WIP Leftovers build for folding

[Silent_Avenger]

So I've got some leftover parts after upgrading my main pc so I've decided to build a smp folding rig. I'm basically trying to do this as cheap as possible although I will have to spend some money at some point.

Parts

Motherboard: MSI 970A-G45
CPU: Phenom II x4 955 stock cooler
RAM: G.Skill 1333mhz 9-9-9-24 4GB
GPU: Radeon 3450
HDD: Toshiba 2.5" 250GB
PSU: Originally 400w noname now corsair TX650W
OS: Win 8 Dev Preview
Other misc items

Tools
15-in-1 screwdriver
band saw

First up building my 'case' base parts for the case are 2 pieces of wood and some rusty screws.




Putting them together was pretty easy since I already had them cut to the right lengths.




My old set of G.Skill ram


Stock heatsink on the 955 and an old 40mm fan I found that I plopped onto the NB



My super fancy MB standoffs which are actually concrete anchors. I used the short #6-32 x 1/4 screws I got with my H100 to attach the MB to the anchors and the rusty screws from before to attach the anchors to the wood platform.



So got the motherboard mounted and HDD in place. Also got some old switches I had lying around for the power and reset switches.




Got the generic PSU hooked up while I was doing my testing to make sure the parts were still working.




Last pic until payday new psu in main rig so this gets the leftovers. Managed to get most of the wires tucked in behind the MB.




So far it's running well getting about 8500ppd on average at stock speeds. HW monitor reports 43c core temp and 53c socket temp which in my books isn't bad for stock cooling especially with a C2 stepping chip which runs pretty hot. I held the PSU in with some L brackets and the fan is facing the passively cooled gpu and sucks the hot air(honestly it's not that hot) away from it. Not much else to say next steps is to get a better cpu cooler possibly a few other things maybe a case a little longer down the road.

[Silent_Avenger]

Ok so I finally got windows movie maker to play nice with the video I shot. Build actually took about 20 mins but I sped it up 4x in the video to keep it short. Also hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get a new cpu cooler so I will be able to OC my 955 to 3.6ghz again no it won't go much higher unless I go 1.5v for 3.8ghz but then the vrms on my MSI board really heat up because they're just passively cooled(I might change that later). Anyways enjoy the vid more pics tomorrow if I get a new cooler.


SMP folding rig speed build - YouTube

[Panzer23]

Nice! Is the 650W strictly necessary? or are you just using it because you have it.

[Silent_Avenger]

Using it because I have it. It's nearly 5 years old now so I pulled it out of my main rig and tried out another brand of PSU(mainly for looks). I know it is very overkill for the system but oh well. Never spent a dime on this rig either so I can't complain.

Edit: Also I'm surprised no one has harped me yet on my thermal paste application method lol.

[Silent_Avenger]

So luckily I was able to pick up a new cpu cooler today I'll be uploading pics before i head to work.

[chewbroccoli]

are you worried about flex in the MB at all if you put on a new cpu cooler? you might want to add more of your blue supports under the MB to reduce how much flex you'll get.

[Silent_Avenger]

Nope not worried at all about board flex the cooler I got has a really solid back plate and isn't all that heavy. Pics will be up soon. :)

[Silent_Avenger]

So as promised here are the pics.










That's it for a while, currently have my 955 at 3.7ghz @ 1.473v and 52c socket temp and 48c core temp(Hyper 212 Evo is great). Yes some people may think the CM turbine master fan looks odd but I like it. It's a very quiet fan for its speed and airflow I may do a quick video later tonight just to record the sound.