Official Building/Upgrading thread

[Ferra]

Posting some pic of build.



I was a noob....i got the case a few days late, so I put the CPU and giant heatsink on the mobo before hand. It made doing the motherboard connection extremly difficult afterwards. I had to use a tweeter and chopstick to get some of the connector on.

Case is very spacious (for an itx), very good cable managment. This is the first case I ever built with any sort of cable management. I used to just stuff all the cables into the empty 3.5" drives bay.
I hope the front usb 3.0 port problem can be fixed without taking everything apart....


Comparison of a Thermatake Suppressor F1 with the Define Nano S

Decided not to go with the F1 because it is too wide, and I don't mind the extra length and height.
The Nano S looks nice and tiny under my desk.

[Razor Ramon HG]

I was looking at the Nano S before, but I didn't like the fact that there isn't a lot of space between the GPU and the PSU for ventilation.

Your PSU is upside down as well.

[SkinnyPupp]

Also the CPU heatsink is backwards. The heatpipe tips should be near the ventilation fan (I assume there will be one when you're done with the build), since that's where a lot of heat dissipates from

[Verdasco]

CPU fan might be fine i think, according to noctua manual....

PSU def should be facing down

Built my computer a week ago (yay one week anniversary !) and haven't uploaded pics yet :S forgot!

post later when i get home

edit: no benefit of having psu fan upwards imo

[Ferra]

There is a ventilation fan at the rear near the heatsink
Also, I put the heatsink fan on slightly offset to the rear so it can cool the heatpipe as well.

The temp seems pretty good thus far, 29'C idle and 47'C load (5min)

Never thought about the PSU fan direction...I just put it on that way since the sticker is right side up that way. I will try to flip it back if it is not too much trouble with the cables.

If 1 of the 2 front usb 2 ports is not working....do you think it is more likely a problem with the mobo or the case usb port? (They go out from the same header)

[Ferra]

btw, this was originally the case I wanted to get

But it doesn't seem to be available anywhere in North America

Aliexpress sell them for $200USD + $200USD shipping(and it takes a month to ship)...so nope.

[Razor Ramon HG]

Switching the PSU isn't an option. You need to do it.

Both the PSU and the GPU are going to be intaking fresh air from the same spot.

The reason why most PSUs are fan down these days is so that it draws air from the bottom of the case.

I question your cooler choice as well now that I think about it. Why use a top-down cooler (Noctua C12?)? Using a top-down cooler in your case isn't optimal when it can fit regular 160mm tower ones.

You should have 2x 140mm in the front as intake blowing air to the (tower) heatsink as it exhausts to the back 120mm.

[Ferra]

Originally Posted by Razor Ramon HG

Switching the PSU isn't an option. You need to do it.

Both the PSU and the GPU are going to be intaking fresh air from the same spot.

The reason why most PSUs are fan down these days is so that it draws air from the bottom of the case.

I question your cooler choice as well now that I think about it. Why use a top-down cooler (Noctua C12?)? Using a top-down cooler in your case isn't optimal when it can fit regular 160mm tower ones.

You should have 2x 140mm in the front as intake blowing air to the (tower) heatsink as it exhausts to the back 120mm.

Yea, I know the airflow is probably much better with something like a D15.
I originally bought the C14 heatsink for the suppressor F1 case, but didn't quite like how the case look under my desk, so bought the nano s case instead.

Already opened the C14 box so didn't want to return it or get another one.

Ideally I might add another intake fan at the front (or even the bottom)
But I am thinking if the temp is low enough...why bother? (after few hours of idle and load, the case usually sit around 35'c)

[underscore]

This might be a stupid question but why are most cases/mobos designed with the mobo on the right (looking from the front)? I'm assuming there's some reason for it but it seems odd that a bunch of stuff always ends up upside down (like the GPU).

[Verdasco]

Originally Posted by underscore

This might be a stupid question but why are most cases/mobos designed with the mobo on the right (looking from the front)? I'm assuming there's some reason for it but it seems odd that a bunch of stuff always ends up upside down (like the GPU).

i dont understand your mobo question but for gpu, if it was the other way facing up, wouldn't that blow air to your CPU cooler and interrupt the airflow for cooling?

[Verdasco]

pics my new build.

Spoiler!

[SkinnyPupp]

Window case with OEM CPU cooler

[twitchyzero]

Originally Posted by underscore

This might be a stupid question but why are most cases/mobos designed with the mobo on the right (looking from the front)? I'm assuming there's some reason for it but it seems odd that a bunch of stuff always ends up upside down (like the GPU).

even if mobo is left-side mounted the PCIe devices will still be upside down

[Ferra]

so...i flipped my PSU and all is well.

But there is another problem...
I can hear a very slight buzz/rattling noise coming from the PSU. (brand new corsair CX450M)
initially i thought it is one of the fans.
but after some testing and closer listening...I am pretty sure it is coming from the PSU because I can still hear it even when NONE of the fan is running. (The PSU fan doesn't run on low load)

It is not really a buzz..but more like a very quick rattling noise.
Is this normal?
TBH...it is really faint and pretty much inaudible when the fan >1200rpm
but the system is pretty much silent most of the times so it is still noticeable.
Plus...the quick rattling noise is much more annoying then a fan noise.

