Building my first custom rig, value your opinion

[New2Mod]

I am building my first custom water cooled system for gaming and minor 3D rendering, need advice.

Budget, there is not “really” a budget for this (but not looking to go insane) as I have dedicated the entire year to getting it done if that is what it takes.

Flexibility, I want to be able to expand on this later if needed, not looking to build the “beast system” if I will have to replace everything in the next year or two to upgrade.

Video, monitor is 120Hz with 2ms refresh 3D ready 1920 x 1080 res. But after reading all these forums (about 2 weeks planning) I want to leave room to consider a 3 monitor setup later.

Overclocking, yes as much as possible but remain stable, may need to get assistance. This also includes the Video card/s.

Case, I have yet to decide on case, there are so many options but currently looking at the new 900D, the D8000, or the trusted ole SWITCH 810 w/pedestal. Whatever it is, it will need to be large enough for an overkill dual pump system.

Power supply, Corsair 1200i, but that needs to change as the calculator indicates I will be cutting it close.

Reusing parts, will be bring over 1TB 7200rpm SATA Seagate data drive from old PC, everything else will be new.

Parts list, best I can come up with according to my readings…

Rampage IV Extreme (Bluetooth is a plus)

i7-3930K 3.2GHz Processor

2x Asus GTX-690 (readings indicate the Asus boards are better than the EVGA) I have read the arguments about 2x 690’s versus 4x 680’s, if I understand them correctly, 2x 690’s is quad SLI at 16 x 16. 4x 680’s is quad SLI at 8 x 8 x 8 x 8 and no room to expand (not to mention the extra water blocks).

OCZ Agility 3 480GB SATAIII SSD for operating system and games (Diablo mainly, though I am not used to a system that can handle much more so that may change with this build)

Memory, I am a huge Dominator fan; "I" believe it is the best on the current market, but they dropped the ball on this board so I am forced to go with G.Skill #2 in my book. I fear going above 1.5 volts after reading nightmare stories on forums about 1.65v on an Intel processors though.

Operating system is Windows 7 professional (reviews of windows 8 make me think it is more suited of touch screen and a huge learning curve moving from XP Pro.

Extra, "just because I want it"… Asus Xonar Phoebus


I don’t need to tell you I am a huge fan of this site, I have read many forum postings here and have learned a lot, I come to you now because I trust you know what you are talking about and I have exhausted every other recourse to get this system right. You know what I “think” I should have, would you set me straight please.

P.S. need to find the beginner watercooling section LOL.

Thank you

[Krindor]

If you like AA I would actually recommend you to either go for 7990 or 3x 680 4gb as when running triple monitor with a high AA the required ram will go past the limit of a 690, which is 2gb. In the future the games will require more ram and therefore 4gb versions is better. Also on the RIVE the 680 will run with a bandwidth of x16 as the SB-E can handle higher bandwidths.

When running tri-sli the 1200i will be enough.

For SSD I would recommend you to get 1 120gb for the OS and Drivers. This will make the OS boot up faster as well as it will have it's own drive causing the OS to run faster.

Just to ask what is your reason for the SB-E, the 3770k is better when it comes to gaming and will do pretty good if you're only going to do minor 3D renderings. Also the price of the 3770k is about half of that of the 3930k, and for the mother board I would recommend the MVE as it has enough lanes for triple sli with 680 and a Phoebus. The MVE have a PLX chip and supports PCI-e 3.0 so the lanes will run at double the bandwidth so there is no problems there, the cards will run with x16 x8 x16 if I remember right.

For ram if you decide to with the 3770k you should be able to run 1.65v ram with no problems at all as for size I would recommend 2x8gb or 4x8gb at 2133 mhz. As for manufacturer you can go for the Corsair Dominator or G.skill Trident X.

As you said Win 8 has a pretty huge learning curve or rather you have to get used to it ones you get used to it is better than Win 7 imo. Win 8 vs Win 7, here it is taste as well as performance, the Win 8 performs better but for most users that are used to the older versions of Windows the Win 8 feels weird.

For case it's your own choice and taste Both Switch 810 and 900D should be good, while the 900D is soon to be released it's predecessor the 800D was liked by many.

