Savage Clown's "Carbon DH3" Computer Build Log

Lone Crusader

The Savage Ninja!
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Nov 24, 2011
18,890
Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
I'm planning on doing a partial upgrade. My venture into beta testing the developers build of Windows 11 lead me into purchasing the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and that inspired me to further upgrade and I've already purchased a new motherboard which is arriving today and it's future proofed and when I'm ready I can further upgrade to a Ryzen 7 5700X or 5800X. Today I just purchased a new case and AIO CPU cooler to replace the one I presently have. The case is the Lian Li PC-O11DX 011 DYNAMIC which after doing my research seems to be one of the top preferred cases right now and I can understand why just by looking at it. According to reviews it's a breeze to build in and the results can look pretty phenomenal. I also want to try and use that 5" mini display that I got for my last build (which I never really used) and throw a custom Aida64 template down on it for system monitoring. My plan though is to actually get a different one this time, a 7" screen but I need to get the case in first to see if it'll fit, if not then I'll have to use the 5" display instead which kinda blows because it's only 800x480 and the new 7" display with an IPS screen is 1024x600 so it's HD.

New case...


New CPU Cooler...


My 5" Display...
036.JPG

The 7" Screen that I want...
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Anyways I plan to call this build the "Carbon DH3". :)

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Got the new 7" IPS panel in today and I've been playing around with Aida64 all day and cooked this up for it as you can see it running on the display in the image below. Very nice display, I tested the fit in the new case and it barely fits, it'll be a very nice addition to the new build.

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I put a different Aida64 theme/skin/sensor panel or whatever you call it on the display and I'm pretty happy with it. The background I worked on in Photoshop to suite my needs/hardware instead of the creators (gotta give credit to 6ft6 for his nice work) and then once I did that I tweaked it and adjusted the sensors to read my hardware.

Anyways here a video of it and pay no attention to the phone picking up the panels refresh rate, it makes it look squigly and it's also just sitting outside my other case until I get the CPU cooler and some new Neon RGB light strips for the new case.

 
Finally got the system going with the new CPU, motherboard and CPU cooler and it turned out pretty good. That sensor panel screen was a little difficult to mount at the top/front of the case because of that top fan and then the cooler radiator and fans are real close to the back so it was a tight fit to get it in there. Plus I had to buy some special left angles HDMI and micro USB cables. I bought just your standard left angled cables the other day and they stuck out too far so I had to send them back and got some that lay flatter and then I had to make sure that they had a ribbon cable on each one of them so they could slip under the fan and go to the back area where all the cables are located. The ribbon cable is as flat as a piece of paper.

I still have quite a bit to do though, those cables going into the video card and there stretched really tight because that cable isn't long enough so I'm going to buy a new power supply and add custom extensions that are tailored to your liking. The RAM needs to be upgraded and the Video card too but man video cards are expensive as hell right now so I'm gonna have to really save up for one because there about $1000 and go up from there.

Also I still need to put in the ARGB light strips and an adapter card for my USB-C connection up at the front of the case. I'll probably do that tomorrow.

Here's a couple of shots without the tempered glass on it.

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A couple of new shots with the glass on. Still don't have my light strips in there because I'm waiting on a new power supply and custom cables before I put them in there.
The stat screen blends in so well with the case that it actually looks like it's a part of it, it turned out really well putting it there. :D

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I bought a portable 11.6 inch 2K monitor that I plan to put under the stat screen and play some cool animation on it with Wallpaper Engine. First picture is the case with the glass panels removed and getting ready to put the portable monitor under the stat screen there in front. Also you can see the 5 inch monitor on the back wall playing a cool animation from Wallpaper Engine. Second picture is the new monitor. It's super nice and only 9mm thick and only takes one cable for both power and video. I'm waiting on a new special USB Type-C 4/Thunderbolt cable that's capable of speeds of 40gbps, it can support 8K monitors as well. Anyways this will provide power and video for it.

I don't know why but when my iPhone takes a picture of that stat screen it makes it look blue, must be because it's an IPS panel or something. Anyways it's actually white.

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I sent that display back because not only was it too small but it wasn't working correctly. Then a big fiasco with Amazon with the return where somehow the $173 got stuck in their system somewhere and it wouldn't deposit into my Amazon gift card balance. About 3 days and 5 phone calls later with one uncooperative lady and said that I couldn't get my return until they have the display in hand and it's never been that way before, as soon as it's scanned in by UPS the money is transferred so just one big muckup.

