SENTRY: Console-sized gaming PC case project

So I'm once again perusing the thread for assistance, so hopefully my issue has already been conquered.

Here's my build, which is running in horizontal orientation:
i7-8700K (throttled to run like an i5-8400 for TDP purposes)
1080 Ti FE
16GB RAM (Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600)
Asrock Fatal1ty Z370 Gaming ITX
2x WD 2TB notebook spinners
1TB 860 EVO M.2
Corsair 600W Gold SFX
Noctua NH-L9i e/w NF-B9 Redux Fan

I get that I'm well above TDP on the video card, but at least it's a blower. I have ordered taller feet so that it can breathe better, but that's in progress.

The issue is that I'm cooking "Drive 2". I haven't traced the cables to see which wound up being spinner #2, but it's hitting 80C during gaming. Everything else is fine, and I could push the CPU harder.. though the GPU could use some undervolt tweaks. I started looping the new Forza Horizon 4 Demo to examine temps and such when I discovered this. Thoughts?

View attachment 107442

You could try mounting the hdd below the GPU near the blower inlet - it actually works magic for the drive temp, at least with GTX 970 we've tested. 1080 TI is really power hungry and hot so it will give off that heat to drives especially in horizontal position. It should be a lot better on vertical stand for such config.
 
why didn't you just get lower spec'd parts if you have to underclock them?! and youre still having temp issues...

Because I owned the parts before I owned the case.

And honestly, I've done another SFF build in an InWin Chopin case since this one. The damn low TDP parts non-K or T series were more expensive in my neck of the woods than K parts. Go figure.

Actually the CPU is delidded and clocked 1 notch across the board (clocked per core) higher than i5-8400. I still have thermal headroom there for sure, and the GPU hasn't received any special attention yet either. It's just the lone spinner that's an issue. If I fix the spinner drive and undervolt the GPU I think I can push everything higher. The taller feet will help too, even if it doesn't get me to vertical orientation temps.

You could try mounting the hdd below the GPU near the blower inlet - it actually works magic for the drive temp, at least with GTX 970 we've tested. 1080 TI is really power hungry and hot so it will give off that heat to drives especially in horizontal position. It should be a lot better on vertical stand for such config.

Thank you for that suggestion. I'll have to figure out which drive is hot and revisit the build to see if that helps. I'll wait until the new, taller feet arrive. I won't go vertical b/c it's in a home theater setup and it would be unsightly.

I have a 2080 Ti coming too, which I'll tinker with.. but I hold no hope that I can make that fly with this build unless I go vertical. Even then I have doubts.

I also have an i7-8086K that I'll also be subbing in here once it's delidded and I'm done with it in another machine. It achieves more clock with less voltage than my 8700K, which should help a bit.

I've even pondered putting the 2080 Ti into an external Thunderbolt 3 enclosure just for science. I'm interested to see how that would would fare against the 1080 Ti with thermal constraints. I'm pretty sure the TB3 bandwidth penalty would be too hefty but it'd be interesting to try, and if I had better 4k results with that config I actually have a place I could hide the eGPU from view with the right TB cable.
 
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I bet the problem is with the CPU. (And the drive nearer to it)
I hope you already know that, even your CPU cooler can get rid of the heat from the CPU itself quick enough, the heat still need somewhere to go outside the cooler.
The hot air from the CPU cooler is going to be trapped under the harddrive.
And you still want to push it harder...:confused:
You could try flipping the fan on the CPU cooler so it pulls air from the heatsink.
It's not going to perform as good because the cooler is not designed to work like that, but at least you're not trapping hot exhaust with the harddrive
I guess ultimately you have to either further reduce TDP of the CPU or relocate the harddrive.

edit: btw I don't think the graphics card is a problem to the drives because it's a blower. I had a vega 64 in the sentry and my drives were fine.
 
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I bet the problem is with the CPU. (And the drive nearer to it)
I hope you already know that, even your CPU cooler can get rid of the heat from the CPU itself quick enough, the heat still need somewhere to go outside the cooler.
The hot air from the CPU cooler is going to be trapped under the harddrive.
And you still want to push it harder...:confused:
You could try flipping the fan on the CPU cooler so it pulls air from the heatsink.
It's not going to perform as good because the cooler is not designed to work like that, but at least you're not trapping hot exhaust with the harddrive
I guess ultimately you have to either further reduce TDP of the CPU or relocate the harddrive.

edit: btw I don't think the graphics card is a problem to the drives because it's a blower. I had a vega 64 in the sentry and my drives were fine.


I do have a pretty solid understanding of heat transfer and such, was just looking for suggestions. Of course I want to push it harder.. just want to reconfigure and modify. It’s been a while since I did the build so relocating the drive to that spot isn’t something I would immediately thought of.

The image is old and I hadn’t even looked at it recently until I decided to poet it here and examine the issue.
 
I don't know if anyone else is interested in trying them, but I bought some of the taller feet for the case and just received them from China. (Post 5805)

It looks like I have 5 sets, so if anyone wants some for the price of shipping let me know. I don't have time this week, but could probably mail them next week. It's prob just as cheap to buy them direct but it's slow.
 
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Unit no. 0837 update.

I received and installed my RTX 2080 a few weeks ago but I didn't have time to post because I started my new job.

Since I'm opening my Sentry for the first time since February, here's a preview of how much dust has gathered...
DSC_0778b.jpg
I live in a dusty place but that's no excuse...

After doing some cleaning, I've installed my new GPU... No issues with my PCIe riser cable.
DSC_0785b.jpg
My build is technically complete but I still haven't implemented my other plans: flexible sleeved cables, Samsung 860 EVO M.2 (on its way), etc...

DSC_0784b.jpg
For those curious, there's around 10-12 mm clearance near the NVLink.

DSC_0787b.jpg
It's a small detail but I really, REALLY LOVE the black GPU expansion slot plate...

My Sentry is pretty cool and quiet despite having an i7-8700k and a RTX 2080. However, to be fair, I don't really do anything demanding - no benchmarks, no overclocking - so you're experience may vary.
 
Unit no. 0837 update.

I received and installed my RTX 2080 a few weeks ago but I didn't have time to post because I started my new job.

Since I'm opening my Sentry for the first time since February, here's a preview of how much dust has gathered...
View attachment 109353
I live in a dusty place but that's no excuse...

