Project "Bonus Build" - Lian Li 011

Soldato
Joined
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So this is the first time (I think! :D ) 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.
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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 :D

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.
Well Bacon that doesn't seem like a big upgrade, just the CPU, Motherboard & GPU? :confused:

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.
 
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Should be a nice upgrade! Did you post that pic in another thread recently? It looks familiar.

Also, out of curiousity, is the motherboard change just for the extra NVME slot(s)?

Yes I posted it in the watercooling case gallery :) It's an "old" pic essentially now as all the components have been ripped out so I could test all the new ones on air.

So I originally upgraded the mobo for PCI-E Gen 4 & the extra NVME slots (Crosshair Hero VI only had 1), but then I struggled to get it to post with a 5000 series CPU even after a BIOS update so it became much more important.
 
So just after I posted this I got a delivery of the last remaining (watercooling) parts I was waiting for :D

So here's how the loop will be changing:

First off the new GPU waterblock, a lovely acrylic (not plexi) block from Alphacool that I must say looks amazing and is very heavy!
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Also from Alphacool is the new CPU block, this is actually the same block (Alphacool Eisblock) that I currently have but is a clear nylon rather than solid black plastic. (Can you tell I want to see more of the coolant, this'll become 'clear' in a moment ;))
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A new D5 EK pump + pump top, I'llk be attaching my existing resovoir on top of this & then mounting it to the side radiator using the 120mm fan bracket mount.
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Ooooh what's this? Two new radiators? The one on the left is a Corsair fairly slim 30mm thick radiator and on the right is a Black Ice LX 360 which is 54mm thick! Plan is to mount the Corsair in the bottom of the case (horizental) and the Black Ice on the side (vertical). Hopefully the greater amount of surface area on the Black Ice rad will make up for the increase in power the system draws compared to my old.
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Then we get the nerdy ****, top is an Aquacomputer flow sensor and below is a Aquacomputer inline temp sensor. Plan is for the temp sensor to control the fan and pump rpm, while the flow sensor allows me to ensure theres no blockage in the loop.
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A new PCI-E Gen 4 riser bracket from Lian-Li so I can see that acrylic GPU block in all her glory. Now it should be possible to mount a radiator underneath the bracket, as this isn't attached to the floor of the case and I can mount it fairly high up. Fingers crossed!
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Some additional Barrow fittings to replace some of the existing ones. Of note is the Bkyski push release valve which will replace the current ball valve for the drain port.
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Finally we have what I'm excited for and the reason for all the clear blocks! :D Some EK Cryofuel premixed liquid. 2L of it should be plenty and I can order more if I need it. Previousily the liquid was just distilled water with dye added.
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With everything now here the weekend will be spent making new tubing runs and finding out if it all fits ;)
 
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So day 1 of the build update :)

First off cleaning the case, looks nice spick and span!
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Next up, assembling the waterblock GPU. The exact model is an "Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Acrylic GPX-N RTX 3090/3080 ROG Strix with Backplate". Have to say I was a little worried about this but the instructions that came with it (in both English and German) were fantastic and it probarbly only took me ~15 minutes after I dissambled the card.
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Onto installing the various components, started off with adding the motherboard with the RAM, CPU & SSD's already mounted. You can't see it but in the second photo the case IO is wired in beind the radiator. Unfortunatley while the power button, audio & USB-Type C is wired in, the USB 3 header is not as it's too bulky to fit with the radiator installed. Not the end of the world but a little pain, you could remedy this with a internal PCI-E to USB 3 adapter (which I have).
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Adding the 2nd radiator, pump/res & CPU block. Apologies for the poor quality photo the sun was blaring in, should have laid it down on the table to be honest! With the bottom rad the fans are inside the main body of the case, while the vertical rad the fans are actually on the other side of the divide (aka in the cable management space). This is because there isn't enough room width wise, not a big deal and maybe how its actually meant to work?
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Skip ahead a bit and we now have the entire system installed (including power supply). Have to say bits of this was a right pain in the ass :D. Ended up switching the radiators around multiple times to get my favourite solution. In the end went with the EK PE 360mm (40mm deep) on the bottom, the EK SE 360mm on the side (28mm deep) & the chunky Black Ice LX 360 (54mm deep) on the top. All fans are running in a push configuration only, priority for the build is silence over performance. GPU looks nice though doesnt it ;)

Oh, and in case your wondering why theres a 3rd fan missing on the top rad. Don't worry it does fit and I didn't run out of fans! (these are the Artic P12 Max), but the Black Ice rad needs M4 not M3 screws and I don't have enough on me, so to the shop!
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Final note of the day, I'm sure connecting all these fittings up will be fun... :cry:
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All in all, it does almost all fit. Alas the Corsair Rad was just a tad too thick so I ended up subbing it with the EK SE one. :(
 
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