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Crystal Series 280X RGB - ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming ITX/ac Build


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I have to say I'm pretty sold on this Crystal series case, after a few tweaks to accommodate everything. Note, I've updated the photos as of 04/23 to reflect the addition of the Pro Cable Kit in white and a swap of the Vengeance RGB Pro memory kit to white as well.

 

- Intel Core i7-8700K Unlocked

- ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming ITX/ac Motherboard

- Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32GB DDR4-3000Mhz

- T-Force Delta RGB 1TB SSD x2 in RAID 0 (Mounted on lower case)

- Samsung 870 EVO 2TB M.2 NVME x2 in RAID 0 (On motherboard)

- EVGA NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (Black Edition)

- Corsair HX750i Power Supply

- Corsair H100i RGB Platinum AIO (29C idle), Front mounted in a push/pull configuration with two Corsair ML120 RGB and two LL120 RGB fans

- Corsair LL140 RGB x2 140mm Fans up top to exhaust air (photos show LL120's before upgrade to the LL140's)

- Corsair LL120 RGB x1 120mm Fan on the bottom for added GPU cooling and air flow

- Noctua Redux 80 x2 80mm Fans in the rear to silently exhaust (required additional screw pilot holes to mount)

- Corsair RGB LED x5 around the main compartment tempered glass and upper areas

- Corsair Lighting Node and Commander Pro with Temp Monitors installed for air intake, upper case, lower case, and side compartment

- Phanteks RGB Digital Controller for the T-Force Delta SSDs addressable RGB lighting

- NZXT Internal USB Hub

 

Given this was my first Gaming PC build in about a decade, I'm pleased so far with the results. I'm not sure how much OC I'll be able to achieve, but the ASRock motherboard has been solid so far. As is, the system blazes through any game thrown at it in 3840x1600 resolution, with the CPU maxing no higher than 55C and the GPU at 75C. (CPU 32C idle and GPU 45C idle)

 

Enjoy the photos and game on!

 

Tony

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Edited by tjgodin
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  • 2 weeks later...

So, I thought I'd share some of my learnings from the past week since I completed my build - in the interest of anyone that may consider building a rig using the Corsair 280X. I still recommend the case highly, but plan accordingly if you intend to put a powerful GPU in it. I've grown to appreciate the Corsair Commander Pro and all the functionality it brings along with the iCUE software. After installing the four temp sensors included with it, I've discovered I needed to make some much-needed tweaks to the fan curves and actual fans installed.

 

The biggest heat generator in my case is the EVGA Nvidia RTX 2080Ti (Black Edition) video card. And having that one LL120 RGB fan below it and bringing air into the lower case has been critical in managing my case temps. Right now the GPU sits at 40C when idle and gets to 75C under load. The key here has been blowing air up onto the card and not using the LL120 as an exhaust. I tried that, only to discover the GPU temps actually increased to 80C under load.

 

I've also discovered the ASRock Phantom Gaming ITX motherboard likes to heat up too, even without any overclocking. It is typically 39C at idle and gets to over 60C under load. No doubt, a number of components contribute to the heat increase, such as the CPU, but I also believe my ram and my M.2 drives on the motherboard are also big drivers. The Vengeance RGB Pro ram sticks can go from 36C at idle to up to 60C under load. The two Samsung M.2 2TB SSD NVME on board also sit around 40C at idle and over 50C under load.

 

I also ended up swapping out the LL120 RGB fans up top for two LL140 RGB to help exhaust air more efficiently. And I can tell you, fitting the LL140's or LL120's were not without challenge because I have my H100i AIO front mounted. Previously I had my rad upside down with the hoses on the bottom, but after a little tweaking, I was able to get it right side up. This involved only securing it to the front of the case by only using a couple of mounting points through the fans and unfortunately not all. Otherwise, the height of the rad interfered with the upper fans based on where the screw mounting holes are on the rad vs. where the fan screw mount holes are on the front of the case.

 

My case temps are now 28.6C in the upper case, 28.8C in the lower case and 28.3C in the side case - with the ambient air in my room around 21.9C when at idle. Under load, the upper case hits 43.5C, lower case 41.4C, and the side case at 38.6C. The video card has been the challenging part to manage, as my AIO rad is only at 25.7C and my CPU at 31C idle. The rad only rises into the low 30's under load with the CPU at 50C, again with no overclocking involved here. My i7 8700K currently is just running at stock. I've wanted to stabilize my case temps before venturing into to overclock territory.

 

Anyway, I hope this update is useful to some. While I understand every PC case, the components installed and the ambient room air will vary results - I've found it difficult to find good information in my Google searches.