After doing some cleaning, I've installed my new GPU... No issues with my PCIe riser cable.
View attachment 109355
My build is technically complete but I still haven't implemented my other plans: flexible sleeved cables, Samsung 860 EVO M.2 (on its way), etc...

View attachment 109359
For those curious, there's around 10-12 mm clearance near the NVLink.

View attachment 109357
It's a small detail but I really, REALLY LOVE the black GPU expansion slot plate...

My Sentry is pretty cool and quiet despite having an i7-8700k and a RTX 2080. However, to be fair, I don't really do anything demanding - no benchmarks, no overclocking - so you're experience may vary.

Looks good man. That cooler is ok with the 8700k @ stock speeds?
 
Unit no. 0837 update.

I received and installed my RTX 2080 a few weeks ago but I didn't have time to post because I started my new job.

Since I'm opening my Sentry for the first time since February, here's a preview of how much dust has gathered...
View attachment 109353
I live in a dusty place but that's no excuse...

After doing some cleaning, I've installed my new GPU... No issues with my PCIe riser cable.
View attachment 109355
My build is technically complete but I still haven't implemented my other plans: flexible sleeved cables, Samsung 860 EVO M.2 (on its way), etc...

View attachment 109359
For those curious, there's around 10-12 mm clearance near the NVLink.

View attachment 109357
It's a small detail but I really, REALLY LOVE the black GPU expansion slot plate...

My Sentry is pretty cool and quiet despite having an i7-8700k and a RTX 2080. However, to be fair, I don't really do anything demanding - no benchmarks, no overclocking - so you're experience may vary.

GPU temps? Cpu temps? Super curious. I'm looking to get a 2080ti whenever they're back in stock. Not sure if it'll be possible in Sentry due to heat.
 
I'm a dumbass. My "drive 2" temperature issue is actually the second temperature sensor on my M.2 SSD (960 EVO) that's mounted under the MB. It seems this is a common thing, as it's apparently the memory controller.

I misread it as one of my spinners, which are actually fine once I dug into it.
 
So I wound up putting a 2080 Ti FE in the Sentry, horizontal mode with the taller feet. I've by no means put it thru the paces for an extended time, but I looped the Forza Horizon 4 demo 10 straight times or so. The GPU temp slowly climbed to the low 80C range and the card throttled down from 1900's to bouncing between high 1700's and low 1800's.

I need to put more time into it, and no doubt it'd be better vertical but I'm pretty impressed. My 1080 Ti FE would go straight to 83-84C very quickly and the card would drop back to sub 1500 clocks on extended runs. That was with the smaller (stock) feet.

But it's dinner time..
 
So I wound up putting a 2080 Ti FE in the Sentry, horizontal mode with the taller feet. I've by no means put it thru the paces for an extended time, but I looped the Forza Horizon 4 demo 10 straight times or so. The GPU temp slowly climbed to the low 80C range and the card throttled down from 1900's to bouncing between high 1700's and low 1800's.

I need to put more time into it, and no doubt it'd be better vertical but I'm pretty impressed. My 1080 Ti FE would go straight to 83-84C very quickly and the card would drop back to sub 1500 clocks on extended runs. That was with the smaller (stock) feet.

But it's dinner time..
I'd be curious what your other system temperatures would be like with the 2080ti's non-blower FE cooler.
 
I'd be curious what your other system temperatures would be like with the 2080ti's non-blower FE cooler.

I’ll find out eventually. I didn’t have any more time today but CPU was fine. Anxious to find out myself.

I was waiting for the family to get ready for dinner, got some Forza loops in and just watched the GPU and CPU stats using Afterburner OSD.
 
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One of the backers sent us info about his build that is pretty interesting because of the CPU cooling:

Sentry06.jpg
Sentry07.jpg
Sentry02.jpg
Sentry04.jpg

owner said:
Current configuration:

Sentry ITX 1.1 Black,

MB: ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-I GAMING,

CPU: Intel Core I7 8700K @ (light) OC ~4.5 Ghz ,

MEM: Corsair LPX 32 GB RAM, 4200 MHz,

GPU: NVIDIA Titan X (Pascal) @ OC +100 Mhz Core, +200 Mhz mem,

PSU: Corsair SF600 - SFX 600W,

SSD1: Samsung 960 PRO 1 TB NVME,

SSD2: Samsung 850 PRO 1 TB SATA.



Remark: on pictures the PSU is Silverstone SX800-LTI SFX-L 800W, unfortunately it didn't managed to sustain stable operation under load, regardless of declared 800W power capacity (it worked only one day – then it started rebooting computer). At the moment using Corsair SF600 SFX 600W which works perfectly stable (didn't had time to take good pictures). I'm will re-consider using 800W, but it is very difficult to get it in the country I'm currently living. 60mm fan near PSU is optional, there was just plenty unused space in that area, so I decided put something there.



CPU Temperature when idle: 45 degrees C average @ 3,7 GHz and ~1000 RPM (no air conditioning).

CPU Temperature under load: 65 degrees C maximum @ 4,5 GHz and ~3000 RPM (no air conditioning).

CPU Heatsink: modified ThermalRight AXP-100RH (TDP 180W) with Akasa 80x80x12mm FAN @ 3000 RPM max, mounted under heatsink.

CPU has been delided, stock thermal paste replaced with Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut, which dropped under-load temperature by 10 degrees C average.

GPU Temperature when idle: 45 degrees Celsius average (no air conditioning).

GPU Temperature under load: 75 degrees Celsius average, 78 maximum (no air conditioning).

Removed stock cover plate above GPU heatsink and used Kaze Jyu Slim 100x100x12mm for redirecting airflow from GPU heatsink outside case.

When using AC in my room – temperature can drop by 7 to 15 degrees, depending on the load.
 
Does anyone know of a superior replacement of the pcie riser?
Preferably more flexible and reliable than the one we have?


Today I was randomly looking at hwinfo, and found out my graphics card was running at x4 3.0 speed. (It could've been running that all this time:eek:)
During a LOT of unplugging and resitting, the speed sometimes became x8, sometimes even drop to x2.
Then I decided to dig everything out (almost a chore in our cases:() and plug it directly to the motherboard. I got x16 speed immediately. So the culprit must be the riser card, which is not surprising at all considering the tension it's giving to the motherboard slot due to it's toughness.
 
