First water cooled build. Need some input/advice.

[Mitch2025]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($246.08 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($234.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 12GB (3 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (OWNED)
Storage: Sandisk Extreme 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (OWNED)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($459.98 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Switch 810 (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($168.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($132.98 @ Newegg)
Other: XSPC Razor nVidia GTX 680 Full Coverage VGA Block - Black - Reference Design (new style) ($113.97)
Other: XSPC Raystorm RX360 Universal CPU Water Cooling Kit w/ D5 Variant Pump Included and Free Dead-Water! ($299.99)
Other: Bitspower Ultimate G 1/4 Thread 3/8" ID x 1/2" OD Compression Fitting (BP-CPF-CC2) x6 ($41.94)
Other: Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm x 25mm Fan - 1850 RPM (D1225C12B5AP-15) x3 ($47.85)
Other: PrimoChill PrimoFlex Advanced LRT Tubing 3/8"ID x 1/2" OD - Brilliant UV Blue (PFLEXA-12-B) ($25.00)
Total: $1781.76
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-06 11:47 EST-0500)

That is what I plan on getting. I am fairly confident on the parts other than the water cooling. I never have water cooled before. I have been doing a lot of research over the past month or so but would like some advice on the parts I picked. I know the kit comes with tubing and fans and what not but I wanted to get different ones and it was cheaper to get the kit than to buy the rad, block, res, and pump separate.

My goal is to have a good balance of looks and functionality. I really like the bay res/pump combo and the XSPC kit I got seems to have a nice look to it while having great performance from the reviews I have read. I'd like to stick with the theme of white and black with blue lights so anyone suggesting changes, please keep that in mind.

I'd appreciate any advice and/or input. Thanks!

 

[briansun1]

No hard drive?

 

[Mitch2025]

I have a SDD already and anything that doesn't fit I have on my media server. I plan on getting a 1tb drive for it in the future for games but my 4.5TB of space on my media server helps store anything other than games and apps and so far 240 gigs on the SDD has been plenty as I never have more than a handful of games installed at any given time

 

[Conumdrum]

Looks pretty good, I see no issues. Take your time on the build, make sure you read our building stickies etc.

 

[Knufire]

On the parts, there's a few suggestions I would make.

Don't bother with the Sabertooth. It's basically a standard ASUS P8Z77 board in black with a bunch of gimmicky marketing. It's not worth it's price in the least. Since you're WCing, I'd go for a Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H or a ASRock Z77 Extreme6.

Unless you're doing something NVIDIA specific like folding or CUDA, the 7970 performs equally good and has more vRAM for less money than the 680.

 

[Mitch2025]

Looks pretty good, I see no issues. Take your time on the build, make sure you read our building stickies etc.

Thanks. Good to know my picks were correct

On the parts, there's a few suggestions I would make.

Don't bother with the Sabertooth. It's basically a standard ASUS P8Z77 board in black with a bunch of gimmicky marketing. It's not worth it's price in the least. Since you're WCing, I'd go for a Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H or a ASRock Z77 Extreme6.

Unless you're doing something NVIDIA specific like folding or CUDA, the 7970 performs equally good and has more vRAM for less money than the 680.

I have heard mixed reviews on the ASRock and I have had some bad boards in the past from them. I will look at the gigabyte though. As for the GPU's, the 7970GHz edition does seem to have overall better benchmarks so I may go with that. I have always gone with AMD in the past because I was doing budget builds but they always were in NVIDIA's shadow. Seems like they are pretty neck and neck now though. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[XNine]

Oddly, I absolutely love Asrock, 3 boards, no issues. For watercooling, TAKE YOUR TIME. That's the #1 mistake newcomers make, they don't take their time, they get frustrated, then things go to hell.

If you get stuck, ask questions. Your questions aren't stupid, they're valid in that they could save your gear from getting soaked. We all start somewhere, and we all need help from time to time.

 

[Mitch2025]

I think I will stick with the Sabertooth. Yeah, it is pricy and I could probably get the same performance with another board but it goes VERY will with the theme I want and I just love ASUS. Also, it is my first "extreme" build and I don't want to have to skip out on parts I want just to save a little money.

I plan to take my time. No way am I going to rush it. Don't want to ruin any of my parts due to negligence.

Now, I am heavily debating on the nvidia GTX680 and the AMD HD7970GHz Edition. My buddy says that AMD drivers dont work well with intel boards but I don't know enough about that subject to know. I still have a few weeks before I buy my parts so more researching will be a definite.

 

[Conumdrum]

It doesn't matter Intel or AMD or NVIDIA. Long ago etc not going to take the time to explain it.

 

[Mitch2025]

Then I will more than likely go with the 7970GHz as it seems all around better. Also, I decided to get an EK Waterblock for the GPU instead of the XSPC because apparently the XSPC full cover block only has water passing over the GPU and nothing else. At that point it would be better to get a GPU only block and individual RAM coolers for the rest of the card.

 

[Knufire]

Are you building a computer for a purpose or just a really expensive toy?

Sorry, it's just my opinion that the "I'm going to spend a lot of extra money to get EXACTLY what I want" philosophy ridiculous and wasteful. In the end, it's just a computer. You get a nice giddy feel for about the first week and then it's just whatever.

 

[Zenos]

On the parts, there's a few suggestions I would make.

Don't bother with the Sabertooth. It's basically a standard ASUS P8Z77 board in black with a bunch of gimmicky marketing. It's not worth it's price in the least. Since you're WCing, I'd go for a Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H or a ASRock Z77 Extreme6.

Unless you're doing something NVIDIA specific like folding or CUDA, the 7970 performs equally good and has more vRAM for less money than the 680.

+1 I would also suggest ordering a few extra compressions in case you get a bad fitting or fudge one.
EDIT: Didn't see you didn't have any angle fittings, would also suggest ordering a couple of them because not everything works out like you want it to.

 

[Mjolnir]

I'm surprised no one picked up his RAM. He'll be running single channel mode won't he? His ram is Triple channel. LGA 1155 only supports dual channel. If you don't need the extra 4 GBs, I'd say just run the 8GB.

Looks good otherwise. I'd advise away from the Sabertooth too, but i suppose with your case choice it'll look nice through the window. If that's what you're going for. XD

 

[Conumdrum]

Didn't notice. It's the WC forum, I focus on the WC part. Though all that stuff was worked out.

 

[Mitch2025]

Are you building a computer for a purpose or just a really expensive toy?

Sorry, it's just my opinion that the "I'm going to spend a lot of extra money to get EXACTLY what I want" philosophy ridiculous and wasteful. In the end, it's just a computer. You get a nice giddy feel for about the first week and then it's just whatever.

First, it is the only board that has the look I want and second, it makes it easier to clean dust out due to the "shield" (though, that is a negligible "pro"). I understand it is more expensive and most people think it's not worth it but my personal opinion is it is. If only for the fact it conforms to the look I am going for.

+1 I would also suggest ordering a few extra compressions in case you get a bad fitting or fudge one.
EDIT: Didn't see you didn't have any angle fittings, would also suggest ordering a couple of them because not everything works out like you want it to.

I have a microcenter right down the street from where I work so if I notice I am missing anything I can just grab some on my way home from work. I will probably order an angle fitting or 2 just in case though.

I'm surprised no one picked up his RAM. He'll be running single channel mode won't he? His ram is Triple channel. LGA 1155 only supports dual channel. If you don't need the extra 4 GBs, I'd say just run the 8GB.

Looks good otherwise. I'd advise away from the Sabertooth too, but i suppose with your case choice it'll look nice through the window. If that's what you're going for. XD

If the RAM really will be an issue then I don't mind buying new RAM. I don't know too much about RAM. Could I just buy a 4 gig stick of the same RAM (Here) and it work in dual channel mode?

 

[Zenos]

Yes that ram will work in dual channel.