It also picked up a very low sheen already
    [​IMG]

    Next onto 1200grit
    [​IMG]

    Finally 1500grit and its looking smexy, you could go to 2000grit for a high polish but I stopped here.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Was it worth it? Well it wasn't as good as what I got out of the 3770k but, the 3770k was a very bad temp chip and this 4790k has been pretty good.
    [​IMG]

    Strangely my idle temps are higher now, but load temps average nearly 12degrees cooler!

    Thanks for stopping by again! Apparently I have some gifts in the mail so I'll be sure to update when they arrive but next weekend, we have some painting to do

    Made a video of the delidding process.

    Today I decided to paint a couple of heatsinks to match the build.

    The removed heatsinks.
    [​IMG]

    And fast forward and the chipset heatsink is black and the power delivery now white Much better.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Another small update is I finally installed the lightbar kits into the Dominator Platinums, because they weren't sexy enough! :p

    Mmmm
    [​IMG]

    4x screws and its off
    [​IMG]

    Aaaaaaaaaand installed
    [​IMG]

    And yes, still on the test bench....
    [​IMG]

    And now, you're all caught up! Sorry for the massive first post it will be incremental from here :)
     
    Last edited: 6 Jun 2015
  2. d33g33

    d33g33 What's a Dremel?

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    Hi everyone, just touching base to let you know I haven't disappeared.

    Originally when I started this project I wanted to fit the X79 board that came out in the shuttle which was an oversized ITX board or DTX. It would have needed some serious mod work but it would have been AWESOME regardless, I couldn't find one so I gave up and decided to go Z97.

    On the 13th of March that changed.

    If you're unaware Asrock announced the Asrock X99E-ITX/ac the worlds first x99 ITX motherboard. This day, the project halted.

    I always wanted this NCASE to be insane, show up at LANs knowing it could go toe-to-toe with full sized ATX machines with the motherboard release that will now be possible.

    The Motherboard should be availible any day now, though in Australia retailers are indicating the end of May. CPU choice currently will be a 5820k just due to the funding loss that will happen with hocking off the z97 gear for x99. Hopefully with the Broadwell-E refresh we may see an 8 core K (or C) part or I might be able to push the funds for a 6960X (if it exists) Almost everything will get changed, motherboard, CPU, Memory, SSD and CPU Cooler. If a dual GPU card gets rumoured then bet your bottom dollar i'll be grabbing that way as well, even if it is a MARS.

    I am really excited about this motherboard coming out and allowing me to build the NCASE up as I have always wanted. A lot of people question the board as a waste and I do see their point of view but this board is a bit unique and should be looked at from a different angle. No you cant use all the PCI lanes which is the benefit of X99 boards and no you cant stack it full 8 sticks of memory. But the SOC only takes 4 slots of mem and no one seems to be having any opinions on the waste it is 'because its an OCing board'. Basically even with the things the chipset has the capability of doing but this board doesn't let you do you CAN put an 18core Xeon in there if you have the funds and you CAN put 2x16gb DDR4 Dimms in there. You can also utilize the full PCIE 3.0x 16 slot and an M.2 PCIE drive. That's why im so excited about this board.

    It will raise challenges requiring custom mounting for the slimmer CPU socket design and squeezing dual 240mm radiators into such a small case but, that's what dremels are for right.

    Hopefully the board will come sooner than the end of May but that's what we're waiting on :D and that's where the project is.

    Revised hardware;
    5820k
    Asrock X99E-ITX/ac
    2x8gb DDR4 initially, hopefully change to 2x16gb as availability and compatibility improves.
    SSD Samsung NVME 256gb + 2x 1tb Samsung Evo SSD's
    GPU yet to be announced
     
  3. murtoz

    murtoz Busy procrastinating

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    I completely get where you are coming from with the x99 mitx board. I was very tempted myself and thought long and hard about it. I was planning for a SFF mATX build (probably in a Nova case), and was very tempted by the Asrock board. In the end though, I had to conclude that the dual channel was too severe a limitation, and it would starve all those 18 cores (or 16, 14 or 12 depending on budget) of memory bandwidth. I would also miss at least a 2nd PCIe slot... so I have kindof grudgingly came full circle and am now planning an ATX build as I'm too impatient to wait for the Nova. To sweeten the deal I'm intending the system to be inaudible unless gaming :)
    I will be following your build very closely though, glad someone out there is outrageous enough to go down this path!
     
