Streacom DB4 Ryzen Build

[Bob Blah]

So I pretty much copied Raiju's build in this thread: https://hardforum.com/threads/custom-db4-build.1931503/ but I'm nowhere near as confident hacking components so it's a pretty off-the-shelf build.

Specs are as follows:

MB: Asus ROG Strix B350-I Gaming
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 1300X
RAM: 1 x 16GB GSkillz RipJaws V 3200Mhz
GPU: Zotac GTX1050Ti Mini 4GB
SSD: Samsung 960 EVO 250GB

This is a HTPC box, hence the low CPU and disk space. I've still got one DIMM slot and one M.2 slot to upgrade later as needed, and hopefully AMD will be good on it's promise to support the AM4 socket till at least 2020 so I'll have a couple of generations of processors to upgrade to as well if required.

As it is I'm quite happy, the click-the-button overclock in AI Suite got the CPU to 4Ghz at 1.4V and at idle it sits between 38 and 43 degrees (ambient of around 26 degrees).



One thing I've done different to Raiju was that I've added an internal air temp sensor using the T_Sensor header on the Asus board. It's a two-pin thermistor that I got off Ebay and it's simple dangling from the 24Pin power cable into the cavity between the motherboard and the front panel. It's not a particularly elegant solution but when I complete the build (see below) I'll try to sort out a more permanent fixing point. As you can see from the above, the temp is a good few degrees above ambient, but so far, it hasn't gotten above 40 degrees. I'm interested to see what happens when I finish the build and how much that changes.



So what's left? Well as you might be able to see from the above photo, I still actually have a fan in a fanless case! I purchased the HDPlex Passive GPU Cooler Kit but ran into a small but significant problem:

it doesn't fit the Zotac GTX1050ti Mini!



As you can see, the capacitors are too close to the GPU die so when lined up with the pre-drilled holes, the block sits on top of them. The solution - I've got to tap some new screw holes. The advantage to doing that is that the block will also have pretty good coverage of the GDDR chips. The problem is figuring out exactly the gauge for the screws - I keep seeing differing views between M2 and M2.5. If anyone knows, please let me know!

So at present there is some really good airflow inside the case with that GPU fan circulating the air. What was surprising is that even whilst gaming I couldn't hear the fan at all. I haven't installed Furmark yet to give it a proper flogging, but for what my typical use case will be, I was pleasantly surprised and happy that if it gets too warm in there with the passive cooler on, I can always put the fan back on. Defeats the point of a fanless case I know, but nice to know the option is there.

 

[Raiju]

So what ever happened with this build?

I see Streacom has a gpu kit for the db4 now

 

[Bob Blah]

Sorry for the delay in coming back to this, essentially there is no change, for a few reasons:

1. I just haven't had the time to come back to it, partly because...
2. To be perfectly honest, I can't hear the GPU fan whilst the system is running so there hasn't been a pressing need to get it sorted, and
3. I tried to get in contact with the guy at HD Plex but there's something wrong with their forum registration and so... see point 2.

I must say I'm really surprised how quiet the fan on the Zotac card is, even giving it a decent flogging with some extended games sessions you can barely hear it, and when we're just watching Netflix or other streamed content it doesn't seem to get above idle. I'll certainly get around to finishing it off, but it's just not a priority right now.

I'm glad that Streacom have released a dedicaetd kit, it was the obvious next step for them and the mounting system is much more flexible than the HD Plex one. I'll see how I go getting the HD Plex kit drilled. I can't find a price for the Streacom one, be interesting to see where it slots into the market.

BTW thanks for the inspiration, you made an awesome system build guide

 

[Cov]

I'm fascinated by this kind of projects. I'm personally looking forward for the SteaCom DB2 (has not been released yet).

 

[Bob Blah]

The DB2 looks really nice, but still kinda looks like a PC case. One of the main reasons why I went with the DB4 is that it looks nothing like a PC, which is the only reason the wife will let it in the lounge room

What has been interesting is the number of people who have looked at it and asked "What's that?". When told that it's a PC, they usually don't believe me until I boot it into Windows

 

[Bob Blah]

Resurrecting a 6 year old thread because of course I am. So the Asus ROG motherboard died mysteriously - DRAM board check light was constantly lit and no response so it was time for a new board. In the meantime I had got my hands on a Ryzen 3700X so I got myself an Asrock A520M-ITX/ac motherboard for not a lot of money, and grabbed the Streacom GPU Cooler Kit for the DB4. I gave up on trying to drill new holes in the block for the HDPlex kit I had previously bought and just splashed for the Streacom kit.

I put it together tonight and I'm pretty happy with it, forgot how much fun it is to build in this case (and messy with all the TIM).

The GPU Kit wasn't as straightforward as I'd hoped, the receiver nuts that sit under the back of the card didn't fit (they were 4.5mm, the original holes were 3.5mm) so I had to bust out the drill



Thankfully I didn't kill the card and the rest of it was pretty straightforward (having already built in the DB4 a couple of times anyway).



The adhesive for the VRAM heatsinks wasn't nearly as sticky as I expected, they moved around a bit so I was concerned they wouldn't hold when the card was inverted in the case but they are still in place so

Haven't run any stress tests yet but the temps were sitting at 40 on the CPU and 35 on the GPU at idle so plenty of headroom to play with.

Overall, still love this case, both to build in and as it sits in the living room pretending to not be a PC. Still has wifely approval so good investment 6 years on.