Leo goes six core (Leo’s PC build, July 2017)

I first showed off my PC in November 2016 when it was running on as Asus Sabertooth X79 motherboard with DDR3 memory. In January 2017 I stepped up to an ASRock X99 Taichi with a Core i7-5820K which was followed by a Xeon E5-1620 v4. You may not be familiar with the more obscure Xeon's so the easiest way to describe this model is that it is a quad core version of the six-core Core i7-6800K. That worked well enough until I started editing my own videos and discovered that four cores isn’t enough to edit 4K video unless you have a LOT of time on your hands.

My bigger problem was that my chosen Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Glass looks superb but has limited air flow through the intake slots at the front and out through the exhaust slots in the roof.

The CPU and GTX 980 graphics idled at 38-40 degrees and ran at a steady 58-60 degrees when I was gaming or editing videos. My long term plan is to switch to either AMD Ryzen 7 or Threadripper but in the short term the easiest upgrade is to simply plug in the Core i7-6800K I should have bought in the first place. That was bound to increase the heat and make my problems worse so a simple CPU change made little sense.

Bitspower had sent me a CPU/VRM water block that is specifically matched to the ASRock X99 Taichi however I couldn’t afford any down time for my work horse PC so was obliged to build a new PC from scratch, get it up and running, test the cooling and then plug in the drives from my work PC.

The comments below our video on YouTube suggest this has caused problems for a few readers, so let me reiterate. I was aiming for a seamless upgrade where I stepped up from a quad core Core i7 on X99 to a six core on the same platform to tide me over for a month or two until I can assess Ryzen Threadripper.

Components
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro-M
CPU: Intel Core i7-6800K CPU
Memory: 32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR4-3200MHz
Motherboard: EVGA X99 Micro2
Graphics card: MSI GTX 1080 Aero
Storage:
3x 1TB SSDs for Windows, software and video work.
1x 6TB HDD bulk storage
Power supply: Sea Sonic Titanium Prime 850W
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro

Cooling
CPU block: Alphacool Eisblock XPX
Graphics block: Alphacool NexXxoS GPX
Front radiator: Alphacool 240mm ST30
Top radiator: Alphacool 120mm ST30 X-Flow
Fans: EK Vardar (3x 120mm, 1x 140mm)
Reservoir: Alphacool Eisbecher 150mm
Pump: Alphacool VPP655
Pump top: EK-Revo D5
Pump mount: EK-Revo D5
Fittings: variety of Alphacool G1/4
Tubing: Alphacool AlphaTube 16/10mm
Coolant: Mayhems Pastel Pink

Accessories
NZXT Internal USB hub
NZXT HUE+ lighting kit
NZXT GRID+ V2 fan controller

In some respects this PC is a step backwards as it has less glass and less bling than the Phanteks Evolv ATX Tempered, however that is a minor matter.

KitGuru says: The three big plus points are that I have moved to a six core CPU with Hyper Threading, have a GTX 1080 graphics card in place of my GTX 980 and the cooling in Phanteks Pro-M is down in the 40s Celsius where is belongs. Job done. For now.

Become a Patron!