 

Tony

Edited by tjgodin
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  • 2 weeks later...
So, I thought I'd share some of my learnings from the past week since I completed my build - in the interest of anyone that may consider building a rig using the Corsair 280X. I still recommend the case highly, but plan accordingly if you intend to put a powerful GPU in it. I've grown to appreciate the Corsair Commander Pro and all the functionality it brings along with the iCUE software. After installing the four temp sensors included with it, I've discovered I needed to make some much-needed tweaks to the fan curves and actual fans installed.

 

The biggest heat generator in my case is the EVGA Nvidia RTX 2080Ti (Black Edition) video card. And having that one LL120 RGB fan below it and bringing air into the lower case has been critical in managing my case temps. Right now the GPU sits at 40C when idle and gets to 75C under load. The key here has been blowing air up onto the card and not using the LL120 as an exhaust. I tried that, only to discover the GPU temps actually increased to 80C under load.

 

I've also discovered the ASRock Phantom Gaming ITX motherboard likes to heat up too, even without any overclocking. It is typically 39C at idle and gets to over 60C under load. No doubt, a number of components contribute to the heat increase, such as the CPU, but I also believe my ram and my M.2 drives on the motherboard are also big drivers. The Vengeance RGB Pro ram sticks can go from 36C at idle to up to 60C under load. The two Samsung M.2 2TB SSD NVME on board also sit around 40C at idle and over 50C under load.

 

I also ended up swapping out the LL120 RGB fans up top for two LL140 RGB to help exhaust air more efficiently. And I can tell you, fitting the LL140's or LL120's were not without challenge because I have my H100i AIO front mounted. Previously I had my rad upside down with the hoses on the bottom, but after a little tweaking, I was able to get it right side up. This involved only securing it to the front of the case by only using a couple of mounting points through the fans and unfortunately not all. Otherwise, the height of the rad interfered with the upper fans based on where the screw mounting holes are on the rad vs. where the fan screw mount holes are on the front of the case.

 

My case temps are now 28.6C in the upper case, 28.8C in the lower case and 28.3C in the side case - with the ambient air in my room around 21.9C when at idle. Under load, the upper case hits 43.5C, lower case 41.4C, and the side case at 38.6C. The video card has been the challenging part to manage, as my AIO rad is only at 25.7C and my CPU at 31C idle. The rad only rises into the low 30's under load with the CPU at 50C, again with no overclocking involved here. My i7 8700K currently is just running at stock. I've wanted to stabilize my case temps before venturing into to overclock territory.

 

Anyway, I hope this update is useful to some. While I understand every PC case, the components installed and the ambient room air will vary results - I've found it difficult to find good information in my Google searches.

 

Tony

 

Hi Dude

 

Thank you for this post.. is helping me so much in deciding what to do..

i am planning to switch to the same MB+9900 k from z370 strix + delidded 8700 k, for the moment i have h115i pro on top and 2 140 on front, everything is good except for the gpu , a strix 1080, going to change it these days for an evga 2080 ftw3.. something that help me some is using 4 record player feet to increase the height.. and of course, removing the front dust filter...

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Hi Dude

 

Thank you for this post.. is helping me so much in deciding what to do..

i am planning to switch to the same MB+9900 k from z370 strix + delidded 8700 k, for the moment i have h115i pro on top and 2 140 on front, everything is good except for the gpu , a strix 1080, going to change it these days for an evga 2080 ftw3.. something that help me some is using 4 record player feet to increase the height.. and of course, removing the front dust filter...

 

It will be interesting to hear how much the 9900K adds to the heat, given the thermals on that CPU. A real monster, but the motherboard should handle it fine. I agree about increasing the height, I think it will help. I actually had ordered some replacement feet from the Corsair Carbide case, but the front and rear feet on that case have different dimensions - so I didn't install them yet.

 

Good luck with your upgrade!

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  • 4 weeks later...
Hi OP, ive sent you a dm as well, but do you have any images of the placement of your commander pro in that case? if you do that would be greatly appreciated

 

Two photos of the open side compartment have been added to the starting post. I also replied to your direct message separately.

 

Tony

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  • 1 month later...

Nice!!:headbang: ...I want this case bad, but I wish Corsair would make a better version of this mAXT case with :

 

- Swivel tempered glass side panels instead of screwed.

- Front glass panel with pressure push latch so that it can <--extend--> for better intake.

- Top tempered glass panel with pressure push latch so that is can <--extend--> upward for better exhaust.

 

I hope I explained it right.

 

Please!!! Corsair!!! if you do this, then this specific Crystal Series case will be perfect!

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  • 3 months later...
awesome post OP. super helpful.

Quick question what is the length of your GPU?

I have the ROG Strix 2070 and it's 300mm, not sure I could mount my H100i at the front with it

 

Only 269mm, so definitely not in a push-pull configuration.

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