[Build Log] Fyrelith's first water cooled build

So this is finally happening, although it has been planned before and never started, my first ever water cooled pc build. I have most of the components picked out, some already purchased and a few left to figure out. So here goes...

The build:
-Case: Corsair Obsidian 750D (open to other options)
-Mobo: Gigabyte Z87-X OC Force
-CPU: Intel Core i7-4770k Haswell
-GPU: undecided
-RAM: 16gb Corsair Dominator Platinum (add another 16gb later)
-P/S: undecided
-HDD: Mushkin Chronos 480gb SSD

Cooling:
-CPU: EK Supremacy Nickel/Plexi
-Mobo: Built-in (May go EK full board block)
-GPU: undecided

As for the rest of the cooling components, such as the rads, fans, tubing, fittings, fluid, res etc. I have done some research and still in the process of narrowing the choices down.


More to come soon...

I'll suggest looking into kits from the various manufacturers, I've not been able to source the individual parts cheaper than a kit and many of the kits are of high quality components. You can then add on to your loop with extra rads, blocks, etc...

I might suggest taking a look at the CoolerMaster HAF 935 Stacker, I realized I had to have it as soon as I saw it... awesome case for watercooling. Oh, it is huge, like 1 1/4" longer and 6" taller than the Corsair 750D. It is a nice case though for ~$10 more

What's your GPU budget and do you intend to add more graphics cards later, we can find you a good quality PSU to fit that.

I also suggest dropping the Force. You do not need such an expensive motherboard for mere watercooling.

regardless, I cannot wait to see the end result!

OCCrisisMaker said:

I'll suggest looking into kits from the various manufacturers, I've not been able to source the individual parts cheaper than a kit and many of the kits are of high quality components. You can then add on to your loop with extra rads, blocks, etc...

I might suggest taking a look at the CoolerMaster HAF 935 Stacker, I realized I had to have it as soon as I saw it... awesome case for watercooling. Oh, it is huge, like 1 1/4" longer and 6" taller than the Corsair 750D. It is a nice case though for ~$10 more

What's your GPU budget and do you intend to add more graphics cards later, we can find you a good quality PSU to fit that.

Click to expand...

I agree on the Stacker, great h2o case, I just wish I had the room for all that vertical height.

Sorry for the delay in replying, been a busy few months. Slowly acquiring the parts list and finalizing which parts I still have yet to decide on.
The HAF 935 Stacker is a beautiful case but a little bigger than I originally planned on for the build. Although a case decision hasn't been made yet, so it's a possibility. I have never been a fan of the water cooling kits, doesn't give the same feel of building a loop from scratch, but that's just me lol. I don't mind spending a little extra for the separate components, but at the same time I'd like to at least grab them on a sale if possible.

As for the Force board, I hooked a deal on NCIX.ca and got the board cheaper than I would have paid for the next model down of the OC line. I'll post up a few pictures of the parts that have arrived so far, CPU, Mobo, and the CPU block.


Cheers.

Fyrelith said:

Sorry for the delay in replying, been a busy few months. Slowly acquiring the parts list and finalizing which parts I still have yet to decide on.
The HAF 935 Stacker is a beautiful case but a little bigger than I originally planned on for the build. Although a case decision hasn't been made yet, so it's a possibility. I have never been a fan of the water cooling kits, doesn't give the same feel of building a loop from scratch, but that's just me lol. I don't mind spending a little extra for the separate components, but at the same time I'd like to at least grab them on a sale if possible.

As for the Force board, I hooked a deal on NCIX.ca and got the board cheaper than I would have paid for the next model down of the OC line. I'll post up a few pictures of the parts that have arrived so far, CPU, Mobo, and the CPU block.


Cheers.

Click to expand...

Can't wait to see the finished product! Have you taken a look at the Corsair Air 540? Here are some examples of water cooled 540s. Also, if its not for looks I wouldn't water cool the MB unless you're looking to OC the hell out of it.

There are kits that are not AIOs. For example, the Swiftech H20 Elite kits. They come with a rad of your choosing, a block/pump combo, tubing, and fittings. You do all the assembly and overall design yourself. Love mine.

Here are a few quick pics of what's arrived so far...

As for the previously posted pics, unfortunately the lens for my camera is out of commission at the moment, leaving me with cell phone pics.

On the bright side, I have most of the system ordered and should arrive here within the week. Just a few water cooling parts left to pick out, and this project is a go! So here's the list of parts ordered for the build. They were picked based mainly on the performance and value, but I won't deny the color scheme of the build may have taken priority at times...

Cougar CMX 1000 V3 Bronze
Cougar Vortex 120MM Hydro Dynamic Bearing Fan PWM
Kingston Beast Series 16GB 2X8GB Kit DDR3-2400
Zotac GeForce GTX 770 OC 1111MHZ 4GB 7.0GHZ GDDR5
Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 Black

So it's only been say... 9ish months since the last post. I apologize for the the long delay before this post, but sometimes life has a way of keeping you busy. Nevertheless, I have the system built, Overclocked to a stable 4.5GHz and working on a stable 4.8GHz OC. Had to slightly modify the case front panel, in order to gain access to the back-side of the case, to run the 3 radiator fan cables. The case being designed to install fans on the inside, doesn't have such access on the front when a XTX 360 is blocking the way. This thing amazes me, runs AIDA64 Extreme stability test hovering around 70°c the whole time. Anywhoo, here's an updated parts list and more ****ty cell phone pics to accompany, cheers!

+Intel quad core I7 4770k
+Gigabyte Z87X OC Force mobo
+16GB DDR3 Kingston Hyperx Beast series ram
+480GB Mushkin Chronos SSD
+Zotac Nvidia GTX770 4GB
+Cougar CMX1000 1K Watt power supply
+Cougar Hydro-Dynamic Vortex PWM fans
+Corsair Air 540 case
+EK-Supremacy Nickel cpu water block
+EK-XRES 140 D5 Vario (incl. Pump)
+EK-CoolStream R&D XTX (360) radiator
+Fesser Active UV Orange tubing
+EK-CSQ Compression fittings
+Ice Dragon Cooling Nano fluid