So this is the first time (I think! 
) that I've recorded my upgrade, and given it's a fairly hefty one thought it might be fun to document and talk about 
I've decided to call it, Project Bonus Build because it's funded by my yearly bonus, which after mr tax man took his bite looked a lot smaller than I hoped
Anyways, here is my current setup and pictures so you have an idea of what I'm upgrading from.
Components (old build):
On the watercooling side what I've got in there, is PETG hardline tubing (14/10mm) with Barrow fittings, and aside from the CPU + GPU block, is an alphacool d5 pump + top, 2x 360 radiators & 1x 240 radiator (all with Artic P12 fans) all controlled by an Aquero 6.
Now this wasn't the first time I had done a full custom loop, it's actually my 3rd and the last time I did one was in a Fractal Define C, which while a lovely case, was absolutley terrible for trying to fit a custom loop and I actually bought an entirely new system just to ditch watercooling inside it
So the reason for my upgrade, given this is still a pretty strong system, is that I play EVE Online a lot, which if you run multiple instances of the game / accounts as I do means you need a lot of RAM & graphical power if you don't want to play on potato settings. I also do a lot of video editing / production & want to play at 4K in the near future as currently I'm rocking a 1440P monitor. Being able to use raytracing and dlss is therefore a bit of a must.
So what new components have I got? (I've highlighted the new components in red)
Components (new build):
You would be correct in any other build! However I'm also doing a big "upgrade" to the watercooling loop, yes that's staying. So aside from the above what is also changing in the loop?
For that you'll have to wait for my next post once everything has arrived... I will say the water cooling components cost almost as much as the rest of the system
PS. Oh and for anyone that looked at those list of components and went, "wtf a 3090 on a 650W power supply, this guy must be an idiot!" I actually planned on replacing it with a 850W model but thought I would test it first. So all the components are actually currently running in my PC on air, and even with a max overclock of both the GPU and CPU have been stable for ~1 week. Got to give credit to Super Flower for making such an awesome power supply.
) that I've recorded my upgrade, and given it's a fairly hefty one thought it might be fun to document and talk about I've decided to call it, Project Bonus Build because it's funded by my yearly bonus, which after mr tax man took his bite looked a lot smaller than I hoped
Anyways, here is my current setup and pictures so you have an idea of what I'm upgrading from.
Components (old build):
- Lian-Li 011 Dynamic (white)
- Ryzen 3600 clocked @ 4.2ghz all core
- 32GB Corsair Vengance @ 3600mhz
- Asus Crosshair Hero VI X370 Motherboard (god I loved this board)
- Gigabyte GTX 1080 TI (reference model)
- SuperFlower 650W Platinium Modular PSU
- 3x Nvme / M.2 SSD's + 1x SATA 3 SSD for total storage of 7TB.
On the watercooling side what I've got in there, is PETG hardline tubing (14/10mm) with Barrow fittings, and aside from the CPU + GPU block, is an alphacool d5 pump + top, 2x 360 radiators & 1x 240 radiator (all with Artic P12 fans) all controlled by an Aquero 6.
Now this wasn't the first time I had done a full custom loop, it's actually my 3rd and the last time I did one was in a Fractal Define C, which while a lovely case, was absolutley terrible for trying to fit a custom loop and I actually bought an entirely new system just to ditch watercooling inside it
So the reason for my upgrade, given this is still a pretty strong system, is that I play EVE Online a lot, which if you run multiple instances of the game / accounts as I do means you need a lot of RAM & graphical power if you don't want to play on potato settings. I also do a lot of video editing / production & want to play at 4K in the near future as currently I'm rocking a 1440P monitor. Being able to use raytracing and dlss is therefore a bit of a must.
So what new components have I got? (I've highlighted the new components in red)
Components (new build):
- Lian-Li 011 Dynamic (white)
- Ryzen 5700X3D
- 32GB Corsair Vengance @ 3600mhz
- Gigabyte X570S-UD
- Asus ROG Strix 3090
- SuperFlower 650W Platinium Modular PSU
- 3x Nvme / M.2 SSD's + 1x SATA 3 SSD for total storage of 7TB.
You would be correct in any other build! However I'm also doing a big "upgrade" to the watercooling loop, yes that's staying. So aside from the above what is also changing in the loop?
For that you'll have to wait for my next post once everything has arrived... I will say the water cooling components cost almost as much as the rest of the system
PS. Oh and for anyone that looked at those list of components and went, "wtf a 3090 on a 650W power supply, this guy must be an idiot!" I actually planned on replacing it with a 850W model but thought I would test it first. So all the components are actually currently running in my PC on air, and even with a max overclock of both the GPU and CPU have been stable for ~1 week. Got to give credit to Super Flower for making such an awesome power supply.
Last edited:
