Critical Prime

Have you ever wanted a robot head computer?

Our client came to us wanting something out of this world, focusing on form first, then performance. We searched through tons of cases and aesthetic options until we found the FST T-Wings; it would be the perfect skull for a robot head design that we had been kicking around. Our artist got to work drafting some beautiful concept art (Stay tuned for a follow up behind the scenes post) that immediately appealed to our client, and we were off to the races.

We wanted it to have an armored mask so we ordered 3mm fluid cut aluminum armor plates. The custom visor would be cut from 2.8mm semi-translucent, blue acrylic. To mount the visor and mask, we would print custom pressure fittings for the top and bottom of each side. In keeping with the bulky aesthetic, our artist designed custom intake vents that we would print to slide into place.

Rather than hide the cables, we selected extensions and splitters that looked like nerve clusters when bundled. After we were done selecting the motherboard/block/bridge and GPU/block combos, we decided that we wanted to avoid using standard light strips or lighted fans. Since everything else was self lit, lighted tubing was a way for us to illuminate the expensive cooling loop while still keeping to this goal.

The power system in this thing is truly over the top. The case has mounts for two power supplies, so of course we added a third. One for the PC, one for the GPU and one for the power supplies. Even our power supplies have power supplies.

(Below the parts list is detailed build information)

::: Case and Modifications List :::
~ Case: FSP T-Wings (Modded)
~ Case Mods: 2 x Custom Designed and Water Cut Aluminum Faceplates
~ Case Mods: 2 x Custom Designed and 3D Printed Retention Bracket + Visor Bracket (Top)
~ Case Mods: 2 x Custom Designed and 3D Printed Retention Bracket (Bottom)
~ Case Mods: 2 x Custom Designed and 3D Printed Intake Vents
~ Case Mods: 1 x Custom Designed and 3D Printed Reservoir Stabilization Spacer
~ Case Mods: 4 x Custom Cut - 3mm Blue Acrylic Visor
~ Case Mods: Eisball Vertical Bracket System
~ Case Mods: Drilled and tapped 4 x #6-32 holes to drop both radiators to a steeper angle
~ Case Mods: Drilled and tapped 2 x #6-32 holes to mount the Furman Power Conditioner
~ Cables: CEC Ultra Custom - Dual Layer
~ RGB: Razer Chroma DRGB 6-Channel Controller
~ Misc: Anodized Aluminum Thumbscrews - Silver/Blue

::: Performance Parts List :::
~ CPU: Ryzen 9 5950X 16C/32T
~ Motherboard: ASUS X570 ROG Crosshair VIII Formula
~ GPU: ASUS TUF RTX 3080 10GB
~ RAM: G.Skill Trident Z Royal 32GB (2x16GB), 4000mhz, CL16-16-16-36
~ GPU Power: Seasonic TX850 Prime 80+ Titanium
~ System Power: Seasonic Focus SGX650 80+ Gold
~ Power Conditioner: Furman AC215A 10Amp/120Volt (1200W)
~ Boot Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe
~ Mass Storage: Toshiba N300 4TB NAS HDD

::: Water-Cooling Parts List :::
~ CPU Waterblock: EK-Quantum Velocity DRGB - AMD Nickel + Frosted Plexi
~ VRM Bridge: EK-Quantum Momentum
~ GPU Waterblock: EK-Quantum Vector TUF RTX3080/3090 DRGB Nickel + Plexi
~ Pump/Res: 2 x Alphacool Eisball DRGB - Plexi
~ Radiators: 2 x Barrowch Chameleon 360mm W/Temp Display
~ Flow Meters: Barrowch OLED V2 - Silver
~ Tubing: PrimoFlex Advanced LRT 3/8x5/8 - Crystal Clear/Onyx Black
~ Coolant: Mayhems X1 Clear Premix
~ Fittings: 18 x Monsoon Free Center Compression 3/8x5/8 - Blue
~ Fittings: 8 x Monsoon Light Port 45 Degree Angle 3/8x5/8 - Blue
~ Fittings: 4 x Monsoon Light Port 90 Degree Angle 3/8x5/8 - Blue
~ Fittings: 2 x EK-AF Ball Valve (10mm) G1/4 - Black
~ Fittings: 10 x Monsoon Premium G1/4 LED Plugs
~ Fittings: 2 x Monsoon Silver Bullet Antimicrobial G1/4 Plugs
~ Fittings: 2 x Swiftech G1/4 Plugs - SIlver
~ Fans: ASUS ROG STRIX XF120 x 6

Build Story and Information:

With our focus on aesthetics, we set out to design the next most epic CEC Art PC. In truth, that’s our goal with every piece of art. CEC strives to continuously push the boundaries of what makes something just a PC and what makes it worth showing off to all your friends and family and coworkers and strangers at the store and on the sidewalk… etc.