Does anyone know of a superior replacement of the pcie riser?
Preferably more flexible and reliable than the one we have?


Today I was randomly looking at hwinfo, and found out my graphics card was running at x4 3.0 speed. (It could've been running that all this time:eek:)
During a LOT of unplugging and resitting, the speed sometimes became x8, sometimes even drop to x2.
Then I decided to dig everything out (almost a chore in our cases:() and plug it directly to the motherboard. I got x16 speed immediately. So the culprit must be the riser card, which is not surprising at all considering the tension it's giving to the motherboard slot due to it's toughness.

A few people have had connectivity issues with their risers. Given the unique clamp/pressure mounting mechanism in this case, I don't think you'll find many replacements that fit correctly. It's a minor drawback to this otherwise great case, but they went with it because it's a stronger solution than other risers could provide iirc. SaperPL and ZombiPL have been quite responsive in dealing with these issues in the past, I'm sure they'll chime in shortly or contact you directly.


Edit: I stand corrected, the riser should be quite replaceable. See below.
 
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Does anyone know of a superior replacement of the pcie riser?
Preferably more flexible and reliable than the one we have?


Today I was randomly looking at hwinfo, and found out my graphics card was running at x4 3.0 speed. (It could've been running that all this time:eek:)
During a LOT of unplugging and resitting, the speed sometimes became x8, sometimes even drop to x2.
Then I decided to dig everything out (almost a chore in our cases:() and plug it directly to the motherboard. I got x16 speed immediately. So the culprit must be the riser card, which is not surprising at all considering the tension it's giving to the motherboard slot due to it's toughness.

Did you check this with GPU-Z ? It shows this real time also you can toggle PCI-E test to make sure it jumps into PCI-E x16 3.0 when on load. My card for example goes from x16 1.1 on idle to x16 3.0 when loaded, but I'm not entirely sure every motherboard/gpu will handle scaling the same way. I'd assume though scaling by the number of lanes is not something normal.

There are few things to check first:

1) If your board has pci-e slot with this new fancy metal reinforcement, you should check if the riser pins align properly when putting into the slot. I remember already two people had issue with that. Those new slots have tighter gaps which may misalign the connector and the tooling for risers preceeds these new types of slots that are step by step preparing for compliance with PCI-E 4.0. If that's the case you should get some sharp knife and shave of a bit of plastic from the riser connector PCB to make sure the connector is properly aligned.

2) There is a rivet in the middle of each PCB side of the riser. It shouldn't touch the metal body of the case and any other conductive thing. We have inspected that and it looks to be connecting few grounds for pci-e lanes. First of all make sure your riser is properly installed in the mounting gap - we've seen people misaligning it with the notches resulting in riser PCB being bent in a way this rivet touches top of the gap. Check if riser works outside the case to make sure it's not the case.

3) If you have played a lot with your build you might have simply damaged the riser. Sadly those aren't indestructible. You should always pull out the riser from the slot by the PCB to prevent any damage. It is protects the ribbon welds from bends and not from pulling. Check how it looks around the ends of PCB. If you have damaged the riser then you can simply buy another one from sintech here: http://eshop.sintech.cn/pcie-express-x16-riser-card-with-high-speed-flex-cable-p-1084.html

4) Check if your bios doesn't have some power efficiency settings connected with a pci-e slot with options that indicate some kind of riser support. It's not usual but I've seen that on some workstation boards.

Given the unique clamp/pressure mounting mechanism in this case, I don't think you'll find many replacements that fit correctly.

Actually the way our riser mount is made this way is exactly in order to be able to mount various ribbon risers. You should be able to mount anything that has a ribbon and the same orientation of connectors on PCB and has 5 or maybe even 4 cm ribbon. Also the cutout in the middle of rail mount for 2.5"/upper surface for riser mount is made in order to handle multiple different variants of pci-e slot latches (not all, because there are few weird ones usually not on the risers, but worst case scenario those weird ones can be detached from the slot).
 
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Did you check this with GPU-Z ?

Yes I have checked that too. As well as every settings in OS and BIOS I could try. Afaik that power saving feature reduces "gen", like from 3.0 to 1.1 as you said, but doesn't reduce the lane. Most importantly, plugging the gpu directly to the motherboard gave me x16 reliably, which proved the riser to be at fault.
I am sure the problem was just a bad contact, because after many attempts (sometimes x2, x4, x8) I was able to get x16 with the riser now. I don't swap card often so my riser could just be a lemon.
I may just buy another riser as a spare in case the card moved away from the current sweetspot. Thanks for the help!
 
4884 let us know what replacement you go with.

I haven't had any issues but it'll be nice to know a source of viable replacements that others have had success with.

Idk if I mentioned this in the past but, in addition to the rivet on the pcb, I noticed on my riser there was what appeared to be conformal coating on the solder points/pins where the female socket meets the pcb on the gpu side of the riser. It didn't look like a very thick coating, so to avoid any chance of contacting the case I put a coating of liquid electrical tape on mine. It maybe worth doing the same on what ever replacement you settle on just to be on the safe side. Idk if it really helps, it can't hurt, I mean I haven had any issues yet. Maybe just placebo effect haha

Actually the way our riser mount is made this way is exactly in order to be able to mount various ribbon risers. You should be able to mount anything that has a ribbon and the same orientation of connectors on PCB and has 5 or maybe even 4 cm ribbon. Also the cutout in the middle of rail mount for 2.5"/upper surface for riser mount is made in order to handle multiple different variants of pci-e slot latches (not all, because there are few weird ones usually not on the risers, but worst case scenario those weird ones can be detached from the slot).

I stand corrected. I edited my post above.
 
Sorry for the radio silence. I've been busy.

I installed my Samsung 860 EVO 1 TB M.2 SSD and put my 850 EVO 500 GB 2.5" SSD inside my PS4.

GPU temps? Cpu temps? Super curious. I'm looking to get a 2080ti whenever they're back in stock. Not sure if it'll be possible in Sentry due to heat.
How do you do that? Do you have any suggested programs/benchmarks?

no excuse for what? that looks fine to me.
If that's true, then thanks. I just thought that the dust was a bit thick inside the Sentry... I don't do a lot of dusting so it's my fault it got that bad.
 
