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Ryzen snoozer build.

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First post, by liqmat

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My Toshiba Qosmio X875 gaming laptop died a few months ago after eight years of dedicated service. I could have replaced the motherboard and continued, but Cyberpunk 2077. So this is my journey in building a system with 1998 aesthetics, but of course 2019 internal organs. It has been truly challenging and educational since I have not built a desktop/tower system since 2010. When you are on the road constantly, like I am, laptops are a lot more attractive, but desktops are so much more versatile and I was ready to dive into that world again. Windows 7 compatibility was a must so all hardware had to have driver support for that OS. That was probably the most challenging part of it. Especially creating a proper slipstreamed Windows 7 Professional USB installation image. I can proudly say I have completed my mission after a couple of months of research and testing. I'll try to post all my pitfalls and successes as best as possible here. The bottom line is I had a lot of fun doing it and that's why I do this in the first place.

As many of you know I picked up a bunch of new old stock Pentium Pro hardware in October 2018. In that haul were a handful of new old stock beige ATX cases. They had a fairly nice design where the motherboard tray would pull out from the back so you could easily access the internals. I wanted to use that case for this build so it would have a nice vintage late 1990s look to it rather than all the black alien planet RGB sameness most cases have today. What concerned me most about my vintage 90s case was room for proper cooling. I came up with a fairly innovative front-to-back air cooling system that I'll get into more detail later in this thread. That was easily the second most challenging hurdle, but also fun to put together after some trial and error.

So here is a diagram of the case which was sitting loose in the shipping box. Kind of neat In Win included the diagram. This is the In Win IW-A500-ATX computer case I will be using for this build.

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A blank canvas.

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Last edited by liqmat on 2019-06-20, 15:51. Edited 2 times in total.

Reply 2 of 34, by liqmat

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The first order of business was to remove the factory installed "POWER MAN" (love that name) 235W PSU since that just wont make the cut. I'll save that PSU for testing older boards in the future. This is going to be a slight beefcake of a build so in goes a Corsair RM 850x modular PSU. I like this line of Corsair PSUs with their almost whisper quiet fans.

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Pay special attention to that rear vent next to the PSU. That becomes very important later in this build.

Reply 3 of 34, by liqmat

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I went ahead and pulled out the motherboard tray to make my first attempt at arranging the cards. This changes quite a bit later in the build when I realize a few modifications have to be made for cooling and performance.

The specs:

ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate AM4 Motherboard
AMD Ryzen 7 2700x 8-Core 3.7GHz CPU
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series DDR4 3200 (4 x 8GB)
EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 FTW3 Ultra
Creative Sound Blaster ZxR
Plextor M9Pe AIC 1TB NVMe (boot drive)

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I had to ditch the stock Ryzen HSF cooler as it was too tall with the Corsair PSU being on its side next to it. So I ordered a Noctua NH-L9x65 65mm low-profile CPU cooler which fit perfectly. Noctua makes an even lower profile CPU cooler, the Noctua NH-L9a, but this was unnecessary and I am a fan (no pun intended) of deeper heatsink fins if possible.

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What I quickly realized is that pull out action of the motherboard tray was not going to happen with the 2080 attached since it was too tall. So that has to go in last or come out first when I want to move the tray in or out. You will also probably notice I have an all aluminum upHere GPU brace underneath the 2080. This support bracket helps with GPU sag since the 2080 is quite heavy. Even though the PCIe 3.0 slots are reinforced I feel better with that brace underneath giving the 2080 extra support.

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Pay attention to that PCIe Plextor NVMe. That becomes a problem later in the build, but gets resolved with some "void my warranty" action. Also, I didn't like how the ZxR daughter board ribbon cable wrapped around the 2080 essentially disrupting the airflow of the card which blows out to the side. This also gets resolved later in the build and is related to the NVMe "problem".

Last edited by liqmat on 2019-06-20, 03:21. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 4 of 34, by badmojo

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luckybob wrote:

I tried to report this thread to the mods. But "too damn awesome" isn't a "valid reason".

"Because it's blowing my mind" was also rejected but something must be done, this could break the internet.

Life? Don't talk to me about life.

Reply 5 of 34, by Unknown_K

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Its a very good case (I have the AT version plus the full tower ATX ones) but you will never get decent airflow without doing some cutting in there.

Collector of old computers, hardware, and software

Reply 7 of 34, by spiroyster

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Are you sure that Noctua is enough?

Fan is rated at 84W TPD.
CPU is rated at 105W TPD.

It's right by the PSU as well, so will be pulling in warmer than not by the PSU air.

