Vega's Perfect Motion Clarity 2D Lightboost Titan Portrait Surround Gloss Build

Vega

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Oct 12, 2004
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Thought I'd toss up a quick build thread of my new rig.


Displays (setup complete):

AsusPortraitLB.jpg



3x Asus VG248QE monitors in Surround portrait mode. Custom de-bezeled, mounted and matte film remove. 2D Lightboost 120 Hz perfect motion clarity enabled full-time. If you live under a rock and do not know what 2D Lightboost mode is and how it has saved LCD tech, head here:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1734114

If you are gaming on anything other than 2D Lightboost, you are living in the past. It is a complete game-changer. :p


Some pics of the monitors on the operating table:

PICT0025-1.jpg



PICT0028-2.jpg



PICT0029-1.jpg



PICT0031-1.jpg



PICT0030-1.jpg



PICT0032-1.jpg




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQtFTBXzABQ



Some goodies to power this display setup properly:





Parts:

3960X run up to 5.2 GHz for bench-marking
Rampage IV Extreme X79 Motherboard
16 GB of Team Group 2400 MHz quad-channel at 9-9-24-11 @ 1T
Titan's - Three or Four (haven't decided if I will stop at three or not)
Two Samsung 256 GB 840 Pro's in RAID-0
EVGA SuperNOVA NEX1500 Power Supply


Cooling:

CPU - Koolance 380I Water Block
MB - EK RIVE Full board Water Blocks
Titan's - EK Nickle/Acetal Water Blocks with Back-plates
RAM - Bitspower Water Blocks
Ambient loop side radiator: Watercool MO-RA3 9 x 140mm PRO Extreme
Chilled loop side: Modified 15,000 BTU window A/C to chilled liquid tank
Pumps: Aquacomputer D5 Pump Motor w/ USB and Aquabus Interface
Geothermal loop design: under consideration


Some preliminary pictures:


Routing test





2x Titan Test





My game desk/console setup if you will is in the study, but the computer itself is located a room over in the tea room. This allows me to compute in complete silence and no temperature variations in my immediate vicinity due to heat dump from the computer.

I decide to fabricate a custom shelf/mounting area for the PC in the corner of the room that is a bit unique to display the computer:








The MO-RA3 radiator will be suspended from the bottom of the shelf parallel to the edge for design.


There is a window just next to the corner shelf in which to fit the chilled liquid cooling unit:

SANY0015.jpg



Preliminary liquid routing, but I've pretty much decided to go completely serial post pumps as the temp increase of the liquid is too negligible to split into different loops:

Titan.jpg



Selector valves:

SANY0018-1.jpg



These valves allow me to adjust which loop I wish to run. Ambient for regular use-winter to heat dump inside / Geothermal loop to heat dump in the ground during summer / chilled cooler for bench-marking. For anti-condensation measures, considering the sealed in clear acrylic container "cap" with desiccant route.


__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Final Stage-1 (Ambient) build images:





















Youtube:

Build: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8loxkp4FN5Y

F1 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TScvN8AU6WM

Crysis 3 Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh5lL8GbYTQ

Darkfall: Unholy Wars: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZaoTij4rH8
 
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That silence is the absence of air as the concussion wave approaches. Awesome bomb detonation confirmed.
 
Epic as always Vega. Have you tested how well the titans scale in 3 and 4 way sli?
 
I just wish this tech had come out in 2008 at the same time as the first 120 hz monitors....so many games could have benefitted...

I definitely have to say that2d lightboost on a LCD is probably a bigger "upgrade" than any videocard or CPU purchase.UNLESS you still have a working FW900 or P1130 CRT.

Even then you can use Cru to stop dX10 games from running at 60 hz.
 
if you're going with 3 titans, surely you can make this build even more workstationy with another 16GB of ddr? tho that might affect your huge OC on that 3960x

your diagram shows an eventual 4-way titan setup? daaaamn
 
Ya, still debating on sticking with three or getting a 4th. As for the RAM, it's just a gaming system so 16GB is plenty. 32GB will always reduce the speed/overclock for no reason on a gaming system. ;)
 
Any comment to how 2d lightboost affects the color of the screen? Have you figured out a nice way to balance the color back to near-normal with nvidia settings?
 
