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Corsair 900D WC Build Log

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Eugenius88

Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2013
After a good ~2 months of research on what to get for my watercooling loop and how each part works, I finally ordered in my parts :bday:

Part List:
1x Alphacool NexXxos Quad 120mm Rad
1x XSPC Photon 270 Res/Pump D5 Vario
10ft Primochill Advanced LRT 1/2"ID x 3/4"OD Elegant White
8x Monsoon Chain Gun Compression Fittings Red 1/2"ID x 3/4"OD
2x IandH Kill Coils
1x Lamptron 30W 8 Channel Aluminum Black
1x Phobya LED Flex Light Controller w/ IR-remote
1x XSPC Raystorm CPU Block
180cm Phobya LED Flexlight RGB
4x Corsair SP120 HP
3x Corsair AF120 QE
1x Corsair AF140 QE
1x Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver
1x Arctic Silver Thermal Material Remover

Delivery expected in about a week, more or less, maybe more for rad, depending when FrozenCPU receives its deliveries for it.

Don't worry :) Pictures will be taken.
 
Raystorm is installed, after hours of effort, still awaiting for the FrozenCPU shipment tomorrow...
 
Everything is here. I'll go through a brief overlook of the items and what has happened with them so far.

Almost had a heart attack when my Monsoon Chain Gun Compression Fittings looked like they didn't fit on my Raystorm, but they did which was good.

Fan controller is in and ready.

I'm considering mounting my rad on the bottom since it'll be a shorter loop but I need to move the three fans on the front however.

I need to get the LEDs surrounding the window, they won't be on it but around the frame. If the frame doesn't work though, I'm use the window but it'll be more of a hassle with disconnecting the controller from the molex. Oh well.

Radiator is big and heavy af and I'll have to do the rad dance either tomorrow or on wednesday depending if I have time or not.

Tubing looks as elegant as it should.
haha get it, cause it's Elegant White.
anyone? no? ok :rain:

Reservoir is dirty from the inside and I've noticed a few what looks like scratches :cry: I just turned it to the other side and all my troubles are gone though :D Dust inside though, so I'll flush that out when I do the rad dance.

I don't want to tinker with the pump too much but sources tell me(stickies)that I need to open up the pump and take out any dirt or packing in there? Not sure it's the case with the res/pump combo. The D5 is different from its original so I'd GUESS they MAY have cleaned it. But there are no guarantees.

GPU Block has been cleaned and polished with some Brasso(smaller areas were a challenge that would've made me clean for another hour I didn't have) but there's no worries as it looks fairly new-ish with a bit of Brasso residue in between the < 1mm gap from the acetal and the copper :facepalm:

CPU Block made me almost cry since the backplate was being stubborn, but that didn't stop me from taping it down and putting the nut bolt screws in, not the recommended way, however.

FANS! Well I might not be able to use all of the fans but I'll attempt to manage. If there will be no room for the front cover, which I predict there won't. I'll just mount them up top above left to right, excluding the drive bays.

PERIPHERALS! Something I hadn't mentioned previously but I decided I needed to upgrade my 2 year old Alienware peripherals to some MMO optimized peripherals(the mouse mainly) and bought a Razer Naga 2014, Blackwidow Ultimate, and the Goliathus Alpha Speed Edition Mousepad while Newegg had the mobile Newegg 10% off promotion so I thought, MIGHT AS WELL :bday: Since the PC is done and I'm stuck with the old family Mac, I can't use the Blackwidow until this build gets together and I'll be using that as motivation.

Nothing really spectacular or out-of-the-box considering this is my first build, first time actually taking parts of my previous chassis. So in this last 3 months of headaches for both me and the community I have most likely irritated(especially Conundrum) with my noobiness to hardware/water cooling, I have learned many things about a computer I never took into account. I have the knowledge of putting a computer together and hopefully the knowledge of putting together a water cooling loop. I'll update later with the final build and all the part boxes making it look pretty and professional.

Since this is pretty much an average water cooling build, I won't bore you guys with same old same old average pictures.
 
So here's my sloppy workstation, apologies, but this is basically everything I need to set this up.

Also sorry for the ugly PSU and mobo, I'm planning soon to buy a fully modular PSU and sleeve the cables and buy a new nicer mobo later on too.

Would soapy water be a good way to clean the res? Considering it's glass and I've washed dishes in the past.

EXCITING UPDATE!
Linus from LinusTechTips and I have settled a deal on his Fermi 590 for $400 w/ overpriced Canadian shipping.
 

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Surprisingly enough, the hardest thing I've encountered so far is cutting the tubing. I broke 2 pair of scissors in the process...It's practically steel to the scissors and now I need my dad's big guns, or just his tools.
 
I'm planning soon to buy a fully modular PSU

Hey guys, remember that? Well soon actually means now, and well it's going over my budget for about the fourth time now?? I'm planning to buy an AX1200i or an RM series or another brand, so I'll need to do more research. It hits 900W with everything inputted excluding the Phobya LED Strips, it hits 900W. I did more inspecting of my PSU and I was wrong, it's 875W not 750W so just BARELY over. Even if I turn my CPU to stock it's still right at the limit. I didn't want to spend even more money but oh well.

EDIT: Well at least I can get a fully modular PSU, but then again, it costs EVEN MORE to sleeve them. I really wish The Sims 2 was real so I could have my own money tree...
 
