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Project TiTANIUM: MSI X99 / GTX 1080 Build Log

Discussion in 'MSI UK' started by MSIRawZ, 28 Jul 2016.

  1. MSIRawZ

    MSIRawZ MSI UK Rep

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    Project TiTANIUM
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    After years of use (and abuse), it's about time I upgraded my PC. It's been ages since I last had a suited up beast of a PC that I could be proud to own. Today this changes with the last few parts arriving from MSI and Corsair this morning.

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    The spec:
    • CPU - Intel i7-6950X Extreme 3.00GHz (Broadwell-E) Socket LGA2011-V3 Processor
    • COOLER - Corsair Hydro Series H100i v2 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
    • RAM - Corsair Vengeance LED 64GB (8x8Gb) DDR4 PC4-24000C15 3000MHz Quad Channel Kit - White LED
    • MOBO - MSI X99A XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM Intel X99 Motherboard
    • GPU - 2x MSI GeForce GTX 1080 "Founders Edition" 8192MB GDDR5X Graphics Cards in SLI
    • GPU Access. - NVIDIA GeForce GTX SLI HB BRIDGE - 4-Slot
    • PSU - Corsair RMi 650W '80PLUS Gold' Fully Modular Power Supply
    • PSU Access. - CableMod ModMesh (Nylon) Custom Corsair Cables - Silver & NVIDIA Green (24 Pin ATX, 4+4 Pin EPS & 2x 8 Pin PCI-E)
    • SSD - Intel 750 Series 400GB PCIe 3.0 X4 HHHL Adaptor NVMe Solid State Drive
    • CASE - Vector Custom Design VBC01 Benchtable
    • FANS - 4x Corsair ML120 PRO LED White 120mm Premium Magnetic Levitation Fans

    The Theme:
    I think it's pretty obvious what the main colour choices are here. A lot of the components were chosen not only because they are some of the best on the market, but because they compliment each other very well, or at least I hope so. I want to show you that while yes MSI doesn't have any TITANIUM-like GPUs available, you can still create a fantastic looking rig using NVIDIA's latest FE cards in their lovely metal cooling shroud that's predominantly silver with a few hints of black.

    The NVIDIA green logo on the cards was at first a put-off considering the largely silver/black colour theme going on here, but I think a little bit of green added into the mix from the two GTX 1080's, the NVIDIA HB Bridge and a few CableMod cables for the Corsair PSU will work well together. There's some added white LED's from the Dragon chipset heatsink on the TITANIUM motherboard, the Corsair Vengeance LED RAM and from the Corsair ML120 PRO fans.

    The case? This was a dilemma for weeks. I originally wanted to go for a case with a tempered glass side panel (or tempered glass throughout the side of the case) with a largely aluminium chassis (silver to match the build). However, I didn't want to hide away the hardware inside, rather instead showing it off from all angles. While it's not aluminium, I went for the Vector VBC01 case. I saw this last year and instantly fell in love with it. Sadly the white version doesn't appear to be an official model but I think black will still be OK. It has a clear acrylic shroud for all the hardware placed on top of the benchtable so this should minimise any nasty grime & dust build-up on all the nice silver components keeping it clean unlike other open-top benchtables. Glass would have been preferred but the tempered look may have obscured the hardware a little.

    I'll be sharing some pre-build images and final build photos very soon.
     
    Last edited: 28 Jul 2016
  2. TheMadDutchDude

    TheMadDutchDude The Flying Dutchman

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    Looking forward to it, Tom! It's such a beautiful board. It's nerd porn really. :D
     
  3. MSIRawZ

    MSIRawZ MSI UK Rep

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    Everything ready and waiting, going to be a fun build.

    Can't wait to unbox it all.

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    The case... some assembly required is a bit of a understatement. This'll be interesting.

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  4. MSIRawZ

    MSIRawZ MSI UK Rep

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    I spent a good few hours last night just building up the case alone. While pretty self-explanatory (although the manual is basic), some parts are quite fiddly. Luckily I had plenty of tools on hand to get it done. Vector don't provide any tooling to help with all the screws, bolts and nuts included except a very tiny, thin hex key.

