Please help spec me a £4k gaming rig

[Bart_Hunt]

Nobody stocks CL cases.
They are completely custom and that's why.
OCuk had some builds made in these, but without options about case color etc as far as I know.
Ask them, maybe they can build a rig in CL case of your choice?
You wont know unless you ask.

 

[Papablu]

Ah I see, it's no wonder I couldn't find them

Well it's too late for this build right now but I'll keep that in mind for the upgrade I may do in the purple scheme over the next few months. I'll have to get a very specific size though. Thanks for your help Bart.

 

[Bart_Hunt]

www.caselabs-store.com

They will release new mITX case soon

 

[Curlyriff]

I have asked before and they stated they are only for their ranges shown on the website at this time. Which basically means exclusive to '8 Pack' systems which is fair enough.

With that in mind it would be interesting to know if Caselabs will ever let anyone stock them. The problem is OcUK pay what we pay for the case so there would have to be a markup to make it profitable for them to stock.

Do you know anyone who has successfully painted fittings ?
I'm just curious about how much they can be handled once painted as my fittings are pretty tight and I reckon if I painted them with my current paints they'd likely rub off the edges with the handling they'd need. Mind you I have the dark nickel type fittings at the moment and they could look good without painting.

I have in a previous build. It is fine to do. As you probably well know lots of thin even coats. Probably talking 5 thin coats and you'll be fine. Just put a thin soft cloth over them when installing.

I scratched my first set of EK fixings without doing that as they come painted.

Absolutely love that bedding I may get a set of that next month as our bedroom is going down the purple, off-white and black route already.

Fair play. It does look pretty good. Just my bedroom is Blue, Black, Off-white

The black tubing has always taken my fancy, I just think it looks classy with an acrylic setup. I think I'd like to have a bit of clear in there also with a coloured coolant because a lot of the people who see my pc in the flesh would need the visual proof that there's actually something running through those pipes You know the type

To be honest I am always disappointed when the res is hidden away. It's part of the loop and with EK, Bitspower and XSPC doing great D5 covers that look good it can be part of the system. I know your lacking space in this build because of the 3rd card so probably not possible.

On a side note, I managed to see the picture last night. The tube runs look a little off to me. There are some cleaner lines you can do sooner rather than later if your willing too. The only tube run that looks spot on is the bottom one between the GPU and Rad.

However, with that said and since we are talking about hardline set-up may be worth waiting till you want to switch.

It's a real shame about Mayhems Aurora, it looks perfect for that type of setup.

It would be fine if your running a D5 pump and willing to clean and refill the loop every 5-6 months.

 

[Papablu]

Hey Curlyriff,

Yeah I'm not happy with the tube lines to be honest. In particular the the way the middle card has been dragged down by the short fitting between itself and the bottom card. That has made the tube between the top two cards slant off considerably.

Obviously the choice of those two fittings was the wrong choice and I'm going to email ocuk and ask for something more suitable to be sent out. Which of course means emptying my entire loop yet again. Grr it's just an ongoing theme at the moment.

Do you have any suggestions for a better bridging setup between these cards where there's a one card gap ?

 

[Curlyriff]

What is the spacing between the two connection points?

You can get stubby barbs but they still might be too long, they would be 11mm deep from each side.

I don't why Asus have selected the spacing's they have for tri-gpu configurations because you can't use the bridge connections from EK for instance. Gigabyte & MSI have at least kept the same standard spacing's.

One other option would be to use the same solid pieces but in parallel on both GPU's as you can get different heights to suit. Bolt it all up prior to installation and because it's in parallel they should sag different directions.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Bitspower 1/4 inch adjustable Aquapipe II (41 - 69mm ) - Matte Black £11.99
1 x Bitspower 1/4 inch adjustable Aquapipe II (22 - 31mm ) - Matte Black £7.99
1 x Bitspower Premium G1/4" "Stubby" High Flow 1/2" Fitting - Black Matte £2.39
Total : £22.37 (includes shipping : ).



Above are some options, once I have the dimensions between the GPU block ports we can go from there.

Edit: Also the tube from the Motherboard block to the radiator should be switched. The motherboard block tube should go to the port furthest away from the motherboard. The port closest to the motherboard should go to the CPU block. That would clean up that top left corner allot.

 

[Papablu]

Hey Curlyriff, thanks once again for your much appreciated expertise on this. I've spoke to ocuk and they have apologised and I'm just trying to sort out a fix.

I thought about a quad parallel with blank link but the gaps are a bit odd with this board like you say. The space from the top card to the second is like one and a half slots and single slot between the 2nd and 3rd cards. That's obviously twin slot cards or whatever term is used.

I could use a twin parallel on the bottom two cards and a normal fitting and tube between the top card and the further away 2nd card ?

 

[Curlyriff]

Not a problem.

You could use a dual bridge for the bottom two cards and then two of the link pieces in parallel from the top card (again depends on your slot spacings though, which I don't have to hand at moment):

YOUR BASKET
1 x EK-FC Bridge DUAL Parallel £13.99
2 x Bitspower 1/4 inch adjustable Aquapipe II (41 - 69mm ) - Matte Black £11.99 (£23.98)
Total : £37.97 (includes shipping : ).

