EVH's new gaming build thread

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 651465
  • Start date Start date
Sorry about the lack of updates, built the system but I was away on holiday for the bank holidays and didn't have the time to post pictures before I left.

First picture is all the gear. There's more to this, as I bought 2x Akasa Vipers, 5x Apache Blacks, 1 Lian Li fan controller, 4 pin fan extension cables, some IC Diamond 24 paste, and generally got bits and bobs I'd forgotten when initially ordering (like a coloured SATA cable).

unledpanorama2.png


Had to take multiple shots and stitch them together, as my fixed 50mm was causing problems indoors.. unless I climbed on the back of the sofa, I wasn't getting the shot haha

img0728g.jpg


img0730n.jpg


img0731xv.jpg


img0727u.jpg


My layout is, 2 front intake, 1 side intake, Corsair H70 at rear as intake, and 2 upper exhausts. All fans Apache blacks, except the CPU fans.

The Lian Li controller actually supports 4 PWM fans, despite being advertised as 3. Pretty good buy!

img0707dn.jpg


Colour! Oooo

img0701i.jpg


This shows that the Akasa Vipers are set to intake (which Corsair recommend).

img0702s.jpg


Corsair H70 hydro water cooler. The temps on this are insane. If you read the IC Diamond cooling thread, you'll see I've dropped my temps 5C idle and 3C load since changing paste, and seen lows are low as 18C with the system fans on quiet!

img0703a.jpg


16GB of Ripsaw X RAM. Never heard of it before, but it seems to perform well.

img0705we.jpg


Going to add another 580 when the price drops, as SLI it. Gaming at 2560x1600, which is a push!!

img0700f.jpg


Never had a SSD before, and my god does it fly! Vertex 3 240GB and a 1TB Caviar black for local storage such as games and work. Backed up on my Drobo Pro 12TB NAS.

img0709j.jpg


Never had such a quiet PSU. Didn't think it was running until I pressed my hand on the exhaust and felt the warm air out the back.

img0696l.jpg


This has changed slightly, as this shot doesn't show my Lian Li controller, and I've since finalised the wiring around the back (no more earth tape on show :p).

phototy.jpg


It was a struggle to shove all this behind the motherboard tray, but the results speak for themselves I think (camera phone quality, sorry!).

Will update when I clear my desk and show you the finished setup :cool:
 
Excellent build and excellent pictures as others have already stated.

Very nice spec :)

but you'd also have to watercool the graphics card if you dont mind voiding the warrenty, otherwise you may have well brought an a70...

Or go EVGA and not void warrenty? ;)

Question from EVGA FAQ:
Question from EVGA FAQ said:
Does water-cooling or installing a third party cooling solution on my video card void the warranty?

Answer from EVGA
Answer from EVGA said:
Installing third party cooling solutions does not void warranty on our products. Just be sure to keep the original cooling solution as it will have to be on the card if it is ever sent in for RMA. Any physical damage such as burn marks or damaged PCB will void ALL warranties.
 
Just to update this thread, seeing as I've made some big (& small) changes :)

  1. I've switched out the G.Skill RAM for 16GB Corsair Vengeance Blue so that it's all blue & black inside
  2. Changed to 2x MSI Lightning Extreme GTX580 3GB in SLI
  3. Swapped the red SATA cable for a black one (why are all the black ones 90 degree?! FFFUuuu!)
  4. Replaced old fan controller for Lian-li 4 fan one and moved to bottom PCI slot (under bottom 580)
  5. Re-seated the CPU and heatsink with IC Diamond 24 paste

img2828copy.jpg


img2829copy.jpg


img2831copy.jpg


For the eagle eyes, I've not put the SLI bridge on as the one I have is too small! DOH! :o
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Looks good mate but surely the bridge that came with the mobo would be the right one

It would fit any other cards, although that black "bar" on the edge of the top card juts out just enough to make the connection impossible with the bundled bridge.

Looks like I'll have to buy a 12cm flexible bridge just in case.

I'll update with a final picture of it all running. The MSI cards give off a blue LED glow when they're running, so it looks very smart and colour-coordinated :)
 
Back
Top Bottom