Description

4K couch gaming and sublime madVR...

This was my first PC build in 5 years. I'd been wanting to build a 1080 Ti system for the last couple, but the inflated prices kept me at bay. But for some reason, I didn't mind paying the same amount as long as it was MSRP. Go figure.

Note, this was my first ITX build, my first liquid cooled build, and my first high-end video card build, so I had to research basic questions like, "which way should the fans blow?"

In the end, I got a blower-style video card, because the airflow in this case isn't great. I love the aesthetic of the case, but it really needs a rear fan outlet.

Gaming is smooth on Ultra 4k settings to my 55-inch LG OLED, but under load, the decibels can jump to 40. Fans are barely audible during web browsing. If you open the side (top, in the vertical position) panel, the thermals are better.

The Strix motherboard is over a year old, but still seems to be top of its class. But it has a glued CMOS battery (which was loose upon purchase) and lacks USB 3.1 gen 2 (rear). It has a gen 2 internal port, but the Evolv Shift does not have connectivity for that IO. Also, I read some reports of bad bluetooth on Amazon, so I ordered and installed a replacement wireless card.

The Silverstone was the biggest, quietest PSU that I could fit in the case, but a 500 W PSU would have starved an 8700K/2080Ti setup, so I opted for the 8600 (non-K). It turbos to 4.3 GHz on 6 cores, and only draws 65 W max.

The NZXT cooler has the CPU between 30-40 C when not gaming, and upper 60's when under load. But I'm not a big fan (haha) of the CAM software as it will freeze during benchmarking, doesn't start minimized, and always wants me to login. Also, the CPU block lights stay on after the system shuts down, and the included mini-USB2 cable sticks out over a heatsink. They should have designed the USB connectivity so it could be hidden.

HDR on Windows (even 1809, which I just installed) is still alpha. If I use Kodi to launch MPC-BE (and HDR is triggered), when I close MPC-BE, Kodi has weird display issues. If HDR isn't triggered, there's no display issue. If I launch an HDR file directly in MPC-BE, the video looks great, but the Windows background belongs to the Lorax. I've had the system video output lock up a couple times, when going between HDR/non-HDR, and had to reboot.

I installed the Dolby Atmos codec on my Xbox, and it transferred over. It's not necessary when you bitstream a movie, but games and Netflix show as Dolby Atmos. Dolby Vision still isn't available.

Overall, I'm happy with the build, and am looking forward to seeing reflected fire in the eyes of my foes when ray tracing becomes a thing.

Comments

  • 14 months ago
  • 2 points

I see you replaced the Realtek WiFi card with an Intel one. No unforseen incompatibilities?

The M22 is suited for the i5, where as the EVGA CLC 120 would be suited for the 8700K. If you did feel the need to upgrade 120mm coolers, the EVGA CLC 120 works well inside a Shift.

  • 14 months ago
  • 2 points

I haven't had this long, but zero compatibility issues so far. 802.11ac and bluetooth 5 work seemlessly.

Replacing this card was the first step in my build process. I was surprised there wasn't a youtube guide, because it seems like an obvious thing to want to improve an otherwise great motherboard.

Card needs to be replaced before mounting the motherboard in the case. There were 5 screws and some glue to an internal spacer. I used the little plastic shovel that comes with the thermal paste to pry it off. Make sure the black and white wires connect to the appropriate leads, then screw it back together.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh yaaaaaaaasss, someone did it!! Finally a 2080ti build on this side of the tinternet! Im hoping to build with a 2080ti soon, tell me, anything to note on the performance of this puppy? +2080

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

2080 is just a 1080ti with a maybe 5 fps difference

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

lol

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

ik, but i was asking about the 2080ti :3

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

I've been travelling the last couple days, and honestly, my son has been playing more than I so far, but PUBG and GTA5 both max what my TV (LG OLED) can display. I plan to play some Battlefield 1 later today :)

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

Performance is great. The system was whisper quiet under load without the video card (the 2080 Ti shipment was delayed) but the blower card is louder than I'd like under load (~40 dB). The Evolv Shift X has aluminum side grills, which might dissipate heat better, but this case could really use a fan in the port connector compartment. Heat would probably flow out better if the case was in the tower position, but that would be too distracting for an HTPC.

That being said, the mobo, CPU, and SSD stay cool, and the GPU stays under 80 during load.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

Any issues with that 500W psu? RTX is recommending 650W.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

probably because people buying the rtx series have top tier builds, AKA 8700ks, 2700x, and they have higher power draw. His 8600 only draws 65w, leaving room for a 2080ti and everything else.

