Edit: updated first post with new text and pics; original post is in a spoiler tag below.
I seem to be kind of allergic to finishing my build logs. Oh well, I finally got around to installing the new custom top panel on this PC, and the overall impression after using it for nearly a year is that it is fantastic. I mean, really, really good. The cooler has performed impeccably, running passively for essentially all usage of the PC. The fan stays off even in many gaming workloads, or turns on intermittently. The APU also performs fantastically, with the CPU part being significantly overpowered, and the GPU doing its job great. I played a decent amount of Ori and the Will of the Wisps at 1080p medium settings, and it ran at ~75fps consistently. That game in HDR on a good TV also looks fantastic.
Here are some updatd shots with the new custom top plate. It's in matte rather than gloss acrylic, and rather than a huge circular cut-out it has an enlarged version of the stock HT5 vent slots, sized to be larger than a stock 140mm fan for extra space for passive airflow, plus mounting holes for the fan.
While the PC did look great previously, IMO this new top plate just makes it perfect. I could have countersunk the fan mounting screws if I really wanted perfection, but they don't bother me, and I'd rather avoid drilling into the acrylic. 5mm acrylic doesn't crack as easily as thicker stuff (and this is good quality acrylic too), but I'd still rather not risk it. Also, if you're interested in any custom panels for a Lazer3D case, Kevin is incredibly helpful, and prices are great.
The PSU solution has worked flawlessly. The only thing that is slightly imperfect is that the RPS-200-12C whines a tad when the system is asleep and off - but it's only audible close by and when paying attention. It's perfectly silent while the system is running. It has also been 100% stable, and does not seem to give off noticeable heat. I ought to get the shell of the PSU painted black so it isn't quite so visible from outside of the case, but again, I'm not that much of a perfectionist.
Other things worthy of note: the heatsink got mangled quite a bit in order to fit it over the ArchDaemon and RAM. Yes, the RAM is in between the fins. RAM sticks are covered in kapton tape on the top to protect them from scratches and any electrical connection to the heatsink.
It was worth it for the clearance though. Here's the final fitment:
I also made a dump of a bunch of photos from the build process. There's pics from the construction of the heatsink, my work on the case (including cutting a new power inlet, which I'm extremely pleased with how cleanly I pulled off), plus how the old top panel looked when installed.
I seem to be kind of allergic to finishing my build logs. Oh well, I finally got around to installing the new custom top panel on this PC, and the overall impression after using it for nearly a year is that it is fantastic. I mean, really, really good. The cooler has performed impeccably, running passively for essentially all usage of the PC. The fan stays off even in many gaming workloads, or turns on intermittently. The APU also performs fantastically, with the CPU part being significantly overpowered, and the GPU doing its job great. I played a decent amount of Ori and the Will of the Wisps at 1080p medium settings, and it ran at ~75fps consistently. That game in HDR on a good TV also looks fantastic.
Here are some updatd shots with the new custom top plate. It's in matte rather than gloss acrylic, and rather than a huge circular cut-out it has an enlarged version of the stock HT5 vent slots, sized to be larger than a stock 140mm fan for extra space for passive airflow, plus mounting holes for the fan.
![](https://i.imgur.com/XhF5nIr.jpg)
![](https://i.imgur.com/xL1E0sZ.jpg)
![](https://i.imgur.com/AhfJQrE.jpg)
![](https://i.imgur.com/IlP8WuR.jpg)
While the PC did look great previously, IMO this new top plate just makes it perfect. I could have countersunk the fan mounting screws if I really wanted perfection, but they don't bother me, and I'd rather avoid drilling into the acrylic. 5mm acrylic doesn't crack as easily as thicker stuff (and this is good quality acrylic too), but I'd still rather not risk it. Also, if you're interested in any custom panels for a Lazer3D case, Kevin is incredibly helpful, and prices are great.
The PSU solution has worked flawlessly. The only thing that is slightly imperfect is that the RPS-200-12C whines a tad when the system is asleep and off - but it's only audible close by and when paying attention. It's perfectly silent while the system is running. It has also been 100% stable, and does not seem to give off noticeable heat. I ought to get the shell of the PSU painted black so it isn't quite so visible from outside of the case, but again, I'm not that much of a perfectionist.
Other things worthy of note: the heatsink got mangled quite a bit in order to fit it over the ArchDaemon and RAM. Yes, the RAM is in between the fins. RAM sticks are covered in kapton tape on the top to protect them from scratches and any electrical connection to the heatsink.
![](https://i.imgur.com/8ayUKDr.jpg)
![](https://i.imgur.com/dHvuCv7.jpg)
It was worth it for the clearance though. Here's the final fitment:
![](https://i.imgur.com/k16jxRM.jpg)
I also made a dump of a bunch of photos from the build process. There's pics from the construction of the heatsink, my work on the case (including cutting a new power inlet, which I'm extremely pleased with how cleanly I pulled off), plus how the old top panel looked when installed.