    Fun times ahead...

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    Believe it or not, but this isn't all the screws and accessories provided. I counted no less than 200pcs (yes, that's right.. 200) of screws, bolts and nuts. Just looking at it all puts you off straight away but thankfully around half are spares (which is a nice touch).

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  5. MSIRawZ

    MSIRawZ MSI UK Rep

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    The manual suggests starting with the left and right side panels first to affix to the bottom plate. Pretty easy this part with 3 screws on each side.

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    Next is the rear panel to attach to the bottom plate and two side panels. 7 screws needed here.

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    Starting to take shape now.

    Here you could mount 7x 120mm fans if you really wanted to, or 2x 240mm rads and 1x 360mm rad for watercooling. I'm not planning to do this - keeping it simple.

    The next part is where you attach the front bracket to the bottom of the plate so you can add the front door later on. Another 7 screws are needed to fix this into place.

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    Next is the most difficult part when working with two hands and tiny screws, whilst trying to balance the front door into place. Two hinges either side need screwing into the bottom plate and the front door via 4 tiny nuts and bolts. APITA is appropriate here.

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    On top of that you need to install the door magnets on each side with 4 more nuts and bolts.

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    Once done and tightened up you can finally open & close the front door nicely. Phew!

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    One nice feature is the ability to install the PSU into 4 different locations to suit your layout of cables or size of the PSU. I've opted for the right side for now but we'll see once I get the PSU in place later.

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    Up next is installing the power button and front I/O - 2x USB 3.1 Gen1 and audio/mic jacks. The power button should light up white once powered on.

    Vector offer you the choice to install them either on the left side or the right. I've gone for the left for now.

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    These actually mount under the bottom base plate which I wasn't expecting. It means that the cables need routing from under the base plate into the main bottom chassis area. I'm going to have to get my cable management skills fine-tuned these coming weeks.

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    The funny thing is that at no point in the manual provided does Vector tell you to install the top motherboard tray. It's like they missed a step out by mistake haha.

    Either way the process is simple via 3x M4 screws on each of the left and right sides. After you can then install the PCI-e bracket which has open cut-outs so you can slide the bracket up & down to suit your PCI-e add-on card setup; always appreciated.

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    So all finally into place thank god.

    I haven't installed everything mind. Since I'm not installing any 5.25", 3.5" or 2.5" drives I've decided to not bother installing the 4 provided HDD brackets. Plus this'll give me more room inside to work with the cables.

    Vector also provide 4x universal brackets to install (if you wish) onto the top motherboard tray so you can mount additional radiators or fans. I'm going to be using the space provided on the acrylic sheets instead where you can install 4x 120mm fans or 2x 240mm rads. More on this later.

    It looks good as-is but we have the acrylic sheets to put together next to give it a classy showpiece aesthetic.

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    The acrylic sheets have protective film each side which is great to see, but you really do need some patience especially if you've recently cut your fingernails!

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    Vector provide you with 12 mounting cubes (sadly no spares). With the remaining M4 screws you need to affix each acrylic sheet together in each corner and the centre.

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    Job done. No hassles here. The cubes do distract your attention away from the look & feel but they're not that bad. The build is largely silver throughout so the silver mounting cubes should naturally blend in.

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    One of the last jobs is installing the included LED strip. It's great of them to provide this since the front Vector logo has been cut out of the front steel door with a thin piece of acrylic behind it.

    The LED is white too so it'll go well with the rest of the rig.

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    She's done!

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    It looks great in the flesh but is it worth the £180 GBP asking price in the UK? Perhaps not.

    That said, there's nothing really out there to compete against it so with that in mind I suppose they can charge whatever they want. Lian-Li do have a nice-looking PC-T80A aluminium bench table that's available in silver too (and £50 cheaper). However, it's not closed off like this Vector benchtable with its acrylic housing for the hardware. Plus this Vector case will be much easier to clean any marks, fingerprints and dust compared to a Lian-Li brushed aluminium chassis. I do really love my aluminium cases but they are APITA to keep pristine.

