Antec 3480 build (56k warning)

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bonestonne
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Antec 3480 build (56k warning)

Post by bonestonne » Fri Jan 13, 2012 6:52 pm

It's been a while since I've built a customer computer, but today I had quite an experience, so here it is, in all it's glory (and cut hands)...

It's also for my sister's friend, so I decided to take the "box" and go a little outside. I'd repeat this build for myself, but I'd never suggest this combination for a customer again.

I was told that it had to look good, run Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and anything else she needed for a web design class. I thought to myself, Antec Mini P180 in white, but it sold out during the time period I was ordering, then I saw the ncix sale, and ate crow a little, because by the time I saw the sale, the 3480 had already arrived.

Specs:
Antec NSK-3480
Intel Core i7-2600S
eVGA P67 120-SB-E672-KR
Samsung 8GB low profile, low power RAM
WD5000-AAKX
LG Blu Ray Burner
MSI 560GTX Twin Frozr
Scythe Ninja 3
Scythe Slip Stream 800RPM for exhaust
Antec HCG-520W
Windows 7 Home Premium x64

Additionally, for the monitor, I went with what I have at home, the Acer S211HL-BD. For the keyboard and mouse, I opted for the Logitech K750 wireless solar, and the Razor Death Adder.

What you'll find is that the NSK3480 was not designed to fit large power supplies. Actually, the smaller the better in this case, unless you're very thickheaded/stubborn like I am.

Image

There it is, in silent glory. The loudest part is the power button when it clicks. I haven't gotten around to stress testing it, but that's up next, along with testing power consumption. I do not feel like 520 was necessary at all, however being a clients computer, I can't take quite the same risk I would at home with a lower wattage unit. I was tempted to go down to 400W, and in hindsight, probably should have, however I'm confident in this build.

No grills were cut, the extent of my mods stopped at making the hole by the PSU large enough to run nearly all of the power cables out to the rest of the case, and getting the larger PSU into place. That alone took over an hour. This is one seriously cramped case, however with lower power parts, and larger heatsinks with better fans ensures a quieter and better looking final product.

As far as how much room is left? I don't think you could easily get any other part inside that case. The hard drive had to go to the bottom because there was no room left at the top, and running another SATA/power cable up there would have been a disaster.

You'll notice there's a molex to SATA adapter that goes up into the PSU area, because I had to use that adapter to get a 90* right angle connector for power and data for the blu ray drive, to get it in. There is no space between the drive and the PSU. None. That doesn't even mention the struggle of getting the power cables where they are now.

Image

A modular version of this PSU would have been even worse, and simply would not have fit.

The cables will get another look tomorrow, I'm not sure how much more I can do about them though. If this case was 1/4" longer, the installation would have been flawless. I guess by comparison, it was literally just a hair too small.

I'll be designing 4 more systems that will be more uniformly built, so when I do the demo systems, they'll be put up as well, but those most likely wont be done for another couple weeks, if not longer, as the school semester is about to begin for me on Tuesday.

-bonestonne

Arbutus
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Re: Antec 3480 build (56k warning)

Post by Arbutus » Fri Jan 13, 2012 10:55 pm

bonestonne wrote:I haven't gotten around to stress testing it, but that's up next
I'd like to hear what the temps n' fan speeds come out to. An alternate fan config would be to put the fixed speed 800 rpm fan on the CPU cooler and the PWM fan connected to the CPU fan header on the rear chassis position.

ntavlas
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Re: Antec 3480 build (56k warning)

Post by ntavlas » Sat Jan 14, 2012 5:25 am

Big heatsinks in small cases can make maintenance a pain indeed. Nowdays that cpus are more efficient I prefer to use compact blow down coolers on any computer I build, my main rig is the only exception.

Still, it`s a very neat rig and hopefully you won`t have to perform maintenance on it for quite some time. Since you`re planning to use this build as a template perhaps you should consider using a thinner heatsink like the Thermalright Archon or the Coolermaster Hyper 212. There are also some quite decent sfx psus like the 350watt Bequiet or the 450 watt Silvrstone (which is essentially the same psu uprated). Probably not as quiet as the best atx psus but worthy of consideration in a customer`s build where you want to keep modding to a minimum.

mkk
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Re: Antec 3480 build (56k warning)

Post by mkk » Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:04 am

The build probably turned out okay, but I hope you got that case cheap today. The cooling might not hold up under any longer periods of simultaneous CPU and GPU stress. If it turns out to be problematic, the client does not appear to need such a powerful graphics card.

bonestonne
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Re: Antec 3480 build (56k warning)

Post by bonestonne » Sat Jan 14, 2012 9:33 am

Prices were good, if anything tipped the bank, I would have changed it. Not as good as the NCIX deal on the Mini P180, but a good deal.

This case is growing on me a lot. I left the Kill A Watt at home, in my frenzy to make it to work on time, but I have temp readings, and some more details (and later tonight, pictures).

The MSI Twin Frozr II is the same as the MSI Hawk models (like the MSI Hawk 5770, then the Twin Frozr 6770, etc), so I opted for the better cooling it provided, and it definitely delivers.

Here are some numbers:

Super Pi mod1.5 XS - Calculate Pi to 32M places took 9 minutes 52.160 seconds.

