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Mutts new build

Ace_Red
Level 7
Took months. As soon as I started, I got so busy I rarely had a chance to work on it. What started as a simple upgrade build morphed into a crazy double custom loop complete with new video card, psu etc. Got stuck with a bad mobo, (first one I've never benched) so that cost a bunch of time tearing apart and sending in for rma.

Parts. I79900K, Asus ROG Maximus XI Formula, EVGA RTX 2080TI Black, Trident G.Skill DDR4 3600 CL 15, EVGA 1600 T2 Psu, Thermaltake Tower 900 case, Samsung 970 NVMeM.2, EK XE 480 and Black Ice 360 Radiators, EKWB D5 Rgb pump res combo, 400 MM tubes, PetG tubing, EKWB fittings, EKWB velocity WB and EVGA Water block.

Day 1



First time bending PetG tubing. Made a 2" dowel, put screw in it to mark spiral and put heat shrink on to protect tube. Removed screws when finished to get spiral off.




I made this custom plate to replace a plate similar with holes like the one just above it. I drilled in bulkhead holes for the tubing.



First go around with the helix. About this time, I decided I really needed to add a new video card and a second loop. So I scrapped this and added the card.



Here's a pump/res combo. They come with 12V RGB led's. I changed everything over to 5V LED's to be compatible with the Corsair commander pro and lighting node pro. Thanks to Dev for helping me get all the right connectors. Turned out easier to replace these LED's than I thought it would be.



Here's the LED's I plan to run inside the rails in the case. All custom built. These have magnets on them but got rid of those later on. Purchased 16' off of Amazon and soldered all the wires on. Since I planned to run so many lights, I didn't think the headers or the commander pro would handle all of them. I ended up running all the power for these to a molex connector. So data and ground went to the CP and the lighting node pro but power was direct to psu.



Lights on inside of rail.



Added the video card now and incorporated it with the helix loop. Super tricky to get the loop to fold right into the video card connectors and stay round. I was convinced I would see a leak there.



Added the reservoirs. In the long run, having 2 reservoirs made sense.



Here's a good shot of all the bulk head fittings I put in. Hard tubing in the front and soft in the back.



Both radiators installed along with the soft tubing.



When you add all the lighting, it adds a lot of wire. Hard to hide it all.



Here's 4 LL120 fans on the side and one 140 mm on top.



These short runs with the hard tube are a pain. Looks easy but not much wiggle room. Ended up heating it up for the most part, then snapping all the ends in to the fittings, heating some more and setting the reservoir and everything in place. After it cooled, I removed the silicone insert.



Filling it up with water and getting ready for a leak test. Scary day. Was sure the I would have a lot of issues.... Only one bad fitting and I thought it might be bad. I put it where it was super easy to replace. Had my Microcenter friend bring me one that night.



I'll post the video of the coolant going in. Used Mayhems solid. Goes in white and used dye to change colors. Yellow was easy. Purple not so easy. Had to mix red and blue. It looks more purple in person.



Glass panels installed.




Amazing how the LED's affect the color. As soon as I learn the software, i'll get the colors right.

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2 REPLIES 2

drop4205
Level 12
Nice looking build congrats.
Maximus XI Formula, I9-9900k, Phantex Evolove X, Seasonic Titanium 850W, Custom loop PE360+SE360 Rad, G.Skill Trident Z F4-3200C14 32g, Nvidia Reference RTX 2080 TI, Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1Tb, Windows 11

xeromist
Moderator
The helix came out good!
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