Just to push myself to actually make a proper build log for this build, here's a little teaser for my HTPC build. I've been working on it for a little while now, finally got my cooler assembled and - kind of shocking, really - it works really well. Huge thanks to @aquelito for help getting my AM4 mounting bracket laser cut. I haven't yet got it into the case, and I'll likely have to trim some fins to get the PSU (MeanWell RPS-200-12C) to fit, seeing how the fins overlap both sides of the motherboard. Shold be fine though. Height to the top of the fin stack from the box the motherboard is sitting on is ~57mm. I haven't torture tested the cooler completely passively, but it did make it through a few minutes of OCCT (AVX) all-core load not that far above 80C, just slightly dropping below 4GHz. I've set the fan to kick in at 60C, which means that in a quick test game (offline) of Rocket League, the fan was turning off while gaming
That freaking shocked me. I mean, RL isn't the heaviest load, but it's at least a 100% GPU load with some CPU load thrown in.
Some teaser images:
Now, let me tell you, sandwiching five layers of aluminium together around a cold plate with heatpipes through it takes a lot of thermal paste. And my rather off-the-cuff design for the mount (only really measured the cold plate, only partially accounted for the heatpipes) needed quite a bit of cutting, filing and other work. Also had to sand down the base layer by ~.3mm to get it flush(ish) to the copper cold plate. And did I mention I had to cut away a few fins to fit my DC-ATX board?![Stick Out Tongue :p :p](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Full specs:
CPU: Ryzen 5 Pro 4650G (CPU stock, iGPU 2100MHz, IF 1900MHz)
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 3200C16 @ 3800C16
Motherboard: ASRock B550M-ITX/AC
Cooler: Arctic Accelero S1 (possibly rev. 2?) GPU cooler from ~2009 with a similarly old Noctua NF-A14 FLX
PSU: AC-DC is a MeanWell RPS-200-12C, DC-ATX is @guryhwa's ArchDaemon (200W spec, only DC input and EPS connector)
Some notes on Renoir OC'ing:
- Hitting 3800 MT/s on my RAM was trivial. Taiphoon Burner for info, Ryzen DRAM calc for timings, booted first time (3800 safe preset @ 1.38V). Would likely go significantly higher if the calculator let me try that.
- Setting IF to 1900 was similarly a non-issue, just needed to do it manually as on auto it stopped at 1800.
- The iGPU OC was also pretty easy, but I couldn't get it stable above 2100 without using voltages that I'm not comfortable with. (The voltage readings from this motherboard are scary, reporting 1.3-1.4V on both CPU and SoC/iGPU). Nearly all voltages at stock, SoC set to 1.15V.
- Performance uplift from stock + XMP to my current setup is nearly 18% in 3DMark Night Raid.
More to come, obviously.
Some teaser images:
![](https://i.imgur.com/9Q1Q0jp.jpg)
![](https://i.imgur.com/EapY1gl.jpg)
![](https://i.imgur.com/zf2Yp6A.jpg)
![](https://i.imgur.com/HnuRjvg.jpg)
![](https://i.imgur.com/UoFSmvI.jpg)
Now, let me tell you, sandwiching five layers of aluminium together around a cold plate with heatpipes through it takes a lot of thermal paste. And my rather off-the-cuff design for the mount (only really measured the cold plate, only partially accounted for the heatpipes) needed quite a bit of cutting, filing and other work. Also had to sand down the base layer by ~.3mm to get it flush(ish) to the copper cold plate. And did I mention I had to cut away a few fins to fit my DC-ATX board?
Full specs:
CPU: Ryzen 5 Pro 4650G (CPU stock, iGPU 2100MHz, IF 1900MHz)
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 3200C16 @ 3800C16
Motherboard: ASRock B550M-ITX/AC
Cooler: Arctic Accelero S1 (possibly rev. 2?) GPU cooler from ~2009 with a similarly old Noctua NF-A14 FLX
PSU: AC-DC is a MeanWell RPS-200-12C, DC-ATX is @guryhwa's ArchDaemon (200W spec, only DC input and EPS connector)
Some notes on Renoir OC'ing:
- Hitting 3800 MT/s on my RAM was trivial. Taiphoon Burner for info, Ryzen DRAM calc for timings, booted first time (3800 safe preset @ 1.38V). Would likely go significantly higher if the calculator let me try that.
- Setting IF to 1900 was similarly a non-issue, just needed to do it manually as on auto it stopped at 1800.
- The iGPU OC was also pretty easy, but I couldn't get it stable above 2100 without using voltages that I'm not comfortable with. (The voltage readings from this motherboard are scary, reporting 1.3-1.4V on both CPU and SoC/iGPU). Nearly all voltages at stock, SoC set to 1.15V.
- Performance uplift from stock + XMP to my current setup is nearly 18% in 3DMark Night Raid.
More to come, obviously.
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