Zodi's WC Build

[Zodicus]

Introduction:

First off I am not new to WC builds although I have not built one since I had my E6600 oc'ed to 4.97 and 2 4870's in Xfire (yea, it's been awhile.) I am getting back into it for my i7 build which currently consists of an EVGA X79 151 Classified mobo with a 3820 @ 4.3 and a Gigabyte 780 I am still playing around with. I've been running it on air but like a true overclocker I have to push it harder. The ultimate goal? Break the benchmarks of course! I am posting this project and documenting it through all phases (you know a normal project) but more or less looking for advice from the community as my build progresses. Also, I am not looking for you guys to wipe my butt or spoon feed me. I am an admin of 2 different very large MMO clan sites and boards so I know how irratating it is for the community. I do know how to use the search feature on the boards So don't worry guys no newbie here

Initial Planning Phase

Basically the goal is to run at least 3 separate loops. To attain the highest o/c I can flow and component isolation is key. This is how it will work:

CPU - Single bay res & 3X140 RAD. Note: I want to try double mounting the fans in a push or pull config. The idea is similar to turbojet engine with multiple fan compressing the air before it reaches combustion chamber.

GPU - Going to eventually run 3 or 4 Gigabyte 780's (wanted EVGA's but as ya'll know no one has them. I got the only 780 that was available in the entire Houston area which was the Gigabyte) I do not want to run these on the same CPU loop. If I run 4, I will probably split them up into 2 loops each with a 360 rad. If one loop a 480 rad. Depending on space, may try same fan setup as cpu loop.

Ram - Single loop running to a single 140 rad. Looking at Gskill 2400 64GB. I don't see myself needing more than that.


All this will be going into either a CM Cosmos II or a Corsair Obsidian 900D.


My line of thinking is that I can run multiple loops and effectively isolate the heat of one component from the other. With high CFM through overkill rad's for the loops I should be able to obtain lower temps. (thinking 'out loud' here)

I have used Danger Den products in the past although they have seemed to all but disappear recently. I am seeing a lot of Alphacool and from what I have read the are a higher end company. AquaPC looks good too. Will be doing more research on these guys.


Build Summary & Notes

Planning Phase 1 Notes

1: Corsair 900D Case
2: 480 - 60MM Rad | 240 - 60MM Rad | 420 - 60MM Rad (Alphacool)
3: Res - http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...dalone_Reservoir_Maelstrom.html?tl=g30c97s165


Parts List
1: Rads 2 http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...Copper_Quad_120mm_Radiator.html?tl=g30c95s570
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1..._Dual_120mm_Radiator.html?tl=g30c95s160#blank
2: Pump http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...rolled_Water_Pump_-_Black.html?tl=g30c107s153
3: Blocks CPU http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...on_-_Socket_LGA_2011_21587.html?tl=g30c85s139
GPU 2 http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...on_-_Socket_LGA_2011_21587.html?tl=g30c85s139
4: System Monitoring
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...0_-_500_mbar_53135.html?tl=g30c229s1796#blank
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...rmal_Interface_Controller.html?tl=g30c229s882 (If Implemented will change pump choice)

5: Fans / Controllers / Accessories
10 http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...an_-_2_Pack_CO-9050014-WW.html?tl=g36c365s936

Distribution
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1..._8xWay_Block_MMT-PCB-6-83.html?tl=g47c121s424 (Need to find out how to adjust power from the molex to the board to control all connected fans simultaneously)




Notes in progress.


The PC (current Config)

First of guys. Enjoy:

http://www.3dmark.com/cg/554272

Don't make fun of the desk....

Yep. I'm getting there slowly but surely.

 

[tungureanu]

Wow. that's a lot of coke you have there(pun intended)
Sorry man could not pass this up

PS: what do you do that requires 4 780s? Or is it just a speed and dream machine?

 

[Zodicus]

Wow. that's a lot of coke you have there(pun intended)
Sorry man could not pass this up

PS: what do you do that requires 4 780s? Or is it just a speed and dream machine?

BINGO! We have a winner!

