My first watercooled rig...

Oblivion

Oblivion

Oblivion

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Joined
8 May 2006
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581
Location
UK
Ok guys,

This is my first attempt at watercooling, so be gentle...

The project took a while and choosing all the parts. I had to make a few hard decisions like what fitting to use (size and black or chrome) and what colour fluid and what size tubing etc, but hopefully it's work out well. I think i got some good chips on my 7950's as they are running nicely at 1,200 Mhz at 1.225v.

My specs and 24/7 clocks are as follows:

CPU: i7-2600k @ 4.6 GHz on EK Supreme HF
GPU: 2X MSI 7950 3GB @ 1,200 MHz Core on EK Blocks
Mobo: Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB 1600 MHz
Sound: Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro
Storage: Crucial M4 128 GB SSD
Storage: 2X 2TB Western Digital Caviar Black
Case: Corsair 650D / PSU: Corsair AX850
Monitor: Dell U2711 (2560 x 1440)

3DMark 11 Score: 15,599 (Catalyst 13.4) @ 1200/1600 MHz (http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/6783778)
3DMark Firestrike: 12,221 (Catalyst 13.4) @ 1200/1600 MHz (http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/827543?)

Temps on the cards most of the time stay below 50c but can peak to 55c in certain circumstances, and of course there is little to no noise now.

I'm still thinking if i should have chosen chrome fittings, but in some ways they do look very bling, black is more militant looking and goes better with my case. Also the plexi blocks was a tough decision, i could have got solid black blocks but i thought it would be nice to see the liquid. They are not a huge range of blocks anyway for 7950s, more for 7970s.

I have also put LEDs in all the blocks but still thinking over leaving them in or taking them out. What do you think???

Testing:

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Finished:

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Braided the cables:

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Some parts:

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Can you take apic or 2 of the res and how the pipes go into it?

Are you using 2 rads?

Looks great for a first time build mate. Well done :)

I'm thinking of dipping my toes into W/C setups but still a bit nervous. Any tips? What did you read up on or do to give you teh knowledge to do it?
 
subbytna said:
Can you take apic or 2 of the res and how the pipes go into it?

Are you using 2 rads?

Looks great for a first time build mate. Well done :)

I'm thinking of dipping my toes into W/C setups but still a bit nervous. Any tips? What did you read up on or do to give you teh knowledge to do it?
Click to expand...

Thanks. Here you go and yep using two rads.

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That looks really good, especially the cable management. Personally I think you made the right decision going with the black fittings, understated is always better in my book.

subbytna said:
I'm thinking of dipping my toes into W/C setups but still a bit nervous. Any tips? What did you read up on or do to give you teh knowledge to do it?
Click to expand...

Have a read of the sticky in the OCUK watercooling section on the forums. It contains almost everything you need to know to build a first time setup :)
 
From someone who doesn't know much at water cooling, it looks amazing. I love the black and white, inspiring almost
 
Looks really nice mate, you obviously take a great deal of pride in doing a tidy job and it shows.

I'm about to start on my first WC build, nearly got all the bits so I should be starting the build this weekend, I'll put some picuters up when I start.
 
Thanks everyone. Yeah i've done a bit more tidying up of various things (wires, cables, etc) since the pics were taken as it takes time to do all the little finishing touches. I still need to install a drain port as i had a problem with the parts getting delayed in the mail and didnt want to put the whole build on hold, but I will install that into the bottom of the case (will drill a hole) and use a G1/4" extender coming off the bottom of the front rad next time i drain for the loop for maintenance.

The hardest part of the build for me was getting the front rad to fit, the holes dont exactly match up so i had to cut into the roof of the drive bay a little, i could have drilled new holes in the front of the case and the mounting bracket they give you and move the fan down slightly but i wanted it to all line up nicely, but with everything installed (rad and bay res/pump) you cant tell so it looks fine.

The case has now been so heavily modded (especially after drilling in a drain port) that if i ever change my build dramatically it will be new case time. But in the grand scheme of things, case's are not too expensive and the 650D has served me well! I guess a bit of dremel action is nesscary when doing big projects like this.

See this build log for what i am talking about http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18362112. I had to cut a bit of a bigger hole than him but once installed you cant tell and it actually means i can get to the bleed hole on top of the rad without removing it now.
 
How do you find that 200mm Bitfenix? Mine is incredibly loud for what it does...which is almost nothing. You make Corsair cases look so much better.
 
Its ok, i have it on a fan controller so only ramp it up when gaming. It's quieter than the standard corsair fans thats for sure and before i had a CM megaflow and it seems on a par with that. I removed the front grill and that reduced a lot of the noise for me.
 
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