[Build Log] ASUS Sabertooth Z87

I'm going Haswell as an upgrade to my Main PC - 2012
I've just got the CPU and motherboard, I'm just waiting on the RAM. Technically I don't need to wait so I may make a start later today if I have enough time.
Anyway here's the spec and a couple of box shots..

CPU: Intel i7-4770K
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth Z87
Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance LP Black DDR3-1866 (2x8GB)
OS Drive: 1x Samsung 850 Pro 512GB
Storage Drive 1: 1x Samsung 850 Evo 1TB
Storage Drive 2: 2x Western Digital Black 1TB RAID 0
Graphics Card #1: ASUS GTX 1060 6GB OC Expedition
Sound Card: ASUS STRIX SOAR
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i with Noctua NF-F12 IndustrialPPC IP67
PSU: Corsair AX860i Digital PSU
Case: Coolermaster CM-690 II USB 3.0
Case Fans: Noctua REDUX 1200RPM

So jealous!!!! :drool:

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Originally Posted by Ya Mother

So jealous!!!! :drool:

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lol, the Sabertooth would look good in your new build :)

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Originally Posted by Lloyd_mcse

lol, the Sabertooth would look good in your new build :)

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shhhhhh.......................................... tbh its the one to get. :)

All done, here are some board shots.

And some shots in the case..

Looks the dogs m8.....get yerself a corsair h100i to cool the cpu. :)

Yeah I quite fancy one of those H100i's, I'll see how things go over the next couple of weeks.
I have the CPU sitting at between 3.4GHz and 3.9GHz and it's running at 25oC roughly with the A70 stepped down (quiet mode) and running from the motherboard, it's nice to have dedicated dual CPU Fan headers

I'm going to get Windows 8 reinstalled over the weekend, sure swapping over works but it does leave a load of stuff behind which could cause issues in the future, so may as well get it done now.

I've had a quick look at Thermal Radar 2, the Thermal Status part looks good. Here's a screenshot..

That's better, I've just about finished reinstalling Windows 8 Enterprise and she's feeling great!
I'll get 3DMark and PCMark installed in a little while and get the default results posted later on.

pics?

I think I will grab a braided 24 Pin ATX extension and 8 Pin ATX extension.
Anyway here's some more pictures.

yeah some black braided ATX cables would look nice,,,,,and if you get a h100i cooler you will be able to see most of that lovely looking mobo thats hidden by that gigantic cooler lol.

lol, yeah very true.

I nearly forgot .. I'm waiting for the EVGA Backplate to get here so I'll get some more pictures up then.

Did you get it free with the card?

Yeah, they have an offer on the EVGA site. Once you register the card you can get the backplate.
No idea how long it will be though :S

That backplate will look shite on your card Lloyd.....your better off just giving it to me. :)

Lol, I'm sure :)

I think I will put a Corsair H100i in here this week, if I have enough time.

I'm still waiting for the GTX 770 back plate, it says it was shipped on the 12th of June according to the EVGA site :S

It got sent to my house by mistake......looks so much better in my rig. :)

My Corsair H100i is here, I'm hoping to have enough time later on to get it installed.
Here's a quick box shot for the time being :)

All installed.
Here's some pictures :up:

I may have to put one of these in here -

Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty Professional

That looks so much better Lloyd.....whats the temps like?....... I nearly bought that very same soundcard......went for the titanium HD in the end.

Cheers mate, it really shows off the Sabertooth :)
I haven't setup the Corsair H100i properly yet, I'm just testing it using the motherboard fan headers (this Sabertooth has CPU and CPU_OPT headers) and Thermal Radar.
At the moment I have the fans spinning very slow around 600 rpm and I'm getting roughly the same temps idle 25 oC, and I've lost about 10 -15 degrees under load.
I'll have a proper look at setting up a fan curve in Thermal Radar tomorrow.

