Log Teebs' 5L Stream PC & Peripherals in a Carry on

[rcodi]

Alright, I got a GPU undervolt profile running that seems stable and is saving about 20W vs listed stock peak during stress test.

This feels like a pretty good outcome imo, as long as it stays stable in day to day use.
If anyone has thoughts/feedback on this profile pls let me know - I don't have a ton of experience with afterburner.

I'll try to run some CPU undervolting and see what I can save there, i know the 5600x has some decent potential, but i've not done any AMD undervolting before so I'll have to do some research & poke around in my bios tomorrow.


I noticed the PSU fans were definitely on during the stress test, but I'm not sure the HDPlex fan profile curve is aggressive enough to dissapate the heat its generating - or if the single fan can keep up with sustained load (as some people have been mentioning)
I think the potential 20W savings here are gonna help, and if I can shave a few off from CPU undervolting as well that should improve things too - but this really feels like its going to be a battle won on the cooling side of things - rather than on this end.

I think you'll find this post helpful.

Note that for the 5600X the default values are:

• PPT: 76W
• TDC: 60A
• EDC: 90A

So you'll want to start tweaking down from there, these settings are in the AMD Overclocking section of the BIOS (PBO settings area).

 

[akisu]

I think you'll find this post helpful.

Note that for the 5600X the default values are:

• PPT: 88W
• TDC: 60A
• EDC: 90A

So you'll want to start tweaking down from there, these settings are in the AMD Overclocking section of the BIOS (PBO settings area).

The 5600X PPT is 76W. Only in the older generations it is 88W.

 

[rcodi]

The 5600X PPT is 76W. Only in the older generations it is 88W.

Thanks! I kept seeing conflicting info - I'll update the post.

 

[Teebs]

I think you'll find this post helpful.

Note that for the 5600X the default values are:

• PPT: 76W
• TDC: 60A
• EDC: 90A

So you'll want to start tweaking down from there, these settings are in the AMD Overclocking section of the BIOS (PBO settings area).

The 5600X PPT is 76W. Only in the older generations it is 88W.

both v helpful, ty.

I'll finish up with the CPU undervolt profile tonight, double check stability on the GPU as well, and run some benchmarks.

I did a 2hour apex session on the GPU undervolt last night (played video games till 2am+ for science, lol) and everything seemed quite a bit better.
PSU was hot to the touch, but didnt seem problematicly hot or run in to any noticeable throttling.

anyways, this result makes sense to me because i had no issues when i ran the system off a 2060, and cutting 20W at peak load with the undervolt approximately offsets the GPU upgrade and brings me back to that stable power load.

Hopefully things settle in after the undervolting profiles stabilize, though if I run in to any additional issues I may buy a digital thermometer for my kit to measure this more precisely than "it feels hot"- I don't think the HDPlex sensors are software accessible, and It might be a good thing to own.


Small update time (I'll do a proper post tonight/tomorrow):

Today is gonna be a big day for the build, *hopefully.*

I can now test power draw numbers - at the wall - with my new power meter that arrived today.
New rotary tool & clamps are also here, plus my chromax swaps (2x for GPU deshroud, and 1x for cpu colormatching.)

I'll do a first pass at deshrouding tonight, and so long as I'm not missing any tools & don't run in to anything unexpected, should be able to finish this part of the build either today or tomorrow.

 

[Teebs]

GPU deshroud & CPU fan swap 1st pass:

I did a graphics card teardown and checked the viability of the the deshroud project - and I've gotta say, i'm super impressed by the design of this card.
The Inno3d 2070 dual has a perfectly flush rad block design with removable mounting hardware. I was able to take the shroud completely off with 4 tiny screws, flush fit my bracket, and then reassemble the shroud without making any cuts or modifications to the original parts.
I wish I took a better picture of the bare GPU radiator fins, but this post is long enough as it is.