[twitchyzero]

coil whine
my seasonic (same internals as a lot of Corsairs) had a faint one...i returned it at NCIX and they werent happy because it was so minor lol
bought another one from newegg...no whine

[Verdasco]

Originally Posted by SkinnyPupp

Window case with OEM CPU cooler

lol, i know

my ultimate decision to not get one, felt like I didn't need to shell out extra cash when i am not evne overclocking.

I dont run anything intensive enough to get a cooler anyways.

Been using a CM 212 for the past 7 years anyways on my old comp ha!

[underscore]

Originally Posted by Verdasco

i dont understand your mobo question but for gpu, if it was the other way facing up, wouldn't that blow air to your CPU cooler and interrupt the airflow for cooling?

Using your PC as an example, if you put that mobo on the opposite side of the case the GPU ends up above the CPU which I don't think I've ever seen.

I'm not sure which way the air flows on most GPUs, but I'm assuming the fans are meant to pull air into the cooler, if they're supposed to be pushers than they're trying to force hot air to go down which seems odd. Plus all the fancy looking coolers and plastics end up on the bottom (where you can't see them), and the ports on the back of the case are upside down.

[DragonChi]

The air flow for GPUs is to exhaust air out of the PC, and pull from the top of the cooler.

For my exhaust, I typically like to exhaust upwards with a top side fan, and my CPU fan pushing the same way. This is because hot air like to move that way as well, so it's naturally cooling.

In addition, this creates a negative pressure space in the middle of the PC, promoting intake from the front and sides. If the main CPU cooler was pointed to the back exhaust, that's alright too IMO. Not sure what my PSU fan is doing, hopefully pushing air out.

[Razor Ramon HG]

Originally Posted by Verdasco

pics my new build.

Spoiler!

I used the same case in a black and white build almost two years ago.

The S340 was my favourite case to build in. I really liked the PSU shroud.

Spoiler!

I really like NZXT cases, most of the are stylish and functional.

This is Vansterdam's NZXT H440. Just swapped out his 290X with a new 1080. Didn't put in his new AF140 fan before I snapped the pic.

Spoiler!

This was my last PC build that I sold off a few months ago using a Fractal Design S.

Airflow in this was extremely good.

Spoiler!

[Euro7r]

Buddy' computer turns on, fans all run, but nothing on the monitor. Any suggestions on what it could be the issue?

I ruled out GPU because I put it into another setup, works fine. I don't believe it's PSU as it powers up all the parts. So I'm leaning heavily towards MOBO is done. The Gigabyte mobo my buddy is using, I don't believe it has any built in leds/lights, so it's been hard to determine if it's even functioning.

[DragonChi]

Does it beep? Stay on? Have you tried booting without RAM installed? All the power cords are plugged into the GPU? Does it have on board video that you could try without putting in the GPU first? Usually, in the mobo manual, you'll have diagnostic beeps that will tell you if something is up.

[jonwon]

Originally Posted by Euro7r

Buddy' computer turns on, fans all run, but nothing on the monitor. Any suggestions on what it could be the issue?

I ruled out GPU because I put it into another setup, works fine. I don't believe it's PSU as it powers up all the parts. So I'm leaning heavily towards MOBO is done. The Gigabyte mobo my buddy is using, I don't believe it has any built in leds/lights, so it's been hard to determine if it's even functioning.

This happened to me too. Turns out one of the PSU plugs wasn't plugged into the mobo. Double check everything is plugged in and slotted correctly.

[Razor Ramon HG]

Here's what I would do.

Breadboard the necessary parts.

Motherboard, CPU, RAM, PSU.

Make sure all the necessary connections are in. Plug in monitor to the motherboard. Only one stick of RAM inserted.

Generally it'll either turn on or not. At this point, it's usually the motherboard or RAM from experience. CPUs rarely ever arrive DOA and most defective PSUs either DOA or fail at load.

You can troubleshoot the RAM by using different slots with each stick one at a time and the CPU in a secondary system. PSU is probably fine from the sounds of it, but you can go ahead and test it with your secondary setup to be safe.

[Euro7r]

Originally Posted by DragonChi

Does it beep? Stay on? Have you tried booting without RAM installed? All the power cords are plugged into the GPU? Does it have on board video that you could try without putting in the GPU first? Usually, in the mobo manual, you'll have diagnostic beeps that will tell you if something is up.

There's no beeping sound. The computer tower once turned on, just stays on, all parts running, but nothing on monitor. Yes, all power is plugged in firmly.

[Euro7r]

Originally Posted by Razor Ramon HG

Here's what I would do.

Breadboard the necessary parts.

Motherboard, CPU, RAM, PSU.

Make sure all the necessary connections are in. Plug in monitor to the motherboard. Only one stick of RAM inserted.

Generally it'll either turn on or not. At this point, it's usually the motherboard or RAM from experience. CPUs rarely ever arrive DOA and most defective PSUs either DOA or fail at load.

You can troubleshoot the RAM by using different slots with each stick one at a time and the CPU in a secondary system. PSU is probably fine from the sounds of it, but you can go ahead and test it with your secondary setup to be safe.

Yeah, I only have the "necessary" parts plugged in currently to boot up a computer. GPU, PSU, MOBO and RAM. I'll try testing ram one by one. If one ram fails, all other ram doesn't work either?