Now to the fun part, water cooling.
If you're going with the 900D it would feel weird not to use up all the space in it, so 2 4x120mm radiator is a must , for radiators the Alphacool nexXxos series is the best choice, the nexxxos UT60 is the best performing radiator at RPM over 1000, there is also the nexxxos monsta, but this one is has a depth of 80mm and will be hard to fit so the UT60 is a better choice. If you like silent fans (below 1000rpm) the nexxxos ST30 is your friend, it is the best performing radiator under 1000rpm.

For pump, as you decided to go for dual pump (I guess you mean dual loop) 2 DDC 3.2 pumps will be enough.

When it comes to CPU block it's more or less a matter of taste as well as how it performs. My personal favorite is the XSPC Raystorm as it has both the looks and performance. For more blocks as well to check on how they perform look here: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...-Block-Roundup

For reservoir the XSPC 5.25" dual bay red pump top for 2 pumps is great, the XSPC tops are one of the greatest and the reservoir supports dual loop and you won't have to look around for a top for the pump as well, also you won't have the need of fitting a reservoir in the case.

For tubing Masterkleer or Primoflex PRO would be the best choice as these two types are the best ones what I know. I would recommend 13/19mm sizing on the tubing.

For fittings Bitspower are of the best quality and works well, there is also Monsoon that makes a lot of fittings for other companies. These should be the same size as the tubing. I would recommend compression fittings as they are easier to use and looks better. There is also different angle fittings but that depends on how you have thought the loop/s will look like.

For fans, depending on what you're going for I would recommend Noiseblocker multiframe PWM fans if you're going for over 1000rpm as these are pretty quiet while having a great static pressure. For fans below 1000 rpm the Noiseblocker eloops PWM P version are great being very silent as well as still having a pretty good static pressure.

As for water block for the 680s this is more or less your won opinion on looks but when it comes to non-reference blocks the block need to fit the card so you have to find which ones fit, there are very few reviews on temperature on GPU blocks so it's hard to know which one is the best performing.

[New2Mod]

Thank you for your extensive reply, it is very enlightening. Keep in mind this is only a discussion so if I knock something it is because I don’t know what you do. Teach me LOL.

I understand where the arguments for the 680-4GD5 are coming from now and better understand those rooting for it. Though it would take the entire board to quad SLI, the 4gig per-GPU ram would be of greater importance (I guess). OK, sold me on that one.

I chose the 3930k over the 3770 for expandability, my first choice was the Maximus V Extreme with the 3.5 Ivy Bridge, but after reading many forums I was convinced that I should be looking at a board I had options for later. The 2011 Ivy Bridge will be out soon and that allows me freedom to upgrade both ram and CPU on a couple years if I desire.

To tell the truth I am pulling away from the 900D more and more, I like Corsair products but a 5.25” bay cover that isn’t 5.25”? I have to modify it just because the builders don’t use ROM drives? LOL, my opinion, leave them out completely and put more vents in if you’re going to do that. But, still haven’t decided.

Are you saying Win 8 is a better option for me moving from XP Pro?

So far my short list for Water Cooling goodies is…

EK GeForce 680 GTX+ VGA Liquid Cooling Block (changed from 690)
EK ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Full Board Cooling Block Kit
EK Supremacy Universal CPU Liquid Cooling Block
EK FC Bridge Dual Parallel 3-Slot CSQ - SLI Connection
2x EK D5 Dual CSQ Pump Top w/ dual 655-PWM pumps
2x EK-MultiOption RES X3 250 - Liquid Cooling Reservoir
PrimoFlex Advanced LRT hose (unknown length until case is laid out)
Bitspower 3/8 x 5/8 compression fittings (unknown until case is laid out)
Have yet to read reviews on radiators or fans yet, but for radiators Alpha-Cool is one of many names I have noticed a lot, but as for fans I was looking into Xigmatek FCB.

Look forward to your opinion.

Thanks again for the reply

[New2Mod]

Noticed i forgot the memory water block, the only one I was able to find that would fit the G.Skill memory was Koolance RAM-33

[Krindor]

Dominator or Mushkin would be your choice if you're going to water cool memory.

About the fans, XIGMATEK FCB I have no idea how these perform haven't found any reviews nor seen them in comparison tests.