Shockingly, I'm just now getting around to building in my case from the crowdfunding run. I've been following this thread for a long time, and some questions have arisen as a result.

Ej24, are the 40mm fans you use 10mm wide or 20mm? [Update: 10mm.] I'm planning on a 2070 and those might help with exhaust on an open-air cooler since the only blower cards are the cheapo models that AIB partners offer.

Speaking of open-air vs. blower: I've bookmarked quite a few posts (Cabblake build, Cabblake sealing, Cabblake's open-air reasoning, kyjol's open-air use (no benchmarks), Cabblake's benchmarks, some testing/theories from Ej24, testing from Rysen (hot CPU)) along the course of this thread discussing the merits of both. The general consensus seems to be blower, but Cabblake appears to have had great success with his open-air card by sealing off the GPU chamber. Furthermore, he argues that a vapor chamber requires the card to heat up to work properly (see the reasoning post above). However, others have struggled with their open-air cards. Ej24, you are also planning to go with a 20-series GPU, specifically an FE variant. Personally, I don't think I can justify spending $50 - $100 more for the vapor chamber variant if I can find success with an AIB model. What do you guys think?

Maybe GPU delidding could help?

The 2070's that fit in the Sentry that use 8+6 pin power are all from Gigabyte, as far as I can tell. EVGA offers one but it's only 8 pin. Do you guys know if the SF600 has enough cables for a 8+6 pin GPU? It's hard to tell from the site. Gigabyte offers a $500 WINDFORCE model with their base cooler, which is probably not great since apparently margins are pretty tight for AIB partners at the $500 entry point. They also offer a $550 GAMING model with a cooler with four heat pipes instead of two. That model seems like the best option for me; if you click on the links and scroll down to the cooling section you can see the designs. I'm guessing it will be on par or better than the FE for $50 less. Again, looking for feedback on this. [Update: The Asus Turbo is a solid blower card for $500 using 8+6 pin power. Good video here on value with respect to 1070 options, and here on the Turbo vs. a $550 card.]

I'm planning on getting the L9a for a 2700x (will undervolt) [Update: 2600. I decided the multicore performance wasn't worth the thermal characteristics and price.]. Ej24, you said here that the fins on the cooler should ideally be parallel to the RAM, which makes perfect sense. I could even add more 40mm fans to exhaust above the cooler. Unfortunately, from what I can tell, the L9i and L9a have fins pointing perpendicular to the ram. Can someone confirm if you can rotate the coolers? The L9a is longer so I'm afraid it will hit the RAM or something if I rotate it so the fins are parallel, but I would prefer to use it over the L9i with adapter since it is larger and designed for AM4.

Also curious about portable monitors and that Pelican case. The Sentry is roughly 13.5" × 12.25" × 2.5", and the case's interior is listed as 18.87" × 13.12" × 3.81". Could I squeeze in this monitor or this monitor? Thoughts on which is better, or even better alternatives? The first looks better to me; unfortunately it requires both HDMI and USB-C rather than USB-C alone.

Thanks for any info you can provide! This is my first-ever build so I'm going a little overboard on prep.
 
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The 2070's that fit in the Sentry that use 8+6 pin power are all from Gigabyte, as far as I can tell. EVGA offers one but it's only 8 pin. Do you guys know if the SF600 has enough cables for a 8+6 pin GPU? It's hard to tell from the site. Gigabyte offers a $500 WINDFORCE model with their base cooler, which is probably not great since apparently margins are pretty tight for AIB partners at the $500 entry point. They also offer a $550 GAMING model with a cooler with four heat pipes instead of two. That model seems like the best option for me; if you click on the links and scroll down to the cooling section you can see the designs. I'm guessing it will be on par or better than the FE for $50 less. Again, looking for feedback on this.

The SF600 has 2 X 6+2 for the GPU, so 8+6 pin is no problem.
 
40mm fans
I am not Ej24 but I am using some 40mm fans at the top too. They are Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX so 10mm thick. I don't think a thicker model will fit because in my case only a thin gap is left between the fans and the graphics card.
Mind you don't expect a lot from those tiny fans. They don't move a lot of air (especially through the holes of the case) so only very minor benefit would be seen.

Speaking of open-air vs. blower
I am using Asus 2080 Turbo and it's great. Moderate overclock to 2GHz, 50% fan and it stays ~70C. I didn't bother to do any tweaking atm so it can definitely do better.
If you consider getting blower card I'll suggest only the asus turbo. Just compare the exhaust grill to other brands and you'll see why.
Imo Asus did put some effort into making a good blower card unlike other brands who are just providing the cheapest variant.
SF600 has enough cables for a 8+6 pin GPU
Yes it does. But I strongly recommend getting some custom braided cables. The cables come with SF600 is ridiculously tough which could pose a challenge in our small cases.
the L9i and L9a have fins pointing
Yes I can turn my L9i to exhaust away from the ram.
 
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Planning vertical or horizontal orientation?
Vertical for sure.
The SF600 has 2 X 6+2 for the GPU, so 8+6 pin is no problem.
Perfect, I was pretty sure that was the case. Thanks for the confirmation!
I am not Ej24 but I am using some 40mm fans at the top too. They are Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX so 10mm thick. I don't think a thicker model will fit because in my case only a thin gap is left between the fans and the graphics card.
Mind you don't expect a lot from those tiny fans. They don't move a lot of air (especially through the holes of the case) so only very minor benefit would be seen.
Yeah, I don't expect a ton but they should be fun to tinker with, anyway. Some people used them on the mobo with success too.
I am using Asus 2080 Turbo and it's great. Moderate overclock to 2GHz, 50% fan and it stays ~70C. I didn't bother to do any tweaking atm so it can definitely do better.
If you consider getting blower card I'll suggest only the asus turbo. Just compare the exhaust grill to other brands and you'll see why.
Imo Asus did put some effort into making a good blower card unlike other brands who are just providing the cheapest variant.
I'll look into it. That's a surprise; I haven't heard great things about AIB blowers in the past. What made you change your mind from this post about poor blower performance, by the way?
Yes it does. But I strongly recommend getting some custom braided cables. The cables come with SF600 is ridiculously tough which could pose a challenge in our small cases.
Corsair just released an 80+ Platinum variant with slightly shorter, braided cables, so that's my plan for now! Might go custom if they're still too big, but I've heard they're a vast improvement.
Yes I can turn my L9i to exhaust away from the ram.
That's good; are you using the AM4 adapter? I tried to check your post history for what CPU you're running but couldn't come up with anything. Regardless, I'm still wondering if the L9a will fit with parallel fins since it's larger. Update: Picture 3/10 for this PCPP build makes me pretty convinced that the L9a won't fit with fins parallel. Ej24, do you think the parallel fins are more beneficial than a slightly larger cooler? I'm inclined to think so.

