SENTRY: Console-sized gaming PC case project

I think that for gaming 1700 might be overkill and 1600 should do the same job properly while putting huge cpu load on 1700 with NH-L9i might not be perfect.
1600 is better then 1700 for gaming, since it has higher frequency per core in multicore loads. Most games are barely optimized for 8 cores, so the higher frequency you have on a 4-6 hardware threads, the better frame rate you'll get.
1700 consumes as much power as 1600 (according to various tests), so you'll get the same temperatures with 1600 as with 1700
 
Last edited:
I need processor guidance. I want a R7 1700 but from your comments, I'm not sure I need it.

I run many apps simultaneously and plan on upgrading to 4k 50" monitor.

I don't play the crazy graphic intense games but I want crystal clear no latency for my workflow/gaming.

What do you think for specs?
1700 or 1600
How much and fast ram?
GPU?

I'm pumped for the upgrade!

Apps
Heroes of the Storm
Skype for Business
Outlook
Excel
PowerPoint
Chrome tabs for days
Gimp
iTunes
TeamViewer
 
I need processor guidance. I want a R7 1700 but from your comments, I'm not sure I need it.

I run many apps simultaneously and plan on upgrading to 4k 50" monitor.

I don't play the crazy graphic intense games but I want crystal clear no latency for my workflow/gaming.

What do you think for specs?
1700 or 1600
How much and fast ram?
GPU?

I'm pumped for the upgrade!

Apps
Heroes of the Storm
Skype for Business
Outlook
Excel
PowerPoint
Chrome tabs for days
Gimp
iTunes
TeamViewer

You will get the best gaming performance out of the 1600. The only app from the ones you mentions that takes advantage of the core count is team viewer, but you will not see a big difference unless you are working with multiple teamviewer instances.
 
Agreed, the R5 1600 is a solid pick over the R7 1700 for most end users.

Although personally, I'm still probably going to pick up a 1700 for a "because I can" reason. As I already planned 300 for a CPU and because PC Master Race demands it.

Also I don't think in base clocks, all ryzen chips to me are at at least a 3.9GHz OC.
 
I'd also recommend going for R5 1600 over R7 1700 if you want just gaming. I went for R7 because I'm doing quite a lot of productivity tasks on my PC, but that additional two cores are quite costly in comparison to R5 1600.
 
Agreed, the R5 1600 is a solid pick over the R7 1700 for most end users.

Although personally, I'm still probably going to pick up a 1700 for a "because I can" reason. As I already planned 300 for a CPU and because PC Master Race demands it.

Also I don't think in base clocks, all ryzen chips to me are at at least a 3.9GHz OC.

Not sure how a 3.9GHz Ryzen overlock (especially on 8 cores) will do in the Sentry. I guess it will be okay though unless you stress test all cores with some synthetic workload.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RosaJ
like this
Not sure how a 3.9GHz Ryzen overlock (especially on 8 cores) will do in the Sentry. I guess it will be okay though unless you stress test all cores with some synthetic workload.
I have confidence that a Dynatron T318 with a custom Zaber AM4 adapter will be able to keep that beast cool enough. So we'll have to see
 
Just a heads up for those interested in a tiny gpu. Zotac just announced a mini 1080ti. This may allow for a hdd mount in the gpu bay at the end of the card. Or potentially an aio radiator mod. Hopefully AMD can produce another R9 Nano or else it looks like Nvidia will hold the tiny but powerful gpu crown.
 
Just a heads up for those interested in a tiny gpu. Zotac just announced a mini 1080ti. This may allow for a hdd mount in the gpu bay at the end of the card. Or potentially an aio radiator mod. Hopefully AMD can produce another R9 Nano or else it looks like Nvidia will hold the tiny but powerful gpu crown.

It won't fit. Once again Zotac shows RENDERS of the air cooled unit that let you believe the card will have reference-sized pcb. The images presenting the water cooled unit however show that the card is significantly oversized in PCB height.

Do you think you'll be able to cool non-blower 1080ti in Sentry?

I doubt it, since I think the 250W open air cooled GPU will be recycling the hot air, although I have no units for testing available, so if anyone wants to challenge it, I'll gladly see the results of the test.

I have confidence that a Dynatron T318 with a custom Zaber AM4 adapter will be able to keep that beast cool enough. So we'll have to see

While the design I have drawn feels doable, I feel like it should be possible to make it cost just few bucks like making skewed screws for example. The LGA2011 -> AM4 adapter bracket like the one I've designed feels kind of over-engineered for just one cooler. I'll need some time to figure out the best approach for this now that I have all the hardware needed for testing (T318's been lying on my desk for over a month now btw).
 
It won't fit. Once again Zotac shows RENDERS of the air cooled unit that let you believe the card will have reference-sized pcb. The images presenting the water cooled unit however show that the card is significantly oversized in PCB height.



