x99 Build advice/critique appreciated

FightingFirst · 6 Aug 2015 at 18:10

Hey,

I was wondering if anyone could critique this build/offer some advice? This is my first watercooled build so I have gone with the bundle. I will be using this system primarily for gaming (games I will be playing: Witcher 3, GTA, Star Citizen). I wont be using any parts from the system I use atm as I am giving it away to family.

KFA2 GeForce GTX 980Ti "Reference Design"

Gigabyte X99-SLI - Intel Core i7 5820K Six Core CPU & Motherboard Bundle

Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C14 2400MHz Quad Channel Kit

XFX XTR 850W '80 Plus Gold' Fully Modular Power Supply

XSPC Razor GTX 980 980 Ti VGA Water Block

Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM

Seagate SSHD 7200RPM 3.5" 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM

Samsung 120GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive

OcUK Tech Labs - V12 Watercooling Kit 360 with XSPC X20 dual Bayres/pump, Magicool copper radiator III PRO-360 mm, Mayhems X1 clear premixed watercooling fluid and primochill promoflex advanced tubing 16/11 black.

XSPC Razor GTX 980 980 Ti Backplate

Fractal Design Define R5 Midi Tower Case

Total is £1762

First question I have is what is a good watercooling case for a 1st time watercooled build. I like plain cases, the case I have atm is a Bitfenix Shinobi mid tower. However, I think it would be a bit snug. Im not too fussed about flashy cases, personally prefer a cheaper case. Ive got a £100 max to put into the case.

Second question, ive gone for a watercooling bundle, is it cheaper to buy parts individually, if so what parts do you guys recommend? Also if I did go with the bundle is there enough tubing to add in a vga block as well?

Third question, I havent kept up with computer components that much since my last build. Is there anywhere where I can shave off the price a bit on this build getting down to £1500 would be ace as I need to buy a new monitor in the coming months? I am only looking to do a bit of overclocking? I was wondering if I was better off going with the new skylake i5 if I am only gaming on this system?

Cheers for the help

dacads · 6 Aug 2015 at 18:25

Crikey a lot of X99 builds coming in

Anyway I think you can definitely do better for case i.e the Fractal Design R5 or one of the Phanteks offerings.

Here's a better PSU and for less money

YOUR BASKET
1 x XFX XTR 850W '80 Plus Gold' Fully Modular Power Supply £99.95
Total : £109.55 (includes shipping : £8.00 Ex.VAT).

MrMD · 6 Aug 2015 at 18:35

Your PSU choice is rather extremely overpriced for the quality of the unit

get this instead YOUR BASKET
1 x SuperFlower Leadex Platinum 750W Fully Modular "80 Plus Platinum" Power Supply - Black £112.99
Total : £122.59 (includes shipping : £8.00 Ex.VAT).

Better in every way and same price.

The WC bundle you have selected is a bit meh,especially considering the parts you instead to cool,no point having a high end rig water cooled with budget parts imo
The 980ti block/backplate are fine tho.

To watercool your proposed rig you should budget around £400 for high end gear,D5 pump,480mm+ of rad space ect

Edit:Also i think KFA2 wont honour warrenty if stock cooler is removed,so you may want to get a different vendors card in-case your card up and dies one day.

FightingFirst · 6 Aug 2015 at 21:27

dacads said:
Crikey a lot of X99 builds coming in

Anyway I think you can definitely do better for case i.e the Fractal Design R5 or one of the Phanteks offerings.

Here's a better PSU and for less money

YOUR BASKET
1 x XFX XTR 850W '80 Plus Gold' Fully Modular Power Supply £99.95
Total : £109.55 (includes shipping : £8.00 Ex.VAT).

Cheers for the info I have updated my build with that PSU. Also, I like the R5 that should be able to fit a 360mm radiator in?

MrMD said:
Edit:Also i think KFA2 wont honour warrenty if stock cooler is removed,so you may want to get a different vendors card in-case your card up and dies one day.

Interesting re cooling, anything you would suggest? Also, this thread does seem to suggest KFA2 honour their warranty: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18643771

...unless anything has changed.

Cheers for the help so far. Any more comments would be welcome especailly if Im overspending on something for little gain.

FightingFirst · 7 Aug 2015 at 22:59

Bump. Anything else I can spend more effeciently on. Also I would really appreciate some info on the watercooling and if the v12 will be adequate as I am completely new to that area of pc building.

Mustang · 7 Aug 2015 at 23:30

Can't see anything you're needlessly overspending on, but I can help you spend more money if that's any use

Regarding SSD, £20 extra for more than double the storage with the 250 GB variant, seems like the more sensible choice to me.

Personally I've used two of Seagate's SSHDs in the past, sorry to say neither experience ended happily, I could have been unlucky, or they could have improved their reliability, but needless to say I now avoid them like the plague, although not sure what an alternative option might be for you, upgrade your SSD even more to 500 GB if you're not desperate for massive amounts of storage, or WD 2TB Black maybe, not sure, just thought I'd mention it.

And lastly not something I have personal experience with, but from what I've gleamed the 750 pump isn't suitable for decent flowrates and therefore temperatures when cooling multiple components, assuming you were planning on connecting the GPU to the same loop, so the D5 upgrade would probably be the way to go.

Also you'll need at least 8 barbs if intending to join the GPU, whilst that set only comes with 6.

Again not something I've done myself, but I'd suggest that yes, that massive radiator will fit in the R5, and will be enough to keep your CPU and GPU at reasonable temps.

FightingFirst · 9 Aug 2015 at 19:15

Mustang said:
Can't see anything you're needlessly overspending on, but I can help you spend more money if that's any use

Regarding SSD, £20 extra for more than double the storage with the £250 GB variant, seems like the more sensible choice to me.

Personally I've used two of Seagate's SSHDs in the past, sorry to say neither experience ended happily, I could have been unlucky, or they could have improved their reliability, but needless to say I now avoid them like the plague, although not sure what an alternative option might be for you, upgrade your SSD even more to 500 GB if you're not desperate for massive amounts of storage, or WD 2TB Black maybe, not sure, just thought I'd mention it.

And lastly not something I have personal experience with, but from what I've gleamed the 750 pump isn't suitable for decent flowrates and therefore temperatures when cooling multiple components, assuming you were planning on connecting the GPU to the same loop, so the D5 upgrade would probably be the way to go.

Also you'll need at least 8 barbs if intending to join the GPU, whilst that set only comes with 6.

Again not something I've done myself, but I'd suggest that yes, that massive radiator will fit in the R5, and will be enough to keep your CPU and GPU at reasonable temps.

Cheers for the info. I swapped out the SSHD with a 2tb seagate HDD and also upgraded the SDD like you suggested.

Ive decided to bin the custom watercooled loop until I have the money to do it properly and not a half assed approach. So Ive gone for a Corsair Hydro H100i and with the money saved upgraded the reference 98ti to KFA2 GeForce GTX 980Ti "Hall of Fame 8 Pack Approved Edition". Hoefully the cool blocks will be available for it in january when I plan to put a custom loop in the pc.

Once again thank you for the help.