Still looking for more feedback, here's my planned build if anyone's curious.
 
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I'll look into it. That's a surprise; I haven't heard great things about AIB blowers in the past. What made you change your mind from this post about poor blower performance, by the way?
Asus has a brand new cooler design for the 2000 series turbo card.
Untitled.png
Left is my old 1060 turbo, right is the new 2080 turbo
The difference is pretty substantial, right?
That's good; are you using the AM4 adapter?
Sorry I'm using intel platform.
 
Corsair just released an 80+ Platinum variant with slightly shorter, braided cables, so that's my plan for now! Might go custom if they're still too big, but I've heard they're a vast improvement.
Oh I did not know about that.
Seems like corsair did listen to their customers' feedback! I'm sure many people complained haha.
Nice move with the braided cables!
 
Asus has a brand new cooler design for the 2000 series turbo card.
View attachment 113585
Left is my old 1060 turbo, right is the new 2080 turbo
The difference is pretty substantial, right?
Wow, I should have looked into this more. This video in conjunction with the benchmarks from this video means I've settled on the Turbo!

Sorry I'm using intel platform.
Well, I'll have to assume I can rotate it on the AM4 adapter then since it's a square cooler. Thanks!
 
Shockingly, I'm just now getting around to building in my case from the crowdfunding run. I've been following this thread for a long time, and some questions have arisen as a result.

Ej24, are the 40mm fans you use 10mm wide or 20mm? [Update: 10mm.] I'm planning on a 2070 and those might help with exhaust on an open-air cooler since the only blower cards are the cheapo models that AIB partners offer.

Speaking of open-air vs. blower: I've bookmarked quite a few posts (Cabblake build, Cabblake sealing, Cabblake's open-air reasoning, kyjol's open-air use (no benchmarks), Cabblake's benchmarks, some testing/theories from Ej24, testing from Rysen (hot CPU)) along the course of this thread discussing the merits of both. The general consensus seems to be blower, but Cabblake appears to have had great success with his open-air card by sealing off the GPU chamber. Furthermore, he argues that a vapor chamber requires the card to heat up to work properly (see the reasoning post above). However, others have struggled with their open-air cards. Ej24, you are also planning to go with a 20-series GPU, specifically an FE variant. Personally, I don't think I can justify spending $50 - $100 more for the vapor chamber variant if I can find success with an AIB model. What do you guys think?

Maybe GPU delidding could help?

The 2070's that fit in the Sentry that use 8+6 pin power are all from Gigabyte, as far as I can tell. EVGA offers one but it's only 8 pin. Do you guys know if the SF600 has enough cables for a 8+6 pin GPU? It's hard to tell from the site. Gigabyte offers a $500 WINDFORCE model with their base cooler, which is probably not great since apparently margins are pretty tight for AIB partners at the $500 entry point. They also offer a $550 GAMING model with a cooler with four heat pipes instead of two. That model seems like the best option for me; if you click on the links and scroll down to the cooling section you can see the designs. I'm guessing it will be on par or better than the FE for $50 less. Again, looking for feedback on this. [Update: The Asus Turbo is a solid blower card for $500 using 8+6 pin power. Good video here on value with respect to 1070 options, and here on the Turbo vs. a $550 card.]

I'm planning on getting the L9a for a 2700x (will undervolt) [Update: 2600. I decided the multicore performance wasn't worth the thermal characteristics and price.]. Ej24, you said here that the fins on the cooler should ideally be parallel to the RAM, which makes perfect sense. I could even add more 40mm fans to exhaust above the cooler. Unfortunately, from what I can tell, the L9i and L9a have fins pointing perpendicular to the ram. Can someone confirm if you can rotate the coolers? The L9a is longer so I'm afraid it will hit the RAM or something if I rotate it so the fins are parallel, but I would prefer to use it over the L9i with adapter since it is larger and designed for AM4.

Also curious about portable monitors and that Pelican case. The Sentry is roughly 13.5" × 12.25" × 2.5", and the case's interior is listed as 18.87" × 13.12" × 3.81". Could I squeeze in this monitor or this monitor? Thoughts on which is better, or even better alternatives? The first looks better to me; unfortunately it requires both HDMI and USB-C rather than USB-C alone.

Thanks for any info you can provide! This is my first-ever build so I'm going a little overboard on prep.

My fans are the 40x10mm 12v fans from noctua. Make sure you don't get the 5v ones by mistake. I have them all connected to a single header on the motherboard with a lot of splitters I had lying around from Noctua. They are set up for exhaust out the side. There's no good way to mount them so I taped them all together with electrical tape and then mounted them as a single unit to the frame with even more tape. The goal one day is to make a small frame by 3d printer that holds the fans and somehow attach that to the side of the case. I'd say the fans helped peak temps a bit, maybe 2-3C, but the biggest difference was in how quickly the gpu cooled down when returning to low load or idle. Without the fans it took 15 minutes or more to go back to the 40s. With the fans it went back to 38C in maybe 3 minutes. So the fans kind of smooth out the spikes in temperature in the gpu chamber.

I also mounted one 40mm fan on the cpu side also in exhaust. I never measured exactly what effect it has on cpu temps. Probably minimal. I do feel hot air being blown out. So I guess it helps get the hot air out so it can't hurt. It's hard to elegantly mount a 40mm fan on the cpu side though as that side of the case is also joined with the lid so fan cable management is a nightmare when opening and closing the lid.

As for the cpu heatsink fins, it helps eject the hot air out if they're parallel to the ram because it's being accelerated towards the side vent. If you can't mount it parallel I'd recommend sealing the cpu fan to the case lid to maximize positive pressure, forcing hot air out. I've posted on it in the past. I can post pictures again if you're interested.

