maximumpc.com MAY 2020 MAXIMUM PC 57
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THE BIG ISSUE with this build was balancing the hardware choices
with the thermal capacity. Because we were going to be running
a complete loop, and cooling the GPU as well, it was imperative
that we got this right. We knew a single 240mm radiator would
be more than enough for any processor we could pop in here, but
adding a GPU complicates matters. There certainly wouldn’t be
any headroom for overclocking, that’s for sure.
So, let’s look at the main heat-generating components. First
up is the Ryzen 5 2600X. Now, this is a fairly solid all-around
processor—it’s got a TDP of around 95W, and it comes with a beefy
six-core, 12-thread setup, and a healthy clock speed that we can
drop with the voltage if need be. For just gaming, it should be more
than enough at 4K and beyond. On top of that, it also comes with
streaming protection, so if Netflix and co ever get their butts in
gear, we might actually be able to manage 4K streaming over this
thing as well.
As for the GPU, we went with a fairly high-spec RTX 2080. We
could have gone with a Ti model, which would have realistically
been better for those 4K frame rates, but the Ti also comes with
a 250W TDP—the RTX 2080, on the other hand, has a TDP of
just 215W. That’s a fairly substantial drop in overall power draw,
making it ideal for our slim 360mm-rad setup. Outside of that, and
to minimize the number of cables we’d need, we picked up a 1TB
WD Black SN750 PCIe SSD. That was actually a mistake on our
part. We assumed it would be like the latest Corsair Force PCIe 4.0
drives, and it would be easy to remove it from its heatsink. Oh boy,
were we wrong—you need specialist torque screwdrivers, which
are smaller than any we could find at the local hardware stores,
but more on that later....
IT’S ALWAYS worrying when you have to strip down a
graphics card to attach a waterblock. There’s so much
that can go wrong, it just doesn’t bear thinking about.
Just take your time, be careful, and make sure you
don’t overdo it with the screws. Asus’s GPUs are fairly
simple to take apart: Remove the backplate screws,
those surrounding the GPU, and the card slowly pulls
apart. Just remember to unclip the fan cables and RGB
cables. For this build, we took advantage of a Phanteks
waterblock for the first time. It doesn’t come with a
backplate for the Asus graphics card, so instead we
reinstalled the GPU backplate after we’d finished. That
means we still have the Asus ROG RGB logo illuminating
the back of the card, entirely controllable in software.WITH THE GRAPHICS CARD blocked, it’s time to strip
down the case. The Phanteks Shift X is a pretty easy
chassis to disassemble. The two tempered glass panels
have thumbscrews at the top, near the rear I/O (which is
also where the power button is). You simply pop up the
top rear I/O panel—it’s on a spring mechanism—loosen
the thumbscrews, and slide the solid glass windows
up and out. Stick them in the case box for safe keeping.
The front and rear brushed aluminum panels follow a
similar procedure. There are two thumbscrews either
side, situated at a horizontal angle instead of vertical,
then they just slide of f. Inside you’ll find an accessor y box
with drive trays, screws, and a nifty little box. We’ve also
removed the power supply cover here as well.GPU STRIP-DOWN CASE DISASSEMBLY
INGREDIENTSPART STREET PRICECase Phanteks Evolv Shift X $160Motherboard Asus ROG Strix X470-I Gaming $210CPU AMD Ryzen 5 2600X $146GPU Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080
OC Edition
$867Memory 16GB (2x 8GB) Corsair Dominator Platinum
RGB @ 3,200MT/s
$120PSU 750W Corsair SF750 Modular 80+ Platinum $400Storage 1TB WD Black SN750 PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD $195Cooling Assorted Phanteks, Alphacool, Mayhems $1,072120mm Fans 3x Phanteks PH-F120MP PWM (black) $45140mm Fans 1x Phanteks PH-F140MP PWM (black) $18Operating
System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
$100Tot al $3,333THERMAL WOES