You can see the relative height of the stock cooler vs the S4 bracket with noctua 92x14 chromax low profile fans - the deshrouded cooler mod is slightly shorter than the stock config by a couple mm - i used one of the noctua boxes as a level guide...

And here we run in to our first problem - the noctua fans have a different size pinout than the stock gpu fans.

I think these should be no problem to fix, since the noctua ones have a short cable and then an extension cable, so as long as I can find an appropriate adapter to replace that extension I'll be fine.

Going to get on that immediately since I can't wrap this mod up until the cables arrive.

And the second problem - the S4 bracket doesn't quite line up with the cooling block on the GPU.

The fans are about 10-15 mm below where I would want them to be.
I think this isn't going to be too big of a deal, as it shouldn't be too much trouble to drill some new pilot holes with my dremel and get this bracket raised up to where it needs to be.
My only concern is that I'll have a hard time creating countersunk screw holes - if i'm going to need them countersunk - so i'll have to figure out what I'm going to do about that.
In the mean time, I'm sure this would still be functional with a slight offset at the top of the cooler anyways - so its not a huge rush to address this.








And, finally, the easy win of the night: I was able to swap the cpu cooler to the chromax one that I bought.
It's quite evident that the build's cable management is thus far completely untouched - oh well...

The cooler looks great, as expected. well worth the $19 given the overall scope of the build IMO. I'll probably be able to sell the old noctua cooler fan for a few bucks as well~
I might also take a look at getting a shorter cable for this fan, since the one it came with is about 8" long, and it only needs to be about 2", but i'll wait till i'm doing cable management at the end of the build and see what i'm dealing with then. For now It's pretty & its functional.


So, where does this leave us?

I'm going to look for some fan adapters, get those in the mail, and then do my CPU undervolt.
I'll make a post with CPU + GPU undervolt profile/benchmark results tomorrow, do a round up of all the parts i've ordered.

The GPU deshroud is going to be at least 1-2 days away for shipping at this point, and hopefully the ipad display mod will be following shortly after that.

 

[rfarmer]

Build looks great. Get an adapter like this one from Gelid for the GPU fans. I used to have an Inno3d 2070 and ended up putting a waterblock on it because it was incredibly loud, is yours the same?

 

[Teebs]

Build looks great. Get an adapter like this one from Gelid for the GPU fans. I used to have an Inno3d 2070 and ended up putting a waterblock on it because it was incredibly loud, is yours the same?

Thanks, I appreciate the compliment, and the reccomendation.

Ended up going with a very similar adapter to the one you linked, the CRJ one seemed slightly longer. I wish they had a comfortably 7" or 8" one though, there's a good chance i'll be using both the extension and the adapter for the fan on the far side of the GPU. I guess thats what i get for using off the shelf parts; I'll have to learn to cut, solder, and sleeve my own cables in the future.

My inno3d 2070 has been making a bit of loud noise under load for a second when it spools up. its kinda like a weird janky coil whine adjacent sound-but different, and it pretty quickly subsides. It's not happening every time. hoping the fan swap fixes this, but who knows.

I'm reasonably happy with it, all things considered - although I guess I should test what my microphone picks up, rather than what I hear, because it's closer and probably more sensitive~

 

[Valantar]

Looks great! When you get the fan connector adapter, if I were you I would test which works best of orienting the fans as intake vs. exhaust. Getting the heated air out of the case as quickly as possible can have some benefits, and they should be able to pull plenty of air through the heatsink as long as the fit is close enough.

 

[Teebs]

Looks great! When you get the fan connector adapter, if I were you I would test which works best of orienting the fans as intake vs. exhaust. Getting the heated air out of the case as quickly as possible can have some benefits, and they should be able to pull plenty of air through the heatsink as long as the fit is close enough.

haha, funny thing - i took one look at the fans and thought to myself: "if i were designing these it would be blank side out because it looks infinitely cleaner', and i never paid it a second thought.