I remember seeing a YouTube video a while ago where a guy tested the nh-l9i and nh-l9a on an AMD system because both are compatible with amd systems. IIRC the nh-l9a performed maybe 1-3C better than the nh-l9i due to its slightly larger fin stack. However that was probably an open air setup and not a confined case like sentry. I have a feeling in Sentry the difference between the L9i and L9a would be minimal.

For gpu, I'm waiting to see more reviews comparing FE cards with AIB 2 slot cards. Soo many cards are 2.5-3 slot this generation. Other than FE reviews I haven't seen any reviews for 2 slot 2080 or 2080ti like the EVGA Gaming XC (not ultra). I'd be open to another blower, if it can keep a 2080ti below 80C. I have more doubts though. I'm looking for the best performance and temps possible. So I'll pay $50-100 more for that.

As for portable monitors just make sure they have real hdmi, mini hdmi, Dp, or some other real video connections. Many portable monitors connect by USB for power and video. USB doesn't natively carry video. So they have a Display Link chip inside the monitor that works with your cpu to generate the image. In those types of monitors there's zero gpu acceleration. You won't be able to play games, at least not using your gpu to drive the screen. The two you linked seem to be usb for power but have hdmi for video which means they're real monitors and so shouldn't have this problem. I just thought you should be aware of this while you shop around.
 
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My fans are the 40x10mm 12v fans from noctua. Make sure you don't get the 5v ones by mistake. I have them all connected to a single header on the motherboard with a lot of splitters I had lying around from Noctua. They are set up for exhaust out the side. There's no good way to mount them so I taped them all together with electrical tape and then mounted them as a single unit to the frame with even more tape. The goal one day is to make a small frame by 3d printer that holds the fans and somehow attach that to the side of the case. I'd say the fans helped peak temps a bit, maybe 2-3C, but the biggest difference was in how quickly the gpu cooled down when returning to low load or idle. Without the fans it took 15 minutes or more to go back to the 40s. With the fans it went back to 38C in maybe 3 minutes. So the fans kind of smooth out the spikes in temperature in the gpu chamber.

I also mounted one 40mm fan on the cpu side also in exhaust. I never measured exactly what effect it has on cpu temps. Probably minimal. I do feel hot air being blown out. So I guess it helps get the hot air out so it can't hurt. It's hard to elegantly mount a 40mm fan on the cpu side though as that side of the case is also joined with the lid so fan cable management is a nightmare when opening and closing the lid.
I'm aware of the 5V and 12V variants; there's also PWM and analog for both voltages to watch out for. Seems to agree with 4884's assessment. Should be fun to test.

As for the cpu heatsink fins, it helps eject the hot air out if they're parallel to the ram because it's being accelerated towards the side vent. If you can't mount it parallel I'd recommend sealing the cpu fan to the case lid to maximize positive pressure, forcing hot air out. I've posted on it in the past. I can post pictures again if you're interested.

I remember seeing a YouTube video a while ago where a guy tested the nh-l9i and nh-l9a on an AMD system because both are compatible with amd systems. IIRC the nh-l9a performed maybe 1-3C better than the nh-l9i due to its slightly larger fin stack. However that was probably an open air setup and not a confined case like sentry. I have a feeling in Sentry the difference between the L9i and L9a would be minimal.
I was thinking about this more recently, and I was wondering if perpendicular fins might actually be more useful for cooling the VRM's, although the RAM would still be a nuisance. Hopefully sealing the intake and maybe squeezing in some 40mm could still ensure the hot air gets out reasonably efficiently with that setup.

For gpu, I'm waiting to see more reviews comparing FE cards with AIB 2 slot cards. Soo many cards are 2.5-3 slot this generation. Other than FE reviews I haven't seen any reviews for 2 slot 2080 or 2080ti like the EVGA Gaming XC (not ultra). I'd be open to another blower, if it can keep a 2080ti below 80C. I have more doubts though. I'm looking for the best performance and temps possible. So I'll pay $50-100 more for that.
Yeah, "best performance and temps possible" might end up being a spectrum though, depending on what kind of temps you can live with under load. Open-air cards might perform better but make everything hotter. More testing will help.

As for portable monitors just make sure they have real hdmi, mini hdmi, Dp, or some other real video connections. Many portable monitors connect by USB for power and video. USB doesn't natively carry video. So they have a Display Link chip inside the monitor that works with your cpu to generate the image. In those types of monitors there's zero gpu acceleration. You won't be able to play games, at least not using your gpu to drive the screen. The two you linked seem to be usb for power but have hdmi for video which means they're real monitors and so shouldn't have this problem. I just thought you should be aware of this while you shop around.
USB doesn't natively carry video, but doesn't USB-C, or can it only do one of power and video but not both at the same time? The Eleduino display should work over just USB-C but it requires both that and HDMI, unfortunately. Still looks like the best option though.

Thanks for all the input!
 
I'm aware of the 5V and 12V variants; there's also PWM and analog for both voltages to watch out for. Seems to agree with 4884's assessment. Should be fun to test.


I was thinking about this more recently, and I was wondering if perpendicular fins might actually be more useful for cooling the VRM's, although the RAM would still be a nuisance. Hopefully sealing the intake and maybe squeezing in some 40mm could still ensure the hot air gets out reasonably efficiently with that setup.


Yeah, "best performance and temps possible" might end up being a spectrum though, depending on what kind of temps you can live with under load. Open-air cards might perform better but make everything hotter. More testing will help.


USB doesn't natively carry video, but doesn't USB-C, or can it only do one of power and video but not both at the same time? The Eleduino display should work over just USB-C but it requires both that and HDMI, unfortunately. Still looks like the best option though.

Thanks for all the input!

Usb-c only supports video if it is running in the display port alternate mode and is plugged into a USB-c port that is directly wired to a gpu. Super confusing, not all usb-c can do all the things the standard is capable of. They are probably just using USB-c for power. I doubt it supports video.

As for vrm thermals it's probably not a big deal unless you want peak overclocks which isn't happening in Sentry anyway. Generally, VRMs on a decent board can tolerate 90-100C indefinitely and 120C for at least 2000-5000 hours at 125C and above lifespan starts dropping. So I wouldn't worry about vrm thermals in Sentry. They're going to be warm no matter what. Keeping you're cpu cool though may get you another 100-200mhz sustained turbo.