 

[Papablu]

Thanks Curlyriff. The distance between the two bottom cards is 40 mm at the end closest to the left of the case.

The measurement at the other end of the card just past the fittings is 35mm.

 

[Curlyriff]

Sorry long day and it's Friday.

Can you fill out the measurements below.

The distance from the top of the PCB of the 1st GPU and the top of PCB on the 2nd GPU is: XXmm

The distance between the top of the PCB of the 2nd GPU and the top of the PCB of the 3rd GPU is: XXmm



The requirement for the EK Bridge would be For use with motherboards with PCIe x16 slots 40.6mm (1.6") apart. Which is what I believe you have.

The 1st to 2nd card I am unsure on but looks to be around 60mm and as per the Bitspower link needs to be between 41-69mm so you should be OK but yeah. Can you provide those measurements.



Sorry to be a pain to get these details, would be easier if I had the gear in front of me.

Also on another note, a 5mm slant is a big difference when they are being pushed apart with fixtures.

 

[Curlyriff]

On another note, I should point out. I am back at work and not sure what GPU block you have so need to check that when I get home because that will make a difference to the bridge etc.

Could you link which GPU block you have and I or someone else can confirm which EK Bridge you will need.

I have a feeling from the memory of the pictures its the one below actually:

YOUR BASKET
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC Terminal DUAL Serial £13.99
Total : £13.99 (includes shipping : ).

 

[Papablu]

Sorry for the late reply Curlyriff, I've been having nightmares with the PC tonight and have just finished putting it all back together.

Basically I was told to fit a spacer which was in my box of watercooling spares. So I did this and I didn't like it too much. I wasn't happy with the amount of thread that was left to grip the block but was told it would be ok so I did that. I then started getting the coolant circulated only to have that fitting leak coolant all over the bottom card. So I've been drying that out and getting everything else back to normal and I just finished 20 minutes ago.

You're not being a pain at all buddy, I'm just really grateful for your help so thank you kindly.

The distance from the top of the PCB of the 1st GPU and the top of PCB on the 2nd GPU is: 62mm

The distance between the top of the PCB of the 2nd GPU and the top of the PCB of the 3rd GPU is: 40mm

The gpu waterblocks I've got are these :

EK ones

Come to think of it I did have a triple terminal in my last pc and that has gone awol while it was at ocuk. I'm gonna get them to send me a twin out if we can confirm which one is needed

 

[Bart_Hunt]

About Aurora.
Mayhems made an improved version, called Aurora 2.
It's supposed to look good for up to 2 years.
OCuk stocks 3 colors, but you can always use dye.

 

[Curlyriff]

Oh gosh, sounds like a nightmare. I would have freaked out. Spacers are not great and I am not sure I would never suggest placing one of those spaces with the thread that you have. I know people do and have been fine but I just don't like to risk it personally and I think yours above is a prime example.

Based on the dimensions, the items below are what are required then. This would allow you to install your loop much easier with a cleaner look, at least to me it would be.

YOUR BASKET
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC Terminal DUAL Parallel £13.99
2 x Bitspower 1/4 inch adjustable Aquapipe II (41 - 69mm ) - Matte Black £11.99 (£23.98)
Total : £37.97 (includes shipping : ).



Cheers Bart for the heads up on the Aurora 2. I didn't realise they were out.

With regards to the that then this would work since they are all dye safe:

YOUR BASKET
3 x Mayhems Aurora 2 Blue 1ltr £8.99 (£26.97)
1 x Mayhems Dye Purple 15ml £5.48
Total : £32.45 (includes shipping : ).

 

[Papablu]

About Aurora.
Mayhems made an improved version, called Aurora 2.
It's supposed to look good for up to 2 years.
OCuk stocks 3 colors, but you can always use dye.

Oooh, I do like the silver, that would go in any colour scheme. Thanks for the info Bart, much appreciated.

Oh gosh, sounds like a nightmare. I would have freaked out. Spacers are not great and I am not sure I would never suggest placing one of those spaces with the thread that you have. I know people do and have been fine but I just don't like to risk it personally and I think yours above is a prime example.

It was bad, I felt like just walking away and forgetting about PC's altogether. Then I came to my senses and just got on with the clean up process.

Based on the dimensions, the items below are what are required then. This would allow you to install your loop much easier with a cleaner look, at least to me it would be.

YOUR BASKET
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC Terminal DUAL Parallel £13.99
2 x Bitspower 1/4 inch adjustable Aquapipe II (41 - 69mm ) - Matte Black £11.99 (£23.98)
Total : £37.97 (includes shipping : ).

That's exactly what's needed, that block will hold the bottom cards straight and the hard tubed link will stay straight and not buckle with the slightest off centre alignment.

One thing though. I was just looking on a youtube video for the Bitspower 1/4 inch adjustable Aquapipe II and couldn't find an exact match but the fella did use some Bitspower Crystal Link Tube and two Multi Link adapters which I thought would be ideal because I could go with the black sparkle fittings to match what I've currently got.

