The Rig (Battlestation)

I’m a nerd so I’m proud of the gear I’m rock’n 😄

Baby_Andro[me]da:

  • Displays: AOC C24G1 Curved 144HZ 1ms M PRT, Viewsonic VA2259-SMH
  • Case: Fractal Design Define S Nano
  • CPU: Ryzen 1800X 8 Core 16 Thread - OC’d to 4.1GHz; Cooled with Noctua DH15 (120mm + 140mm)
  • Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty B350 ITX/ac
  • Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws V 32GB DDR4 3200 MHZ
  • GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 Black
  • PSU: EVGA Supernova 650 G1 Modular
  • Storage: Misc assortment of drives:
    • Samsung 960 EVO NVME 500GB (OS)
    • Samsung Evo 860 500GB (Games/Storage)
    • Samsung Evo 850 250GB (Games/Storage)
    • ADATA SU800 1TB (SSD Storage/4K Editing Proxy Drive)
    • WD Blue Caviar 64MB Cache 1TB (Storage); non-zero chance I’m going to replace this since its so heavy and SSD’s are getting cheaper
  • Mouse: Razer Deathadder Elite w/ giant NovelKeys Mouse Mat from Drop.com
  • Keyboard: Razer Huntsman
  • Audio: Edifier e25 Luna Eclipse, Sony MDR-100AAP & Smakn X5 DAC
  • Mic: Antlion ModMic 5 (attached to Sony MDR-100AAP), Samson Q2U
  • Cam: Logitech C930e for Streaming Purposes (Carl Zeiss baby)
  • Capture: NIX Capture Card for capturing Nintendo Switch footage

Recent Tweaks:

  • Upgraded to 32GB
  • Switched Arctic F9 fan with a Noctua NF-P12 redux-1300 PWM; Originally had the F9 from another side project I was working on, but the fan ended up being too big. The F9 was then installed on my DH15 since the 140mm Noctua fan was being blocked by the ITX motherboard’s 24pin cable.

Future Tweaks:

  • Swap out HDD with SSD; Mount SSD to back so the cable mess can be cleaned up
  • USB 3.0 Header Connector 90 Angled (Up Connector / Type B; Since the Motherboard Header is backwards)
  • Cable Management: Shorter PCI-E Cable (too long), Cable Combs, Shorter SATA Power Cables, Consistent SATA Cable Colors (Mix of Black and Blue right now)
  • SFX PSU to increase space between PSU and RTX 2070

Build Commentary:

  • I wish I picked a slightly better ITX motherboard, perhaps with an extra M.2 slot since I’m considering getting a larger one
  • I knew 16GB wasn’t going to be enough once I started editing 4K footage, but 16GB DDR4-3200 was $200 about 2 years ago (2018). 32GB for the same latency timings and frequency price is now $150 ☹️; There are no RYZEN ITX 4 DIMM motherboards so I couldn’t ‘future proof’
  • Fractal Design Define S Nano: I like the size, but wish it was smaller (there’s a decent amount of empty space). However, I know if it was just a tad smaller, cable management would’ve been that much harder and my DH-15 would’ve been a no-go. The front USB Header is also faulty as hell (intermittent connectivity issues).
  • Ignore the Monster sticker, I wanted to stick something and I had one lying around. Not sponsored by monster, and I don’t drink Monster anymore

Mobile Workstation:

  • Laptop: Apple Macbook Air 2019: second FaceTime device, travel computer
  • Mouse: Logitech MX Master w/ Large Steelseries QCK
    • The MX Master is my favorite mouse. I regret not picking up at the 2s for higher DPI (Master 1 caps out at 1600), but it was cheaper. I use the 2s at work.
  • Keyboard: Keychron K2 - Cherry MX Red, Aluminum;
    • Wanted my mobile workstation to be fully wireless, mechanical keyboard included. Battery life is dissapointing but Windows + Mac Support and aluminum frame is nice. Surprised by Gatreon switch, no longer stuck to more expensive Cherry switches.
  • eGPU Enclosure: Razer Core X;
    • First eGPU, pleasantly surprised by Razer–but expensive. Got mine slightly cheaper on eBay (new but poorly listed so it didn’t show up in the search 😄)
  • GPU: FX AMD Radeon RX 580 GTS XXX Edition 8GB; bought used on eBay
  • ext-Drive: Samsung T5 500GB
  • ext-Display: Re-used Dell E2211

Relegated Tech:

  • Laptop: Huawei Matebook X “Huameda”: Dedicated TV machine

Office (Work place):

  • Keyboard: Rantopad MXX 87-Key w/ Cherry MX Brown Switches and White Leds; MPKC Sky Blue Gradient Keycaps
  • Mouse: Logitech MX Master 2s w/ giant NovelKeys Mouse Mat form Drop.com