Assuming PSUs don't need much research and 80 Plus difference from Gold to Platinum isn't extremely significant, I'll be getting the EVGA Supernova G2 1300 Gold, not the 1000W Platinum since I might barely hit the wattage and it's only a $10 difference and I'm not exactly favoring being on the edge of the wattage, it scares me, it shouldn't, but it does. AND because it's not an expensive AX1200i($329)
 
Stick with the Corsair or Seasonic. Don't get EVGA's PSUs. I am hearing they are a nightmare full of problems.
 
Stick with the Corsair or Seasonic. Don't get EVGA's PSUs. I am hearing they are a nightmare full of problems.
The Corsair AX1200i is better but ugh the price is $120 more than the EVGA 1300. It's not a bad PSU I've seen, it gets well over a 9 rating, 9.4 to be exact to the AX1200i's 9.8. If you could show me a refurbished one, I'd be happy to buy it then. However if I'm buying the new one, I won't be too happy about it.

EDIT!!!!: Turns out there's a 15% off code until 10/25 for the AX1200i!!! This is really nice. That's almost $50 off. I need to check more of it to confirm.

MORE EDITS!!!: $30 rebate card on top of that??? That's $278 with shipping and tax!!!! That was almost as much as the EVGA except with $40 inbetween. Corsair has heard my call, thank you gods at Corsair :')
 
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God damn, I think I've totaled this at almost $2000 now? I'm going to be a lot of hard labor around the house and I'll need to pick up a job real soon for my dad to still love me.
 
I underestimated the radiator installation...The screws that came with the radiator and too small in circumference to fit in the case's screw hole but is small enough to fit in the radiator's screw hole. HOWEVER! The long fan screws that came with the case does the exact opposite. Not sure how I'll figure it out, but I'll figure it out tomorrow since I am dead tired from attempting this. Sadly enough, I bent one of the fins with my fingernail. However, it reminded me to cut my nails and I put it back which is nice-ish. I didn't think this would be that stressful of a hobby. Oh well, I'll finish it eventually.
 
I didn't think this would be that stressful of a hobby. Oh well, I'll finish it eventually.

Welcome to Watercooling pal. :D

Make sure you don't strip anything and yes be careful of those fins. Puncture the chambers and your rad is as good as dead unless you're into patching up holes.

To give you an idea what screws I used for example, they were the M4x35mm to the SR1 360 Radiator (54mm) with the Helix120s (25mm) in only push.

Don't forget to leak test for say 24hrs to see if theres any leaks and make sure you only plug in the pump and nothing else.

When you're finally all set is when you will feel the true reward. Its a pain in the wazoo atm but it will all go away and you will be filled with joy once you're done. Take your time. It's not a race and don't get frustrated.
 
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Welcome to Watercooling pal. :D

Make sure you don't strip anything and yes be careful of those fins. Puncture the chambers and your rad is as good as dead unless you're into patching up holes.

To give you an idea what screws I used for example, they were the M4x35mm to the SR1 360 Radiator (54mm) with the Helix120s (25mm) in only push.

Don't forget to leak test for say 24hrs to see if theres any leaks and make sure you only plug in the pump and nothing else.

When you're finally all set is when you will feel the true reward. Its a pain in the wazoo atm but it will all go away and you will be filled with joy once you're done. Take your time. It's not a race and don't get frustrated.
Thankfully, Alphacool has the metal protectors that shield the fins from the screws. I need to figure out how I'll deal with it.

1st Edit: I also have to figure out how to open my stubborn fill port on my photon. Nevermind, flathead screwdriver does the job.

2nd Edit: I forgot to mention I'm just trying to put in my rad and res/pump in so when I get the new PSU and GPU, so I don't have to do so much work at a time.

3rd Edit: Also the case fan screws, M4x30mm, the threads are too thick to screw in the rad from I tried. The M3x35mm screws that came with the rad are just perfect, however the head of the screw is too small to stay put in the radiator screw hole so I believe I'll need plastic washers for that. If anything else doesn't work, I'll need to grab some M3 washers off FrozenCPU.

4th Edit: My Dominos store is not available for delivering, nooooooo! FYI, if Dominos is bad in your area, it's literally the best in my area by far and this gets me sad.
 
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Thankfully, Alphacool has the metal protectors that shield the fins from the screws. I need to figure out how I'll deal with it...I also have to figure out how to open my stubborn fill port on my photon. Nevermind, flathead screwdriver does the job.
I forgot to mention I'm just trying to put in my rad and res/pump in so when I get the new PSU and GPU, so I don't have to do so much work at a time.

I would wait till you get everything in because you don't want to hurry up and squeeze things through. Possibly scratch some of the nicely finished parts. Install PSU than your rad and fans. Than go from there. Make sure you install the GPU last before you start tubing.
 
I would wait till you get everything in because you don't want to hurry up and squeeze things through. Install the PSU than your rad and fans. Than go from there. Make sure you install the GPU last before you start tubing.
Waiting for Monday it is.
 
My wallet had a sudden realization. I MIGHT need more raddage for sufficient temps with 2 590s and a i7 2600k...
 
My wallet had a sudden realization. I MIGHT need more raddage for sufficient temps with 2 590s and a i7 2600k...

Check out my sig. I'm cooling a 3930K + 2 GTX 670s and I need 2 360 rads to keep thermals reasonable. Despite the quad Alpha cool being a GREAT rad I would definitely add at least a 360 rad for 2 590s and a 2600K. The Corsair 900D has PLENTY of room.
 
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