Just read the PSU specs, unsure if it would be good for that case even if the CPU wasn't almost kissing it (PSU fan cover is patially covered if I'm looking at it right... and directly opposite the Noctua!). Smallish older cases are designed for older (less powerful/cooler) components. A bigger old case perhaps with enough room for decent airflow. And like Unknown_k says, even then you might need to butcher it to even take the hot-rocks of today.

Reply 10 of 34, by spiroyster

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liqmat wrote:

It seems some of you didn't read this thread carefully or get the memo that this build is done and I was not looking for advice or why it wont work. It does. Been doing builds since 1993 and computers since 1983 so I think I know a thing or two of what the fuck I'm doing. I was going to yammer on about how I got it to work with good temps, some cool things I did with the build, nice photos and a very nice giveaway in the other thread I started a couple of years back, but you know what? Fuck it. I am moving all of my future posts, giveaways, cool finds, etc. over to my private Discord channel which some of you are very familiar with. If you want to join and be chill and not be a know-it-all and just a place to relax and not be negative, please, by all means PM me for an invite. It gets tiring dealing with the petty bullshit.

Was this directed at me? What bullshit/negativity is it that you are referring too?

Reply 11 of 34, by buckeye

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liqmat wrote:

It seems some of you didn't read this thread carefully or get the memo that this build is done and I was not looking for advice or why it wont work. It does. Been doing builds since 1993 and computers since 1983 so I think I know a thing or two of what the fuck I'm doing. I was going to yammer on about how I got it to work with good temps, some cool things I did with the build, nice photos and a very nice giveaway in the other thread I started a couple of years back, but you know what? Fuck it. I am moving all of my future posts, giveaways, cool finds, etc. over to my private Discord channel which some of you are very familiar with. If you want to join and be chill and not be a know-it-all and just a place to relax and not be negative, please, by all means PM me for an invite. It gets tiring dealing with the petty bullshit.

Wish you'd reconsider and stick around, bad enuff we lost Phil for the same reasons. But I understand the frustration as I have been "taken to school" on this forum
despite not having asked for it one bit. Regardless though I was enjoying the post, good read -while it lasted!

Asus P5N-E Intel Core 2 Duo 3.33ghz. 4GB DDR2 Geforce 470 1GB SB X-Fi Titanium 650W XP SP3
Intel SE440BX P3 450 256MB 80GB SSD Radeon 7200 64mb SB 32pnp 350W 98SE
MSI x570 Gaming Pro Carbon Ryzen 3700x 32GB DDR4 Zotac RTX 3070 8GB WD Black 1TB 850W

Reply 12 of 34, by badmojo

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That’s a shame I was looking forward to this thread, but what were you expecting OP? Nerds will be nerds and they’re going to question and comment. If all you want is virtual high-fives then the internet is going to disappoint every time.

Life? Don't talk to me about life.

Reply 13 of 34, by Unknown_K

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Was that directed at me then?

I had my first computer around 1983 as well and started building my own when the 386 was popular in 1990 but that has little to do with computing today because the power usage was minimal back then.

Not everybody here is a 16 year old kind who is afraid to remove the cover on a DELL, some of us have engineering degrees and have worked with thermodynamics for quite a while.

Collector of old computers, hardware, and software

Reply 14 of 34, by spiroyster

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It was certainly one or both of us? We may never know... 😕

badmojo wrote:

That’s a shame I was looking forward to this thread, but what were you expecting OP? Nerds will be nerds and they’re going to question and comment. If all you want is virtual high-fives then the internet is going to disappoint every time.

It is a shame. I would have been interested to see what was done. Especially with that Noctua on that CPU, in that InWin case, next to that PSU...

At the end of the day, it's advice (whether it's right or wrong), they can take it or leave it... and certainly shouldn't get offended by it. Nobody knows it all, although that outburst feels kinda condescending like OP does know it all and is offended that advice was given based on the limited information they supplied. Not too sure how we are supposed to know about their 30 odd years experience building computers, especially when they post an image with a cooling solution that obviously isn't going to cut it. They never said they weren't looking for advice, and surely this would be a shite community if no one was to point out something like that?

Personally I don't see the point in drip feeding a story like this, feels click-baity. Single post with stages and finished build would suffice. If the build is done and working, it's not ongoing, so why dangle a carrot and expect people to not discuss or (heaven forbid) offer obvious advice given the information and images.

