Associate
Welcome everybody,
This is my 5th computer build and arguably the most exciting, you lucky people, because this will be my first water cooled computer and my first project log. So far I have spared you the agonising 6 months of researching benchmarks and reviews, choosing the parts and the slow process of procuring them.
So this morning the final order(I hope) arrived and here it all is:
To save your eyesight here is a precis:
Intel 980x Extreme
Asus Rampage III Extreme
Corsair Dominator GT 6GB
XFX 5970 4GB (x2)
Crucial 256GB 6GB/S Solid State
WD 1T 6GB/S HDD
Dell U2410
Enermax 1200W
OK on to the water cooling loop. Designing this loop presented me with the most agonising decision of all...which graphics cards to get and consequently which motherboard. I knew that I wanted a multiple card setup so that part was simple. Similarly I wanted the Rampage III due to how well it overclocks with the 980x. After hours spent on the internet I eventually found the info I was after. Triple SLi(480) vs TriFire(5870) vs Quadfire(5970x2). Great, I thought, all my answers in one place! Erm, no, not exactly. You see I really wanted the Rampage III, so I read a bit more info and with 3 cards you don't get 16 lanes for each slot. I may never notice, you say, but like herpes it would always know... So a quick re-think was required. I definitely needed a 2 card setup with the Rampage III so I looked at the 5870 2gb. Then, in a Simpson-esque cloud parting(with music) moment, I stumbled across the XFX 5970 4GB card. My prayers were answered. Well, if I was religious and if I had prayed for help, they were answered for sure. The only drawback being that I can't water cool them as there are no blocks available. The resulting loop will look something lke this:
I am hoping that the layout of the loop will prevent huge sagging lines of pipes in the case. I would like to make it as neat as possible. with short tidy lines.
As for a colour scheme, a lot of the parts are red and black and I have tried to stick to this as much as possible. Its mostly luck that the parts I really wanted are all in similar colours. Still, its better to be lucky than good. As for the water in the loop, I am not sure about just red so I am going to chuck a bit of black in there as well to see if a nice subtle dark red will look good. If you have made it this far down and you are still reading, then thank you for your time. I would appreciate any top tips that you have and I welcome constructive criticism. After all, thats the point of this log. I hope you will enjoy this as much as I am going to.
This is my 5th computer build and arguably the most exciting, you lucky people, because this will be my first water cooled computer and my first project log. So far I have spared you the agonising 6 months of researching benchmarks and reviews, choosing the parts and the slow process of procuring them.
So this morning the final order(I hope) arrived and here it all is:
To save your eyesight here is a precis:
Intel 980x Extreme
Asus Rampage III Extreme
Corsair Dominator GT 6GB
XFX 5970 4GB (x2)
Crucial 256GB 6GB/S Solid State
WD 1T 6GB/S HDD
Dell U2410
Enermax 1200W
OK on to the water cooling loop. Designing this loop presented me with the most agonising decision of all...which graphics cards to get and consequently which motherboard. I knew that I wanted a multiple card setup so that part was simple. Similarly I wanted the Rampage III due to how well it overclocks with the 980x. After hours spent on the internet I eventually found the info I was after. Triple SLi(480) vs TriFire(5870) vs Quadfire(5970x2). Great, I thought, all my answers in one place! Erm, no, not exactly. You see I really wanted the Rampage III, so I read a bit more info and with 3 cards you don't get 16 lanes for each slot. I may never notice, you say, but like herpes it would always know... So a quick re-think was required. I definitely needed a 2 card setup with the Rampage III so I looked at the 5870 2gb. Then, in a Simpson-esque cloud parting(with music) moment, I stumbled across the XFX 5970 4GB card. My prayers were answered. Well, if I was religious and if I had prayed for help, they were answered for sure. The only drawback being that I can't water cool them as there are no blocks available. The resulting loop will look something lke this:
I am hoping that the layout of the loop will prevent huge sagging lines of pipes in the case. I would like to make it as neat as possible. with short tidy lines.
As for a colour scheme, a lot of the parts are red and black and I have tried to stick to this as much as possible. Its mostly luck that the parts I really wanted are all in similar colours. Still, its better to be lucky than good. As for the water in the loop, I am not sure about just red so I am going to chuck a bit of black in there as well to see if a nice subtle dark red will look good. If you have made it this far down and you are still reading, then thank you for your time. I would appreciate any top tips that you have and I welcome constructive criticism. After all, thats the point of this log. I hope you will enjoy this as much as I am going to.
you see.
, there is always something newer and faster around the corner. Apart from anything else these cards are fantasticly engineered over and above the original design and their limited availability just adds a little edge to the whole build. Oh and I'm way too impatient to wait 
- on order!