That is the most serious approach to watercooling. Now, I feel like normal with just Mora3 on the side of my pc. :D
Noprene clamps question, Vega - you didn't use the compression fittings because you consider them not sealing enough the noprene tubing or is it because you just wanted it this way. I am asking because I am going to replace all my tygon r3603 tubing with the tygone noprene tubing, actually the order should arrive in the few days.. And I am thinking wich clamps to use - won't the comression fittings be too loose on the noprene material?....
 
When 1 titan just won't do....

Looking good as usual. Would love to have 3x 120hz monitors. Does it really take multiple titans to hold that fps?
 
Any comment to how 2d lightboost affects the color of the screen? Have you figured out a nice way to balance the color back to near-normal with nvidia settings?

Ya, I use the NVIDIA control panel to tweak out the crimson tint of LB. Works great.

That is the most serious approach to watercooling. Now, I feel like normal with just Mora3 on the side of my pc. :D
Noprene clamps question, Vega - you didn't use the compression fittings because you consider them not sealing enough the noprene tubing or is it because you just wanted it this way. I am asking because I am going to replace all my tygon r3603 tubing with the tygone noprene tubing, actually the order should arrive in the few days.. And I am thinking wich clamps to use - won't the comression fittings be too loose on the noprene material?....

Just like most industrial tubing, NORPRENE is designed to be used with clamps, not compression fittings. Those are just for "looks". NORPRENE has thick/soft sidewalls not conductive to compression fittings. I use stainless steel clamps.

opplanet-saint-gobain-norprene-tubing-formula-a-60-g-saint-gobain-performance-plastics-afl0000.jpg


NORPRENE is superb as it resists all chemical attack and lasts a very long time. I also keep a system with zero light in the loop anywhere that would let in energy for organisms. Distilled water, water wetter and silver coils is all I use and has never let me down. ;)

When 1 titan just won't do....

Looking good as usual. Would love to have 3x 120hz monitors. Does it really take multiple titans to hold that fps?

Ya, you need 2-3 really.
 
Ya, I use the NVIDIA control panel to tweak out the crimson tint of LB. Works great.

Oh man, if you could share specific settings, that would be great. I've spent hours trying to get my screen normal with 2d lightboost on, and it drove me nuts.
 
I'd like to know as well, as long as its via nvidia control panel it should work flawlessly

Are you still using LB at 10% and contrast at 100 btw Vega?

Easily the sickest system around props
 
Personal settings NVIDIA control panel (but remember may need to tweak slightly for your displays):

Color Red: Brightness +32 / Contrast +47
Color Green: Brightness +52 / Contrast +53
Color Blue: Brightness +48 / Contrast +49

10% LB and 100% Contrast on OSD. You will get some saturation on very bright colors, but I don't mind.

On another note, zeroing in on my gaming CPU overclock-

Idle:

3960xidle.jpg




Load:

loadc.jpg
 
Do you use digital vibrance a bit as well?

Btw vega what u think could cause me this issue since i done fresh install and reset monitor cables once in 2-3 days my monitor goes off for 1 sec and I hear the USB plug sound?;/

I wanna reposition my system soon what should I do after if LB goes off? I haven't installed any inf not even the 248 one
 
why i cant choose exactly same values as u vega? in green and blue it wont gimme choose these exact numbers just slightly above/below
 
Vega, thanks for your opinion, I will use clamps, now, for sure. Meanwhile, your build is marvelous and inspiring.
 
why i cant choose exactly same values as u vega? in green and blue it wont gimme choose these exact numbers just slightly above/below
Click the sliders, and then use the left/right arrow keys on the keyboard. You can go to intermediate values this way.
 
I wanna reposition my system soon what should I do after if LB goes off? I haven't installed any inf not even the 248 one
There's a new set of instructions that allows you to enable LightBoost without INF, without REG, and without an emitter: ToastyX, maker of Custom Resolution Utility, posted some new instructions, which is ready for beta testing (still requires nVidia). These instructions should be far easier for LightBoost surround setups.

ToastyX — INSTRUCTIONS

For NVIDIA users, LightBoost can be enabled entirely by using Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) without installing inf or reg files. Download and install this utility first.

  1. The drop-down list should have an entry for each monitor. If there are more entries and you’re not sure which ones are active, run reset-all.exe and reboot. That should leave you with an entry for each connected monitor.

  2. If you don’t have a 3D emitter, use the “Edit…” button at the very top to set the product ID to ACI27F8 for each monitor. This will make the driver think you have a VG278H with a built-in emitter so you can enable 3D mode. The model name doesn’t matter and can be set to whatever you want.