  • 14 months ago
  • 2 points

Yeah, but the card draws 250W alone.

His build will be right at 500W. I'm sure it's OK. But, 650W would make me feel a bit better.

  • 14 months ago
  • 2 points

same

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

Yeah, it's bad limitation, which should have a good amount of headroom on the PSU. you should only want to draw 60% to maybe 75% at max load for best results and longevity. You should never want to have a PSU that would draw 100% power even at only a peak at some times. That PSU seems like a thing you should change even if nothing happens. you can find a great 650W to 700W PSU at a under $50 cost which with your build that $50 is a small (maybe 5%) cost of the build. It just seems lazy and bad for your system, especially where your build is located with restraints of air low especially if constantly running the PSU at near max at evey use.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

$100 psu. Ouch. I hope he can return it and get a full refund.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

I don't disagree, but made this call based off of acoustics and space limitations.

  • 1 month ago
  • 1 point

its more expensive because it is an SFX not ATX PSU

  • 1 month ago
  • 1 point

There are plenty of 650W SFX PSU's you can get for around the same price I see that Silverstone PSU at or even have to spend roughly $30 more for a better set up. Just a limitation of your GPU, that's all. If opting for that rest of the setup, I'd probably have gotten a non-ti 2080 and save like $500-600 with not much notice in the system operation. But, to each their own, right?

It's a nice build, just too much potential lost for minor tweaks/maybe an extra $200-250 (obviously the CPU upgrade, but on this build the price didn't seem to be a factor of it?), but on a $2000+ system that's peanuts for the upgrade value the better CPU and PSU would have give you and better future proof longer.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

The power that you're mentioning here is TDP (Thermal Design Power), the CPU will possibly draw more than that, the TDP is provided to users to understand how much cooling potential they will need. I wouldn't necessarily dictate your power supply needs directly from the TDP, it's always good to have more headroom. Hope this clears things up..

See this article:

https://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/708365-TDP-vs-Power-Consumption-Theoretical

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

No performance issues, but this card is slightly underclocked compared to the Founders Edition. This isn't the case/card for overclocking, but I'm already maxxing what my OLED can display so shrug.

When raytracing is available, things may change, but right now it's too early to say.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

With regards to power concerns IIRC Silverstone makes an 800w SFX unit that could easily power that setup

  • 14 months ago
  • 2 points

It probably would have helped with an 8600K or 8700K, but with the current CPU, I'm not experiencing issues under load. Also my locked 8600 doesn't make it to 70% load in 4K games.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

I don't really follow benchmarks, but below is my Time Spy score for reference. On the Founders/8700K scale, it seems to be halfway between a 2080 and 2080 Ti:

3DMark Time Spy Graphics 11866 CPU 5747

Max temps -CPU 59 -GPU 85

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

Glad to see someone else using an Asus Turbo card. Replacing my 1070 Ti Turbo with a 2080 Ti Turbo in three days (weeeee!) and all I've seen is the EVGA XC. Question about the LED "strip" on the GPU, is that controlled through AURA and is it solid color only or are there effects. I know it's pretty small so wouldn't be surprised if there are no fancy effects.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

The video card doesn't show up in the Aura software, but its color matches the mobo setting.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

I have to ask, is your PCI-E riser good ? I have replaced mine 2 times and still have audio distortion/popping/loss, fps drops and even BSODs. The only solution I got was to set pcie gen speed to gen 2 instead of gen3. My cpu is ryzen 5 1600 no OC, mobo is the asrock ab350 gaming fatality a/c itx, 16gb 3000mhz gskill ram, and gpu is the evga gtx1070 SC on a sf450 psu by corsair. also does an rtx card even fit in the bracket? I remember 2.5 slot is the max and the rtx are 2.75-slot or 3-slot cards. also thermals? I use the corsair h80i v2 for my cpu which is perfect but when playing pubg at 1080p and fortnite my gpu gets 82C.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

No issues so far other than HDR (which is resolved by power cycling the receiver, so seems unrelated). No reboots or BSODs but I did notice that hwmonitor said my GPU pulled a max of 105% power. For science, I'm going to try plugging in a second PSU just to the card, and see if the scores go up significantly.

The bracket wouldn't fit a ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-11G-GAMING I recently purchased for another PC, because the heatsink was too wide. But this RTX card fits easily.

