Hello All,

Here is a pic of the final build of my open air PC build. I built the case about 5 years ago and have been running a 10900k.

I have stepped up to a 9950X3d and the Asus Crosshair ROG 2006 X870E motherboard.

I have 3 x 360mm radiators and a pair of D5 pumps in series.

Let me know if you have any questions! J

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[–] 24 points 5 days ago (7 children)

This person definitely doesn't have a cat.

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  • [–] 8 points 5 days ago (5 children)
  • [–] 44 points 6 days ago (1 child)
  • [–] 35 points 6 days ago (1 child)

    How much did you spend on case/display/lighting/cooling components?

    How many hours would you say went into this?

    Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently?

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 5 days ago

    So when I built the case/frame, I did it over about 2 months off an on. I didn't have any real woodworking tools. I wish I had a router, table saw, and drill press. So having the right tools would have made it much easier.

    The cooling components aren't cheap, the GPU block was a pretty penny, but for the 4090 is probably the best one you can get.

    I don't know if I can give a definite number but probably around $1k for the cooling, lighting, raw materials for the case.

    In terms of a v3, this was a second version, I probably would use a different wood, maybe not plywood. There are a few decisions on how the GPU was mounted and how I have the PSU.

    I seriously weighed just getting a O-11 XL, but for me, there were too many little things I didn't like. So I kept this case.

    Attached is the v2,

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  • [–] 27 points 5 days ago* (2 children)

    He for real said lmk bout questions, and ghosted everyone

    Nice build tho

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  • [–] 21 points 6 days ago* (1 child)

    Awesome build. Well done, love how clean it is. I’m glad it’s not full of RGB everywhere and colored coolant.

    On that note, that’s a LOT of radiator you’ve got going on. I’m running an i9 and 4080 on waterblocks and have a single radiator, they don’t go over 59C and it stays plenty quiet.

    Now you only have 5 years of payments before the hardware is paid off.

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    [–] 18 points 6 days ago (6 children)
  • [–] 26 points 6 days ago (5 children)

    Exactly why I always do a positive pressure build. I rather clean a handful of dust filters than an entire PC every 6 months.

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  • [–] 18 points 6 days ago (2 children)

    Honestly, dusting the entire build is something everyone should be doing, regardless of if they have positive case pressure or not. Dust has a way of getting in no matter what.

    Having everything open means you need to do it more frequently, sure, but everything is also very easy to access. Probably a wash when you compare levels of relative convenience.

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  • [–] 7 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    Not OP, but own a similarly open-air PC (Thermaltake Core P3).

    I bought a Wolfbox MF200 duster on sale off their AliExpress store for ~$50USD; just need to just give it a quick blast every once in a while and it all remains dust free.

    Honestly dust management in open frames is significantly less hassle than in closed cases - regardless of positive/negative internal pressure.

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  • [–] 18 points 6 days ago (1 child)
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    [–] 9 points 5 days ago (2 children)

    That's cool but all I can think of is how dusty it will get.

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  • [–] 14 points 6 days ago

    It is good. That's a lot of radiator heat dissipation.

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  • [+] 7 points 5 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago)
    [–] 7 points 5 days ago

    So happy other people do cool alternative builds like this. I enjoy the idea and creativity, but I will stick with my boring black box filled to the brim with computing power.

    Awesome build!

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  • [–] 4 points 5 days ago

    Can it play Doom?

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  • [–] 5 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    Oh wow, absolutely gorgeous and I also wanted to do something like that. How did you attach the motherboard screws to the wood? Are there any suitable wooden screws, did you work with plastic washers or did you glue the metal screws into thr wood?

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    [–] 8 points 6 days ago (7 children)

    one radiator for the cpu, one for the gpu, what's the other one for? warm days?

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    [–] 3 points 5 days ago* (1 child)

    That's fucking cool. I've always thought the open designs were pretty sweet, this is giving me ideas. If I end up building one I might do something like this with walnut and more brass.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 days ago

    The original steam machine.

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  • [–] 5 points 5 days ago
    [–] 3 points 5 days ago

    Needs more brass.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 days ago (3 children)

    I love it except for the plywood.

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    [+] 6 points 6 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 child)
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    [–] [S] 2 points 4 days ago

    Not sure if anyone uses builds.gg anymore. But I posted a bunch of pictures there.

    I also have my other builds.liated as well.

    https://builds.gg/builds/open-air-case-refresh-plywood-custom-build-39716

    There are some pretty nice systems there. Put mine to shame.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    Make sure you keep an eye on your VRM temps. I don’t see any airflow for that in your picture.

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    [–] 5 points 6 days ago

    Wow, I didn't even know this was a thing. Very cool!

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  • That’s badass

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  • [–] 3 points 5 days ago (2 children)

    At first I thought it was a tool rack

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