First WC Project - Ground Up

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21 Dec 2009
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Hi all :)

I have worked my a**e off over the last year, missing out on social occasions etc. for which my company rewarded me with a decent bonus for once, yippee!! :)

So I decided to treat myself to a brand new system and take the plunge with watercooling. I've done numerous air builds over the last 10 years or so with varying levels of success on performance & noise and fancied a new challenge.

Here's what will be making up my new system:

Corsair Obsidian 800D Case
Corsair RM Series RM 1000 '80+ Gold' 1000W PSU
6x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1850 RPM Fans
OcUK Extreme Intel Core i7 4770K @ 4.6GHz+ Extreme Overclocked Bundle
Options for above:
TeamGroup Vulcan RED 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit
XSPC RayStorm CPU WaterBlock
Asus Z87 MAXIMUS VI FORMULA Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard

HIS HD 7950 IceQ TURBO
EKWB FC-7950 Nickel Plexi Full Cover Waterblock
Plextor M5 Pro 256GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-256M5P)
XSPC D5 Dual Bay Reservoir/Pump Combo V2
XSPC EX360 Crossflow Radiator
XSPC EX240 120mm Radiator - Black
Mayhems X1 UV Red Premixed Watercooling Fluid 1L
Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 13/10 - Clear
Aqua Computer Ball Valve Female Thread G 1/4 without Fittings
Mayhems Fine Silver Kill Coil
XSPC Fittings (Black Chrome)
Lamptron FC-5 v3 Fan Controller
Red LEDs 3v

All the kit is being delivered over the next couple of weeks so I'll add photos of all the shiny new kit when it arrives and then update as I progress through the build.

Looking forward to any advice/criticism on the build as I plod along.

Can't wait!! :)
 
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Damn that's a pretty impressive kit list you've got there buddy. It must have been a hefty bonus to pay for all that little lot. You know what they say 'Work Hard, Play Hard' and you'll certainly be playing hard once you get this beast up and running. Good luck with the build and I'm looking forward to seeing the progress photos :)
 
Not a massive fan of the EK gpu blocks, not that you can really see them lol.

The xspc chrome fittings are nice though. Looking forward to see this :)
 
Delivery of most of the kit has arrived, still waiting for the PSU, fan controller and a couple of fans, but I have enough to get started with.

Boxes of gifts:


Now to start unpacking & installing:

Sorry they're so boring, more build pictures over the next few days, with components!!
 
Christmas has come early!!
I would say though, with the Mayhems pre-mix, you will not need the silver kill coil so scratch that off the shopping list
 
Nice case choice! My friend had one that he modified to include a built-in reservoir in the op drive bays
No res mods for me with the D5 thank goodness but I have had to modify the lower drive bay area to fit the 240 rad in.

I have to say I was quite surprised there isn't any allocation to fit a 240 rad in this case. It will take a 360 at the top and a 120 at the back and that's it.

That's my only complaint with the case so far though.
 
Managed to begin fitting the rads today, after a bit of a fight with the bottom drive bay cage:

The top 360 was a lot easier to fit, still waiting on delivery of fans though :(
Apologies for poor picture quality:

Was hoping to get the D5 fitted as well but bit of an issue with it.

Hopefully have some more updates tomorrow :)
 
OK, so not made a huge amount of progress, certainly not as much as I'd hoped.

Managed to get the motherboard fitted though :)
OCUK Extreme Bundle unboxed:

Thermal paste applied:
Waterblock fitted:
Motherboard mounted in case:

At this point I realised my proposed loop from the 360 rad at the top to the motherboard was going to be problematic.
I originally planned for a 90 degree fitting from the rad which obviously isn't going to happen so thought I would have to 90 degree connection from the mobo inlet:
Only snag here is that the plastic housing restricts rotation. I'll know for sure when I connect it all up but I'm hoping it will look neat.

Going to have to return the XSPC D5 Dual Bay Reservoir/Pump Combo as the faceplate was scratched to hell:
I've tried contacting XSPC to see if they'll send a replacement faceplate but had no response so far. Guess I will have to RMA it - more delays....
Still, the PSU isn't likely to be available until mid-November so no rush :D
 
OK, so lots of delays.

Still waiting on Corsair to get their arse in gear and provide stock of the RM1000 PSU. Also waiting on Lamptron to provide stock of their FC5 v3 controllers.

In the mean time decided to put the block on my 7950, easier than I thought it would be:
WP_20131119_002.jpg

WP_20131119_001.jpg


Now wondering if anywhere makes a red LED that will fit between the back of the card and the backplate....
 
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I really hope someone else has made this mistake, otherwise I shall feel both foolish and lonely :D

I didn't check my order enough times apparently. Fittings are all 1/2" ID 3/4" OD - tubing is 3/8" ID 1/2" OD. That being said, no one else noticed it on my kit list in the OP :D

Initially I really wanted the smaller tubing but seeing the mobo & rads in the quite large case I think the thicker tubing will look better. Also, changing the fittings is too expensive, the tubing not so much :)
 
Got my (almost) final package today :)
WP_20131127_001.jpg

Corsair RM850 PSU, Lamptron FC5 V3 fan controller, tubing, SSD mounting bracket and magnetic case filters.

Major items I've been waiting for were the PSU
WP_20131127_003.jpg

Silent power, yes!

and the fan controller
WP_20131127_008.jpg


Also got the (correct size this time!) tubing. So now I can really start the build process.

Just need the red braided PSU cables to come into stock and then I shall have everything!

Of course now I don't have as much spare time as I'd like to get the build done but hope to get a bit more of a move on with it now.

I'd just like to say a big thanks to 5UB who has been extremely helpful with my various order changes and swapping out items in my order that were taking too long to turn up (Corsair's fault, not OCUK's ;))

More updates coming (quite) soon :)
 
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