  4. d33g33

    d33g33 What's a Dremel?

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    So this thread has gone without any serious updates for a long time...

    The first update in parts has come as this build will go through its evolution (re: complete swap out)

    I am proud, and super excited that RamCity.com.au have helped me out in supplying me with a 256gb SM951 M.2 disk! Compared to the Crucial M550 im running now its 3-4x faster! With the M550 clocking in at about 550mb/s reads and 500mb/s writes and the SM951 blitzing that with 2100mb/s reads and 1500mb/s writes!

    [​IMG]

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    I'm still waiting on this damned motherboard to be released in Aust and then things should start to get very interesting!
     
  5. HandMadeAndroid

    HandMadeAndroid That's handy.

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    dam x99 mini itx!
     
  6. d33g33

    d33g33 What's a Dremel?

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    It has just shown up at an Australian retailer so just holding to cross check pricing. in 2 weeks time, this will be a very different PC :)
     
  7. d33g33

    d33g33 What's a Dremel?

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    So the first part for the move to X99 arrived yesterday.

    Some Crucial Sport 2x 8gb 2400mhz DDR4. Nice and cheap, reviews suggest they overclock well.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I'm hoping to upgrade to 2x16gb modules in the future.

    I was hoping to have the motherboard by now but unfortunately not :(

    Stay tuned!
     
  8. dancingbear84

    dancingbear84 error 404

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    Interesting, I like what I'm hearing.
     
  9. d33g33

    d33g33 What's a Dremel?

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    It's photo time!

    New CPU now that we are going X99, the Intel 5820k

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And, after a long tedious wait, I present to you...
    The ASRock X99E-ITX/ac :D :D :D

    [​IMG]

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    [​IMG]

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    Mmmmmmmmmmmm 2011-3 :D
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    Might as well start throwing it together!

    [​IMG]

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    And finally the system together, note: not finished, but together.

    Man this is one very compact build. Custom cables will a lot but custom loop in this with dual rads is going to be a real challenge. Also you don't want to know how I got that GTX980 in there...

    [​IMG]

    Thanks for stopping by, now for lots of measuring and the procurement of watercooling parts!
     
  10. d33g33

    d33g33 What's a Dremel?

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    So I just ran a quick bench on the SM951 in the X99 board, I did not expect this...

    This is the Crucial M550 M.2 in the Asus Z97i-Plus
    [​IMG]

    The Samsung SM951 (AHCI) in the Asus Z97i-Plus
    [​IMG]

    And the Samsung SM951 (AHCI) in the ASRock X99E-ITX/ac
    [​IMG]

    So um.... that was unexpected! :D
     
  11. Impatience

    Impatience Minimodder

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    Woah, that raw speed! :jawdrop: I HAVE to follow this now, to see what the end result is like. (My guess is CRAZY!:hehe: )

    Are you planning on using an adaptor and a custom loop on the CPU as well?
     
  12. Parge

    Parge the worst Super Moderator

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    Yes! The X99 ITX board. I've been waiting for a build with this - and in an Ncase M1 too - incredible combo.

    Keep up the awesome work.
     
  13. saxovtsmike

    saxovtsmike Minimodder

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    Why did you go S2011-3 ? I mean, you didn´t go for a Sixcore which would be a reason for me to switch to X99.
    You can´t use the extra Pcie lanes (afair) a higher Grade 2011-3 cpu could offer to run multible GPus at 16x pcie 3.0, as you are limited to a single GPU cause of itx.
    Maybe just a "cause I can" scenario ?
     