Handheld Devices

  • Pixel 3XL (second one, first one suffered from boot loop)
  • Ipad Mini 5 (for excessive FaceTime with my fiancee)

Potential Next Rig

  • Case: Something smaller than my Fractal Design Define Nano S
  • CPU: Something 10 or more cores for 4K editing goodness
  • Mobo: Foiled by my desires to be cost effective last time (still went with Asrock despite saying not to) Hoping for an Asus or MSI for my next build.
  • Memory I tried to be cost effective with DDR4 and quick enough since Ryzen scales with memory clock frequency. I regret not getting more ram, editing in 4K is not fun with only 16GB.
  • GPU: I hear ampere has some insane efficiency over turing, so whatever that ends up being
  • PSU: Probably some smaller SFX or Case specific PSU
  • Storage: Whatever ridiculuous SSDs we can get in the future
  • Display: Thinking about getting two EVE Spectrums, it looks good on paper. Let’s see how it actually ends up

Potential Next Device

  • iPhone: I want an iPhone (12 for this year!) but I’m on Gooogle Fi so my choices are limited. Might just try to gamble it with Fi…

Retired and Failed Stuff ☹️

Retired/Failed Components (click to view)

Previous main computer parts and what not. Re-used components will not be listed here.

Type
Product / Component
Status
 Commentary
Case Corsair Carbide 330R Retired 2x Corsair SP120 (Static Pressure) Fans for Intake
Display 1 x Dell E2211 Failed Spontaneously developed a cluster of dead pixels
Display Tool Halter Dual LCD Stand Retired Unable to clamp on my new desk
CPU Intel Core I5 2500K Retired 4.6GHz w/ Vcore @ 1.38V
CPU Cooler Phantek PHTC14PE Retired Huge but competes with Noctua, not Ryzen Compatible
CPU Cooler Corsair H55 Closed Loop Water Cooler Failed Pump failure, Processor started overheating, pump made gurgles
Motherboard Intel DZ68BC Retired v28 BIOS
Motherboard Asus P8P67PRO Retired onboard Audio failure
Memory 16GB DDR3 Patriot Gamer G2 Series Retired 1600 MHz (9-9-9-24) @ 1.5V
Memory 16GB CORSAIR Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 MHZ Retired & Selling
GPU MSI GTX 970 (100ME) Retired Never Overclocked, Mailed to friend in need of a GPU
GPU Sapphire Battlefield 4 Edition R9290 Retired Flashed to 290X BIOS @ 830/1300 w/ Power Limit @ 20, Custom Cooling: Arctic Accelero Extreme IV, Gelid VRM Cooling Enhancement Kit, Blue Akust VRAM Heatsinks. This was an expensive project attempting to savalage a poor product–but it was fun
PSU Rosewill Capstone Powersupply 750Watt Failed Doesn’t power rig, passes paperclip test
PSU Thermaltake TR600 600Watt Failed Coil Whine
PSU Corsair CX750M Failed Doesn’t power rig, passes paperclip test
Mouse Corsair RGB M65 (Black) Retired Solid Keyboard but: No F Keys = No Fun
Mouse Logitech G600 Retired Buttons are nice, but excessive. Only use was in World of Warcraft
Mouse Steelseries Sensei Rubbersized (RAW) Failed Mouse wheel kept crapping out, replaced
Mouse Pad Mionix Propus 380 Mousepad Retired This was my first and only hard mousepad, destroyed the mouse feet
Mouse Pad Tesoro Aegis X4 Retired Replaced with a NovelKeys Mouse Mat
Keyboard MagicForce Cherry Mx Blue 68 Key Retired Solid Keyboard but: No F Keys = No Fun
Keyboard Coolermaster QuickFire Rapid Failed Death by spill
Storage Kingston V300 SSDNow 60GB Retired Capacity is too low, ITX rig doesn’t have enough SATA headers
Storage Kingston V200+ SSDNow 90GB Retired Capacity is too low, ITX rig doesn’t have enough SATA headers
Storage Toshiba 150GB Failed Spontaneously died; stopped being detected mid usage
Storage Western Digital Blue Caviar 500GB Failed Intermitten non-detection, eventually failed
Mic Blue Snowball Retired Gave away to ex-roommate when I moved out
Audio Creative AC220 Retired Replaced by JBL LSR305s at the time
Phone Nexus 5X Failed failed, boot looping
Phone Moto X4 Retired replaced by Pixel 2 XL, picked up when my replacement 5X was sent to wrong address
Phone Pixel 2 XL Retired Replaced by Pixel 3 XL
Phone Pixel 3 XL Failed failed, bootlooping; replaced by another Pixel 3 XL
Phone Kindle HDX 7 Retired Battery swell and replaced by Ipad Mini 5

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