Log Full Circle

What type of case will I go with for this build? (No betting, please :P)

  • Self-built

    Votes: 16 37.2%
  • Self-designed

    Votes: 16 37.2%
  • 3rd party designed

    Votes: 5 11.6%
  • Off the shelf

    Votes: 6 14.0%

  • Total voters
    43

Soul_Est

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Feb 12, 2016
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Starting in 2018!

Summary:

This build is to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the completion of my AMD and ATI based first build. It will celebrate not just the evolution of hardware and software, but the evolution of myself. My first build bought much of my immediate family together including my older brother, who provided the case and after whom it was named. I learned Windows (2000 and XP), Linux (Ubuntu, Sidux, Debian, OpenSUSE, Fedora, Damn Small Linux, and Arch), and BSD (FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD) on it. I learned how to overclock on it (1.8 Ghz to 2 GHz). I learned how to program on it. I really learned how use the Internet on it. I learned how to game with a mouse and keyboard on it. I learned how to make the most of what I had on it. I will now take all of those lessons that I learned and apply them to the build and use of this new AMD and RTG based build.

Description:
This build respresents a multiple orders of magitude leap in performance, versatility, and efficiency that I could only have imagined back in 2003.

My first build contained the following hardware:
CPU: AMD - Athlon XP 2500+ 1.8GHz 1-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASUS - A7V8X-X ATX A Motherboard
Memory: Kingston - ValueRAM 512MB (1 x 512MB) DDR-333 Memory
Storage: Maxtor - 80GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: ATI - Radeon 7000 64MB AGP Video Card
Case: Generic - Black ATX Mid-Tower Case

This new build will contain the following hardware (TBC):
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($431.60 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($185.32 @ Vuugo)
Storage: *Western Digital - Black PCIe 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($146.88 @ Memory Express)
Video Card: Sapphire - Radeon RX 570 4GB PULSE ITX Video Card ($331.65 @ Vuugo)
Total: $1095.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-12-10 20:20 EST-0500

But why? I first dreamt of this build back in 2016 when I learned of Polaris and Zen. I had been using hand-me-down desktop computers and underpowered laptops for very long time. I wanted change. I even sketched a design for a case to house the new machine's components. It was not until I started working on RSC, that the want became a need. Could I design and render RSC and other projects that I have in mind on my current machine? Yes. Would I be hampered by waiting on the machine while I create? Yes. Could I play games on my current machine? Yes. Could I play my entire collection of PC games on my current machine? No. Have I then exceeded what my current machine can do for me? For the most part, yes.

The following posts will go over the reasoning for the hardware and software for this machine as well as some nice, nice media!
 
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Soul_Est

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Hardware Considerations:
AM4 vs. TR4? I could go with the TR4 socket and a Cerberus-X to see and show just how far technology has come on the ATX form factor. Just the CPU and Motherboard cost as much as an entire build using the AM4 socket on the Mini-ITX form factor. The largest point of the build is to come back to AMD and RTG but not necessarily in the same way as the original (ATX desktop). The Ryzen logo is not a perfect circle; nor is the end of the brush stroke (Full Circle) the same as the beginning (1st build). The second largest point of the build is to highlight the progress of electronic technology becoming smaller, faster, and more energy efficient. Now onto the hardware itself.

AMD Ryzen 7 1700
- For the amount of multi-tasking and thread-heavy work I do on the machine whilst remaining cool under load
ASRock AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac
- After reading @confusis 's excellent review of the this board, I wanted it as I am a fan of products and tools that work well
M.2-2280 NVMe SSD
- It's NVMe. 'nuff said
Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 570 ITX
- Anything would be better than the iGPU in my current machine. This one would allow for excellent FPS in many games at 720p and 1080p

Software Considerations:
BSD vs. Linux vs. macOS vs. Windows? Linux definitely for most tasks. BSD, macOS, and Windows for a specific task, getting a taste again, or certain games. The exact distro I will use is undecided although I am keen to Arch/Void, Solus, or Fedora in that order. And for applications?

