Hello,
I'm very excited to share this build with y'all. It is probably my most ambitious and colorful build I've done.
With this build, I wanted to utilize a classic layout, avoiding the use of any risers for incompatibilities with a PCIE 4 GPU, Gen 3 Riser, and Gen 4 motherboard. Right away, I realize that airflow was going to be very important to a build that incoporates both a 3950X (144W at max usage) and a 3090 (350W at max usage). A lot of airflow is needed to bring all hot air out and cool air in.
Naturally, I also wanted to have as much RGB lighting as I can which poses another problem too, finding the components that offer high airflow and great RGBs.
The case that won me over is the Captain S V1.2 Mini ITX Case, it is the same volume as the NCASE M1, but MUCH better in airflow capabilities. Plus, the case comes with a glass panel by default. I already knew I didn't want to deal with watercooling, so picking this case wasn't going to be an issue.
Captain S V1.2
Case Dimensions (H x W x D): 261mm x 166mm x 296mm (10.3 in x 6.5 in x 11.7 in)
Case Volume: 12.8L vs 12.7L volume of the NCASE M1. Minimal difference for better air cooling capabities.
Max CPU Height: 145mm vs 135mm
Max GPU: 290mm x 137mm x 60mm/45mm (45mm if using 15mm fans)
Chassis Fans: 2 x 92mm rear fans, 1 x 120/140 (must have 120mm mounting holes) top fan, 2 x 12015 bottom fans.
My favorite aspect of the case is that it has the potential for a 140mm exhaust fan, moving all the hot air out much more efficiently than just rear fans. If I wanted a pure air build with no RGB, I can fit much higher components and airflow would be to the max while quiet.
Gathering of Components
I wanted this to be the very best small gaming rig that I could possibly make. That meant choosing the best components available at the time.
Build Process
The build was pretty standard, for the most part, of any classic build. I put the PSU in first. Then I made sure the motherboard was all prepared with the CPU, CPU Cooler, RAM, and any tucking of cables before I secure it to the case. As you can see in the images above, there is plenty of room for a 14025 fan on top to exhaust out all the hot components.
Securing the 92mm fans was the first point of pain. The method to secure fans to the case is unique. You don't just screw in screws, you use the special adapters that the case gives you. My fingers are just a bit to fit in, so I used a little wooden stick to hold the adapter in while I screwed it in. You can see the little screw adapter in the image, its a white/silver cylindrical thing in between the fan screw slots.
Next thing I did was secure the fans to the top plate (14025 fan) and the bottom plate (2 x 12015 fans). Once I figured out how to secure them, through trial and error with the 92mm fans, the rest of the fans were easy to attach.
Next, I added in the GPU. This boy was heavy and big and just about the right fit for the case. Again, thank you EVGA LOL.
The next pain point was dealing with the standard Corsair SF750 cables. I have custom cables coming from JHack that should improve the messy look significantly.
Once I secured the top and bottom plates to the structure, its almost done! You can see the mess of cables behind that I have to cable manage.
I am not good at all but I think I did pretty okay.
Then, I powered it on (I did power it on multiple times throughout the build to make sure components work, but lets image first power on). Fantastic RGB. All 5 ARGB fans are color synced to one another. Looks really good.
Temperatures
Build is great, temperature is really good too. I don't like the revving of fans up and down so I set everything to a constant RPM.
For the Wraith Prism, I set it at a constant 50% RPM.
For the case fans, I set all of it at a constant 50% RPM.
Overall build is pretty quiet and temperatures are fine imo.
After an hour of running Witcher 3 with max settings, CPU settled into 75C, GPU into 75C.
Running Shadow of Tomb Raider with max settings and ray tracing, CPU settled into 72C, GPU into 76C.
Then, I undervolted the GPU to 850mV at 1844 clock speed. Temps dropped 3C across the board, uses about 30W less power, and CPU temps dropped a bit too (not significantly so, maybe 1-2C).
Overall, very happy.
Planned Upgrades in Order of Importance
Images
I'm very excited to share this build with y'all. It is probably my most ambitious and colorful build I've done.
With this build, I wanted to utilize a classic layout, avoiding the use of any risers for incompatibilities with a PCIE 4 GPU, Gen 3 Riser, and Gen 4 motherboard. Right away, I realize that airflow was going to be very important to a build that incoporates both a 3950X (144W at max usage) and a 3090 (350W at max usage). A lot of airflow is needed to bring all hot air out and cool air in.
Naturally, I also wanted to have as much RGB lighting as I can which poses another problem too, finding the components that offer high airflow and great RGBs.
The case that won me over is the Captain S V1.2 Mini ITX Case, it is the same volume as the NCASE M1, but MUCH better in airflow capabilities. Plus, the case comes with a glass panel by default. I already knew I didn't want to deal with watercooling, so picking this case wasn't going to be an issue.
