my first wc build!!

[chris-82]

so not so long ago i decided to try and build a cpu loop with decent products cheap to fit my fairly new bits fenix shinobi case windowed,so after hunting the mm i managed to get these parts:

rasa cpu block
ocool dual bay res with kill coil
ek compression fittings
ek4.0 pump
ek 120 rad

thankyou to all mm sellers i bought these roducts from u all had fantastic comunications and quick delivery.


so whilist waiting for these parts to arrive i decided to just see if any kind gents on this forum had any wc cases for sale for future upgrading and to see how much these would be much to my missus delight this opened the gates to less hobo build..................

i started with this:

which was a pre build from ocuk

then to this:

re housing into a bitfenix prodigy windowed adding a sandisk ssd 120gb,2tb toshiba hdd,1tb seagate barracuda,upgrading to a 7950 from a 6850,lights for in case disco partys and lots of fiddiling with fan setups finishing with 4xgentle typhoons and a akska venom on the orginal xigamtex red scorpion cooler.

6850 on the left 7950 on the right comparison (i went through 2 msi before i gave up and went to gigabyte excellent cooler)
so then i ended up with this lot:

silverstone FT02 case
5xcougar 140mm fans
black ice sr-1 560 rad
lamptron fc5 fan controller
some bitspower fittings
and lots of screws,random bits,cables and so on kindly all from space monkey for free the bits and pieces not the main items!lol which i must thank him for he really didnt have to and i very much appreciated the help and generosity and also thanks for selling me the above parts with which im very happy with.

it was a steep learning curve learning pipe dimensions to use with the correct compression fittings and so on but tbh its a lot scarier than it really is i used some guides online and advice from very helpful members on here and also guides on here to guide me through.

now i built it up with just cpu in the loop and all was great the missus was happy that the spending was over untill the gpu block arrived a few days later after getting it all built up (i couldnt resist the temptation of the shiny shiny!!lol) so had to redrain to fit the newly wc'd 7950 i went with the aquacomputer 7950 block i havent had any other gpu blocks or cpu blocks for that matter but i really did think it was quality looks lovely to my inner magpie is happy!

its not quite finished yet few bits here and there to do(tidying,correct white lightining and so on when is it ever finished....)

but here is what i have now:

current spec:
silverstone Ft02 case
gigabyte z68Ap-D3 motherboard
i5 2500k @4.6
8gb of kingston hyper x grey @1600
gigabyte wf3 7950 with aquacomputer wc block @ 1150/1450 24/7
ocz 650w psu
120gb sandisk extreme os drive
seagate barracuda 1tb game drive
toshiba 2tb general drive
asus zonar sound card
lamptron fc5 fan controller controlling all 4 cougar fans with splitter on 2 fans so i can use 1 channel for the pump
rasa cpu block
ocool dual bay res with kill coil
ek compression fittings
ek4.0 pump
distilled water
mayhems blue dye

if anyone see's anything that needs attention or anything i have done wrong please let me know any feedback is much appreciated.

my command centre!

and yes only hardcore gamers eat apples whilist playing!

so not really a build log but wanted to put some pics up as the original owner of the case spacemonkey wanted to see what i did with it (which i have a lot more in the peipe line to come)

sadly i didnt take many build photos as i was too excited but they are on my phone so may add them later.
now my experience with this build has taught me that anyone looking at doing this really shouldnt be scared off i didnt do huge research before hand or have any physical help i literally woke up and decided wc would be awesome(i saw one many years ago and knew i had to own a build with wc one day) (which it is my man parts are atleast 3 " longer now)
a little research and the help from all the knowledge on this forum made this happen and would like to thankeveryone who gave me advice sold me parts and took the time to write all the guides and stickys on here you people are AWESOME

so i have had a pretty mad 1 year in pc gaming ownership since i sold my xbox to come to the pc side of life and im so glad i did.
now i just need to build a light pc for lan's oh dear.........

 

[chris-82]

Looking good

Really nice especially for your first water build, well done

couldnt of been done without you sir

Oh, and I want your chair

hahaha it is sooooo comfy had a horrible uncomfy chair before

Good stuff Chris.
I can't figure out what's going on with the pump/rad tubing. Is that a disconnected quick release?

Oh, and how the hell did you manage to screw your compression fittings all the way down?

im not sure where your talking about but if its in the middle lower section coming from the pump its a bits power filter into t block and a stopper so i can undo to help drain my loop. it goes res>pump>rad>cpu>gpu>res

sheer commitment! haha and mole grips and a soft cloth i thought they where supposed to be tightened right up or?......

 

[chris-82]

Thanks gregster.
Uncle petey I'm afraid I think it's age and your eyes old people blaming pictures tut tut what next a story of a beach landing!!

Thinking of getting one 90 degree fittings for the rad closest so it lays the pipe a bit straighter and maybe a 45 for the other rad pipe and 45 for the CPU block what do you think?

 

[chris-82]

Looking good mate for you first go at WC. One day I'll grow some and maybe dabble .

do it do it!
im so glad i did temps are fantastic and the pc is very quite i dont even need to run the fans tbh and temps are still better than air easily

 

[chris-82]

so just wanted peoples opinions on my temps.
i run the pc with the 4 140mm cougar fans on the rad at 800 rpm( max 1550) and i run the pump also off my controller and run this at 1470rpm(max 2500)

cpu @4.6 1.381v
at idle im seeing 27-30c
on prime 95 im seeing 53-58c
in gaming im seeing 40-44c

gpu@ 1150/1450 1.225v
at idle seeing 27-28c
gaming 34-40c
heaven 4 with benchamrk settings for the thread max 44 - 46c (ran @1240/1550 1.3v)

do these temps look right for my setup?

could a mod move this to watercooling please

 

[chris-82]

Anyone? Any chance of a mod please moving this to watercooling please.

 

[chris-82]

thanks DavidS14.
just ordered another fan protector grill for the rad and some 90 degree fittings for the rad and pump to give it a little cleaner look.

just removed my logitech x-230 sound system and decided to attach my marantz amp (pm7000) coupled with some b&w dm 303's i had as i was looking at buying some of these:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...-003-ER&tool=3
(Edifier R1600T Studio Plus 2.0 Monitors)

completly forgot i had these speakers and amp up in the loft!! they seem to be doing the job and sound a lot nicer than the logitech system (was very very bass heavy).

 

[chris-82]

I've checked that pipe an it looks fine tbh I think it's very close to kinking but it hasn't.
Managed to ruin the threads on my pump when doing a rebuild of the loop!! Grrrr

Recieved my new pump today so will be completing the loop soon and will put some pics up.