Aurora R8, Experience of Buying

@r72019 :

There was supposed to be a big BF sale on the MF this year on amazon, but either I missed it or it wasn't offered. I even had it in my saved items and an alert but nothing.  

It was offered and sold out in like 12 seconds. Almost every dude on SD was watching it like an eagle. I was too exhausted after the Disney Train fiasco. Some SDer ended up with 10 sets charged to his credit card.

Ah, I wasn't particularly active on SD this year.  I saw like a long thread leading up and lost interest reading it, plus had family over. 

Humm, I wonder if you'll get priority for mod approval since you have so many pictures waiting to post. 

@r72019 :

@GTS81 wrote:

Tonight I'll try and restore my R8 to stock as much as possible, yanking out the parts I want to move to the BOS Project.

That photo reminds me of when I bought a large lego set from the Lego store.  There was no shopping cart in the mall, and it was heavier than my son, so I used my son's stroller to push it.  My wife and my son went down the escalator, and I went to the elevator, ran in behind some two girls and was like "hold the door please!".  So just me, the baby stroller, and a large lego set on the stroller.   They both looked at me and then each other and started laughing. 

Well, it's a stroller so that means your son was at the age where he can walk but a stroller helps with controlling sibling-mob (where they realize you cannot chase after the both of them in separate directions). So he's probably not too heavy. I don't think it's the Disney Castle nor the Millennium Falcon (I'd personally recommend you be banned from SD if you bought the latter from the Lego Store at MSRP unless you told me you paid at least half with VIP points). BTW, I have with me the roller coaster, the Technic 4WD, and the Disney Train (x2). 

As for the R8, I'll need more time to think about it.

@Anonymous , @r72019 , and all, here's the update:

New kid on the block:

It is a Silent Base but screams for attention Maybe try fitting the R8 in its entirety inside?

Bavarian simplicity?

Dings  :

Oh why?? I doubt the guys at BQ! work weekends but I'll send them an email.Found another scratch where left panel insert goes in.

Rad thickness measurements.

60mm into chassis. Pick max rad or push-pull. 360mm length for top w/front radPotential to hack in a 240mm rad in basement.

Builder tradition. Those who know me also knows most of these boxes are empty. 

Family Pic 

EDIT: Initially for this build, I wanted try that Youtuber thing that the young people nowadays all aspire to do (including my 7 yr old!). Then I went over to check out @HanoverB's page on his 8930 and he mentioned not being the type to do videos. I think that resonates with me hence I'll stick to pictures and words. Once this build reaches an intermediate completion, I'll start a build log on pcpartpicker.

There was supposed to be a big BF sale on the MF this year on amazon, but either I missed it or it wasn't offered. I even had it in my saved items and an alert but nothing.  

As far as I know, true.

Brain still reeling from all the calculations on my previous orders of wires, sleeves, and terminals to tally them with the extra I need to buy for this project.

@GTS81 @r72019     Once @Dell630i sells me his i9-9900K

The pseudo Alien will become 'the downstairs' computer . . . so (my wife) I will still need that processor.

Just to confirm prior to jumping in . . .

The 'best', fastest, most powerful processor 'available' for the X299 chip set, LGA 2066 socket is i9-10980XE.

True or False?

@GTS81     New kid on the block:

That is truly beautiful! . . . and thanks for the motivation.

I think the 240mm rad on the bottom is possible, but remember, that PSU will have cabling associated with it that will take some of the room. Unless of course, you have managed to develop custom sleeving stealth cables I am considering not even having a PSU shroud, if the cabling can be 'beautified'. Obviously, I don't mind an exposed PSU, as evidenced by the pseudo Alien configuration.

That is unfortunate about the small dings. I know you are very particular (as am I), so I hope you can get something worked out. However, keep in mind that there is no effect on functionality.

@GTS81    Brain still reeling . . .

Take your time and make it fun. Nothing throws a project over budget like re-starts, do-overs, and mind changes. Three steps forward . . . two steps back is not a cost effective project model (speaking from experience)

Usually during weekends, I get to do double-shift for the R8 hacks. One in the afternoon when the toddler is napping, and another at night when everyone is asleep.

I'll be taking a hiatus for the next few afternoon shifts because of an upcoming Pinewood Derby. My son's first year as a Cub Scout. Today was my first using the Dremel on wood. Very different "feeling". I would say there's a lot more kickback and chips because the wood doesn't turn to dust at an even rate. Of course, I was misusing it sometimes as a chisel. 

While stocking up for wires, I saw that Mainframe Custom has Clockwerk metal combs too. Tried to add what I need to the cart and a $20 cart became $120. I will just use whatever combs I have with me currently.

The 'best', fastest, most powerful processor 'available' for the X299 chip set, LGA 2066 socket is i9-10980XE.

@GTS81 wrote:

As far as I know, true.

Yeah, it's like half of the price of the prior gen 9980xe, but has basically the same/slightly better performance. In other words, this is probably just another sign that this is as far as Intel is going to take the x299 chipset. 

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@GTS81 wrote:

 New kid on the block:

 Wow, it dwarfs your R7.  Great beginnings, it's going to look awesome!  My condolences to your upgrades/electrics fund. 

@Anonymous :

I think the 240mm rad on the bottom is possible, but remember, that PSU will have cabling associated with it that will take some of the room. Unless of course, you have managed to develop custom sleeving stealth cables  I am considering not even having a PSU shroud, if the cabling can be 'beautified'. Obviously, I don't mind an exposed PSU, as evidenced by the pseudo Alien configuration.

Haha, I didn't think of that. Yes, the cables are going to take a good 4-5 inches before they turn up into the back of the motherboard tray. One workaround may be to hack up an "interposer" by extending the PSU by 3 inches using an acrylic box and do an unsleeved cabling inside the box to turn it by 90 degrees to point out towards the right side of the chassis.

Speaking of beautifying cabling, here's today's progress. Not much but I learnt a few things.

1. Maybe it's a German thing. How can the colors match so well? MDPC-X Papaya Orange and Blackest Black.

2. Spent all day watching and rewatching HPS's 9-step program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-xk86Iebco&t=250s. The Clockwerks comb idea came from him and they are now collaborating.

3. Figuring out the location of power connectors on the motherboard.

Board went back into box after placing all the masking tape to mark locations. The good thing about this case is that the motherboard tray and back panel detaches to become a standalone testbed platform.

4. Holding back purchase of the HPS combs. Just going to use mine with some thinner mounting tape for now:

Noted some potential issues in the diagram. May need to move the wires about 3 inches to the left. From the front, thanks to MSI and Be Quiet! probably not sync-ing up, the cable isn't a straight line into the ATX header.

@Cass-Ole , am I right to say that Telios sleeving is more similar to MDPC-X XTC than Small? Was trying to push the MDPC-X small through the combs I bought from MC and boy it was tough. I figured it's more to do with my technique of needing to press down more on the hot sleeve so that a tapered tip is created. I have some Telios samples with me and they feel less stretchable.

That papaya orange is a really good match.