I linked my x2 h100i fans to my fan controller and have them set to 1400rpm.....35c on idle but thats at 4.0ghz with speedstep off, so 4.0ghz 24/7.

Any particular reason you have the tubes on the left handside?......nearly everyone does but i thought it would restrict the exhaust fan a tad, so put mine on the right......probs just my OCD kicking in again lol. :)

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OCD kicking in again lol

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OCD is good. it makes very few things in the world perfect ;)

Are they scratches on the block or just light reflections?

Yeah, I need to lock this to 4GHz maybe 4.2GHz. I currently have it set with Speedstep off but Turbo on so it ranges from 3.5GHz to 4GHz.

No particular reason for the tube layout, other than OCD lol. I felt it balanced the case better. If you look at the tubing and then the PCI-E cables in the opposite corner.

I'm currently thinking about using or at least testing my favourite fans on the radiator instead of these Corsair ones - Sythe 120mm 1600RPM Ultra Quiet (68CFM @ 28db) and also getting some grommits to seal up the rad and fans as I have the case roof inbetween the fans and rad at the moment. We'll see.

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Originally Posted by Spookkiller

Are they scratches on the block or just light reflections?

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It looks like dust?......how the fook can you sleep knowing it's there Loyd?

I was thinking about changing my x2 corsair fans for something quieter.....is there really that much difference?

Lol yeah, it's a bit of dust.

These Corsair fans at anywhere near 100% are really quite loud, whereas I can just leave these Sythes at 100% and never know they were on and get their full performance.

Corsair Fans
Fan speed: 2700 RPM
Fan airflow: 77 CFM
Fan dBA: 37.68 dBA

Sythe Ultra Quiet
Fan Speed: 1600RPM
Fan airflow: 68CFM
Fan dBA: 28 dBA

I'll post back when I get round to changing them.

I was thinking of these......... Noctua NF-F12.

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Originally Posted by Ya Mother

I was thinking of these......... Noctua NF-F12.

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Yeah, they're supposed to be really good. If only they were black.

yeah crap colour and £20 ....omg?

Yeah, that's even more than the Sythes, but they were worth every penny.
I haven't seen any for sale for a while though. I've seen lower rpm versions but not the 1600 Ultra Quiets.

EDIT: I have started a thread for discussing the Corsair H100i further

I've just ordered a Corsair AX860i PSU for this build, lets see what these are like. :up:

gets good reviews from guru3d and overclock3ed etc.... comments like great aesthetics and great looks make me laugh about pc gear....its a square metal box with a sticker on the side ffs lol.

Yeah they sound really good, I can't wait to get it installed.
I like the fact it can turn off the fan completely, and of course it has an 80 Plus Platinum certification.
Typically it won't get here till 5pm so I doubt I will get it installed today.

All installed and looking great
Cable management is a step ahead of the HX and AX's I've got in my other PCs as this has a SATA cable I can use for all four of my drives. They are also laid out for cases with PSU's in the bottom, so that was nice and simple.
Here's some pictures ...

Im not being funny m8, but are they having a laugh with that big ass ugly sticker on the top?.......my ocd senses would go into hyperdrive with that on.........also do you have a spare psu for sale......just about to build a rig for my 5 year old and ive just bought a GTX570 soc and not sure if my psu has the connectors for it?......its up in the loft and i'm sure it hasn't as i think thats why jackamo bought a corsair AX850 to power his old 6970. :(

Yeah, they could have made the sticker smaller that's for sure. Or at least black with white writing.
As for PSU's I think I have sold the HX750 that came out of here, I should know for sure on Thursday afternoon.

Now these dam 35mm fans are doing my head in!
Everything else is so quiet, I've had to tick the "Auto Stop" tick box in Thermal Radar for the motherboard fans (Assistant Fan 1 and 2). Other than that I can only adjust it from 75% and upwards which is way too loud!
Using them in smart mode in a no go as I want a constant noise rather than a stop start.
I will look into some solutions later.