I have been pressed by a couple of OcUK fourm members to put together a build log for my PC so here it is!
I started this build a couple of months back with the intention of eventually watercooling it as it was a serious crime to leave that 4770K running at stock on air cooling. The plan was to let the wallet recover prior to moving to phase 2 of the operation and watercooling the beast.
PC Components:
1 x Asus Z87 MAXIMUS VI EXTREME Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £329.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £263.99
1 x NZXT Switch 810 Ultra Tower Case - White £139.99
1 x BitFenix Recon Internet-Connected Fan Controller (White) £29.99
5 x Prolimatech Blue Vortex Blue Wings 120mm Fan £10.99
1 x Samsung Green 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz 30nm Dual/Quad Channel Kit (MV-3V4G3D/US) £239.98
1 x XFX Radeon HD 7970 Black Edition
Watercooling Components:
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy Clean CSQ - Full Copper £66.98
1 x Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 360mm - OCUK Competitor
1 x Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 240mm - OCUK Competitor
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC7970/R9 280X - Acetal CSQ £75.95+
1 x EK FC7970 Backplate CSQ Design - OCUK Competitor
1 x OcUK Tech Lab - 18w DDC Pump & EK-DDC X-RES 140 CSQ Value Combo £105.98
3m Tygon R3603 1/2" ID - 3/4" OD (13-19mm) Tubing - OCUK Competitor
10 x Primochill G1/4" Thread Ghost Compression Fitting for 1/2" ID - 3/4" OD (13-19mm) Tubing - OCUK Competitor
2 x 1/4" Thread 90 Degree Rotary Compression Fitting for 1/2" ID - 3/4" OD (13-19mm) Tubing - OCUK Competitor
1 x 5L Halfords Battery Top-up water
1 x Anticorrosive AntiCorro-Fluid 50ml - OCUK Competitor
1 x Mayhems Biocide 10ml With PH Testing Kit £5.99
At the time I looked at the Corsair 900D but the price was a little too eye watering for my liking and to be honest I didn't need something that big, so settled on the NZXT Switch 810 which is essentially the same as the NZXT Phantom 820 but without paying an extra £60 for some LED lights and a fan controller. Motherboard choice was simple... shoot for one of the best, I was let down with a dead onboard soundcard and credit to OCUK they sorted this very quickly with a replacement. Memory choice was based on the many good things people have to say about Sammy Green on the OcUK Forums. Fan choice was based on low noise and was one of the primary reasons for me deciding to watercool, low noise and low temps. I liked the BitFenix Recon initially on the basis of the software supplied BUT having had so many issues with the Bitfenix software not working at all I eventually had to use a third party software tool to control the fans, so I wouldn't recommend the Recon to anyone which is a pity.
For the watercooling components I am glad I took the time to do a lot of research through reviews and online forums. With the rads I looked at the Hardware Labs Black Ice SR1's & Alphacool NexXxoS UT60's and in terms of performance the Alphacool's had the edge. The build quality of the Alphacools is excellent, I flushed out both rads and was happy to find A. No leaks and B. No debris so kudos to Alphacool. Next up was the waterblocks for the graphics card and CPU I went with EK. The EK-Supremacy seems to constantly get good reviews and I havent heard too much bad about them, can't say the same about EK VGA waterblocks so took a bit of a gamble on this one and it was what was in stock at the time.
Tubing wise I wanted Tygon tubing as it is chemically inert, doesn't matter what you put in the loop it won't react with the plastic (well almost), which can't be said for other popular tubing brands on offer. Fluids wise I didn't see the need to pay over the odds for water or pre-mixed coloured stuff, so Halfords battery top up water which is di-ionised water does the job just fine, couple of drops of biocide and anticorrosive fluid and your good to go. Distilled and De-Ionised water are both very pure so either is good to use. Water won't clog up in the system long term or leave a nasty stain on the carpet in the unlikely event of a leak, so has its positives too!
I started this build a couple of months back with the intention of eventually watercooling it as it was a serious crime to leave that 4770K running at stock on air cooling. The plan was to let the wallet recover prior to moving to phase 2 of the operation and watercooling the beast.
PC Components:
1 x Asus Z87 MAXIMUS VI EXTREME Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £329.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £263.99
1 x NZXT Switch 810 Ultra Tower Case - White £139.99
1 x BitFenix Recon Internet-Connected Fan Controller (White) £29.99
5 x Prolimatech Blue Vortex Blue Wings 120mm Fan £10.99
1 x Samsung Green 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz 30nm Dual/Quad Channel Kit (MV-3V4G3D/US) £239.98
1 x XFX Radeon HD 7970 Black Edition
Watercooling Components:
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy Clean CSQ - Full Copper £66.98
1 x Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 360mm - OCUK Competitor
1 x Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 240mm - OCUK Competitor
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC7970/R9 280X - Acetal CSQ £75.95+
1 x EK FC7970 Backplate CSQ Design - OCUK Competitor
1 x OcUK Tech Lab - 18w DDC Pump & EK-DDC X-RES 140 CSQ Value Combo £105.98
3m Tygon R3603 1/2" ID - 3/4" OD (13-19mm) Tubing - OCUK Competitor
10 x Primochill G1/4" Thread Ghost Compression Fitting for 1/2" ID - 3/4" OD (13-19mm) Tubing - OCUK Competitor
2 x 1/4" Thread 90 Degree Rotary Compression Fitting for 1/2" ID - 3/4" OD (13-19mm) Tubing - OCUK Competitor
1 x 5L Halfords Battery Top-up water
1 x Anticorrosive AntiCorro-Fluid 50ml - OCUK Competitor
1 x Mayhems Biocide 10ml With PH Testing Kit £5.99
At the time I looked at the Corsair 900D but the price was a little too eye watering for my liking and to be honest I didn't need something that big, so settled on the NZXT Switch 810 which is essentially the same as the NZXT Phantom 820 but without paying an extra £60 for some LED lights and a fan controller. Motherboard choice was simple... shoot for one of the best, I was let down with a dead onboard soundcard and credit to OCUK they sorted this very quickly with a replacement. Memory choice was based on the many good things people have to say about Sammy Green on the OcUK Forums. Fan choice was based on low noise and was one of the primary reasons for me deciding to watercool, low noise and low temps. I liked the BitFenix Recon initially on the basis of the software supplied BUT having had so many issues with the Bitfenix software not working at all I eventually had to use a third party software tool to control the fans, so I wouldn't recommend the Recon to anyone which is a pity.
For the watercooling components I am glad I took the time to do a lot of research through reviews and online forums. With the rads I looked at the Hardware Labs Black Ice SR1's & Alphacool NexXxoS UT60's and in terms of performance the Alphacool's had the edge. The build quality of the Alphacools is excellent, I flushed out both rads and was happy to find A. No leaks and B. No debris so kudos to Alphacool. Next up was the waterblocks for the graphics card and CPU I went with EK. The EK-Supremacy seems to constantly get good reviews and I havent heard too much bad about them, can't say the same about EK VGA waterblocks so took a bit of a gamble on this one and it was what was in stock at the time.
Tubing wise I wanted Tygon tubing as it is chemically inert, doesn't matter what you put in the loop it won't react with the plastic (well almost), which can't be said for other popular tubing brands on offer. Fluids wise I didn't see the need to pay over the odds for water or pre-mixed coloured stuff, so Halfords battery top up water which is di-ionised water does the job just fine, couple of drops of biocide and anticorrosive fluid and your good to go. Distilled and De-Ionised water are both very pure so either is good to use. Water won't clog up in the system long term or leave a nasty stain on the carpet in the unlikely event of a leak, so has its positives too!
