Log Newbie FormD T1 Workstation Build

anothernoob

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Oct 12, 2020
11
17
Hello SFF Community!

I'm new to the forums and the Discord, but I've been doing loads of research for my first ever PC build! I took advantage of the Black Friday deals and figured I'd start a thread before everything arrives and it's time to start building.

I currently have a pre-built Thinkstation and have been eager to upgrade to something built by myself. After stumbling upon Optimum Tech and finding loads of builds in the SFF community, I've been doing my research and have set my sights on a SFF workstation build in the FormD T1.

The build will primarily be used for school (engineering), CAD, 3D modeling, and other related workloads. The main softwares I’ll be using include SolidWorks, Blender, and NoLimits 2. I'm not planning on upgrading for quite a few years, so this build should take me through the end of university and into my first engineering job(s).

Here is my current parts list:
PartNameQuantityNotes
CaseFormD T1 Black1originally E-White (discontinued)
CPUIntel i7-8700K16 cores vs 4 cores in the 7700K
GPUNVIDIA Quadro P1000-taken from prebuilt Thinkstation
MotherboardMSI MPG Z390I Gaming Edge AC1-
PSUCorsair SF600 Platinum1should be suitable
CoolingNoctua NH-L12S1-
FansNoctua NF-A12x15 chromax.black.swap1NH-L12S fan replacement
Noctua NF-F12 chromax.black.swap2case fans
Noctua NF-A9x14 chromax.black.swap1PSU fan replacement
MemoryG.Skill Value DDR4-2666MHz (19-19-19-35) 16GB (2x8GB)131.2mm height (will fit L12S)
StorageSamsung 970 Evo 500MB M.2 SSD1OS & programs
Samsung 970 Evo 1TB M.2 SSD1files & storage

I currently have an Intel Xeon E-2226G and an Nvidia P1000 in a pre-built Thinkstation. The performance is fine during daily use and best in SolidWorks and Blender, but when I load a park in NoLimits 2, the FPS drops, lag ensues, and everything begins to run unusably hot. My graphics card is pushed to very high temperatures and I actually close the program (even at the lowest settings) as I don’t want to sustain uncontrolled temperatures.

Regarding CPU choice: After a lot of research regarding SolidWorks-focused PC builds, I opted for the i7-8700K as it has very good performance in the program. I was debating going with a newer-gen Ryzen, but from what I’ve seen, Intel supports SolidWorks much better (as it tends to be single-threaded performance that matters most). The main reason I even debated going with a Ryzen CPU is because of the compatibility of the L12S with better looking motherboards. Unfortunately, I decided against it when I found a good deal on the Intel CPU and Z390 motherboard.

Regarding GPU: I actually haven’t decided on a graphics card yet! I currently have an Nvidia P1000 workstation GPU, which does well in SolidWorks, but is almost unusable when I load a park and try to ride a coaster in NoLimits 2. Doing a bit of digging, I’ve seen decent gaming performance from the higher end workstation GPUs (P4000 or RTX 4000), but at that price-point, I feel like I won’t be pushing the capabilities of the card with the majority of my SolidWorks uses. Long story short, I'd be trying to match gaming performance of a lower-end card at a very high cost and not making the most out of the GPU's intended use. I’m planning on trying for a 3060 or 3070 Ti when they drop (just like everyone else, lol) so that I can better run "games" like this. I've seen that using a non-professional card for SolidWorks may bring its own issues, but I’m thinking of keeping the P1000 on-hand and potentially swapping it in if the issues become severe. If anyone else has a workstation build and has had that gaming/professional debate themselves, specifically for SolidWorks, please lmk your suggestion(s)!

Regarding PSU: I believe that I can get away with a SF-600, as I won't be putting the components under full load on the daily. The SolidWorks and Blender work I'm doing has run fairly light on my current PC, so I would only be pushing components when running NoLimits 2. Even then, the game is fairly lightweight, so I'm not too concerned about power consumption. I think the SF-750 would be far too much in my use case.

As of now, I've ordered everything except the PSU and GPU. The T1 was ordered on November 3rd and was initially expected to arrive at the end of December, however, I am aware of the halt and resumption of production.

Wanted to share will all of you as I'm really looking forward to getting the parts in and ready to build in the case! I'm currently planning to get the build up and running, then will do the Chromax swap in the PSU and will potentially make my own custom cables (or order custom cables if I'm not up for the task). Will hopefully be optimizing the thermals in the build after that, so stay tuned!

-anothernoob
 
Last edited:

Hiraeth

Caliper Novice
Nov 20, 2020
27
85
Looking good! Looking forward to see more when your case arrives! As for CPU, yes, single-thread is what mostly matters in CAD, which kind of sucks. Feels like they could push a lot more should they only make it multi threaded.
 

anothernoob

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Oct 12, 2020
11
17
Looking good! Looking forward to see more when your case arrives! As for CPU, yes, single-thread is what mostly matters in CAD, which kind of sucks. Feels like they could push a lot more should they only make it multi threaded.
Thanks! And yeah, I totally agree that multi-threaded would be better for CAD programs.



I know it's annoying to only see a parts list and try to get invested in a build, so I've come prepared with hardware and build pics this time around! 😁

Most of the parts for the build showed up, so I started by assembling everything that'll live on the motherboard while I wait for my new temporary case to arrive (more on that later). Here are the build pics:


After taking my time choosing motherboards, the only downside I saw with the MSI board one was that it doesn't come with a heatsink. However, I don't really care 😅 (from what I've seen, they don't make much of a difference). IMO, the MSI board is the best looking out of the bunch and the audio IO has simpler/better colors than the ugly pink/green/orange IO that comes on other boards



CPU and RAM beauty shots 🤤



Motherboard with the CPU, RAM, and the OS SSD installed


The star of the show, the Noctua NH-L12S with a Chromax NF-A12x15 (totally worth the extra cost for the Chromax aesthetic!)



