500D SE RGB Gaming Rig + 1000D Plex Server

Hi, I mostly need help with something, but thought it'd be fair to share some pics too.

 

So I wanted a new Gaming Rig that would also be a Plex server, although was super torn between making 1 or 2 new machines (and now I'm just doing 2 :o:). The Gaming Rig was recently completed, in a 1000D case. The thing was so freaking huge I just built it into my desk, as it looked ridiculous on top of the desk.

 

 

 

 

So I'll get this out of the way quick. The desk is mostly supported by beams on the wall, the ultra-wide monitor is wall mounted, so there's not a lot of weight on the tower. The stained wooden dowels are measured and cut to transfer the weight that is present to go straight to the steel frame. It turned out very well, I'm quite proud of it.

 

So my 500D SE RGB case is coming tomorrow. Today I'm receiving all of my server components. The gaming parts are currently installed in the 1000D, but will soon be moved to the 500. The 1000D will hold the server parts, and I plan to use the rest of the enormous space/volume to fill it with disks.

 

I'm looking for things anything at all like these:

 

http://www.nextwarehouse.com/item/?1487089_g10e&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_c6myO-f5wIVFR6tBh2kUgxDEAQYCiABEgIVlvD_BwE

https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Accessories-%7C-Parts/PC-Components/Cases/HDD-upgrade-kit-with-3x-hard-drive-trays-and-secondary-hard-drive-cage-parts-%28Graphite-600T%2C-730T%2C-760T%2C-780T%29-%28Obsidian-450D%2C-650D%2C-750D%29/p/CC-8930032

https://www.corsair.com/ca/en/Categories/Products/Accessories-%7C-Parts/PC-Components/Cases/Carbide-Series%E2%84%A2-Air-240-HDD-Cage-with-x3-HDD-Trays/p/CC-8930322

 

I plan to custom screw in and stack several of them on top of the existing 1000D 5 drive cage, mounted to the screw hole wall where most are probably putting their liquid cooler reservoirs.

 

The items I linked to above all seem to be out of production. Does anyone know where I can find them cheap? Or similar items? I'd like to stack about 10 discs right there eventually.

 

For spec lovers, the planned builds will soon be completed as:

 

500D SE RGB Gaming Rig:

- Asus ROG Maximus XI Hero WiFi Mobo

- Intel i9-9900K

- Corsair H150i Pro AIO Cooler

- (4x) G.Skill Trident Z RGB DDR4-4000 16GB Memory

- (2x) WD SN750 2TB M.2 Drives

- (1x) Asus GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11GB GPU (eventually 2 in SLI, maybe)

- Corsair 1600W 80+ Titanium

- Windows 10 Pro

- Corsair K95 Keyboard

- Logitech G502 Lightspeed

- Steel Series Arctis 7 Headset

- Samsung CRG90 1440p 49" Ultrawide Monitor

 

1000D Plex Server

- Asus Prime Z390-A ATX Mobo

- Intel i5-9600K

- Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (for now)

- (4x) G.Skill Trident X RGB DDR4-3000 8GB Memory

- (1x) NVIDIA Quadro P2000 5GB GPU

- EVGA 750W 80+ Gold

- UnRaid and Ubuntu Docker for Plex

 

Both builds will be generously sprinkled with LL120RGB fans. I'll be using WD Red 5400rpm drives for the server. Not sure yet about OS or Cache drives, will probably use my Samsung EVO from the old server/gaming rig (the small cooler master seen in the picture). The server will be on 24/7, while the Gaming Rig will be in sleep most of the time, but will be plugged into my 1080p Projector for a Plex Media Player front end and big screen gaming.

Edited January 26, 2020 by AmanOfCharacter

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-CC-8930032-Storage-Upgrade-Secondary/dp/B07M9SN38J/

 

https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-CFP53B-Drive-Suspension-Mounting/dp/B0034XRDV4/

 

https://www.amazon.com/Phanteks-Stackable-Bracket-Cases-PH-HDDKT_03/dp/B07GY2B3WP/

 

I have 2 pairs on the Phanteks. They are a grey colour. I might look at spray painting them satin black. I guess they look kind of cheap. I cut out a sheet of steel with hole/slots in it for the locking tabs, and some holes for the 2 thumbscrews that hold the pump bracket on top of the drive bay. So 1 drive is going in front of the drive bay.

 

Similarly, I made a another larger steel sheet to mount 2 more drives on the bulkhead up high above the drive bay, and another sheet of steel on top of 2 drives stacked up there, to mount the pump/reservoirs in front of these 2 drives.

Joined just to comment here because I am curious how this is going, or how it went? I am looking into swapping my current build out of a meshify-c into a 1000D and combining it with a plex server on an ITX board.

That my plan. My ITX is installed and I am switching my disk array to my ITX currently.

Joined just to comment here because I am curious how this is going, or how it went? I am looking into swapping my current build out of a meshify-c into a 1000D and combining it with a plex server on an ITX board.

 

Ok sorry for the delay. I knew it was gonna take me some time to reply to you so I was putting it off :p:

 

I'll start with up-to-date PCPartPicker lists for both builds, as well sharing the Build Names. I'll credit my Wife. The desk is gonna have a No Game No Life anime theme, and as I was telling her that I need cool Build Names, she said something that made the obvious choice suddenly click!

 

Plex Server - NoGame:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/CYzBYH

 

Gaming PC - NoLife:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/XpJjK4

 

NoGame is called NoGame because it's a server... not a gaming PC.. NoLife is called NoLife cuz... playing all these games... I'll... have no life.. s-s-... see what I did there..??? :p:

 

The No Game No Life anime has a wild pastel rainbow-ish color scheme, so I will be able to lazily leave all my RGBs on rainbow swirl :o:. It'll look great when I get some light strips and posters around the desk.

 

 

 

NoGame

 

NoLife

 

It's all still coming together. I'm quite backlogged getting all my media ripped into the sever. Once that's done I'll be working on the fit and finish of the whole setup.

 

Right now, I have NoLife controlling all the RGB lighting on the fans, including power. I used Sata power and RGB light extension cables to run out the back of NoLife, down behind the desk and into NoGame. So NoGame is on 24/7, but the lighting only comes on when NoLife is powered on an iCue starts up. It's pretty sweet.

 

As for storage, I found the iStar USA hot swap trayless cages. They're meant for rack mounted hardware, and you can get them in various colors and various capacities. They're hot-swappable, and have a (noisy) built-in fan:

 

 

I purchased 2 with the black doors: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008RRZI14/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

They don't quite fit in the 1000D (shocking, I know) and there isn't really any way to mount them. On my image above you can see I have one just kind sitting in there. Thankfully, the cages come apart VERY easily:

 

 

The fan even unplugs right from the board. I plan to tape up the aluminum chassis and cut a square hole in the side, then mount my own 120mm fan on the side. Then I'll build a steel or 3D printed support structure to hold up to 6 of these things inside, depending on how the measurements turn out.

 

I'll likely be removing the 1000D 5 slot drive cage at the bottom of the case. I want it all very quite, and the cage fan is small and loud, which was disappointing. Hopefully my intended modifications will quiet things down. It would look something like this:

 

Edited May 1, 2020 by AmanOfCharacter

Interesting - not the usual use for a 1000D, but I like it.

 

A few years ago I "discovered the NAS" and moved all my home storage to a separate NAS device and I've never looked back. Now, building a PC is all about the "fun and games" and all my data is stored centrally on the NAS, backed up to a second NAS with a third tier off into the cloud. SO PC upgrades now get much easier.

 

Having said that, my current build has been going for 6 months - go figure !!