    If PARVUM had something like this (fully acrylic) then I may have likely snapped one of those up instead. I'm sure PARVUM would have been able to offer far more customisation choices as far as colours and designs go like their current L1.0 & X1.0 cases.

    Still, the Vector VBC01 is a great choice to show off your hardware in all it's glory. The next part I'm especially looking forward to.
     
  6. MSIRawZ

    MSIRawZ MSI UK Rep

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    Now onto the real sexy stuff.

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    I know I work for MSI but bias aside this is hands down the best looking motherboard I've ever laid my hands on. There's some serious other contenders out there both past and present but this is just beautiful. If you've not seen our newly launched Z170A MPOWER GAMING TITANIUM for the mainstream chipset, do so ASAP as it's just as nice as its bigger brother here.

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    The Dragon cut-out on the chipset heatsink will illuminate white once the system is powered on; extra nice touch.

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    Steel Armour on all the PCI-e & DRAM slots to match the theme and my other hardware choices.

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    Honestly, you have to see one in the flesh to appreciate its stunning beauty.

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    Onto the other stuff. As I mentioned in the OP, the theme is based around silver hardware choices to compliment the X99A XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM. There isn't much on the market but if you look carefully you'll find some little gems perfect for a build of this calibre.

    First up is the new NVIDIA HB SLI Bridge.

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    Lovely silver design.

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    Here's how it looks with the MSI TITANIUM. Can you see where I'm going here?

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    What's better than one GTX 1080?

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    Two silly.

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    The sisters out together.

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    I'm a big fan of the new NVIDIA FE design. It's gorgeous, and while NV did hike the price up for the reference/FE models I'd still buy it regardless as the craftsmanship is wonderful. Yes, I nice dual-fan model (like our TWIN FROZR VI) would have been great to see but I love them nevertheless.

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    Do they match the TITANIUM's aesthetics? Of course!

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    Here's the HB SLI Bridge for good measure. Stunning right?

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    What do we have next? Intel's latest 750 Series SSD but in the PCI-e x4 variant.

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    While both PCI-e x4 and U.2 models are both silver, I really don't like U.2. The technology is great but M.2 is such a better, more convenient and less messy way to add storage to your PC.

    Given the choice between a PCI-e x4 or M.2 SSD I would have chosen M.2 any day of the week but sadly there doesn't appear to be much choice on the market to-date that look like they should be in an enthusiasts or gamers PC. Samsung seem to be the only ones doing this with their 950 PRO series with black PCB, whereas most other vendors are still delivering M.2 SSDs with that nasty green PCB which will stick out like a sore thumb once placed into the M.2 slot on the motherboard. I know HyperX has something but the speeds aren't a match for Samsung's.

    With all that said, this leaves me one choice which is the Intel 750 in PCI-e x4 form factor. I love Intel SSDs ever since the launch of their X25-M G2 back in 2009. Since then I only seem to buy Intel SSDs (occasionally Samsung or Crucial).

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    I mentioned green PCBs earlier, but I can live with this. Since the PC build has hints of green from other components it should look good still.

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    Not that it's needed but a nice touch with the silver backplate.

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    Another great match for the X99 TITANIUM motherboard don't you think?

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    I'm still waiting on the PSU cables from CableMod to arrive so I can't get the build done 100% but over the coming days I'll have most done.
     
  7. MSIRawZ

    MSIRawZ MSI UK Rep

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    Quick test fit to see how it all looks together.

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    And another one.

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    HB Bridge added.

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    Looking gorgeous.

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    Adding the Intel 750.

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    Just leaving enough room for the bottom 1080's blower fan.

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    Plenty of breathing room for the top 1080 thanks to the epic 2-Way SLI spacing on the X99 TITANIUM.

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    Nice preview with the acrylic top placed above.

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    Going to see how the other components look later on this week.
     
  8. modd1uk

    modd1uk Multimodder

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    Simply stunning fella. So classy.
     
  9. Quantum-192

    Quantum-192 What's a Dremel?

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    That is a beautiful motherboard! Love that finish on it and it works so well with all the other components.

    Outstanding looking board from MSI for sure.
     