Reply 15 of 34, by JonathonWyble

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spiroyster wrote:

Personally I don't see the point in drip feeding a story like this, feels click-baity. Single post with stages and finished build would suffice. If the build is done and working, it's not ongoing, so why dangle a carrot and expect people to not discuss or (heaven forbid) offer obvious advice given the information and images.

There's a lot of reasons why someone would want to post topics like this one. To ask for help with something they're having trouble with, or to discuss something cool they've done recently to the people out there. Therefore, I see a pretty good reason why someone would take the time to post this type of stuff on a forum. But that's not really the point.

1998 Pentium II build

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Reply 17 of 34, by chinny22

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Noctua got my loyalty when they offered free mounting upgrades for newer sockets)
Also slowly standardising my PSU's with Corsair's modular ones, Means I can do things like use the left over Molex cables form my RM750i in my daily driver in my RM550x in the PPro
Rest of the hardware is too modern for me to understand, but its interesting as the opposite of my old hardware in new case builds.

Re the "other thing"
Just ignore comments you don't like.
The benefit of forums is your post is publicly available for everyone for years to come. Problem with private channels is the information will get lost over time.

In the end though this is just a hobby, All of this is only for fun in the end and I'm not going to tell you how to spend your free time!

Reply 18 of 34, by liqmat

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Welp... decided to finish this thread for the people who keep asking me what I did to remove the thermal bowel movements this build squeezes out. Some of you already know the results who joined my now defunct private Discord server. This is going to be a long winded post, but I feel I should finish this for all the good friends I've made here and in other forums. It is also for the Vogons member who is receiving that dual Slot 1 build I am gifting them for the price of shipping. So here we go...

Lets start with the back and how I rid that case of rising heat.

The In Win A500 has this wonderful little drive bracket that you can install right next to the PSU towards the back of the case. This was designed so you can mount a 3½" HDD in that spot. That small piece of metal with a hole in it is so you can put a lock on the back to prevent the case lid from being removed.

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So I took advantage of that 3½" drive space the bracket creates and decided to purchase a box fan and modify it so I would not only have rear cooling, but more importantly rear cooling at the top of the case where the heat rises.

Fine tooth hacksaw and a FOX-3 System Blower.

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The FOX-3 cooler was designed to fit into a front facing 3½" drive bay. If I am going to achieve airflow that goes straight out the back that downward facing shroud needs to get chopped.

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Cutting right at the line where the shroud meets the box.

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It's time to install the modified FOX-3 box fan into the case.

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But first lets get that bracket installed.

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Fits like a glove and that well placed rear vent on the In Win A500 case seems like it was made for this.

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That's not all kids, Uncle LiqMat wants to have some more fan fun and see what else he can do. I have all those unused 5¼" drive bays. Let's get a wall of fans going with some 40mm Noctuas. Bought a couple of decent 5¼" drive bay coolers.

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Stock fans came out. Much too noisy.

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Now let's get those silly little Noctuas in place.

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That's looking pretty dang good.

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Let me model that for you.

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Since the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate motherboard has a limited amount of thermal fan control hookups we need a wire harness.

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That'll do the trick.

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Let's do a test run in one drive bay. (ignore the color mismatched optical drive. that changes.)

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Strike a pose!

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Looks good to go. Time to finish the job. Wall of fans that don't make a wall of noise.

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What's that look like from the outside? (finally found a better matching beige SATA optical drive. those aint easy to find btw.)

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Not bad, but I see another vent there on the side. There has to be something I can do about that. Hey, I know!

I'll flatten out the mounting bracket on one of those card slot box fans with some pliers.

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Find me a proper screw mount.

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Slide her on.

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Screw it down to the hull. That bottom screw is holding another one of those screw mounts in place which prevents the fan from tilting inward towards the cards. The top screw is what actually tightens the fan in place.

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And now we have some serious blow!

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Of course there is an 80mm case fan in the front bottom bringing in air as well. Another little trick to get some ventilation is to remove those unused I/O port shields and install vented card slot plates where there is space in the back. I think those WiFi antennas are giving the peace sign man!

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I dunno about you, but that looks like a happy case taking a selfie.

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If there was anything left to do it would be me finding a 3½" media drive that is truly beige and not that white model I have installed. All the beige models out there are USB 2.0. That white model is 3.0. I suppose I could paint it, but not going to sweat it. I heard a rumor that my little snoozer build is not going to sweat it either, but that could just be a lot of hot air.

Last edited by liqmat on 2021-04-29, 00:00. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 19 of 34, by badmojo

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Ah sweet sweet closure, thank you. That thing must pump out air like no-ones business but a job that's worth doing is worth doing right, nice work 👍

Life? Don't talk to me about life.