This actually makes the adapter a lot closer to the base pins though, so that's great.
I've swapped them all around - thanks for pointing it out~ <3

 

[Teebs]

I just had an error 41 shutdown while using only discord and a web browser, total power load was around 100W or less.

I'm going to say this is probably power related, due to frequency of it happening at higher loads being more strongly correlated, but this could be something more menial to fix, like a driver update, if I can figure it out.

Edit: just realized - I doubled sided taped the hdplex dc/DC unit to the case wall last night, perhaps That is now what's overheating due to less airflow.

I think I just need to get some active cooling on that side of things, I had been imagining it was the ac/DC unit until just now.

Edit 2:
Here's my temporary solution to test if its dc/dc thermal issues.

Edit 3: I'm kinda losing faith that this is indeed some kinda heat issue. I have a spare 92mm fan attached to each of the components i thought might be overheating, neither are warm to the touch at this point, and still getting occasional error 41 crashes.

At this point i think its a faulty part not related to thermal performance, or a driver type issue somewhere.

Would love to hear thoughts if anyone has ideas on how I might fix this.

Edit 4:

So I narrowed down this fix, for some reason, and it might have been the cause. going to stress test/game/keep an eye on it for the next day or two.

Edit 5: This may be the most specfic meme of all time.

 

[Teebs]

Hello again~
It's Proper Update Time:

Lots of good things happening with the build~

I got the random shutdowns take care of - tragically it seems that the restarts were the result of a pair of errors spawning from an occulus VR software USB driver bug - and I can't keep the system stable with occulus software installed. This means I can't use VR for the time being, which is super unfortunate. But that's life for now.
I've been looking to upgrade to a proper VR headset with full body trackers anyways - so I'll just need to sell my rift & get on that index life soon.

Current Status:

The build is really coming together now~!
Reset bugs seem to be ironed out.
CPU fan swap complete, holding off on undervolt because it seems unnessecary at the moment. Might revisit this decision in the future.
All peripherals working well together, I'm quite happy with both the mouse & keyboard (still getting used to the keyboard layout a week on...)

GPU Deshroud complete & GPU undervolt feels stable. It's really quiet so far and I'm very happy about that.
I'm also really happy with how this turned out aesthetically, and I think the bracket height is close enough to the rad fins that I won't need to drill any custom screw holes.

I also did some minor cable management inside (& outside - this power supply tape job has gone on far too long)
This is still just kinda working with what I have here for the moment - I plan to look at some proper cable management solutions when the build is done.

And here it is, all together, for the time being.
Once I've been reset free for a few days & feel comfy with my undervolts I'll put the power meter away and return the power bar to its home on the underside of my desk.

Currently in Shipping:
> GPU power pinout riser
> Ipad display panel
> Display panel power & video cables

Next Steps:

Once the GPU power riser arrives I'll be able to slot the PSU back inside the case and close things up properly. The power pinout on the card I have is opposite from the card I started the build with - and so we wait...

Once the Ipad display & cables arrive I'll get to work on the second monitor mod. This is gonna go on the lower half of the front of the case (as viewed in the pic above) - which aligns with the underside of the Mobo in an airflow perspective. I am still playing around with ideas for the bezel fabrication - right now I'm considering a 1/4" brushed aluminium corner trim - fiting that around the display, and hiring a local shop to weld 3 side in place, and affix the top side with a pair of screws so that the monitor can be removed/swapped if there is ever an issue with it.

I don't think much will change in terms of thermals with this display mod going on the case - buit it will affect the airflow in some capacity. Because of this (and the prior concerns over PSU temp - I'm considering throwing a pair of 40mm noctua fans in the case for good measure - one at the top between the GPU & AC/DC PSU, and the other at the bottom between the Mobo 24 pin & DC/DC power supply.

Sneaky Edit: I'm looking at getting *another* additional case monitor (1280x400 7.8") for AIDA64 system info. this is kinda extra AF of me - but i'm strongly considering it.