Anyways once I got past all that madness I ordered a larger display this one being 12.5" and it fit pretty much, it was almost too small for the space I was setting it into but a 13" would have been too large. Anyhow it turned out pretty good, that's a Cyberpunk animated wallpaper from Wallpaper Engine courtesy of Steam and the little ashes and sparks coming up from the bottom are flying and floating upwards. That's actually a full landscape image where the time is displayed to the right of her but it worked out perfect because she was perfectly centered. Unfortunately this display isn't 2K like that 11.6" screen was, this one is just 1920x1080 or since I have it flipped vertically its 1080x1920, still the picture is awesome, looks just as good imo.

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Another new addition to the upgrade... 50" 4K QLED TV. Ditches the two smaller 32" monitors for this behemoth. Truth of the matter is one of those monitors was 4K and the other just a 1080p monitor and having them paired together was just eating away at my OCD. I wanted one big screen for all my real estate and although it'll take some getting used to I think I like it. New desk incoming, already have it but it's still in the box but I'm waiting until after I move to set it up.

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@Savage Clown is that the Logitech MX Keys Keyboard Mate? Looking to pick up a new Keyboard and have been thinking of this one and it would go along with my MX anywhere 3 mouse.
 
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@Savage Clown is that the Logitech MX Keys Keyboard Mate? Looking to pick up a new Keyboard and have been thinking of this one and it would go along with my MX anywhere 3 mouse.
Yep that's the one and I have it paired with the MX Master 3 wireless mouse. I have the MX Anywhere 2S mouse for my laptop and it's a damn good mouse, I didn't know that it had been revised, might have to pick one up.
 
Yep that's the one and I have it paired with the MX Master 3 wireless mouse. I have the MX Anywhere 2S mouse for my laptop and it's a damn good mouse, I didn't know that it had been revised, might have to pick one up.
Yeah the new one feels really nice to use, don't get me wrong the 2 was brilliant and probably one of the best I've used but this one just feels a little different.
On the sides instead of the rubber, it now has silicone which definitely feels better.




6ayXpnz-L9GUVD2GDOfRpmc6xSuE-enJXD5JzRkDtigyEnDwfJBefQUb6MVoShI8TSrI9E2d8OTPeDtnFIkPVwScLFmAnZN5dMHT-0jGysEolDY2uK6Fp-gjOnXuvzImnNqYIHB7vzu3MtNbIxt9zpFd6cOemDwmdDCyZMtQtfoUvLxQrPoU_LUrl98rlUFATarKLR_KURxTTnCb9N0fQx17UqYfJpyh4elylU5lDUZw-b7YrRH64AVThhHmyw0yz9iAzfUVD34L3T5HYZQ8v0vp_QIRQlq9ZrAAbVduyXRTrXCadu8TPLIWHt1aNHjL5RPO5HIBHcKbPU3jnX-9urzDInusrpEyyn7ckppwvHM8TCyiqQMHTOHne3N62ZKHdZllJ9OE3ux2oSNdxztp2DVb6FuMTVIfEMpUhfdFfgYHV_CyP9k-MXOxHPlhCBIHp4eUH-N_7S-FA-j4YHCRPwSZk0PlV9ii6Eq1d6zupskhBRxPqMVozEyg-5GJgBU2hi2x6cKOrWtSDMHj6cmco34oVF2eso6q8E06Q9YywgyQ6BES9p3x0bJKB-2SmEdtsxJwA01gG3W1GbqFijM31YygRCpjIQfH5NI5J3boDWtGRUj5O6CXhxS3WZZLucQW0KjxfkY2zWLv40EC82a0dB_4ItngMHEW54DHbXm-lx5r3wVFMSkOQEodsP8moJ8uvs-g4FmF79kXQyddT5ynuPw0=w1088-h1450-no
 
Yeah the new one feels really nice to use, don't get me wrong the 2 was brilliant and probably one of the best I've used but this one just feels a little different.
On the sides instead of the rubber, it now has silicone which definitely feels better.