  14. TheMadDutchDude

    TheMadDutchDude The Flying Dutchman

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    What do you mean "he didn't go for a Sixcore"? The 5820K is a hex core... as is the 5930K. The 5820K is just a 5930K with less PCI-E lanes which aren't required here anyway, and a slightly lower clock speed which can be made up by changing the multi in the BIOS. It may have a little less cache too (going from memory) but that's really not an issue.
     
  15. saxovtsmike

    saxovtsmike Minimodder

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    oh sorry for that, got it confused with the older x79 S2011 lineup of cpus.
    Well then it makes sense to me, when you can use lots of threads.
    Sadly back in the days I switched to a itx Prodigy there where no x58 Itx boards avaliable, so I had to sell my Gulftown
     
  16. d33g33

    d33g33 What's a Dremel?

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    Custom loop but using the Fractal-Design Kelvin S24, a custom bracket for mounting to the slim ILM socket shouldnt be too hard to whip up.

    I had a a bit of a "I NEED TO BE THE FIRST!" moment. :) Originally I was going to mod a Shuttle FX79 (a DTX sized X79 motherboard) into the NCASE but I gave up and went 4790k when I couldnt find one of the motherboards anywhere, you can imagine how happy I was when ASRock announced the mITX X99 board

    As answered below the 5820k is a 6core, and the 5820k makes heaps of sense over the 5930k because of the less lanes like you mentioned with this build only being single PCI-E slot. Though teh gains from that m.2 PCI-E are worth it as well!

    No point in trying to justify that I 'need' this CPU, I don't. At all. But, I think it will be a great project and I am really looking forward to dropping it on a table at a LAN event maybe with a spec sheet and just wait for people to question the X99. PWAH rip off the side panel and show them the goods.

    There weren't any mITX X79 boards either, thats what makes this motherboard so amazing and technical feat.

    Thanks heaps for everyones comments and questions!

    For those that don't know i'm also vlogging this build. feel free to check it out here.
    http://www.youtube.com/c/DeeGeeTechandHardware
     
  17. d33g33

    d33g33 What's a Dremel?

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    [​IMG]

    I am please to announced that we have a new sponsor in...
    [​IMG]

    I was casually chatting with a guy named Eddy about my R2-D2 build and we got onto this project and he offered to help. Thanks Eddy! Greatly appreciated!

    Some hardline tubing
    [​IMG]

    Hardline fittings
    [​IMG]

    They have 2x hardline 'reamer' tools a normal one and the 'heavy duty' version. I opted for the heavy duty very, as tight as Australia can be on 'weapons' I was surprised they let this thing is! It's HUGE and sold metal!
    [​IMG]

    As space will always be a concern a 30mm thick 240mm radiator. I really like the low FPI of these radiators for super low RPM fans.
    [​IMG]

    Now this is actually kinda the star of the show here, I had all kinds of concerns on how I was going to get the STRIX 980 in this case. Fortunately the GPX block is the same height as a reference PCB meaning I will JUST sneak it in the case, EXCELLENT!
    [​IMG]

    It's no secret that I was switching out the H100i for an expandable AIO and that I wanted a Kelvin. I managed to get my hands on the Kelvin S24, came with some fin damage out of the box which i'm not stocked about, but not a deal breaker...
    [​IMG]

    So now the exciting part starts of planning the loop. I am waiting the reservoir still though and i'll have to make a custom bracket for the Kelvin to fit the slim ILM mount on the ASRock X99E-ITX stay tuned its about to get exciting!

    Also a little sneaky peaky, anyone know what this is?
    [​IMG]
     
  18. DarrenPhillipJones

    DarrenPhillipJones What's a Dremel?

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    A soon to be radioactive glowing case.

    Subbed.

    Looking at my 4430 m1 right now. Yawn. Would love to x99 fury the m1. Fingers crossed the money tree I bought at ikea starts producing.
     
  19. HandMadeAndroid

    HandMadeAndroid That's handy.

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    they look like some kind of LED
     
  20. d33g33

    d33g33 What's a Dremel?

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    Almost forgot,

    The slim fans im using for bottom rad at the Silverstone FN123's :D

    at 15mm thick they look like squashed gentle typhoons to me.
    [​IMG]
     

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