New build with Corsair 6500X case

[SpyderTracks]

Sneak peek...

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Now wondering whether I should have had PCS install just 3 x QX120mm side fans and put another QX140mm fan at the rear to fill some air gaps

Didn't specifically want a white motherboard, but the Strix version wasn't available in black and I wanted the 2nd PCIEx16 slot far enough below the GPU slot so that an add-in card (Hyper-X orThunderbolt) wouldn't hinder airflow too much. I originally though the TUF version (X670 or B650) would suffice, but the TUF X670 loses one m.2 slot, and the TUF B650 loses one m.2 slot AND has the 2nd PCIEx16 slot too close to the GPU slot. The bottom slot on my current X570 motherboard doesn't allow RAID/bifurcation, so I can use that with the Hyper-X card.

Plus, once it's all glowy, the white motherboard may reflect the lighting better than the black one.

I got a white motherboard this time and it is really good with lights hitting it

You've just reminded me, was going to look into getting the thunderbolt AIC card for my board and completely forgot about it, need to get that.

 

[TonyCarter]

The Thunderbolt AIC is a 'nice to have' in my case, as the enclosure can use USB-C 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3...and it's probably not worth it just for accessing HDDs anyway.

 

[TonyCarter]

It's 'in testing' 😬

 

[TonyCarter]

Anyone got any thought on this?

I've know I have a 20% Corsair discount offer on my build (no free game ), so am going to use it on buying at least the satin silver trim, and was considering some other bits at the same time to minimise postage costs.

So whilst I wait for my new PC to be built & tested, my mind is turning to items I can 'tart' it up with...whilst trying to keep the cabling unobtrusive.

I know the 4090 uses a 4x8-pin to 16-pin (12+4) GPU adapter, which means a lot of unsightly thick cables coming from an ATX.2.4 / PCIe4 PSU to the GPU (as in my current build), but I don't know what cables will be put in place ready for my GPU transplant.

I know the PSU comes with a PCIE5 12VHPWR to 16-pin (12+4) GPU cable...

Premium Individually Sleeved 12+4pin PCIe Gen 5 12VHPWR 600W cable, Type 4, BLACK

The official CORSAIR Premium Individually Sleeved 600W PCIe 5.0 / Gen 5 12VHPWR PSU Cable delivers power from your CORSAIR Type-4 PSU to the most advanced PCIe 5.0 graphics cards.

www.corsair.com

...but don't know if that will be already fitted (or left in the box), and I'm thinking of using a Corsair GPU bridge to neaten the cabling up further...

12VHPWR GPU Power Bridge

The CORSAIR PCIe 5.0 12VHPWR GPU Power Bridge is a 180° adapter to route a power cable to the latest GPUs, such as the NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 40 Series.

www.corsair.com

 

[Martinr36]

Let them know what you are doing and ask them to put in appropriate cables

 

[TonyCarter]

Let them know what you are doing and ask them to put in appropriate cables

They know I’ve got a 4090FE to put in, as I had to give details on the new build…but also asked how many GPU power ports I needed, so I just said 3…as that’s how many PCIe ports I use on the current RM850 (3 x 8-pin)…but with the ATX3/PCIE5 PSU I wasn’t sure whether they’d ignore that and use the 2 x 12VHPWR instead.

 

[Scott]

Better to have a chat with them on that and request the 12VHP cables instead.

I don't think I would bother with the bridge connectors though. They don't really seem to be going the right way to make an aesthetic improvement. I would want the cables coming from underneath the GPU for neatness, rather than above.

 

[TonyCarter]

It's in shipping, and I've got my tracking number...might even give the desk a dust & polish

 

[TonyCarter]

Well, it's arrived 🎉

First thoughts are IT'S VERY HEAVY! The box even says '2 person lift'...although the rather rotund delivery driver shuffled across the drive on his own. Despite the box it came in having cut-outs for handles, they were not able to be used because of the way the packing foam had been stuffed down the side of the inner box.

Only a couple of niggles so far:

• iCUE Link controller is magnetic, so that it can be stuck anywhere in the case - but they've decided to stick it inside one of the 3.5" bays with sticky tape - and I can't remove the drive sled to insert a HDD because this is stuck to it from the other side
• Despite originally asking for the 3x8 pin to 16-pin (12+4) GPU power cables, it's just the 2x8-pin a single PCIe with pig-tail cable (but the 12VHPWR is in the box)
• that have been connected/cable-managed and fed through to the front of the MB
• Will have to adjust the fan location a little as the long iCUE Link connectors mean they can't sit as flush as I'd like - so will see if it's worth buying/fitting some 90º ones

Looks like a bit of fettling is required before I move it into place and start it up...but got back-to-back meetings for the next few hours

 

[SpyderTracks]

Well, it's arrived 🎉

First thoughts are IT'S VERY HEAVY! The box even says '2 person lift'...although the rather rotund delivery driver shuffled across the drive on his own. Despite the box it came in having cut-outs for handles, they were not able to be used because of the way the packing foam had been stuffed down the side of the inner box.