6ayXpnz-L9GUVD2GDOfRpmc6xSuE-enJXD5JzRkDtigyEnDwfJBefQUb6MVoShI8TSrI9E2d8OTPeDtnFIkPVwScLFmAnZN5dMHT-0jGysEolDY2uK6Fp-gjOnXuvzImnNqYIHB7vzu3MtNbIxt9zpFd6cOemDwmdDCyZMtQtfoUvLxQrPoU_LUrl98rlUFATarKLR_KURxTTnCb9N0fQx17UqYfJpyh4elylU5lDUZw-b7YrRH64AVThhHmyw0yz9iAzfUVD34L3T5HYZQ8v0vp_QIRQlq9ZrAAbVduyXRTrXCadu8TPLIWHt1aNHjL5RPO5HIBHcKbPU3jnX-9urzDInusrpEyyn7ckppwvHM8TCyiqQMHTOHne3N62ZKHdZllJ9OE3ux2oSNdxztp2DVb6FuMTVIfEMpUhfdFfgYHV_CyP9k-MXOxHPlhCBIHp4eUH-N_7S-FA-j4YHCRPwSZk0PlV9ii6Eq1d6zupskhBRxPqMVozEyg-5GJgBU2hi2x6cKOrWtSDMHj6cmco34oVF2eso6q8E06Q9YywgyQ6BES9p3x0bJKB-2SmEdtsxJwA01gG3W1GbqFijM31YygRCpjIQfH5NI5J3boDWtGRUj5O6CXhxS3WZZLucQW0KjxfkY2zWLv40EC82a0dB_4ItngMHEW54DHbXm-lx5r3wVFMSkOQEodsP8moJ8uvs-g4FmF79kXQyddT5ynuPw0=w1088-h1450-no
I bet it does, I'd love to get one but can't justify upgrading for 1/2 a step up from what I've got. The nice thing about Logitech productivity mice is that they don't suffer from the double click issue that their gaming mice have, I'm guessing they use different switches for their right and left mouse buttons. I own 4 Logitech gaming mice and they all suffer from the infamous double click issue that they are so widely known for. I plan on upgrading my gaming mouse but I'm getting a Razor Basilisk Ultimate instead of Logitech. If you are ever in the market for a gaming mouse don't get one of Logitech's or you'll be very disappointed. Once I do decide to upgrade my MX Anywhere mouse it will definitely be their latest version at the time.
 
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I sent that display back because not only was it too small but it wasn't working correctly. Then a big fiasco with Amazon with the return where somehow the $173 got stuck in their system somewhere and it wouldn't deposit into my Amazon gift card balance. About 3 days and 5 phone calls later with one uncooperative lady and said that I couldn't get my return until they have the display in hand and it's never been that way before, as soon as it's scanned in by UPS the money is transferred so just one big muckup.

Anyways once I got past all that madness I ordered a larger display this one being 12.5" and it fit pretty much, it was almost too small for the space I was setting it into but a 13" would have been too large. Anyhow it turned out pretty good, that's a Cyberpunk animated wallpaper from Wallpaper Engine courtesy of Steam and the little ashes and sparks coming up from the bottom are flying and floating upwards. That's actually a full landscape image where the time is displayed to the right of her but it worked out perfect because she was perfectly centered. Unfortunately this display isn't 2K like that 11.6" screen was, this one is just 1920x1080 or since I have it flipped vertically its 1080x1920, still the picture is awesome, looks just as good imo.

View attachment 516359
Hot damn! That looks so sick. Would love to do one for myself haha
 
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Ditched the old desk and bought a sit/stand desk frame and an unfinished butcher block for a desktop and here's the work I did on it. It's 72" x 32" in diameter.

This is just the bare unfinished butcher block.
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This is after the first coat of stain (Special Walnut was the color I used)
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This is after the second coat of stain.
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This is after the first coat of polyurethane.
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This is after the third coat of polyurethane.
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I put four coats of polyurethane in case your wondering.
 
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@Savage Clown Great Stain on that mate :D
Set up looks brilliant :thumbs:
Thank you it was a real chore to finally get it completed, the first block I got had a crack all the way down it and I had to call Lowe's to come and pick it up and order me another one. So it took a long time but I finally got it done. Loving it too, I am going to get a smaller mouse pad so I can show it off more. :)
 
Yeah these sorts of things can be very time consuming but the end product is brilliant :thumbs:
 
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