Captain S V1.2
Case Dimensions (H x W x D): 261mm x 166mm x 296mm (10.3 in x 6.5 in x 11.7 in)
Case Volume: 12.8L vs 12.7L volume of the NCASE M1. Minimal difference for better air cooling capabities.
Max CPU Height: 145mm vs 135mm
Max GPU: 290mm x 137mm x 60mm/45mm (45mm if using 15mm fans)
Chassis Fans: 2 x 92mm rear fans, 1 x 120/140 (must have 120mm mounting holes) top fan, 2 x 12015 bottom fans.
My favorite aspect of the case is that it has the potential for a 140mm exhaust fan, moving all the hot air out much more efficiently than just rear fans. If I wanted a pure air build with no RGB, I can fit much higher components and airflow would be to the max while quiet.
Gathering of Components
I wanted this to be the very best small gaming rig that I could possibly make. That meant choosing the best components available at the time.
- Ryzen 9 3950x was a no brainer. 16 cores, 32 threads at a lovely package of 144W meant it was thermally advantageous to any intel offering.
- B550i motherboards are better, at least in my case, than the x570i counterpart due to the 2.5G ethernet port, better RAM OC-ing capabilities, and lack of any chipset fans.
- With only 2 slots for RAM, the best set I could pick up while looking deliciously pretty is the G.Skill Trident Z Royal, DDR4-3600 C18, but I OC-ed it to DDR4-3600 C16 for now.
- CPU Cooler: This was a tossup. I wanted RGB and felt that the Wraith Prism was one of the best looking coolers imo. However, its cooling performance can be better. For now, I'll stick with it and see how temps go.
- PSU: Corsair SF750, the best there is in this form factor rn.
- GPU: The best, even if the value isn't quite there, GPU at the moment is the RTX 3090. EVGA 3090 is the only one that will fit in this case. Thank you EVGA.
- Case Fans: For the 2 92mm intake fans, I am very limited in ARGB options. Pretty much the only one is the Jonsbo FR-925 . For the 2 120mm intake GPU fans, I am also very limited since I am stuck at 15mm max height. I am left with either Silverstone ARGB, Thermalright, or Rajintek. The thermalright performs the best in CFM, pressure, and sound so that was my only choice really. The final fan, is also another Thermalright. This has such a large CFM rating and it has 120mm mounting holes as well. Everything was coming together.
Build Process
The build was pretty standard, for the most part, of any classic build. I put the PSU in first. Then I made sure the motherboard was all prepared with the CPU, CPU Cooler, RAM, and any tucking of cables before I secure it to the case. As you can see in the images above, there is plenty of room for a 14025 fan on top to exhaust out all the hot components.
Securing the 92mm fans was the first point of pain. The method to secure fans to the case is unique. You don't just screw in screws, you use the special adapters that the case gives you. My fingers are just a bit to fit in, so I used a little wooden stick to hold the adapter in while I screwed it in. You can see the little screw adapter in the image, its a white/silver cylindrical thing in between the fan screw slots.
Next thing I did was secure the fans to the top plate (14025 fan) and the bottom plate (2 x 12015 fans). Once I figured out how to secure them, through trial and error with the 92mm fans, the rest of the fans were easy to attach.
Next, I added in the GPU. This boy was heavy and big and just about the right fit for the case. Again, thank you EVGA LOL.
The next pain point was dealing with the standard Corsair SF750 cables. I have custom cables coming from JHack that should improve the messy look significantly.
Once I secured the top and bottom plates to the structure, its almost done! You can see the mess of cables behind that I have to cable manage.
I am not good at all but I think I did pretty okay.Then, I powered it on (I did power it on multiple times throughout the build to make sure components work, but lets image first power on). Fantastic RGB. All 5 ARGB fans are color synced to one another. Looks really good.
Temperatures
Build is great, temperature is really good too. I don't like the revving of fans up and down so I set everything to a constant RPM.
For the Wraith Prism, I set it at a constant 50% RPM.
For the case fans, I set all of it at a constant 50% RPM.
Overall build is pretty quiet and temperatures are fine imo.
After an hour of running Witcher 3 with max settings, CPU settled into 75C, GPU into 75C.
Running Shadow of Tomb Raider with max settings and ray tracing, CPU settled into 72C, GPU into 76C.
Then, I undervolted the GPU to 850mV at 1844 clock speed. Temps dropped 3C across the board, uses about 30W less power, and CPU temps dropped a bit too (not significantly so, maybe 1-2C).
Overall, very happy.
Planned Upgrades in Order of Importance
- Custom Cables for easier and cleaner look
- Lian Li Strimer ARGB Cables
- 5950x when that comes out
- Better ultrawide. I am waiting for Acer to release their latest Nitro models, 180Hz refresh rate, IPS, USB C for my Macbook, and built in speakers.
- 2nd Gen Gen4 PCIE SSDs. Looks like the best is around 7000 read, 5500 write for a 2TB model.
- DDR4-4000 CL18 Royal RAM when prices go down a bit.
- Corsair SF850 when that releases
Images
