Help me build my first custom loop

[iiNNeX]

Because of the difficulties in finding stock ive ended up ordering extra fittins and for some reason I have 7m of tubing

Total spend on water bits so far is £700 :O

I best make a good job of the build.

7m ?! Then again seeing as it's my first time and sourcing stuff is bad here, I think I ll order quite a few tubes too, for practising and in future if I decide to change up the loop.

By the way does it matter which acrylic tube I buy, manufacturer wise? The bitspower fittings I am looking at are OD 16mm (http://www.bitspower.com.tw/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=155_165&products_id=3475), so any tube with OD 16mm should fit?

edit: removed the competitor link.

As they are reasonably cheap for the size you get.

Thanks!

 

[Greebo]

It's my first time with hard tubes and I know I will mess several up plus I will always have spare in case I change the loop or add another card.

They were so hard to find in stock, thought it best to buy more than I need rather than less.

As to fitting your compression fittings it can be a nightmare esp between two different manufacturers. The tubes have quite a lot of variation between brands and some 16mm tube may only be 15mm and hence becomes a slack fit.

Try and Google your brand of fittings with your brand of tube and if people say okay then you are good to go or you can't find people who have had issues.

Which is why I ended up with the same brand fittings and tube. Makes life easier. I've had enough hassle already.

1. Thought I bought an orange internal case 6 months ago. Turns out its red and I had already bought orange fluid so having to change that.
2. My nemesis 280 rad doesn't fit as nemesis rads are 8 mm wider than other brands and won't fit by one mm so have had to swap for a 360
3. My reservoir won't fit as it will block my gtx card by 3mm so deciding whether to swap it for a 50mm wide one or I do have the option of placing it somewhere else in the case but will make the piping up twice as hard. Still can't make my mind up on that one yet

And now I know why I only do a new water build every four years lol

Ps. Drop the link to the competitor, not allowed.

 

[iiNNeX]

It's my first time with hard tubes and I know I will mess several up plus I will always have spare in case I change the loop or add another card.

They were so hard to find in stock, thought it best to buy more than I need rather than less.

As to fitting your compression fittings it can be a nightmare esp between two different manufacturers. The tubes have quite a lot of variation between brands and some 16mm tube may only be 15mm and hence becomes a slack fit.

Try and Google your brand of fittings with your brand of tube and if people say okay then you are good to go or you can't find people who have had issues.

Which is why I ended up with the same brand fittings and tube. Makes life easier. I've had enough hassle already.

1. Thought I bought an orange internal case 6 months ago. Turns out its red and I had already bought orange fluid so having to change that.
2. My nemesis 280 rad doesn't fit as nemesis rads are 8 mm wider than other brands and won't fit by one mm so have had to swap for a 360
3. My reservoir won't fit as it will block my gtx card by 3mm so deciding whether to swap it for a 50mm wide one or I do have the option of placing it somewhere else in the case but will make the piping up twice as hard. Still can't make my mind up on that one yet

And now I know why I only do a new water build every four years lol

Ps. Drop the link to the competitor, not allowed.

Yeah I ll see if I can get some bitspower or EK tubing as both are confirmed to work well with the bitspower fittings. Also I am going to switch to PETG, easier to bend and stronger under pressure, plus a tad cheaper too.

So the case arrived today and I have stripped it down and began taking measurements... Sadly my original plan cannot work. There is no way 2x 420mm rads can go in there at the same time:



However if I do a HWLabs Nemesis GTS 420 at the top and a GTX 360 at the front it works, just:



If both rads are the GTS variants it gives me a bit more space:



Obviously flipping the rads around so the ports are facing the back on the top rad. The front rad won't have it's fans there, they will be between the front side of the chassis and the front panel but I am doing a worst case scenario.

What do you think? You reckon the GTS 420 at top and GTX 360 at the front will fit well? It is my preferred choice but I am worried about that top right fitment...

Currently my sad case looks like this lol:

 

[Greebo]

Lol looks like my case, mine is in bits all ov my man shed.

Looks okay so long as you think you can get the pipes to the rads.

 

[iiNNeX]

Lol looks like my case, mine is in bits all ov my man shed.

Looks okay so long as you think you can get the pipes to the rads.

Ever heard of Barrow fittings? They seem to be made b the same OEM as Bitspower but do not have the logos all over them. From the threads I found online it seems like a lot of people are using these, and they are available in the UK for almost a 1/3 of the cost of what a bitspower fitting costs delivered.

My other question is, how many fittings do I need? So like the Barrow G1/4" Matte Black Compression Fitting For 16mm Rigid Tubing -45 fitting looks like the one that is just used for connecting the rigid tubes, and I need 2 of those per components correct? And then block off fittings/caps as well for the holes I am not using on the res, as well as any extra 90 degree fittings for odd turns?

Thanks

 

[iiNNeX]

Well screw it, SLI it is...

Now EK better bring the blocks out as soon as these 2 bad boys arrive or there will be murder... lol

Anyone else here share similar impatience as me?

edit:

While i'm at it, might as well import £850 worth of bitspower and Black Ice goodies

 

[FrozenShivers]

Tell the whole world how much you're spending, it's really impressive. Tempted to ask you to print off the receipts and send them to me.

 

[Legend]

This may be a stupid question, but looking at that Bitspower Enhance 90-Degree Rotary fitting, what size PETG tube does that take? On the official site it just says it's compatible with the Crystal Link Tube Series. Does it take all size tubes?

 

[iiNNeX]

This may be a stupid question, but looking at that Bitspower Enhance 90-Degree Rotary fitting, what size PETG tube does that take? On the official site it just says it's compatible with the Crystal Link Tube Series. Does it take all size tubes?