As for open air gpu's, they may heat everything up, but ideally sealing the cpu intake fan to the case lid will prevent it from recirculating that gpu heat. Though it is worth noting heatsinks work in either direction. That is to say, in low ambient temperature they shed heat to the environment but in a really high ambient temperature they can absorb heat from the environment quite well. That's why I think sealing the cpu fan to the case vent is pretty important for performance. It allows the cpu fan to also act as a case fan with really high pressure to force heat out.
 
I want to set up an 80MM radiator loop in the sentry, and I need advice. I’ve never done a custom loop before. I chose 80MM because I want the Zotac short 1080 Ti (the 211MM model) and a 92mm would be too close to the maximum 305MM length.

The challenging CPU in question is the i9-9900K which I’ve had pre ordered since the 8th (no shipping details yet for those of you wondering) it runs hot. I know my LP53 + Noctua combo can hold its base clock, but I’m not sure it will be able to handle Intel’s factory boost. (Correct me if I’m wrongly worried) I don’t plan on overclocking it, and I just want it’s full stock speed to be handled in a stress test.

There is a nice all copper 80MM radiator on frozencpu http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2...5_Full_Copper_Single_80mm_Radiator_14211.html

But with all the research I’ve done, I’m still confused on fittings and such. I plan on getting an 80MM Noctua fan for the radiator.

I basically have zero clue on custom loops and need help and other advice is also appreciated. I’m hell bent on making the 9900k work. Even if I have to ubdervolt too.
 
I want to set up an 80MM radiator loop in the sentry, and I need advice. I’ve never done a custom loop before. I chose 80MM because I want the Zotac short 1080 Ti (the 211MM model) and a 92mm would be too close to the maximum 305MM length.

The challenging CPU in question is the i9-9900K which I’ve had pre ordered since the 8th (no shipping details yet for those of you wondering) it runs hot. I know my LP53 + Noctua combo can hold its base clock, but I’m not sure it will be able to handle Intel’s factory boost. (Correct me if I’m wrongly worried) I don’t plan on overclocking it, and I just want it’s full stock speed to be handled in a stress test.

There is a nice all copper 80MM radiator on frozencpu http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2...5_Full_Copper_Single_80mm_Radiator_14211.html

But with all the research I’ve done, I’m still confused on fittings and such. I plan on getting an 80MM Noctua fan for the radiator.

I basically have zero clue on custom loops and need help and other advice is also appreciated. I’m hell bent on making the 9900k work. Even if I have to ubdervolt too.

Definitely going to need to undervolt. But you can maintain stock speeds with standard turbo boost (no multicore enhancement) even with undervolt on most Intel cpu's. Also that radiator is 42mm thick. You'll need to find a fan that's ~15mm thick with high static pressure. Sentry is only 66mm thick (outer dimension, inner is probably 1.5mm less) and you need 2mm of clearance for the fan or else it will be obnoxiously loud, defeating the purpose of water cooling. So I suggest to plan for total thickness of no more than 62mm just to be sure. Have you found a pump and reservoir that will fit? I think alphacool makes a tiny pump/res combo. Also you'll almost certainly want to do soft tubing. And you'll probably want to go with the maximum diameter allowed by the radiator/pump and res. That way you maximize your coolant volume because you won't have room for a big reservoir. I'm no custom loop expert but hopefully that helps a bit.
 
I want to set up an 80MM radiator loop in the sentry, and I need advice. I’ve never done a custom loop before. I chose 80MM because I want the Zotac short 1080 Ti (the 211MM model) and a 92mm would be too close to the maximum 305MM length.

The challenging CPU in question is the i9-9900K which I’ve had pre ordered since the 8th (no shipping details yet for those of you wondering) it runs hot. I know my LP53 + Noctua combo can hold its base clock, but I’m not sure it will be able to handle Intel’s factory boost. (Correct me if I’m wrongly worried) I don’t plan on overclocking it, and I just want it’s full stock speed to be handled in a stress test.

There is a nice all copper 80MM radiator on frozencpu http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2...5_Full_Copper_Single_80mm_Radiator_14211.html

But with all the research I’ve done, I’m still confused on fittings and such. I plan on getting an 80MM Noctua fan for the radiator.

I basically have zero clue on custom loops and need help and other advice is also appreciated. I’m hell bent on making the 9900k work. Even if I have to ubdervolt too.

love the enthusiasm but I'm afraid it just isn't going to be practical. that 80mm rad is pretty thick, odds are it won't fit. The linked page says its 41mm thick, mine is 27 with a 12.5mm fan and it's still tight as hell. That and your temps just aren't going to be very good. I'm already running a 7700k with a 120mm aio in this case and to this day my temps will still get into the 80s, can't imagine how much hotter twice the cores on a smaller radiator will be. Best advice, ditch the cpu or see if you can fit a 120 or 92mm aio. unless you are willing to do A LOT of modding, i'm afraid it likely won't work.
 
Thanks for the advice. I’ve done a little more research after reading the previous page on this thread, regarding the AXP-100. I found this cooler, it’s fully copper with a graphene coating. Without the fan on top, and underneath, it evidently satisfies the Sentry’s height requirement. What I’m trying to figure out is how much space there is underneath the fins to mount a fan. There are various slim options out there, and ideally I want a fan that will not require me to bend the heat pipes to slot in. The aforementioned Asaka fan referenced in the pictures on the page before this may work, http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?...no=181&type=Fans&type_sub=Slim&model=AK-FN076
The heatsink in question is massive, weighing in at ~640G. I found it at this link;
https://shop.tbfocus.com/item.php?id=575223803461#3961749903009
Another fan aside from the Asaka fan that I’m hypothesizing *could* fit under the heatsink is this one; though it is 2mm taller at 12mm, but is a 100mm fan. Lacking PWM however. https://m.newegg.com/products/9SIA2W03Z90688
I know what the Sentry is designed to do. But I want to know what it’s *capable* of doing. Preferably without scarring the case.

Thoughts?
 