  10. MSIRawZ

    MSIRawZ MSI UK Rep

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    Corsair kindly supplied me some lovely kit for this build. One of which is their new Vengeance LED series.

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    Being a silver build I'm sure the Dominator Platinum stuff would have looked at home with the TITANIUM and the rest of the hardware but the Vengeance LED is growing on me a lot.

    I didn't think much of it at first. I've tended to avoid Vengeance stuff in the past as never looked "aggressive" enough, but these Vengeance LED sure do make up for that.

    I'm so happy they ditched the Yellow font from the Vengeance branding as it stuck out like a sore thumb on their older Vengeance stuff. A nice monochrome theme is always appreciated.

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    I have 64GB of this lovely RAM to fill all 8 DIMM slots on the X99 TITANIUM. I doubt I'll need it but it'll be nice to create a decent-sized RAMDisk for Photoshop and similar. MSI supply free unlimited RAMDisk software with the X99 (and Z170) motherboards, just FYI!

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    It'll be nice to see these light-up eventually. Although I have to admit the LED housing is very blue-white. We'll see once powered on soon.

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    Some extra shots of Rammy goodness...

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    Pretty close to the first 1080 I know... Just fits.

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    More Corsair stuff on the way soon!
     
  11. MSIRawZ

    MSIRawZ MSI UK Rep

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    Next up is the PSU. I went with the Corsair RMi 650W and it looks great.

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    Another silver/black match for the build.. although truth be told it'll be hidden in the bottom compartment of the case but never mind!

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    Some may be thinking the 650W will be too little for the power on show here. To be honest I think I'll be at its limit. 750W should of been chosen but we'll see once powered on. If both the 1080s and the 6950X are overclocked it could be pretty close.

    I'll hook up Corsair's LINK software once Windows 10 is installed and check real-time power consumption under load during gameplay. I may have to disable OCP in an effort to minimise shut downs if it is indeed maxed out.

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    There she is tucked away inside, shame.

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  12. MSIRawZ

    MSIRawZ MSI UK Rep

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    Onto the cooling. I've got 4x Corsair ML120 PRO LED fans - Two that will replace the stock fans on the H100i v2 and two more for in-take purposes on the other side of the acrylic housing.

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    I've gone with the White LED variant to keep the theme going from the White LEDs on the Vengeance LED RAM and White LED on the X99A XPOWER TITANIUM's chipset heatsink.

    These fans ooze quality and quite weighty too.

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    Slight issue I ran into was the supplied threads from Vector. They can't reach all the way through the fans mounting holes and the top acrylic housing for the benchtable... I tried some Noctua's to check if the Corsair fans we're slightly wider but I had the same result.

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    It appears the threads are only long enough when using on the lower steel section. The 3mm thick acrylic is too much for them.

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    Solution? - B&Q.

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    Job done!

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    Sticks out a little bit I know. I'm not too fussed. So long as they work!
     
  13. MSIRawZ

    MSIRawZ MSI UK Rep

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    The Corsair H100i v2 provides the cooling for the CPU on this occasion.

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    I did think about doing some full watercooling taking advantage better of the lower half of this benchtable but if I'm not fully watercooling the GPU's then it's not worth it at the moment.

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    I did plan to use the MSI GTX 1080 SEA HAWK X Graphics Cards so I'd have both GPUs and the CPU cooled by three AIO liquid coolers which would've looked pretty cool but I couldn't turn down the good-looking Founders Edition cards matching the theme.

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    I do love the braiding on the AIO tubes. Nothing special but a nicer touch.

    Replaced the stock Corsair fans with the ML120 PRO fans I have.

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    Came across another issue whereby either the Corsair mounting holes or the acrylic housing holes we're not correctly drilled. I suspect this is Vectors issue. I'm only talking like 1mm or 2mm off but it means I can't screw in the H100i v2 in each of the holes.

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    Managed 4 screws in the end which is just enough to keep it in place.
     
  14. modd1uk

    modd1uk Multimodder

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    You may be disappointed with the RAM, I was. The lighting wasn't in sync and it just looked weird.
     

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