x299 M1

[Inndee]

What's up yall. First time poster here and I'm excited to share my build log with you. Currently I have a basic Ncase M1 with a 7700k and 1080ti and I felt it was time to go to the enthusiast platform. I have no need for the hardware, but I always get the upgrade bug so here we go again.

The idea behind this is to delid and cool a 7900x with an OG Noctua NH-C14 with one fan. To assist with this I am installing der8aurs direct die frame so I can mount the cold plate directly to the die. His tests show that with an overclock he is able to reduce temperatures by at least 5 degrees celcius on top of a basic delid. So anywhere from 15-25c drop over stock.

I'm not naive to how hot these processors get, so my backup plan is to use the Kraken x52 aio in the event the air cooler can't handle stock operation, although I think it can.

I'm out of the country for 6 months every year, and I'm out right now. As soon as I'm back on the 14th I will run to micro center and pick up the last piece of the build - the 7900x. Everything else below has already been ordered or I already own it:

7900x - need to get
Skylake-X direct die frame
Noctua NH-C14
Asrock X299e ITX board
Kingston Impact 4x8gb 2400mhz
Silverstone 800 watt titanium SFXL
EVGA 1080 ti SC black
512gb 960 pro
1tb 850 pro
2x Black NF-F12
1x Black NF-A914
1x Black NF-A14

I haven't decided which vendor I'm using for my sleeved cables. They will be all black, though. Taking suggestions currently.

I'll be checking in on this post and updating as necessary, but expect the completed build to be up some time on the 14th or 15th unless I have a doa part. Thanks for looking.

Edit 1: I'm considering the Accellero III for a gpu cooler and having the bottom two fans mounted as exhaust. Can a backplate be used on the GPU with the Accelero? Can the SFXL psu be used with the Accelero?

Should the little NF-A9x14 be used as additional intake or do yall think it would be better as exhaust?

 

[Inndee]

So it is definitely a work in progress. Good news, though, as I have nothing DOA currently.

Now, feast your eyes in horror at my makeshift testbench that I'm currently using to type this with

Things to do still:
Decide if I need the 800w PSU, or even if it will fit.
Decide if I need to delid or apply the direct die plate, as the stock temperatures really aren't that bad considering my cooling solution. Hottest I've seen under brief testing was 66C package.
Mount the Accellero III to the GPU. Figure out a way to get the backplate to work.
REEEE at modDIY for not getting me the right angle USB 3.0 header adapter in time. unREEEE at them when I realized I couldn't use it anyway because the 24 pin cable goes there, so I have to do some tricky af routing for that one.
Clean and prep the case for a new installation.
Update bios, overclock GPU, RAM, CPU maybe?

I likely won't be done today. Please keep checking back if you're interested. Thanks for looking.

 

[Inndee]

Holy crap why is it this hard to post a link to an image? I keep getting flagged for spam.

 

[FullForceRainbow]

Holy crap why is it this hard to post a link to an image? I keep getting flagged for spam.

What site are you using to host the image? Imgur always works fine for me, just make sure you are linking to the image itself for your insertion—the url should end in”.jpg”.

 

[Inndee]

Thanks FFR, going to try this again:

According to preview, it works!

 

[Inndee]

Update time:

I bailed on the Accellero and 800w SFXL psu for now.

USB 3.0 header won't fit with my cooler. It's too tall due to the daughterboard height. I originally had planned for this and ordered a right angle adapter but it didn't arrive in time. I don't think that will help either due to the location of the 24 pin. I'll need to find a workaround.

I'm going to have to switch cables to something more flexible. My ensourced cables are too rigid and too long. Might just order the Corsair premium cable kit made for the SF series.

The Der8aur direct die plate is very easy to use. Note, you need to tighten the heck out of it because the tolerances are so tight. I mean, the first 8 attempts I made at mounting the CPU cooler resulted in a few cores being 90+ and the rest being 30. After I tightened the piss out of everything (plate, cooler standoffs, cooler screws) I still didn't have complete contact. So, finally, I ladled on the liquid metal to make contact. Eureka! Nice temps, even with a mild oc. Not bad for an air cooler with one fan. If I could do it again, I wouldn't have applied the adhesive stickers to the backplate. That thickness, not kidding, might be the difference between contact and not.

Still a WIP. I want to repaint the 92mm Noctua fan, get new cables, dial in the OC etc. Right now I have it at 4.5 all cores at 1.175v. This has not been stress tested.

Here's some photos so far:

lol?

ILM removed.

Plate installed as well as conformal coating.

Random cores out of control - bad contact

You can see exactly where the cooler is touching, and it's not the whole die

Gotta tidy all this up. It's a mess in here.

 

[Inndee]

Quick update on temps. Currently working on the overclock. Right now I'm at:

vcore 1.09v
CPU input voltage 1.7v
43 multiplier
100.00 BCLK
-5 avx offset

CPU boosts itself to over 4.7ghz. Tested using aida64 for approx 40 minutes. Highest core was 47c. Ambient temp is 22.22c


MMM dat tight line doe

Nice!

Ordered the premium Corsair SF black sleeved cables. Hoping that right angle usb 3.0 header adapter gets here soon too. The cable mess is driving me crazy.