3D Modelling:
- Blender
CAD:
- FreeCAD
Creating Digital Art or Designs:
- Krita
Creating Vector Images:
- Inkscape
Games:
- Itch.io and Steam
Home Theatre:
- Kodi
Image Manipulation:
- GIMP
Music Playback:
- Music Player Daemon
Office Work:
- LibreOffice and WPS Office
RAW Photo Editing:
- RAWTherapee and DarkTable
Text And Voice Chat:
- Discord
Text Editing:
- nvim
Video Editing:
- Blender
Video Playback:
- mpv/SMPlayer
Web Browsing:
- Firefox

I do most of these tasks on a regular basis with only some now being relevant on the new machine.

Preliminary Design:


Some of you may have seen in another post and some of you may not have. This is first design of the case for Full Circle. It was inspired by Parvum Systems cases and the layout that the ML-08 and Node 202 cases use. I wanted to cram as much power (using off the shelf components) as I could into a small, easy to build in, and easy to build, case. This one has yet to be committed to CAD despite being much simpler than RSC.
 
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loader963

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Jan 21, 2017
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More power to you if you can byo case. I tried and didn’t do so well (quite terrible matter of faculty). Either way keep a log of the journey.
 
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Soul_Est

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More power to you if you can byo case. I tried and didn’t do so well (quite terrible matter of faculty). Either way keep a log of the journey.
I did so before with K'NNECTED and What The Mac?!. The NFC Systems Skyreach 4 Mini is the evolution of my inspiration for the RSC (the S4 Mini Classic), so I am a bit conflicted. The Fractal Design Node 202 is a distant second. I will definitely keep a log of the journey.
 
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Soul_Est

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I've updated the second post explaining some of the reasoning and dreaming behind the plan for Full Circle.
 
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Soul_Est

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I see from the poll so far that most of you believe that I will go with a case that I design myself. What I'd like to know, however, are what your motivations were for choosing the option that you did.
 
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Runamok81

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Jul 27, 2015
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Subbed. I can feel the epic-ness of this build. I voted self-designed as I think it deserves something unique. However, designing a case is fraught with peril. Much respect to those brave and talented enough to pull it off. That said... no rush. Here's hoping that inspiration strikes you!
 
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Soul_Est

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Subbed. I can feel the epic-ness of this build. I voted self-designed as I think it deserves something unique. However, designing a case is fraught with peril. Much respect to those brave and talented enough to pull it off. That said... no rush. Here's hoping that inspiration strikes you!
The build does deserve something unique and it will get it. :thumb:
 

Soul_Est

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What a necro-bump! For a good reason though.

After much saving up and considering other alternatives such as the UDOO BOLT V8 ($625 CAD (plus duty fees?)) and especially the Chuwi HiGame with the Intel i7-8709G ($1458.58 (xe.com)(plus duty fess?), I decided on this instead:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor ($451.98 @ Mike's Computer Shop)
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-L9a-AM4 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($56.44 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($178.52 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: Kingston - FURY 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($129.93 @ PC-Canada)
Storage: *Crucial - MX500 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($158.48 @ shopRBC)
Other: DELL 330W DA330PM111 ($92.50)
Other: PowerColor Vega 56 Nano ($684.75)
Other: HDPLEX 400W HiFi DC-ATX ($137.41)
Other: HDPLEX PCIEx16 3.0 Silicon Dual Layer Riser (21cm) ($65.09)
Total: $1955.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-23 21:19 EDT-0400

The UDOO BOLT V8 is great for what it is and the performance per watt and per litre are amazing, but I can see myself quickly reaching its limits. The Chuwi HiGame is much the same until you get to the full asking price of the Intel i7-8709G based unit after the IndieGoGo campaign ends ($1996.68 (xe.com)(plus duty fees?)) which is a lot.