  3. Use the “Import…” button at the bottom to import this file: lightboost.bin
    I’ve included the 120/110/100 Hz LightBoost resolutions. You can remove the ones you don’t need. If you have multiple monitors, use the copy and paste buttons at the top to copy the resolutions to the other monitor entries.

  4. Click OK to save the changes, then reboot.

  5. In the NVIDIA control panel, open the “Set up stereoscopic 3D” page, then click the “Run Setup Wizard” button. If the button isn’t there, uncheck “Enable stereoscopic 3D” and click the “Apply” button.

  6. In the setup wizard, click the “Next” button, then click “Next” again. At this point, it should enable LightBoost, and if you don’t have an emitter, the mouse cursor will be very sluggish and jerky. If you don’t need to enable 3D, you can exit here. Otherwise, continue the wizard as usual.
__

Now LightBoost should be enabled and stay enabled as long as the monitor isn’t unplugged. If there is a power outage, you will have to run the setup wizard again. If you update the video driver, you might have to go through the process again. I might make a program to simplify the process, but I need to figure out how to enable LightBoost directly in the monitor without having to run the setup wizard manually.
 
thats what i tried, using the arrows and it didnt work

adjust desktop color settings right?

i click use nvidia, blue, trying to set brightness at 49 and it can be only 47 or 50:confused:
 
thats what i tried, using the arrows and it didnt work

adjust desktop color settings right?

i click use nvidia, blue, trying to set brightness at 49 and it can be only 47 or 50:confused:

When I get home I'll double check settings, those are old ones copied and pasted. The best way of course is to get a colrometer and tailor your screen.
 
Personal settings NVIDIA control panel (but remember may need to tweak slightly for your displays):

Color Red: Brightness +32 / Contrast +47
Color Green: Brightness +52 / Contrast +53
Color Blue: Brightness +48 / Contrast +49

10% LB and 100% Contrast on OSD. You will get some saturation on very bright colors, but I don't mind.

On another note, zeroing in on my gaming CPU overclock-

Idle:

3960xidle.jpg




Load:

loadc.jpg

What on earth are you doing to get temps like that with voltage like that??? That is amazing. What are you're ambient temps?
 
What on earth are you doing to get temps like that with voltage like that??? That is amazing. What are you're ambient temps?

Here is another image with the idle temps with the 3960X at 5.1 GHz and the Titans (red task-bar numbers) with EK blocks (ambient temp is ~18C):

idlez.jpg



Here is the radiator suspended from the PC shelf:




Just have to solder the wires on the right and wrap them all up nice and pretty. I've got all the wires wrapped up nicely in the corner so there is just the one wire tube coming down for the whole PC.

BTW I am using a Koolance 380i CPU block with Prolimatech PK3 which I also put on the GPU's. Sweet combo. ;) From the reviews out there, the 380i is the best CPU block out at the moment. You know what the funniest part is, it's also one of the cheapest/best value!
 
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How far away is your PC from the keyboard/monitors? Any signal loss? Just using USB extension cables + DVI cables?
 
How far away is your PC from the keyboard/monitors? Any signal loss? Just using USB extension cables + DVI cables?

30 feet or so. I am using powered active USB extension cable and 24 gauge DL-DVI 35 foot cables. I found them at Sewell direct for $9 each I was floored and snatched three up! Everything works awesome. You need 24 gauge thick-ass cables when going this length. ;)
 
Man I cannot find those Asus VG248HE anywhere not even on the Asus US site. They only show the VG248QE .
 
I think Vega just made a typo. As far as I know the only version of the VG248 is the QE. The Q and H refer to which set of inputs the monitor has.
 
There is no HE version .____.

Can you check your exact nvidia calibration vega? And do u turn digital vibrance a bit?
 
Woops, ya the QE not the HE.


My NEX1500 and 3x Titan back-plates arrived a day early, yay:


nex1500.jpg



I know this PSU has some mixed reviews, it was on sale and EVGA fit and finish is darn nice not to mention the 10-year warranty. So I'll test 'er out and see how she does.


Confirmed with the drivers I am using now it only allows a +/- 2 or 3 change depending on the setting:

100% Contrast, 10% LB on OSD
+32 Red Brightness / +47 Contrast
+52 Green Brightness / +52 Contrast
+47 Blue Brightness / +47 Contrast

+65 Digital vibrance
 
Why did u turn Red so low? It makes it so dark due to LB 10% :O

Lol what a beastly psu
 
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