Only a couple of niggles so far:

• iCUE Link controller is magnetic, so that it can be stuck anywhere in the case - but they've decided to stick it inside one of the 3.5" bays with sticky tape - and I can't remove the drive sled to insert a HDD because this is stuck to it from the other side
• Despite originally asking for the 3x8 pin to 16-pin (12+4) GPU power cables, it's just the 2x8-pin that have been connected/cable-managed and fed through to the front of the MB
• Will have to adjust the fan location a little as the long iCUE Link connectors mean they can't sit as flush as I'd like - so will see if it's worth buying/fitting some 90º ones

Looks like a bit of fettling is required before I move it into place and start it up...but got back-to-back meetings for the next few hours

Cancel the meetings, tell them you have higher priorities, I'm sure they'll understand!

 

[TonyCarter]

Cancel the meetings, tell them you have higher priorities, I'm sure they'll understand!

Normally I'd find a way...but my contract is up for renewal at the end of the month 😬

 

[TonyCarter]

BTW, is the Corsair 20% discount code / activation link only usable from the new PC?

PCSPECIALIST - Configure a high performance Corsair Discount Term Based PC

Configure a high performance Corsair Discount Term Based PC at PCSpecialist. Your perfect Corsair Discount Term Based PC is just a few simple steps away.

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When I click through the activation link on my current PC, it just redirects me to the normal Corsair.com website, and shows no sign of any 20% discount. Have even gone all the way through to the checkout stage and tried to enter the code there (with no success).

Wanted to use it for my satin silver trims (which aren't available yet)!

 

[TonyCarter]

Got the bottom fans to install first, so knew I had to do some fiddling anyway. Maybe, one day, I'll build my own from scratch and show how wonderfully perfect I am 🤐

 

[SpyderTracks]

BTW, is the Corsair 20% discount code / activation link only usable from the new PC?

PCSPECIALIST - Configure a high performance Corsair Discount Term Based PC

Configure a high performance Corsair Discount Term Based PC at PCSpecialist. Your perfect Corsair Discount Term Based PC is just a few simple steps away.

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

When I click through the activation link on my current PC, it just redirects me to the normal Corsair.com website, and shows no sign of any 20% discount. Have even gone all the way through to the checkout stage and tried to enter the code there (with no success).

Wanted to use it for my satin silver trims (which aren't available yet)!

Yeah, think it needs to be from the new pc

 

[TonyCarter]

Yeah, think it needs to be from the new pc

Well, it should be up & running before the replacement trim becomes available - otherwise I'll have to see what other tat I can find

 

[Martinr36]

Got to love all the fettling, when you get a new PC 👍

 

[TonyCarter]

...and I'm glad I went for the Strix version with its extra m.2 slots, as the 2nd x16 PCIe slot doesn't support bifurcation, so only 1 of my m.2s that was in there is recognised (I really should have read the manual better, where it told me I'd have to search the Asus support document for the confusing details, and decide whether my combination of CPU and motherboard would work or not).

So I'm down to only 5 internal m.2 drives, the other one will stay in it's USB3 enclosure

You can see how much extra room I've now got...and how tight everything was in the 220T case.

 

[Scott]

Needs more fans 🤣

Bet that'll be a beast 😎

 

[TonyCarter]

Even on the default settings, with all those fans running, the loudest thing was the tiny cooling fan on the add-in card…and once I turned that off (because I’ve removed the cover and it’s directly above 2 big fans) it was SILENT.

Started playing around in iCUE but might have to start again as the fans are simply numbered #1 to #10, and I’ll have to go through one by one giving them more meaningful names.

The extra space also means getting to the PSU to add/remove/swap cables is very simple as you can do it with the PSU in situ. You had to unscrew the PSU to do anything with the 220T case. Swapping out the 2xPCIe to pigtail for the 12VHPWR was very easy.It took longer to snip all the cable ties than it did to feed the new cable through.

Once I’d reactivated Windows almost everything worked straight away. The only exception is GamePass which won’t let me sign in.

Now I’m thinking that I’ll have to find a much bigger GPU for my next upgrade 🤨

 

[Martinr36]

That looks sweet