Yes, Full Circle will be around double to two and a half times the volume, but the performance uplift is, woah. Now I just have to start looking for deals and sales.
 

rfarmer

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Jul 7, 2017
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You might want to take a look at this post, @E-Rod is having problems powering a Ryzen 5 2600 + Vega Nano using a HDPlex 400 + Dell 330w brick. Nano might have too high of power draw for this setup.
 
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Soul_Est

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After seeing what @guryhwa has been able to do fitting a Vega 56 Nano with a Ryzen ITX motherboard, I'm pretty sure your build case will be very much in the realm of possibility for the size you're planning. I think the biggest challenge will be cooling it all in such a small volume.
Quite true. Will have some time to investigate it.

You might want to take a look at this post, @E-Rod is having problems powering a Ryzen 5 2600 + Vega Nano using a HDPlex 400 + Dell 330w brick. Nano might have too high of power draw for this setup.
Thank you for that. I'll have to look further into it.

Today, I have been looking at CPUs, RAM, Video Cards, and SSDs. If everything turns out right, this be the build for now:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4GHz 8-Core Processor ($326.78 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($179.33 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($338.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: Sapphire - Radeon RX 570 4GB PULSE ITX Video Card ($442.18 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $1287.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-07-30 22:22 EDT-0400
 
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el01

King of Cable Management
Jun 4, 2018
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Quite true. Will have some time to investigate it.


Thank you for that. I'll have to look further into it.

Today, I have been looking at CPUs, RAM, Video Cards, and SSDs. If everything turns out right, this be the build for now:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4GHz 8-Core Processor ($326.78 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($179.33 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($338.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: Sapphire - Radeon RX 570 4GB PULSE ITX Video Card ($442.18 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $1287.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-07-30 22:22 EDT-0400
Nice! Are you still taking case recommendations? I do have an appealing option I found on TaoBao...
 
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el01

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Soul_Est

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Feb 12, 2016
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Well, I haven't bought it, and I just realized that I'm stupid and it doesn't support GPUs, but there is a really good other case I found:
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?sp...2f398g&id=524427107550&ns=1&abbucket=8#detail

It supports GPUs, is pretty tiny, and looks really tasteful :)

Once I get around to making a PCC-01.x metal, I might send one to you for fun :)
Thank you for the recommendation and the kind offer. The case is not the size or layout that I am going for as the system needs to be travel friendly. I will definitely look at incorporating the vents style into a case design in the future.

I could help design a sheet metal case.....
Thank you for the kind offer. I did have one that I was working on called RSC which will be evolving. I'll post some sketches in its thread this weekend. Hint: The layout will be similar to the S3 Mini and !nverse.
 

Soul_Est

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Feb 12, 2016
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Slight update on the list and thoughts on technology advancement cadence

I looking at whether to get the Ryzen 7 2700X or Ryzen 5 2600X. Considering the original CPU was a Ryzen 7 1700 and that the Ryzen 5 2600X can match it in multi-threaded tasks while beating it in tasks requiring high-clock speeds and IPC, it seems like the better choice. The Ryzen 7 2700X is just TOTL and definitely measures well but I'm not sure if it is worth the increased power draw over the Ryzen 7 1800X.

Currently looking at either the Gigabyte B450 I AORUS Pro WiFi or MSI B450i Gaming Plus AC. The MSI will have great power delivery and possibly overclocking setup but Gigabyte designed a new board with better connectivity options. We shall see.

I did get the Team Dark 8GB DDR4-3200 CL16 for a decent price despite the price increase.

I missed out on getting a RX 570 Pulse ITX from Amazon. Hope I can get one from eBay for a decent price or from Amazon when they are selling it.
 
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rfarmer

Spatial Philosopher
Jul 7, 2017
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You might also want to search R9 Nanos on ebay. I was just browsing ebay and they had several under $300, this card was insanely overpriced during the mining craze. There is even a brand new white Asus R9 for $349 that I am half tempted to buy.