Inspecting the ‘old’ donor hardware
After disassembling the PC, I decided to have a look at the motherboard and the installed components. The Team-Group SSD was having some performance issues, and with the GPU out of the way, I could open up the slot and see that the entire surface wasn’t quite mating properly with the thermal pad.
As such, I moved one of the thermal pads from the empty slots and added it, which resolved the performance issues I was having.
I left the CPU happily in its socket, along with the mounting bracket, but did remove the CPU cooler’s heatsink to give it a fresh dab of thermal paste later. This wasn’t really necessary, but any time spent doing this was more time saved throughout the build now that the massive NH-D15 G2 wasn’t in the way.
Article continues belowI also removed one of the T-Create 48 GB memory kits. 96 GB of DDR5-7200 is complete overkill for most use cases, and the last thing I wanted to do at this point was have to list a total system cost of over $7,000.
Then, I installed the motherboard in the case. Because the central standoff has a small nub at its tip, you can actually support the full weight of the motherboard, unsecured, without having to flip the case on its side.
I’m glad this is a feature included with most cases nowadays, as especially with a large case like this – it’s tiresome to flip it on its side if it can be avoided. What’s even more impressive is that this still works with this motherboard – the ProArt Z890-Creator is built with a lot of very heavy heatsinks, and it is without a doubt the heaviest ATX motherboard I’ve ever handled.
Installing the modded TX-1600 Prime Noctua-Edition
Next, I decided to install the PSU and do the cable management before installing the fans. Generally speaking, I lean more towards small cases as personal preference. But with a case this big, I suddenly had tons of freedom of movement – it really doesn’t matter what you do first, or last with the Antec Flux Pro Noctua-Edition– you can pretty much get to anything at any point. I like smaller cases, but this is nice!
The PSU we’re using is the Seasonic Prime TX-1600 Noctua-Edition, and being a unit from the wooden PC mentioned earlier, this one is modded to feature an NF-A12x25 G2 fan, instead of the stock G1 fan that comes installed from the factory.
For the PSU install, I did run into a few issues. Naturally, the TX-1600 Noctua Edition doesn’t fit sideways, as one of the mounting options this case presents. It’s too long for that, and even if it could, the 1600-watt power envelope means it comes with a rarely-used, beefier connector to deal with the amperage – and the Flux Pro Noctua-Edition does not have a matching rerouting cable.
However, what did surprise me is that it’s also not possible to mount the PSU upside-down, with the fan facing upwards. Of course, most of us won’t do that, but the TX-1600’s manual specifically states that the semi-passive fan-mode on the PSU should only be used when the fan is facing up, so that any heat generated can leave passively by means of convection.
Normally, this isn’t something I’d complain about. In fact, I’m not really complaining. But for a Noctua power supply, in a Noctua case, this is a little bit puzzling. The only reason I can think of, other than it being a core part of the Flux Pro design and not really being up to Noctua to change, is that if the fan were to face upwards, paired with having fans installed that blow air towards the GPU – they would fight each other when the PSU is under load and cause cooling issues in the power supply – so Antec may have intentionally locked us out from such a mounting option as a precautionary measure.
However, I don’t think that this Noctua-Edition case is meant to be used in combination with this Noctua-Edition power supply, but more on that later.
First Round of Cable Management
Generally, cable management is something I take care of at the end of a build. Despite the oceans of space, I figured the fans, CPU cooler, and GPU would just get in the way, so I took the opportunity to get a large chunk of it done early.
With easy access to everything, cable management was a dream. Antec has really done wonders behind the motherboard tray, with tons of space, cable guides, Velcro straps, and a few complimentary zipties.
The cable lengths of the Prime TX-1600 Noctua-Edition are also a perfect match, and boy, is the braiding lovely.
Installing the fans
For the fans, Noctua has done something quite special: They do not come pre-installed. Instead, they arrive in their own ‘Fan Kit’ box. The primary reason for this is that the rubber fan mounts are not suitable for holding the fans in the case during transport. But it does feel quite special to open the box and witness all six fans neatly laid out.
Installing the fans is also fun. This is like that expensive Lego kit you’ve always wanted – sure, they could assemble it in the factory, but it’s more fun to do it yourself.
What’s more, even though the spec sheet says the case comes with 6 fans, there’s actually a little seventh easter egg fan hidden somewhere. I’m not going to spoil this one in writing, but can you spot it in the photos somewhere?
I installed the rubber fasteners first as per the instructions, and then popped the fans into place.
The fan kit consists solely of Sx2-PP fans, and Noctua clearly states which fan has to be placed where, and in which direction you should route the connector cable.
Do so, and the cables end up in exactly the correct location to hook up to the pre-installed cable extensions that lead to the fan hub.
The fan hub has a magnetic backing, so it’s easy to move around, not that it was necessary.
Calling it a night, for now
I work in a studio with studio lights and accent lighting, but the build was looking fabulous at this point. I wrapped up the night by cutting the ends off the rubber fan fasteners, installed the heatsink, set the scene a little, and took my last photo of the day.
I had finished working for now, but kept walking back to look at the workpiece. It was at this moment that I started to understand the appeal of this method of an ‘all-Noctua’ build.