Personally I wouldn't go EK, but that is just cause I don't like the looks of their stuff.
As for radiator Alphacool is the best choice as I mentioned above, they have simply beaten all the other radiators in performance and they are good for people new to water cooling.
For GPU water block, as you're going with the 4gb version there is a big chance that the GPU is non-reference and that it can only use the water block made for it, for example the Asus 680 DC2 4gb can only use water blocks specially designed for it, for example EKWB 680 DC2.

Going to win 8 from XP is a very grand step, win 7 is closer to win XP. This is more your own choice, I would say that you should test win 8 out on some other computer just so that you can see how it works, as it doesn't have a start button like all previous version on Windows.

For the 900D the 5.25 are still 5.25 but from the outside they look like bigger drives. Just gonna say if it where me I would remove them and mount another 480 rad there. If I weren't using a bay res I would already have removed the 5.25 in my case due to it really being a pain. Though for people new to water cooling bay res/pump top combo are easier to use compared to res and pump being separate.

If you aren't going to use a bay res I would recommend FrozenQ's reservoirs, only due to looks they are pretty much the best looking reservoirs out there imo

As for X79 vs Z77, while the X79 will be better for future upgrades, remember that the 3930k is more 100$ less than a 3770k + MVE together. If you're planning to upgrade later on I would either recommend you get the cheaper 3820 and wait for IB-E or buy the MVE and 3770k and then upgrade both mobo and CPU in the future, personally I'm aiming at upgrading my system when Skylake is released 2015. For 2011 socket the IB-E is going to be released Q3 this year.

[New2Mod]

Unless someone else joins in I think I will take your advice, build for now and wait until mid to end of 2015 and upgrade. I will be going with the MVE mobo and 3777k CPU, Corsair DP 1866 mem. I have made adjustments to water block list and emailed EK for proper water block for the GTX680-DC2-4GD5 video card that I will have SLI. I shouldn’t have a problem installing the Phoebus as this card is a 2 slot rather than 3 (fingers crossed).

Thanks for all you help,

[New2Mod]

Have to admit I am a bit confused at the moment. Just received the email from EK concerning the water block for the GTX680-DC2-4GD5, they say the EK GeForce 670 GTX DCII VGA Liquid Cooling Block is the one for the 680 4gb card. Does anyone have this card installed on their 680 that can confirm it is correct?

Edit:

The link they sent me http://www.coolingconfigurator.com/s...t?gpu_gpus=891

[Mankz]

I hate to say it, but it looks like it should fit, but whatever you do don't quote me on that..

ASUS-GTX680-DC2-2GD5-GeForce-GTX-680-2GB-GDDR5-PCB_77374.jpg

^^ Thats the 2Gb card, and has a noticeably different PCB to the one in your photo. I think its becasue the 4Gb has RAM on the back of the PCB as well, while the voltage bits seem to be nearer the front of the board.

670 680 DC2.jpg

Thats the GTX670 4Gb, and the PCB does look very very similar to yours..

EK are normally quite good about their compatability, so its up to you i

[Krindor]

Mankz the 670 4gb picture is the 2gb version and there is a low possibility that the 680 has the same pcb as the 670 unless Asus used the same PCB for both and only used different cores, the 670 is normally much shorter than a 680. Also the picture on the link New got the is the 670 2gb version, either EKWB screwed up big time or Asus has decided to do something. I have no idea how the 680 4gb looks in real life and there doesn't seem to be any pictures on the pcb.

How to see if it's 2gb or 4 gb version when it comes to 670 is too look at the memory slots, as you see in the 670 4gb picture there are only one card on each place around the gpu, you can see that it is possible to place another memory besides it.

[New2Mod]

What worries me about this is the link I provided above is the 4 GB GTX680 published on 12/11/2012, but the image provided by Mankz appears to be the 4 GB GTX670 published on 11/21/2012; they are the SAME item in the picture so I fear going by that. I have looked everywhere and have yet to find my upcoming card disassembled.

I guess my only option ATM is to wait until the video cards arrive. I have yet to decide on a case so I will need to shop around for a test bench. This is a high dollar build; hate to void a warranty on a card that could be DOA.

While I am not new to buying parts and sticking them in cases, I am new to modifying them and making them look good. This will be a monumental undertaking for me, sticking parts in and hooking them up is one thing, but I plan to go all out on this. I hope you don’t mind noob questions like, what is a good test bench or video card testing software.

So much to learn, I am loving this LOL.