Spec/Help build £2,000 watercooled PC

Nerusy

Nerusy

Nerusy

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Joined
12 Jul 2010
Posts
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EDIT: FINISHED BUILD, picture post 18.

Thanks to everyone for advice.
Hey Folks,

Was going to spend this money to get myself a new laptop but couldn't find one that would satisfy me spec and built quality/appearance wise. So decided to spend the money on upgrading / or actually pretty much making a new build.

The only parts I'm keeping from old pc is
1) hard drive, 2) optical drive and 3) PSU(decided to upgrade too afterall)

Will be my first time doing a watercooled build so I am quite clueless as to what to get, how many tubes, claps, width of it, comparability.

I have £2,000 to spare but wouldn't mind if the total cost of build is less than that :p

Was thinking on the lines of watercooling both cpu and gpu, was thinking gtx 680 and i5 ivybridge (although not sure should I go with i7?).

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK GeForce GTX 680 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £389.99
1 x OCZ Vertex 4 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (VTX4-25SAT3-256G) £206.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £189.95
1 x Corsair Dominator PLATINUM 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit with DHX Pro Connector (CMD16GX3M4A1866C9) £179.99
1 x NZXT Switch 810 Big Tower Case - Black £149.99
1 x Corsair Professional Series AX750 High Performance 750W Modular '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply (CMPSU-750AXUK) £129.98
1 x OcUK Tech Lab - D5 Vario Pump & Alphacool Clear HF D5 Top Value Combo £84.98
1 x Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator SR1 360 £69.98
1 x Corsair Professional Series Gold AX850/AX750/AX650 Individually Sleeved Modular Cables - White £52.99
1 x EK-Supremacy - CPU Waterblock - Copper Acetal £51.98
1 x EK Multioption Reservoir X2 250 Advanced £38.99
1 x Mayhems Pastel - Ice White Coolant 1L £14.99
3 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1850 RPM - 3 Pin £14.98 (£44.94)
1 x Masterkleer Hose Pack PVC 12,7/9,5mm (3/8"ID) Clear 3,3m (Ideal for EK Kits) £6.98
1 x Arctic Cooling MX-4 Thermal Compound (4g) £6.59
6 x EK-PSC Adapter Rotary 45° G1/4 Black £3.59 (£21.54)
6 x EK-PSC Adapter Rotary 90° G1/4 Black £3.59 (£21.54)
12 x EK-PSC Compression Fitting 10mm 3/8" - G1/4 Black £2.84 (£34.08)
1 x Alphacool 120mm x 100mm Velcro Pad £1.99
2 x Koolance Hose Clamp for OD 10mm (3/8in) £0.59 (£1.18)
Total : £1,726.30 (includes shipping : £22.20).

 
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You don't seem to have got a pump on that list (just a pump top).

I'd probably go for a Black Ice SR1 360mm rad instead of that one as you'll be able to run the fans slower. In which case you'll probably want a fan controller (unless you plan on using the motherboard).

As for fittings, you'll need 2 for each item you're going to get, so gpu + cpu + rad + pump + reservoir = 10 fittings.
The size of the fittings and tube are largely personal preference I think.

EDIT: I believe the 800D will also allow you to fit a 120mm rad to the rear exhaust, which I'd be tempted to do. But I'm starting to think I get overly obsessed with having too many/big radiators!
 
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Swap the case out for a switch 810, you need to mod an 800D to get the same amount of rad space (360 + 240). Should save you ~£100 in the process.
 
All right,

Thanks a lot for input.

Changed fans to quieter ones (are they quiet enough? as quietness is one of the reasons I want watercooled system?)

Changed radiator to suggested 360 one, I think 480 is too large (just guessing)

Got the suggested pump/reservoir combo

Changed case (now thinking whether to get white case with black tubes or black case with white tubes :D)

Got tubes

Got clamps

Now a few questions, should I got with white tubes and just pure water or should I got for seethrough tubes and white coloured water? I'm thinking since I got pump/reservour combo that is not see-through, I might as well not colour water and just stick with white tubes. Also will the combo be enough water and power for this rig?

Also do I need barbs? Or enough of them included with blocks?
I order 8 claps, is that correct as pump+resourviour combo willl only need 2 instead of 4.

Basically do I have everything I need right now (I updated the basket) or am I still missing important parts?

Getting really excited as the build is becoming more of a reality :D
 
I wouldn't get a 680, the card is extremely poor value for money. A 670 would e my recommendation instead.

If you do want a 680, get an EVGA one as they are the only brand that allow you to keep your warranty if you take the cooler off.
 
pgi947 said:
Clear tubes and either mayhems pastel white or oil black depending on case colour :cool:
Click to expand...

