With the pandemic and the components shortage, i started this build in early 2021 and finished putting it together in the march 2022. I slowly gathered the parts and putted it together as i recieved then. As i said in the title, not everything went as planned but in the end the result is awesome.

My goal was to make a good looking pc that would be both a decoration on my desk and a powerful pc. I think i succeded. Here are the specs

Motherboard : Asus x570-i

Ram : Gskill Trident Z Neo RGB

CPU : Ryzen 9 5900x

GPU : RX 6900 xt reference (directly form amd)

Storage
- SSDs :
- 500gb pcie 3.0 nvme ssd (os drive)
- 1tb pcie pcie 3.0 nvme ssd (third game librairy, for games that have long loadings time, it greatly reduced it)

- HDDs
- HGST 6tb nas 7200 rpm sata 6gb/s (second game library)
- WD Black 10tb 7200 rpm sata 6gb/s (main game library/global storage)

CPU cooler : Ekwb 240mm aio d-rgb. I also added two ekwb vardar rgb fan on the other side to make the aio a push and pull configuration, it worked and the temperature of my cpu dropped quite significantly.

GPU cooler : Alphacool Einswolf 2 rx 6800/6900 xt reference design with backplate (Overall it's the same as a custom loop except the pump [not d5 type] and already build, i just needed to remove the cooler on my gpu and put the waterblock on, it was very easy for a beginner alphacool did a very good design with it)

Fans :
- GPU radiator (360mm top mounted) : Included fans form the GPU AIO (Alphacool Rise Aurora 120 mm fan)
- CPU radiator (240mm side mounted) : Included fans form the CPU AIO (ekwb vardar 120mm d-rgb)
- Case fan : 5 ekwb vardar 120mm rgb fan (back then i made a mistake, i didn’t knew the difference between d-rgb and regular rgb, but overall it’s fine). Three are on the bottom of the case, 2 are behind the cpu radiator, for a push pull configuration. I did a before and after test, it greatly reduced the cpu temperature.

PSU : Cooler master v750 750w sfx power supply

RGB LEDS :
- Asiahorse 280mm rgb led strips (5x)
- Asiahorse 140mm rgb led strip (1x)

RGB Controllers :
- 5v A-RGB : pcb splitter found on amazon, unbranded with a sata power connector for additionnal power
- 12v RGB : pcb splitter found on amazon, asus branded

Monitors :
- 24 inch (right) Asus VS248H-P
- 27 inch (central) gigabyte m27q
- 27 inch (left) dell d2719hgf

Monitor stand : Vivo triple arm monitor stand

Chair :

I putted what i could in the hardware section, the total value of the build is about 4000 CAD (just the computer, around 3200 usd), i have about 1500 $ i would say in accessories, chair keyboard etc

In the begining i had more rgb led strips but with the 360mm radiator of my gpu some needed to be removed because they were interfering

I also reused some parts of my previous build, the os storage (500gb ssd), 6tb drive and the 5 meters rgb strip that was jammed into the case is now lighting up the underside of my desk. I also reused the microphone, 24 inch asus monitor and 27 inch dell monitor.

At first i had some issues, for example the gpu all in one form alphacool was one of the early units and the coolant was defective, it was corroding the nickel plating of the waterblock and slowly turning the acrylic yellow. I contacted alphacool and they sent me a replacement within a week. On that part it was awesome once i installed the replacement product. The o11 dynamic mini also have an issue, when you are using a atx motherboard or a itx mounted all the way on the top like i do and that you want to put a 360mm radiator it won’t work out of the box, you need to use some spasers, thankfully lian li provide them for very cheap, but not on aliexpress witch can take a while to arrive. Until i recived them the radiator was outside of my case sitting on my desk and resting angled on the side of the top mounted storage of my desk. The part that gave me the most trouble is the gigabyte monitor, i got a first one with a dead pixel on the lower left side of the monitor, then i replaced it, the replacement also had a dead pixel but this time right in the middle, then i replaced it again and the one i currently have don’t have any dead pixel, like the expression says the third is the charm

I learned a lot building my first build, then i used that experience to build my second, i also learned a lot in the process since the cooling type was different. I think that for my next one i may try custom loop but i’m not sure, i will definitely keep my current build for a long time. One thing i consider doing is replacing all the power cables with cable mods cables, but i’m not sure i want to completely redo the cable mess at the back, i redid it twice when i putted my gpu aio, then when i putted the replacement gpu aio and it was a mess, but it closed well. Rgb is pretty but i hate the cables, some are unnecessarily too long and some are completely useless since it could be daisy chained in certain circumstances. It’s a trade off that is worth it tho, in the end it turned awesome looking

Update on 12/15/2022

Last week my gpu, for a reason that is unknown, became defective. It randomly started to black screen randomly at idle, whenever i start a game it black screen. I tested multiple things and it quickly became clear that it was the gpu that was faulty. I’m still in the and rma process. I will update as i get informations, hopefully amd will accept the rma

Update #2

Amd accepted the warranty request, i will send them the defective gpu today.

Update on 01-01-2023

I got the replacement gpu, it was indeed that. Now my pc is back together and working. Amd rma worked really well