Fully assembled!

The reason I went with G.Skill Value RAM is due to the height restriction of the L12S. While planning, I was worried that whatever RAM I went with would end up being too tall or that I'd end up having to remove heatsinks on whatever I bought. In the end, I did my research and I think it really paid off. The fitment of the RAM with the cooler ended up being absolutely perfect 😁 (see spoiler below)

For the CPU, I used the Noctua paste provided with the air cooler. For now, I think that will be fine. Once I get things running and do thermal testing, I'll see if I need to switch to a better thermal compound or not. I'm currently waiting on the PSU to arrive to start looking at thermals.

I'm also waiting on the FormD T1, but with the delays in production, I figured I'd need a "temporary case" to wait it out while the issues are resolved (which seems to be happening a whole lot quicker than anticipated!). I was going to test bench all of the components (and potentially run them like that for a while), but since I'll be heading back to university after the holidays, I figured the best option would be to get a case so I can safely move everything without having to disassemble.

Sticking with the "test bench" theme, I pulled the trigger on a case I'd previously looked at building "in", the Motif Monument. Although expensive, it'll be an awesome-looking test bench and allow me to constantly enjoy the view of the ultra-compact build 😊

Looking forward to mounting the GPU, getting the PSU, then powering it all on. Stay tuned!

-anothernoob
 

anothernoob

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Oct 12, 2020
11
17
I may or may not have gotten the temporary case and PSU since my last update 😁 I'll save all of that for a separate post though 😉

Small update on the GPU! I'm reusing the NVIDIA P1000 workstation GPU that was in the prebuilt Thinkstation I've been using. While in the prebuilt, it accumulated a good amount of dust from admittedly not cleaning the computer often enough.

I pulled the card apart (which was only 4 main screws on the back, then some smaller ones for the heatsink and fan), revealing the GPU die and the (tiny!) cooling assembly. (Oddly enough, I couldn't remove the fan connector from the header on the PCB! So that's why it's pictured plugged-in. I struggled trying to unclip it, since the placement is really close to other components, so I just decided to leave it plugged in while cleaning the card). After a thorough cleaning/dusting of all of the components, I took the time to replace the stock thermal paste with Noctua paste (provided with the NH-L12S) upon reassembly. Hopefully that helps out with the high thermals and fan speeds I was seeing while it was in the prebuilt.





I'm interested in undervolting the GPU to reduce temps and fan noise, but from what I've seen, I don't think I'll be able to touch any of the OC/undervolt settings in something like Afterburner. It seems like the Professional cards are always locked and there's not much of a way around it. I could be wrong, but that's what I've seen in all of the research I've been doing... if anyone has any info/advice on this, that'd be appreciated! I'd really like to get lower temps on this card so the tiny fan can quiet down while under full load.

Really excited to build the system, then get to overlocking and optimizing all the components! Should be a cute little setup with such a tiny card and mobo assembly 😙

-anothernoob
 

Dawelio

Awesomeness
SFFn Staff
Dec 17, 2017
524
439
A bit late to the party here, but just saw your OP in this thread and just have to shout you out for that grid view of your components.
Such an amazingly easy view to put everything nice, easy and clean out in a post. Rather than just typing the specs out in a list.

Very nicely done! :)
 

anothernoob

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Oct 12, 2020
11
17
A bit late to the party here, but just saw your OP in this thread and just have to shout you out for that grid view of your components.
Such an amazingly easy view to put everything nice, easy and clean out in a post. Rather than just typing the specs out in a list.

Very nicely done! :)
Thanks! I've seen a few others use it, so I figured I'd go ahead and copy them. It definitely makes it a lot more appealing to look at 😊



My PSU and "temporary case" arrived a few weeks ago! After doing the original assembly at my parent's over the holidays, I disassembled everything for transportation and moved it to my apartment. I was so excited when I first received the remaining parts that I didn't document the original assembly 😅 So I made sure to get some build pics for you guys during the reassembly. Enjoy!



First off, I want to take a second to admire the beauty and simplicity of this "case" (if that's what you even want to call it!). I was in love after the first build I saw on it, so when cancelations/delays on the T1 were announced, I decided to splurge and settle for this fantastic "test bench" while I wait. I love that once the T1 arrives, I'll have two luxurious cases to swap hardware between 🤤


Installed the second M.2 SSD (file storage) while I had the mobo off the stand


Installed the PSU and screwed in the mobo standoffs


Aaand 4 machine screws later... the mobo's back on!



GPU installed (and no PSU cables! It looks so much nicer without them 😭)



Stock CPU cables plugged-in and "managed" with zip ties

That's where the build stands at the moment! I'm planning on doing custom cables for this (and for the T1, once it arrives) sometime in the future, so I'll definitely have a full posting on that! I also have to do a Chromax swap on the stock PSU fan, but I'm not in much of a rush to do that since I can't even see the fan on this case.

When I originally assembled the build and and got things running (zero issues on startup!), I was successfully able to overclock the components (only the CPU and RAM, not the GPU)! I'll leave the results from the OC for a separate post. (I'm still not sure how I can write-up a nice post about it and not to have it be a wall of text, haha. I'll keep thinking!)

Hope you guys enjoy the build pics! I'm excited to show the OC results and I'm looking forward to documenting my first ever attempt at custom cables when I get around to doing them, so stay tuned!

-anothernoob