I've had a look through ocuk for these fittings but came across quite a few and wasn't sure which would be right for my setup. All these sizes are totally confusing to me as they seem to use different terms for different items and I don't want to get the wrong stuff.

Firstly, would you recommend going down that route ?

If so can I be real pain and ask you to point me to the items I need ?

Sorry for all the questions and whatnot but I'm very limited with funds right now and combined with my newb status I can't afford to get it wrong

Thanks so much for all your help Curlyriff, I can't explain how grateful I am.

 

[Papablu]

Curlyriff I think I've got them sorted now and have managed to source the same Bitspower 1/4 inch adjustable Aquapipe II (41 - 69mm ) - Matte Black in a shiny black and also got a 22-31mm version for the lower cards which I'll get fitted while I wait for ocuk to get the dual parallel for me.

I would really like to get some quick release fittings set up around the system in strategic places but I don't know what I need to connect them to the pipes. They aren't well explained or photographed and I can't work out if I need to buy compression fittings as well. Any ideas anyone ?

 

[Curlyriff]

Sorry was away again, long trip from Oxford to Hayle, then back up to Brean & Western.

Sounds spot on.

If you can install the Aquapipe II all clean without it pulling the cards and you like the look when they are installed you might not want to switch them to the dual parallel block.

Quick release is great for maintenance and quick changes but aesthetically hard to pull off. Plus you need to have a spare male or female end to then drain the end of the component you have un-clipped. Further to that quick release units are really expensive also. You could buy all your hardline gear for the same price as a few quick release units.

I would suggest running a Y-connector of your pump that is of course hidden on the other side of the case with a short piece of tube and a standard fitting at the end with the cap on.

When you want to change or clean anything, just do a quick drain of the loop and switch out the component and then refill accordingly. Assuming you haven't got this already. I really wouldn't compromise on the build aesthetics for the minimal ease you will gain.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Bitspower Black Sparkle Y-Block Fitting With Triple Rotary G1/4" Ports £12.98
1 x Bitspower Outlet G1 / 4 inch - Black Sparkle £11.45
Total : £27.41 (includes shipping : £2.48).



Something like the above.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[Papablu]

Hi Curlyriff,

Thanks so much for the advice. I have purchased 3 sets of Bitspower quick disconnects already (One spare set for draining) which I'll use to isolate the graphics cards. I am getting through so much coolant at the moment as I have a leak on the left side front fitting on the top rad. OCUK have sent out a new 45 degree rotary fitting to replace it.
That's the second one of those fittings I have had leak on me.

I'm hoping I can get it all done in one go as I'm expecting those adjustable fittings this Thursday.

As for the Y fitting I've had a look at the back end of my pc and as you can see here there's not a lot of room to get a Y fitting in there. The wiring has been messed up as I'm still trying to hook things up so ignore that mess
Instead of the Y fitting I was wondering if I could simply put an elbow fitting on the plugged up side of the pump where the makeshift arrow is pointing. If I had an elbow fitting with a 6 inch length of tube and a compression fitting and plug on the end of that, would I be able to drain from that, would it work like that ?

Basically rotate the fitting to pull the tube out and unplug from the compression fitting to empty ?

No worries about the reply buddy I gathered you were busy

 

[subbytna]

What did you decide on component wise then? Or is it still a work in progress?

 

[Curlyriff]

Thanks so much for the advice. I have purchased 3 sets of Bitspower quick disconnects already (One spare set for draining) which I'll use to isolate the graphics cards. I am getting through so much coolant at the moment as I have a leak on the left side front fitting on the top rad. OCUK have sent out a new 45 degree rotary fitting to replace it.
That's the second one of those fittings I have had leak on me.

Honestly that sounds like such a ball ache. Are OcUK sending some more coolant as well then.

It has to be said that 45 degree rotary fittings are not the greatest. I have not used them in a long time for the exact reason that around 50% off the ones I have used leaked.

Honestly the best resource to check out for waterloop ideas and how to get yours cleaned up and set up is google images.

I would still standby and suggest that the quick disconnects would not be worth the time and effort to fit in the loop.

As for the Y fitting I've had a look at the back end of my pc and as you can see here there's not a lot of room to get a Y fitting in there. The wiring has been messed up as I'm still trying to hook things up so ignore that mess
Instead of the Y fitting I was wondering if I could simply put an elbow fitting on the plugged up side of the pump where the makeshift arrow is pointing. If I had an elbow fitting with a 6 inch length of tube and a compression fitting and plug on the end of that, would I be able to drain from that, would it work like that ?

Again, at work at moment so picture not visible. However the idea to get the drain is to make sure that you connect the drain run to the lowest part of the build so it drains via gravity (and maybe a little wiggle). If your elbow fitting is at the bottom with 6" of tube that will be fine.

Are you by an chance to spin the top radiator around by 180 degree? This could make for much cleaner loop but based on the previous picture it might be a little tight.