Project: Recase

Alienfish360

Alienfish360

Alienfish360

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Joined
26 Jul 2014
Posts
300
Since introduction threads are a bit boring I skipped that and thought a project thread may be a better starting point.

I am currently running the following spec:
Gigabyte GA78LMT
FX-6350
MSI OC BE HD7970 (Was previously an Asus DirectCU2 GTX660, then PowerColor R9 280x, the change to the HD7970 will be covered later)
2x Plextor M5s 128GB SSD
1x Seagate 500GB HDD
Corsair CS650M PSU

For cooling:
XSPC 750 Pump/Res
XSPC EX120 Radiator
XSPC Raystorm CPU block

Case:
Zalman Z3 Plus

The case is quite decent for £35 or so, however a single rad doesn't fit inside the case, so it's on stand offs at the back which looks messy, I also looked to upgrade my graphics card and was offered an R9 280x, at this point (finally running BF4 on Ultra decently), I decided to watercool the GPU.

The first stumbling block was that the R9 280x I had wasn't a reference card, and I was struggling to find one that was, so I decided to go for the MSI OC Boost Edition 7970 which is giving me pretty much the same performance, and is a reference card.

To go with this, I got an EK-FC7970 Waterblock and back plate, the next problem was that I would never be able to cool the card and CPU adequately on a single 120mm rad, but I couldn't fit more in my current case, so a new case was next.

Then the maths didn't work out with the XSPC 750 pump, so I now have an XSPC D5 Pump/Dual Bay Res combo on it's way, which should give me enough pressure to keep a decent flow through the loops.

So my proposed spec will be as follows:

Case:
Fractal Design Arc XL

Hardware:
Gigabyte GA78LMT
AMD FX-6350
8GB RAM
MSI OC BE HD7970
Plextor m5s 128GB x2
Seagate 500GB x1

Cooling:
XSPC Raystorm CPU Block
EK-FC7970 Waterblock & Backplate
IC-Diamond 24
XSPC D5 Pump/Dual Bay Res
XSPC EX240 Slim Radiator
XSPC EX360 Slim Radiator
Corsair SP120 x6 (5 on rads, 1 on intake at bottom of the case)
Corsair AF120 x1 (Rear Exhaust)

First thing is, wow at the case.

I mentioned to a friend it is like the Volvo of computer cases, big, strong, well made, yet subtle but surprisingly nice looking for how simple it is.

Currently, I am as far as fitting the waterblock and backplate to the HD7970, the next step tomorrow will be to drain the old loop, clean out the CPU waterblock, refit with new paste, then fit the card into the new case, then build up the loop, leak test, then power it up and do temperature checks.

So hopefully, it will all be fun and games, photos to follow :)
 
First up was to lay the case out

temporary_zps9ce77b71.jpg

The case was far far bigger than I expected really.

Next up, was fitting the motherboard, next mobo and CPU change I do, I will more than likely go to a full size ATX board.
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Waterblock was then fitted to the GPU with IC Diamond Paste
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Then fans were mounted to the radiators.
temporary_zps66f618aa.jpg

I am using a 360mm thin rad at the top exhaust and a thin 240mm rad intake at the front, both from XSPC. Fans for the rads are Corsair SP120

Front radiator in
temporary_zps24881661.jpg


Rear exhaust fan in (Corsair AF120)
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Top radiator in.
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Then the plumbing, note that there is now more curve in the front rad pipework to the resevoir as it is now sitting higher in the drive bays, the pump and res were just rested at the bottom of the cage at this point.
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Loop was filled
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Lights In
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The next thing is for a full size ATX board which should give me more options for cable runs in the case, but that won't be till I have cash to go Intel, and run dual GPU.
 
Really needs a full size ATX board.

Hopefully once Christmas is done with, I will get a 2nd 7970 and extend the loop, as I have plenty of thermal headroom.

I will also go to a full size ATX board, and likely go to an intel too.
 
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