Will do :)


jeff6475 said:
the case will swallow that mobo asus formula is inc this week or next maybe check it out
http://event.asus.com/2012/mb/Maximus_V_Formula/
Click to expand...

Oh nice find, thank's a lot, yeah I was worried it may be too small, I better wait out for the new one.


Cleeecooo said:
I wouldn't get a 680, the card is extremely poor value for money. A 670 would e my recommendation instead.

If you do want a 680, get an EVGA one as they are the only brand that allow you to keep your warranty if you take the cooler off.
Click to expand...

I actually first though of going i5 with 670 but there are no waterblocks for 670 on ocuk, so I though my as well get 680 since I'm going all out on the build.

All right so I guess build nearly sorted, just need to wait for mobo ( will probably change RAM too).

For the watercooling part, do I need claps or some fittings don't need them? and I am really confused about the tubing/clamps/barbs sizes, my tubing is 7/16, blocks 1/4, claps 1/2 and no fittings so far, which size should they be?
 
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The gigabyte 670 WF takes a 680 waterblock and also theres new 670 blocks coming very soon

http://www.coolingconfigurator.com/ Altho that doesnt show that the 680 block fits the 670 WF last time looked but ppl on here says it does but can be used to check on the 670 and if the 670 block will fit
 
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For fittings:

1/4 refers to the thread size. all the fittings you'll be buying will screw into that.

then for fittings themselves, if you're using barbs you need to match the inner diamter with the barb size (or do the 7/16 on 1/2barbs trick some people seem to like) and then attach clips.
If you're using compression fittings you need to match the inner diameter and outer diameter of the tubing and the fittings. I look at tubing in terms of mm because inches is for old people, so for example, 13/10 tubing is 13mm outer diameter and 10mm internal diameter, requiring a 13/10 compression.
 
jeff6475 said:
The gigabyte 670 WF takes a 680 waterblock and also theres new 670 blocks coming very soon

http://www.coolingconfigurator.com/ Altho that doesnt show that the 680 block fits the 670 WF last time looked but ppl on here says it does but can be used to check on the 670 and if the 670 block will fit
Click to expand...

I'm waiting for that new mobo so hopefully 670 block will come out by then, on the other hand I don't mind paying extra for 680 (knowing the marginal increase in performance).


OptimaLnrg said:
For fittings:

1/4 refers to the thread size. all the fittings you'll be buying will screw into that.

then for fittings themselves, if you're using barbs you need to match the inner diamter with the barb size (or do the 7/16 on 1/2barbs trick some people seem to like) and then attach clips.
If you're using compression fittings you need to match the inner diameter and outer diameter of the tubing and the fittings. I look at tubing in terms of mm because inches is for old people, so for example, 13/10 tubing is 13mm outer diameter and 10mm internal diameter, requiring a 13/10 compression.
Click to expand...

Makes sense, I think I understand now. So if going with clamps / no clamps tubes 7/16 with 1/2 barb trick.
Although I'm thinking now of using the compression fittings (in which case both tubing and fittings have to be 7/16, right)

Thinking of having separate reservoir and pump for dem looks, quite like the cylinder reservoir.

And since new mobo will be watercooling ready I'm thinking of watercooling it too, so it will be pump -> CPU -> mobo -> GPU -> Radiator -> Reservoir.

Will 3x120 fans be enough for this loop and where will the 360 rad go in the Switch 810 Big Tower Case, is there a designeted space, bottom top?

Edit: Watching video review it appears 360 rad goes on the top of the case, for future reference :)
 
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670 waterblocks for the short 670 cards have already been released and should be coming in soon, rjk will have the details.

yes, a 360 will be plenty
 
Well since 670 looks tiny and water block turned out to be a little disappointing I might as well stick with 680.

I updated my shopping basket, will start ordering parts while waiting for mobo, I got everything I need right? Is the pump, top and reservoir I got good?
 
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2rqetlw.jpg
 
95 prime blend stabilized at around 50-57C between cores with max showing at 52-58C. Oddly enough z77 sabertooth automatically set clock to 3.6GHZ with cpuz showing core voltage at ~1.168. That shouldn't be stock should it, should be 3.4? Odd.

Graphics card is around 46max using OCCT a couple of minutes (is that right? seems awfully low).

What's the word on ivy i5, what are the safe volts / temps, just want a nice oc, not pushing it to the limit.

Edit: ran both occt gpu and prime 95 temps for cpu went to 56-61C max while gpu 47C, cpu speed a bit too hot isn't it for watercooling, maybe I put to much thermal paste.
 
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