As of today, idle GPU is 36, idle CPU is 34. After I ran the TimeSpy benchmark demo GPU hit a high of 86, CPU hit a high of 61.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

Note on HDR - I finally streamlined Kodi+MPC-BE+Lav+MadVR. I had to adjust some refresh rates in MPC-BE, as it wasn't adjusting to the TV when going fullscreen.

Leave HDR off in Windows settings, and set colorspace to RGB/8-bit/full in Nvidia control panel. Those give you the best desktop experience (HDMI to OLED). MPC-BE and games that support HDR will switch the display to the appropriate color space on their own.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

85c for the GPU I see, that's pretty warm, I wonder if this card would do well in a Node 202. It's the same card I've been looking at. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

Just starting to test with Asus GPU tweak. It lets you set the desired GPU temp, and adjusts the fans as necessary.

I haven't played with it too much, but just setting my GPU to 78 degrees raised my Timespy score by a couple hundred points.

Haven't run a decibel meter, but I didn't notice a jump in fan noise.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

Does the fan on Asus 2080 Ti turbo turn off when the PC is at idle, like their open air cards? I've checked Asus's site but I can't find anything on this.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

No, the heatsink is too small for that. My card spins at 1500 RPM when web browsing.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

Yay, the Shift in a horizontal position! I think it looks best that way.

  • 14 months ago
  • 2 points

It definitely looks sweet horizontal in a glass top home theater rack! :)

If I had magical influence over Phanteks, and could get them to modify this case to make it perfect as a 4k gaming HTPC, I'd only ask for three (or 4) things:

1) a rear fan option 2) +2 cm longer to accommodate bigger PSUs 3) slightly wider GPU bracket to fit GPUs with serious heatsinks 4) external gen2 USB-C

  • 13 months ago
  • 1 point

Those are some really impressive temps for that cpu cooler! :O I hear the M22 is a peace of ****.

  • 12 months ago
  • 1 point

Yeah, they almost make me wish I'd gotten an 8600k. CPU load can hit mid-70's. CPU maxxed at 54C yesterday when playing BF5 (1080p/Ray tracing@ultra)

  • 12 months ago
  • 1 point

Hi mate! Congrats for your build. I tried to use a 2080ti FE but died...really bad tempeatures, What is your temps on this Blower style card? It will help me a lot to decide. Thanks in advance!

  • 12 months ago
  • 1 point

Games get it to 84C, but I cheat and have the exhaust lid open :)

3dmark pushes it to 86 (side exhaust open)

  • 10 months ago
  • 1 point

the 4.3 ghz turbo is on 1 core, and not 6. ;)

  • 2 months ago
  • 1 point

If you see fire reflected in the eyes of your foes, doesn't that mean you're on fire?

  • 14 months ago
  • 0 points

Great job working in the Evolv Shift X case which I've always found weird and unworkable for a mini-ITX case but it looks great in your glass cabinet.

  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

Thanks!

  • 13 months ago
  • 0 points

CPU made me go ew

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  • 14 months ago
  • 2 points

I agonized over that, but in the end, wanted to optimize Watts and cooling over Photoshop performance.

4K gaming doesn't peg my CPU load, but that might change if I live streamed.

  • 13 months ago
  • 1 point

I commend your sensibilty- it's hard in this community to not go for a 8700k when really all you need is an 8300k or 8400 at high resolutions. How did your psu experiment turn out? I'm wondering if I could get away with a 2080 or 1080ti on a 450 w psu, since I've got a 65watt cpu as well. Sfx psus are more expensive, and lower power is quieter, so I dont want to get a 650 watt one if I can avoid it. I know people cringe, but they also buy 4zx more psu than they need...

  • 12 months ago
  • 2 points

Not great. I had zero issues with the SX500-LG (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SD9IORQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1) but ended up upgrading to an SX800-LTI (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NALZ89C/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1) as a "just in case" because the forum felt so strongly that my PSU would cause issues.

I looked at the size specs of the 2 PSU's and they were the same. Reviews of the SX800-LTI were also positive, so I pulled the trigger.

Unfortunately, the modular plugs of the SX800-LTI extend further (you can see the difference in the Amazon links). I wasn't able get the PSU to sit flush with the screws in this case, so the PSU sits angled slightly in the case. It doesn't cause any technical issues, but when I look at it, my latent OCD gets triggered :(

Regarding noise... for actively cooled PSU's, the bigger the fan, the quieter the unit, because a larger fan can do the same work at lower RPM.

I'd check online for acoustical testing of the PSUs you're considering.

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  • 14 months ago
  • 1 point

overclockable i7 8th gen or better with that Video card and a better PSU regardless.