Sneaky Edit #2: I just spent about 1.5 hours looking up little strip display monitors by size for something ~200mm x ~40mm to put AIDA64 on to. supply request emails went out~

I've got a couple USB & other misc cables to replace with specific length/orientation ones that I'll still need to source.

And finally - once everything is done I'll make a CAD render of the parts again, and design a static resistant foam tray for everything to slide in to and fit down in my carry on suitcase. Looking forward to traveling sometime in the future once this is all done & that becomes safe again.

---

Thanks for keeping up with my build. Big love to the people helping me with the undervolt info & everyone giving words of encouragement.
Y'all are great~

 

[Teebs]

Minor update time:

I was able to source this very specific and unusual display unit for an additional case monitor that would display system info (Aida64 type beat):

Basically you are looking at a super thin strip monitor with a 1280x240 resolution, that would sit either right above or below the ipad display mod, be within a few mm of its width, and just like the ipad monitor it would run through the case for both its power and display signal.

Not sure if it's going to be worth it - but at least I have *an option* now. I really think this is going to end up being too extra for the build, and I won't care/want to see system info displayed so prominently once things are running stable on a day to day basis. But on the otherhand if I ever upgrade parts or run in to other issues, this could come in handy for setting up new undervolt profiles, ect.

I'll have to wait till I test fit and get some measurements + run the ipad display & see how I feel about it - but currently leaning towards just the ipad for a cleaner and more refined appearance.

---

Also happy to report that I was able to get my hands on an index & save some money by getting some old V1 lighthouses from a friend - so this rig will be back in VR by the weekend.

Unfortunately *none parts* from my shipping list have arrived in the week + since I last posted. So I have no hands on build progress to report.

I'm still hoping everything will arrive soon, but pcie power riser hasn't shipped out yet as far as I can tell, and the other parts are just being slow.

Thanks for stopping by,
Let me know what y'all think about this tertiary system info display option,
and i'll see ya next week with some actual hands on build progress (I hope)

 

[Teebs]

Hi <3
Build is *soft* Finished - Update Time:

After two months, I have finally closed both side panels on my case.~

Current Status:

The core PC build is completely done~!
All of the fans are doing a great job, thermals have been fine, and I've been stable/no shutdowns for two weeks (since I uninstalled the occulus drivers)
I got my Valve Index setup & running off this PC. performance has been very good.
I did a little more cable management inside before closing the case - though I'm still going to do more in the future.

So here it is, the big reveal, panels on, and desk *mostly* cleaned up.

The Messy Side:

I've done a little bit of sleeving here, mainly to clean up the included PSU connector for the HDPPLEX - unfortunately because of the connector in the middle i can only go so far, and this is one of the messiest parts of the build imo. It just kinda hangs out in the middle of everything.

The GPU power cable has an extension and it's way too long. I was able to run it pretty cleanly down the side and it looks alright enough, but i'd love to clean this up later.

Thankfully this is the 'rear' of the case, so its *mostly* out of sight, out of mind.

I will still clean it up later because it will make my brain happy to know its all tidy.

The Clean Side:

Words cannot describe how happy I am with the way this turned out.

There is a single cable visible here - this is extra length from the GPU power cable.
I plan to get a shorter custom cable for this run - it will also be covered up anyways.

This is also the 'front' of the build that faces me, so it's pretty ideal.










Currently in Shipping:
> Ipad display panel
> Display panel power & video cables

Next Steps:

Once the Ipad display & cables arrive I'll get to work on the second monitor mod. This is gonna go on the lower half of the front of the case - which aligns with the underside of the Mobo in an airflow perspective. I'll be going with a 1/4" brushed aluminium corner trim for the bezel- fiting that around the display, and hiring a local shop to weld 3 side in place, and affix the top side with a pair of screws so that the monitor can be removed/swapped if there is ever an issue with it.