It is not a stupid question, I was stupid enough to order the wrong fitting I returned them to get the normal 90 degree within an end fitting lol







Testing different coloured fluids now while waiting for my new sleeved cables from Icemodz

 

[iiNNeX]

Tell the whole world how much you're spending, it's really impressive. Tempted to ask you to print off the receipts and send them to me.

On a scale of 1 to very mad, how mad are you? Like seriously why are you even jelly ? There are people who spent 5x the amount I have on custom builds and I have nothing but admiration for their creations.

I've wanted a custom PC like this for a long time and it has taken a long time to finally get to the point where I can afford it without getting a loan or some ****, so I'm not sure what your problem is

 

[Greebo]

On a scale of 1 to very mad, how mad are you? Like seriously why are you even jelly ? There are people who spent 5x the amount I have on custom builds and I have nothing but admiration for their creations.

I've wanted a custom PC like this for a long time and it has taken a long time to finally get to the point where I can afford it without getting a loan or some ****, so I'm not sure what your problem is

agreed. its a hobby. I have just spent more than my titan has just cost me. Do I think I am mad? sometimes lol

I am gutted my builds don't look half as good as the guys I admire on here? Hell yes

Its those stupid fittings which add up. You think of yeah no probs, only £6 each then you release you need 30 of them and bam, £180 gone lol.

 

[Drazek]

While i'm at it, might as well import £850 worth of bitspower and Black Ice goodies

iiNNeX - can you tell me where you're importing your Bitspower fittings from? I've been having a hell of a mad time trying to source the exact fittings i'm after ... which just happen to be the EXACT same fittings that you've gone for!

Whilst we're at it, you have the exact same case as me! - and you're also building a double rad custom hard tubing loop... same as me!

And the same cpu and motherboard! WTF.. haha!

I'll have to start my own thread to 'show off' my current efforts and get some feedback on my build, i'll be sure to let you know when it's up!

Just received my Black Ice radiator today and my Bitspower GTX 1080 waterblocks (SLI) ;D

EDIT: I made my own post see link in signature.

 

[FrozenShivers]

On a scale of 1 to very mad, how mad are you? Like seriously why are you even jelly ? There are people who spent 5x the amount I have on custom builds and I have nothing but admiration for their creations.

I've wanted a custom PC like this for a long time and it has taken a long time to finally get to the point where I can afford it without getting a loan or some ****, so I'm not sure what your problem is

Probably a 0, ie not mad at all. I have a very nice system thank you, so I'm not 'Jelly' as the 12 year old net kids like to say. I have admiration for your creation too, as it looks like a very nice build (and has interest to me as I'm going with some similar kit). Which is why I found it a shame that it came across like 'look at me I spent this much' with showing receipts etc.

Anyway, enjoy your build

 

[Bone9]

Looks great! How quiet is it at idle?

 

[iiNNeX]

iiNNeX - can you tell me where you're importing your Bitspower fittings from? I've been having a hell of a mad time trying to source the exact fittings i'm after ... which just happen to be the EXACT same fittings that you've gone for!

Whilst we're at it, you have the exact same case as me! - and you're also building a double rad custom hard tubing loop... same as me!

And the same cpu and motherboard! WTF.. haha!

I'll have to start my own thread to 'show off' my current efforts and get some feedback on my build, i'll be sure to let you know when it's up!

Just received my Black Ice radiator today and my Bitspower GTX 1080 waterblocks (SLI) ;D

EDIT: I made my own post see link in signature.

Well initially I wanted to get the fittings from the UK but even OCUK didn't stock the stuff I wanted, especially the res/pump combo stuff I have so I had to get it from abroad. I am not sure if I can name websites on here so I will just PM you.

Probably a 0, ie not mad at all. I have a very nice system thank you, so I'm not 'Jelly' as the 12 year old net kids like to say. I have admiration for your creation too, as it looks like a very nice build (and has interest to me as I'm going with some similar kit). Which is why I found it a shame that it came across like 'look at me I spent this much' with showing receipts etc.

Anyway, enjoy your build

I see, well I apologize if I came across that way but really I was just stupidly excited as i've never spent more than £1500 on an entire system before so wanted my little bit of bragging rights after so many years of admiring other people's 5-6k rigs lol.

Looks great! How quiet is it at idle?

Very, you can't hear anything. The most you can hear in fact even at load is the stupid coil whine these 1080s make. Everything else is dead silent. Fans run at 1000RPM currently and pump is at 60%.

 

[Doobedoo]

Jealousy mate. Don't worry about it your build is looking really good.

 

[Bone9]

Very, you can't hear anything. The most you can hear in fact even at load is the stupid coil whine these 1080s make. Everything else is dead silent. Fans run at 1000RPM currently and pump is at 60%.

Nice!

 

[iiNNeX]

Well my motherboard decided to kill my 950 Pro SSD and then decided to slowly start killing it's own features one by one lol Bye Bye Asus you have been nice to me..

Decided this was time for some change. I sold my 6700k and ordered a silicone lottery 4.9ghz 6700k + delid. I have also changed the RAM to 32 GB of Gskill Trident Z @ 3400mhz and the mobo is now an MSI Z170 Xpower with a monoblock.

Due to the distance between the pci-e slots on this board, I had to ditch the SLI bridge from EK and have decided to go for just tubing in between.

Here is a progress picture:

 

[Bone9]

Got any finished pics mate?

 

[iiNNeX]

Got any finished pics mate?

Got one when leak testing:



Then installing windows



Need to take some better pics and tidy up cable management more, not sure if i ll keep the red cables tho.