Thanks for the advice. I’ve done a little more research after reading the previous page on this thread, regarding the AXP-100. I found this cooler, it’s fully copper with a graphene coating. Without the fan on top, and underneath, it evidently satisfies the Sentry’s height requirement. What I’m trying to figure out is how much space there is underneath the fins to mount a fan. There are various slim options out there, and ideally I want a fan that will not require me to bend the heat pipes to slot in. The aforementioned Asaka fan referenced in the pictures on the page before this may work, http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?...no=181&type=Fans&type_sub=Slim&model=AK-FN076
The heatsink in question is massive, weighing in at ~640G. I found it at this link;
https://shop.tbfocus.com/item.php?id=575223803461#3961749903009
Another fan aside from the Asaka fan that I’m hypothesizing *could* fit under the heatsink is this one; though it is 2mm taller at 12mm, but is a 100mm fan. Lacking PWM however. https://m.newegg.com/products/9SIA2W03Z90688
I know what the Sentry is designed to do. But I want to know what it’s *capable* of doing. Preferably without scarring the case.

Thoughts?

One of the backers sent us info about his build that is pretty interesting because of the CPU cooling:

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In the previous page SaperPL quoted a Sentry owner that used the AXP-100. It seems to work decently. At this point though I'm waiting to make any upgrades to my system until we see the final performance of the Dan HSLP48 which will be released to market by Alpenföhn as the Black Ridge. It looks very promising. Maybe it's worth just using a cheap and widely available nh-l9i while waiting to see how new low profile options perform?

I guess it'll be difficult if you stick with the 9900K. Gonna need like a - 0.09V offset. Maybe even -0.1V if it's stable. Maybe disable turbo boost or set max turbo to like 4.0ghz in the meantime?

Edit:

Also worth noting, the 9900K power consumption and temps seem to vary from reviewer to reviewer. According to Hardware Unboxed, this comes down to the motherboard used for testing. Some motherboards have strict power limits that really cap power draw close to the tdp of the cpu. Other boards with powerful VRMs intended for OC'ing let the power limit go up to 150-200W. So you could set the power limit in bios to say, 100W. That should make things tolerable.

AFAIK, when comparing clock for clock with 8th gen the 9th gen is a bit cooler thanks to solder TIM, larger die surface area to transfer heat and the 14nm+++(4x+?:D) process Intel is on has actually been getting larger and larger since their first 14nm. That is transistor gate pitch has been increasing (therefore transistor density has been decreasing) in order to hit higher and higher clocks. Lower transistor density means less heat packed into a small area.

Sooo long story short, there's a chance with all of this taken in to account that the 9900K could be feasible in Sentry.
 
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In the previous page SaperPL quoted a Sentry owner that used the AXP-100. It seems to work decently. At this point though I'm waiting to make any upgrades to my system until we see the final performance of the Dan HSLP48 which will be released to market by Alpenföhn as the Black Ridge. It looks very promising. Maybe it's worth just using a cheap and widely available nh-l9i while waiting to see how new low profile options perform?

I guess it'll be difficult if you stick with the 9900K. Gonna need like a - 0.09V offset. Maybe even -0.1V if it's stable. Maybe disable turbo boost or set max turbo to like 4.0ghz in the meantime?

Edit:

Also worth noting, the 9900K power consumption and temps seem to vary from reviewer to reviewer. According to Hardware Unboxed, this comes down to the motherboard used for testing. Some motherboards have strict power limits that really cap power draw close to the tdp of the cpu. Other boards with powerful VRMs intended for OC'ing let the power limit go up to 150-200W. So you could set the power limit in bios to say, 100W. That should make things tolerable.

AFAIK, when comparing clock for clock with 8th gen the 9th gen is a bit cooler thanks to solder TIM, larger die surface area to transfer heat and the 14nm+++(4x+?:D) process Intel is on has actually been getting larger and larger since their first 14nm. That is transistor gate pitch has been increasing (therefore transistor density has been decreasing) in order to hit higher and higher clocks. Lower transistor density means less heat packed into a small area.

Sooo long story short, there's a chance with all of this taken in to account that the 9900K could be feasible in Sentry.


Yeah, I'm confident my LP53 and Noctua fan will be able to hold the line (For now...) and I will be disabling Multicore Enhancement if applicable on my board, as it technically runs outside of Intel's stock settings, and I will try to dial in the highest and most stable undervolt possible.
I'm using an Asrock Z390 Phantom ITX. Seems like a high quality board. I've got everything I need now aside from my pre ordered 9900K, and a discreet GPU. Options for that are still up in the air, but I think I'm going to skip Turing and wait for a shrink (3080 Ti?) and go with a nice GTX 1080 Ti instead.
 
Yeah, I'm confident my LP53 and Noctua fan will be able to hold the line (For now...) and I will be disabling Multicore Enhancement if applicable on my board, as it technically runs outside of Intel's stock settings, and I will try to dial in the highest and most stable undervolt possible.
I'm using an Asrock Z390 Phantom ITX. Seems like a high quality board. I've got everything I need now aside from my pre ordered 9900K, and a discreet GPU. Options for that are still up in the air, but I think I'm going to skip Turing and wait for a shrink (3080 Ti?) and go with a nice GTX 1080 Ti instead.

don't quote me on this but i believe you could fit a 120mm aio in with a gigabyte 1080 mini, its dimensions are listed as less than my vega nano and i managed to fit that.
 
don't quote me on this but i believe you could fit a 120mm aio in with a gigabyte 1080 mini, its dimensions are listed as less than my vega nano and i managed to fit that.
You can. I’ve already checked on that, but I definitely want no less than a 1080 Ti. I think I’m going to wait for the CPU to actually get here, test on my LP53+Noctua and reassess from there, asking you guys for advice again.
I’m going to make it work one way or another.
 
Update: 9900K is in the Sentry. TDP limited to 95W. Voltage offset -20mV

AIDA64 stability test sees CPU hitting 100C, but no thermal throttling.

System specs:
-i9-9900K (Using LP53 with Noctua slim fan)
-32GB G.Skill 3200Mhz
-No GPU at this time (still deciding what to get)
-Samsung 970 Pro 1TB x2 (Raid 0 2TB)
-AsRock Phantom Gaming ITX Z390
-SilverStone 800W SFX-L 80 Plus Titanium PSU

It’s a good system. I wanted to be able to undervolt my 9900K more, but I could be doing it wrong, because there’s not much headroom at all, or I really lost the silicon lottery.
 
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