GPU-Z:
Idle Temp: 29C
OpenGL Load Temp: 54C Running FurMark
DirectX 11 Load Temp: 63C Running Unigine Heaven Benchmark
Idle Core Clock: 50.6 MHz
Idle Memory Clock: 135.0MHz
Idle Shader Clock: 101.3MHz
Fan Speed: 40% (1620rpm reported)

CPU:
Idle Temp:
-Core 0: 33C
-Core 1: 36C
-Core 2: 33C
-Core 3: 34C

Load Temp:
-Core 0: 51C
-Core 1: 49C
-Core 2: 46C
-Core 3: 44C

The temps hover around 33/34C for the CPU at idle with the Scythe set to run at just above it's lowest setting on the rear bracket (reported 1466rpm).

HDD:
Idle: 32C
Load: 34C

The HDD temps hardly changed at all. Having the GPU cooler so close with plenty of airflow is very beneficial in this setup, and runs cooler than it would had I tried to put the HDD under the blu ray drive.

The side panels are swapped, the side with the CPU vent is over the back area, allowing better front to back airflow.

Overall, this build is very quiet, even under load, the GPU does not start making a lot of noise, it's extremely quiet. The HDD is soft mounted on the bottom, so it doesn't let out any vibrations. The PSU is bulky. I opted for it to have headroom under load, and this computer has it. The PSU does kick out very warm air under load. I wouldn't say it's hot, but well above ambient temps. Knowing the headroom I have to begin with makes me glad I chose this route rather than anything else, because had I gone with lower wattage, it might get too hot for comfort of the average home user, considering the size of the box.

Also, considering the temps I'm getting under benchmarks, I feel like it's very safe for home use. Considering Photoshop will not put the GPU under as much a load as consistently, I'm confident enough to say that this computer will be extremely quiet, lower power than many other options (Given the 2600S, Twin Frozr II, and Scythe Slipstream fans) provided by Dell, Lenovo, HP, or any other name brand. As far as cost goes, I can't exactly openly post what I'm charging for this, however as far as a system that you're buying totally pre-configured system that's built, stability tested, and ready to put in a desk and push the power button.

Especially considering the LED backlit 1080p monitor, keyboard and mouse, this is one of the nicest builds I've ever pulled off. I have my pet peeves, but overall, I do like this computer, and I'm sure the customer will as well, now, and years to come, as I don't anticipate any issues to come with this build, unless it's really mistreated.

Power Consumption will come next, as soon as I remember the Kill-A-Watt (Monday or Tuesday).

bonestonne
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Re: Antec 3480 build (56k warning)

Post by bonestonne » Sun Jan 15, 2012 9:51 am

@ntavlas: This build isn't the template build actually, this is just a custom build. The template build I'll be doing will be done inside the Moneual G100 case, as that's what my boss picked. Once I got the case opened and jumpered to hear the fans and PSU, I don't like it much, as it has a proprietary PSU to the case, but one problem at a time. All of those builds will sport CPUs with integrated graphics, both AMD and Intel versions. As far as overall specs, I haven't quite gotten there yet. I have four potential builds lined up, but none built yet. Those will all sport stock cooling, or larger heatsinks than they ship with (like using an i7 cooler on an i3).

bonestonne
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Re: Antec 3480 build (56k warning)

Post by bonestonne » Mon Jan 16, 2012 12:08 pm

Power Consumption:

Standby Mode: 3W steady

Idle Usage in WIndows 7 Home Premium: ~63W

The KillAWatt being used flutters around a lot, anywhere from 61 to 68, and just bounces around without settling in one place. This could be from network usage, windows update, who knows what. Unplugging the network cable drops it down to 61W and it's pretty stable right there.

Load Usage:

CPU Load: ~103W running SuperPi and Orthos together

CPU + GPU Load: ~299W Peak, Averages around 274W usage. This number fluctuates a lot, and does not settle down anywhere, it's jumping around constantly.

GPU being loaded by FurMark.

GPU Load: ~287W fairly constant using FurMark.

DVD Playback: 129W using CyberLink PowerDVD (came with BluRay Drive).

1080P Playback: 75W using Youtube, playing Big Buck Bunny.

----------

This rig is a monster, and is all over the place with power consumption. The GTX 560 is the worst offender, and if this were a build for my own personal use, I would probably opt for a much lower end GPU, as the 560 is not a necessity in this build. However, considering it's what the client wanted, this build is still very good for it's size, and for the components inside, it uses the power pretty well, and will not let anyone down.

The GPU pulls some serious power, but that was the point of having the HCG-520 in there, there will be no worrying about it. The case is small enough to keep heat controlled, and has more than adequate cooling.

I hope people find these numbers useful, that's what they're here for.

Lsv
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Re: Antec 3480 build (56k warning)

Post by Lsv » Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:54 am

Where did you get the 2600S ? Can't find it anywhere :\

bonestonne
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Re: Antec 3480 build (56k warning)

Post by bonestonne » Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:38 pm

Newegg and Amazon.com both have it in stock as of today (1/24/2012) but I'm not sure of other vendors.

Skree
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Re: Antec 3480 build (56k warning)

Post by Skree » Mon Nov 05, 2012 4:38 pm

Sorry to resurrect a necrothread but this build is very pertinent to what I am trying to do, and i do not see many 3480 builds with powerful GPUs in.

edit: never mind.. duh at me for not reading enough of your post :lol: Nice build anyway sah hoping mine will be as sweet

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