I doubt it, since I think the 250W open air cooled GPU will be recycling the hot air, although I have no units for testing available, so if anyone wants to challenge it, I'll gladly see the results of the test.



While the design I have drawn feels doable, I feel like it should be possible to make it cost just few bucks like making skewed screws for example. The LGA2011 -> AM4 adapter bracket like the one I've designed feels kind of over-engineered for just one cooler. I'll need some time to figure out the best approach for this now that I have all the hardware needed for testing (T318's been lying on my desk for over a month now btw).

Ah I couldn't tell if the mini 1080ti was too tall or not. We'll then I guess we'll wait and see if we get a Vega Nano.
 
While the design I have drawn feels doable, I feel like it should be possible to make it cost just few bucks like making skewed screws for example. The LGA2011 -> AM4 adapter bracket like the one I've designed feels kind of over-engineered for just one cooler. I'll need some time to figure out the best approach for this now that I have all the hardware needed for testing (T318's been lying on my desk for over a month now btw).

Looking forward to what you decide to come up with. I'm sure your design will be on point!
 
Ah I couldn't tell if the mini 1080ti was too tall or not. We'll then I guess we'll wait and see if we get a Vega Nano.

The thing is that Zotac did the same thing with 1080 - someone managing press releases sends out render concepts of the cooler that is mounted on reference ITX sized board while the real card obviously isn't - you can hardly fit 1070 on reference sized ITX board...

zotac-gtx-1080-mini.jpg 1080mini-4b.jpg

render on the left and real photo on the right. What you need to notice is how much above the PCI bracket is the PCB - there's like 2cm of a difference there.
 
The thing is that Zotac did the same thing with 1080 - someone managing press releases sends out render concepts of the cooler that is mounted on reference ITX sized board while the real card obviously isn't - you can hardly fit 1070 on reference sized ITX board...

View attachment 25825 View attachment 25826

render on the left and real photo on the right. What you need to notice is how much above the PCI bracket is the PCB - there's like 2cm of a difference there.

Oh wow that's crazy. Too bad it won't fit.
 
This is a tip for everyone. I strongly recommend getting the large MOBILE EDGE CANVAS BACKPACK (60$) they are made by the same people that make the alienware backpack but they are a lot cheaper. I have owned this backpack for more than a year and its very sturdy. It can handle everything. I had my 17.5inch ROG gaming laptop with the huge power brick inside and it fit just fine although not in the laptop compartment. This bag is not huge, so it actually looks very nice because it has a decent size while still being large enough to fit a 18 inch laptop. It will not fit too many things but centantly enoguh for your sentry and PC equipment plus 1 or 2 notebooks while still looking small. I has very standard look and doesn't scream expensive computer like the alienware backpacks. The material doesn't feel cheap and it has a lot of padding all around.

It's also eco friendly, if you care about saving the environment.

I do agree that you should get the backpack once you have your sentry and all its accessories and you are certain everything will fit (look at the dimensions on the website).
I'll be using my 17 year old Playstation 2 travel bag made by ALS Industries. It's lasted me through my PS2, Xbox 360, PS3, and Xbox One.
 
While the design I have drawn feels doable, I feel like it should be possible to make it cost just few bucks like making skewed screws for example. The LGA2011 -> AM4 adapter bracket like the one I've designed feels kind of over-engineered for just one cooler. I'll need some time to figure out the best approach for this now that I have all the hardware needed for testing (T318's been lying on my desk for over a month now btw).

Do you guys have a template or the dimensions (x, y, and z-height) of the am4 socket/cooler mounting? I'm interested in modifying an LP53 cpu cooler to fit am4 in the future if/when I go over to team red.
 
Do you guys have a template or the dimensions (x, y, and z-height) of the am4 socket/cooler mounting? I'm interested in modifying an LP53 cpu cooler to fit am4 in the future if/when I go over to team red.
distance between the holes is widely available 90 x 54 mm. The distance from the IHS to the board PCB surface (z-height) looks to be something between 7.5 and 7.75 mm - it may vary from vendor to vendor or even board to board.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ej24
like this
Got my Cable Mod cables. Unfortunately I'm about to leave town for a few days so I won't be able to put them in yet. More Sentry tinkering will have to wait. I can already say that my 8 pin pcie cable is longer than necessary. When I replace all my psu cables next week I'll post what should be the most appropriate lengths so nobody else also orders anything too long.

Also I have some fine mesh fan filters, more 40mm fans, fan hubs, fan splitters, a lot more stuff to test.
 
Also I have some fine mesh fan filters, more 40mm fans, fan hubs, fan splitters, a lot more stuff to test.
So jelly!

What GPU are you using and CPU/cooler? I am eager what the best position and orientations of those 40mm fans will be. Either in the CPU area, GPU area or both! Also how quite are they?

Thanks
 
So jelly!