 

[Solo]

Sick system. I hate those USB 3.0 cables too.

 

[Inndee]

Dat tight line and dem temps were a lie.

I was sitting there thinking, my god, I have the best chip on the planet with the best cooling solution I'm so good looking and got so much money, and then I ran firestrike.

CPU score was that of my old 7700k. In HWMonitor I checked the temps, we're all g. Checked the clock speeds, no throttling. So what gives? Ran back to the bios to switch everything back to stock, or auto, and my CPU score doubles. What the actual hell.

Stumbled upon this lovely article that explains everything.
http://www.overclock.net/forum/5-intel-cpus/1634045-skylake-x-phantom-throttling.html

Phantom Throttling. The invisible drop in cpu frequency when not supplied enough voltage but monitoring software doesn't catch it. Friggen REEEE. It is more than likely caused by the CPU input voltage that I kept turning down in search for better temps.

My first attempt will be to up the CPU input voltage back to 1.8 (not 1.5 DDD) and keep my LLC at 4. Highest it goes on these asrock boards is 5. Four seems to keep my manually input voltage very tight.

Corsair Cables are supposed to come in today, so I'll possibly get some pictures up of the "completed" build. It's never actually complete though am I right?

 

[Ragsters]

I' watching this thread from post one. Keep it up.

 

[Inndee]

I had to rethink how I was going to handle the overclock. Adjusting the voltages and cpu input voltage manually would produce so much heat and I would throttle like crazy. Obviously I haven't exactly set myself up for success as I'm on an air cooler with one fan, but we will make it work.

My best firestrike score so far. https://www.3dmark.com/fs/15353014 TLDR, 24325

My GPU is pegged at 1974 mhz max. Another tick up and it crashes. What a letdown.

Right now I have four cores set to 49 and the rest are at 46 multipliers - voltages left on auto - highest reported voltage was 1.242v on two cores. AVX offset is at 11 lol? My thought process was, I want the cores to be as fast as I can get them while playing games so I don't really notice a difference between this and my 7700k. I didn't want to to feel like a downgrade in gaming. At the same time, I really don't have a use for any avx stuff. When I run avx benchmarks with my 4.9/4.6ghz setup it crashes obviously. So to solve that, I use an extreme offset so it will drop down to roughly stock clocks and it won't crash.

Ram was oc'd from 2400 to 3000. Voltage went from 1.2 to 1.35.

Under game load I'm still around 65c at all times running wildlands. WoW and things like that I chill around mid 40's under load. Idle temps are side by side with ambient.

Here's some more recent pictures. Still missing that GD right angle USB 3.0 adapter. Come on moddiy, get your ship together

For paperweights I'm currently using my x299 ILM, 7900x IHS and a 7700K IHS.

 

[bran]

Interesting take on the 4 cores thing .How do you know games will main thread in the Cafast cores though?

 

[Inndee]

Interesting take on the 4 cores thing .How do you know games will main thread in the Cafast cores though?

I actually don't know if they do, but I at least like for them to have that option if somehow the game recognizes the fastest core. IDK how that works really. When I'm playing WoW, two of the four cores that I have assigned to 4.9 normally stay that way, while the others boost way higher than I have them clocked at. My slowest cores do 4.851 even though they're set to 4.6.

Office temps are between 15-22C, depends on if I'm using my window unit AC.

 

[Inndee]

Right angle usb 3.0 connector adapter came in! Yay!

Can't use it with the PSU where it is. No!!!

So now I have to atx bracket side mount the PSU. Rip my soul.

 

[Inndee]

New plan. I ordered a couple 12mm momentary switches from ebay and the wiring harnesses from frozencpu. I'm going to try to fabricate a new front I/O plate that deletes the USB and audio connectors so it's just the power switch.

Praise be to wahaha if he releases the CAD model of the front I/O, lest I'll be neck high in sheet metal until I get one right.

 

[confusis]

This is one insane system. I'm jealous!

 

[BaK]

New plan. I ordered a couple 12mm momentary switches from ebay and the wiring harnesses from frozencpu. I'm going to try to fabricate a new front I/O plate that deletes the USB and audio connectors so it's just the power switch.

Praise be to wahaha if he releases the CAD model of the front I/O, lest I'll be neck high in sheet metal until I get one right.

Great rig, congrats!

NCase front I/O power button only, STEP file: https://www.sendspace.com/file/c6hgge

However I tried to get it done here but it was way to expensive for a one piece only.
So I made a custom one:

You can check my build log for more pics: Black copper NCase M1

 

[Inndee]

The hero we don't deserve. Thanks for that link!

 

[Inndee]

Just a quick update on this since the glass panels shipped and all that. I never got anyone to make me an I/Oless front panel but that's okay. I found this! https://www.moddiy.com/products/High-Quality-Sleeved-USB-3.0-19%2dPin-Internal-Header-Extension-Cable-(Low-Profile-Connector).html

Some new parts:
Accellero - modded to use the stock cold plate and backplate
Silverstone 800 watt titanium PSU
Noctua C14s
Tempered glass window with 35% tint

I still need to make some custom cables and then do cable management and apply dust filters and all that. Still a work in progress.

 

[confusis]

Wow. That's beautiful!