I'm leaning against modding two displays on to the case. the extra strip monitor I found would probably work great, but I just don't think I need it.
I'll make the final decision when i'm doing the mod, but I'm pretty sure one case display will look clean and be plenty.

I've got a couple USB & other misc cables to replace with specific length/orientation ones that I still need to source.

And finally - once everything is done I'll make a CAD render of the parts again, and design a static resistant foam tray for everything to slide in to and fit down in my carry on suitcase. Looking forward to traveling sometime in the future once this is all done & that becomes safe again.

---

It feels *So Good* to have the PSU inside the case - at long last. the build is looking so clean on my desk.
Can't wait to finish the display mod & cable management, so keep an eye out for that post coming in the next week or two.

 

[Valantar]

Looks great! I'm frankly impressed that that HDPlex connector fits in between the GPU and side panel, but beyond that, this looks really clean and well put together. I always love builds this compact and filled up - that type of efficiency is extremely pleasing to my SFF brain Looking forward to seeing the iPad display mod - it's been done before, but it's still very cool, and I'm looking forward to seeing the frame put together. Making a mod like that somewhat modular/repairable is always a good move.

 

[Teebs]

 

[Teebs]

Monitor Test run update:

Howdy~

Somehow the last outlier to getting this running was the display port cable, of all things - but I went ahead and ordered a cheap one just to get things plugged in and spooled up.

Ipad dispaly + Abusemark display adapter + displayport cable

Overview of the system with second display leaning in place~

I'm quite happy with the size of it, and it does the job of displaying discord really well.
Unfortunately the panel I got is showing a band of discolored pixels - not certain of the cause just yet - but on the basis of zero testing, my educated guess is that the used tear down panel seems like the the likely candidate.

Here's a closeup of the discoloration - it's weird, but at least not entirely unuseable - so I'll go ahead and get to troubleshooting it - and probably end up requesting another panel from the seller.

Thankfully I can move forward somewhat with this physical monitor while I have this in my posession - so I'll start the process of speccing and sourcing the bezel material to work around this - the replacement will be physically identical, afterall.

I'm not going to charge ahead with construction until I have the proper cables - but at least the prep work can begin.

 

[Teebs]

Less of an update - and more of a glam shot and a moment of reflection on how far this build has come.

Hey y'all - I've been daily driving this build for a month now with dual monitors (got a nice, working ipad display replacement since the last update), and everything has been wonderful.
I moved house this week and took a pic of the build while I was packing it up~

There are only 3 things left for this build now~!
Waiting on a replacement cable from ali -> weld the monitor mounting frame to the case -> Render the foam in CAD

And I'm hoping this will be full done by the end of the summer as I'm looking to travel with it later this year.

Regardless of all that, I'm thrilled with the performance, look & feel, and portability of this thing - It's been so much fun to put together and I'm loving the journey so far.

Thanks for all the help from everyone follwing along~ <3

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

I'm gonna have to follow this thread now . Good job so far !

 

[Teebs]

Monitor Display port internal run update:

I went ahead and made a small snip in the top of my GPU exhaust fins and ran the DP cable inside of the case as planned.

I then routed both the DP & USB cables through the middle of the case and out a vent to the case display controller.

And here it is all fired up, looking clean.

Pretty happy with it - everything went to plan.

Still waiting on the USB header to type C cable,
(to replace the external usb cable i'm using now)
once that arrives I can actually mount this monitor.

Next I'll be making a cut in the case side panel &
placing the display controller + cables in it.

I had initially planned to do this step all together,
but I was just kinda bored of waiting for parts.
So here's to hoping for completion soon.

Take care y'all <3

 

[Teebs]

Having an issue with on of the noctua fans on my gpu swap not spinning properly.

There is no visible cable interference or anything like that, but it spins with some level of resistance compared to the other fan beside it on the gpu.

It's only been a couple months since I installed them and have had no problems till recently. Wondering if anyone has ideas, I'm thinking maybe something is wrong with the bearings.