What GPU are you using and CPU/cooler? I am eager what the best position and orientations of those 40mm fans will be. Either in the CPU area, GPU area or both! Also how quite are they?

Thanks

Gtx 1080 FE. I7-4790K. Thermolab LP53 cooler with noctua nf-9x14 fan. The 40mm fans are noctua nf-a4x10 flx. Dead silent. At full speed they have a noticeable hum but even that is tolerable. However I run them at a much lower speed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RosaJ
like this
Gtx 1080 FE. I7-4790K. Thermolab LP53 cooler with noctua nf-9x14 fan. The 40mm fans are noctua nf-a4x10 flx. Dead silent. At full speed they have a noticeable hum but even that is tolerable. However I run them at a much lower speed.
Good to hear, can't wait for your tests!
Just got my shipping notice!

I can't understand half of it, and what I can is, well, somewhat amusingly translated. :p

But regardless, I'm incredibly excited!
Was yours a white case or a black case from the first round? And are you US? So excited for you!
 
Just got my shipping notice from Noctua for the AM4 kit which I ordered on Wednesday . Says it should arrive within 3-5 days! (Am in Germany!) :)
 
Besides obvious components such as the psu, cpu, ram, gpu, motherboard and hard drive what extras would I need?

Like mounting brackets, cables and sort of thing? I've gone with the biostar x370gtn motherboard, ryzen 1600 cpu a gtx 1080. So any advice would be appreciated.
 
Besides obvious components such as the psu, cpu, ram, gpu, motherboard and hard drive what extras would I need?

Like mounting brackets, cables and sort of thing? I've gone with the biostar x370gtn motherboard, ryzen 1600 cpu a gtx 1080. So any advice would be appreciated.
You should look at past few pages, SaperPL has built with same board.
 
Besides obvious components such as the psu, cpu, ram, gpu, motherboard and hard drive what extras would I need?

Like mounting brackets, cables and sort of thing? I've gone with the biostar x370gtn motherboard, ryzen 1600 cpu a gtx 1080. So any advice would be appreciated.

First time building a computer? :)

All of the cables you'll need will be in with the motherboard and power supply. You will, however, need / want:

1) A small screwdriver, to mount components.

2) A good youtube video (Jayztwocents has one for Ryzen, I believe) on assembly of a computer. Watch it all the way through once, then go back and watch it again, pausing to complete each step on your own build.

3) This is very important. The stock cooler on the 1600 is too tall for this case; you'll need to find an alternative. Many of us are going with the Noctua l9i / l9a, which you can then order a mounting kit for ryzen for from this link: http://noctua.at/en/nm-am4-l9al9i-mounting-kit
(Bear in mind they're flooded with requests and it might take up to two or three weeks.)

4) Don't forget that the Sentry only supports 2.5" drives, not 3.5" drives. I strongly suggest a 120-240GB SSD to put your operating system and programs on, and a 1-2TB hard drive to store your games and files and such.
 
Hey everyone! I'm very excited to have found out about this community! I had a couple of questions:

1. How do I know which number Sentry I ordered? I see my order ID on my Order Details page, but I'm not sure that's the number of my order (I'm first run white).

2. Has anyone who has their Sentry so far bought and tried the suggested DMCFilter dust filters, or any other filter system? I was curious of use-case experiences.

Thanks and glad to be here!
 
Hey everyone! I'm very excited to have found out about this community! I had a couple of questions:

1. How do I know which number Sentry I ordered? I see my order ID on my Order Details page, but I'm not sure that's the number of my order (I'm first run white).

2. Has anyone who has their Sentry so far bought and tried the suggested DMCFilter dust filters, or any other filter system? I was curious of use-case experiences.

Thanks and glad to be here!
1. Check your order id on indiegogo that should give you some idea. For example, mine was 25 and I got my order details with the first shipment.
2. I'm in the US and bought the DMCFilters as soon as they were available. They got to me in about a week. Unfortunately, the shipping to the US is rather slow and I haven't been able to test the filters yet.
 
1080ti blower acquired. Now I need to figure out if I am going to keep my 3770k or move to a newer platform (don't know if I need to).
 
1080ti blower acquired. Now I need to figure out if I am going to keep my 3770k or move to a newer platform (don't know if I need to).

Did you get the 1080ti blower card or only the blower itself?
If you got only the blower, how easy was it to mount?
 
Did you get the 1080ti blower card or only the blower itself?
If you got only the blower, how easy was it to mount?

Upgrading the cooler to the vapor-chamber cooler is quite easy. If you want to get an idea for what's required, look up mounting a waterblock to a card - it's the exact same process. :)
 
Did you get the 1080ti blower card or only the blower itself?
If you got only the blower, how easy was it to mount?

I picked up the the Zotac 1080ti blower off the board and my buddy also picked up the MSI 1080ti FE with the vapor chamber for $630 shipped through the mobile app. I'll compare the two.
 
Back
Top