Aesthetic Choices

> The Case: We sifted through just about every “out there” case on the market to find the FSP T-Wings, our customer fell in love and we did too. We thought “What if we made a rig with no lit fans and no light strips along with no sensor panel and also maybe make it a breathing robot head - let the parts speak for themselves.

> The Lighting: Each lighting element of this rig is made to showcase what’s really driving everything. It has 6 independent channels supporting the Spine/Controller Web, CPU Block, VRM Bridge, GPU Block and each Eisball along with independently lit Blue LED tubing. We also crafted a custom, button controlled, moveable backlight for additional control and ambiance. Rather than using a large, intrusive sensor panel we thought having 5 individual sensor panels would bring a whole different feel including: 2 x Radiator temp panels, 2 x Loop Fluid Speed panels and motherboard CPU/GPU temp display.

> The Waterloop: We designed this rig to have fully independent CPU and GPU water loops, each with their own rear drain ports (they look a bit like spinal contacts don’t they ;)). The Eisball pump/reservoirs are also nearly silent due to their fluid-insulated design, paired with 6 x near-silent ASUS XF120 fans. The radiators vent backwards into the case where we added custom bracketed 140mm ASUS fans to vent all that hot air quickly; keeping everything as close to ambient as possible.

Performance Choices

> Power: The FSP T-Wings has room for a full standard power supply AND an SFX power supply for a dual system, so we thought why not both for one! But that’s not good enough for CEC, we wanted more… And we brought so much more. We added a custom mounted 1200W Furman Power Conditioner (no cost to the customer as a surprise) feeding an 850W Seasonic Titanium Supply AND 650W Seasonic Gold.

> Motherboard: The ASUS Crosshair VIII Formula allows for integration with an EK Bridge block along with incredible power delivery and rock solid stability, no other reasons needed.

> CPU: Our customer originally opted for a 5900X to stay within their budget; this just didn’t feel right to us once we got going so we decided to upgrade them to a 5950X free of charge to put a little extra OOMPH behind such a statement piece.

> GPU: For the same budget focus with insane aesthetics in mind we chose to run with an ASUS RTX 3080 TUF. A monster card with a monster cooling block, it looks great, is plenty powerful and has excellent temps.

> RAM: Our original bid to our customer included 32GB of 3600mhz CL16 RAM, this again just didn’t feel right with the outrageous nature of the build so we upgraded our client for free to G.Skill Royal 4000mhz with the lowest CL16 timings, it just feels right.

> Storage: We chose a 2TB Samsung PCIe 4.0 NVMe for insane boot times and quick access games paired with a 4TB NAS drive including vibration stabilization for ultra dependable long term storage.

Performance Numbers

As shown below; this rig hits hard and doesn’t stutter. It’s built strong and performs well. We had plenty of headroom to overclock further if wanted, but honestly with these numbers and for actual use, undeniable long term stability was our final choice.

Overclocking used: MSI Afterburner Curve Editor (GPU), AISuite Auto (CPU) and ASUS D.O.C.P. on the RAM to match it’s 4000mhz, CL16 rated speed.

AIDA64 EXTREME(660) 30min Full System Stress Test
OS: Windows 10 Pro
NVIDIA Driver: 511.65
Ambient Room Temp: 20.6C
MAX Power Draw at the Wall: 690W

CPU Package Max Temp: 79.9C
CPU Socket Temp: 68C
CPU Frequency: 4.53Ghz
CPU Loop Speed: 4.4L/min
CPU Rad Temp: 22C
GPU Max Temp: 43C
GPU Frequency: 1.96Ghz
GPU Loop Speed: 6.3L/min
GPU Rad Temp: 25C

Cinebench R23
Single Pass Average:: 30100
10min: 28773
3DMark TimeSpy - 3 Score Average:
CPU Score: 14606
CPU Package Average Temp: 46C
GPU Score: 18101
GPU Average Temp: 43C
3DMark Port Royal - 3 Score Average:
System Power Draw: 525W
GPU Score: 11376
GPU Average Temp: 46C

Summary:

Critical Prime is the next generation of CEC’s Art PC. We opened up whole new manufacturing processes, relationships and standards that will let us continue to push the envelope of personal computer design.

We have several more epic rigs on the way and are looking forward to sharing with the community. Stay tuned for more coming very soon!