I do play a lot of racing Sims and a heck of a lot of Flight sims and want to run them with 0 FPS drop on a 4 monitor surround. I play Entropia Universe as well which runs the CryEngine 2 (that's the game I have on surround in the pics) and it is very intense on GPU's as well. But really I may only need 2 GPU's for that. In actuality - I just want to break 3Dmark11

 

[sobe]

Looks great so far. You could save yourself some room and not worry about cooling the ram, unless it's for looks.

Can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[Zodicus]

Well Sobe, I've never cooled RAM before. I want a super high o/c and figured I would obviously have to overvolt pretty high to keep it stable thus creating the need to wc it. But again, never pushed ram that hard before so not sure if I am going to need it or not. Also worth noting I am toying with the idea of wc the chipset as well.

 

[dostov]

I don't think you can fit 3-4 separate loops in a single tower case. Begin by dropping the single loop for the RAM... totally useless IMO.

Good luck with the project!

 

[sobe]

Well Sobe, I've never cooled RAM before. I want a super high o/c and figured I would obviously have to overvolt pretty high to keep it stable thus creating the need to wc it. But again, never pushed ram that hard before so not sure if I am going to need it or not. Also worth noting I am toying with the idea of wc the chipset as well.

You don't need to watercool your RAM, it's more for looks. If you are really going chipset too though, screw it, watercool it all for the looks IMO.

CPU > Chipset > Ram on one loop and vid card(s) on another

Having RAM on it's own loop would be a bit silly.



Oh, and DangerDen closed their doors sadly.

 

[Zodicus]

Thank you for the advice. I'll look into my temps air cooling them first and see if I really need to put water on them or not. For my system I am not going for looks but functionality. Don't get me wrong the pc inside and out is going to look darn good but I feel if I can get away with air cooling those components I can spend that extra money on something else in the mod.

 

[ChanceCoats123]

In all seriousness regarding the ram, you might get a better result from simply running a fan directly at the ram instead. Running a loop means they will be a little bit over ambient temps, and since ram doesn't really have a high thermal design power, there isn't a whole lot of heat to transfer as is. Take the money you save from not buying a ram loop, and either a) buy more ram... a lot more ram, or b) buy very nice ram to overclock the crap out of.

 

[Zodicus]

In all seriousness regarding the ram, you might get a better result from simply running a fan directly at the ram instead. Running a loop means they will be a little bit over ambient temps, and since ram doesn't really have a high thermal design power, there isn't a whole lot of heat to transfer as is. Take the money you save from not buying a ram loop, and either a) buy more ram... a lot more ram, or b) buy very nice ram to overclock the crap out of.

Well I got 16GB of Gskill DDR31600 right now. Was thinking Gskill Ripjaws DDR3 2400 32 or 64GB. Is that nice enough?

 

[ChanceCoats123]

That is pretty nice. I'm not sure how tight those run, but if you can get yourself enough ram to run 2400 @ 7-11-7-28-1T for a 24/7 overclock, I would envy that system.

 

[sobe]

b) buy very nice ram to overclock the crap out of.

This ^ You already said you had your eyes on G.Skill, although I wouldnt go for 64GB... 32GB would be the max I would go as chances are you won't come close to using that up. Grab some G.Skill Trident X and see how far you can go

 

[Zodicus]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231508

10-10-10-31 too bad CAS isn't 9 though 8 would be even better

And yes I am a forum wh*** I am sitting here playing Civ V with Autorefresh on FF lol.

Yea I've got Gskill in it now but it's only 16GB. I can;t make up my mind whether I want Ripjaws or Trident X. Still arguing with myself on that one. Hmmmm, I wonder who's winning that one....

 

[sobe]

Can always refer to google for reviews on each to see what an average will be on overclock, just keep in mind just like cpus, RAM is a YMMV type of deal for how far the set you end up with will go. So I suggest if you want faster and lower cas, get the faster set of the ones' you are looking at.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Welcome to OCF Zodi!

You know drinking a lot of coke is bad for you. I believe those are the bowls that store the ramen noodles during raid times.

My question is what records are you pursuing to break? Personal Records or World Records? I think world record has been shattered by KingPin once again. Me thinks its obviously for sh*** n giggles and gaming mostly on surround while administrating your forums/clan.

I wouldn't go more than 2 GPUs as they scale best in 2-way SLI. 3-way isn't really worth it. Use the rest on a nice case (900D) and good H20 components.

Danger Den days are over. There are many companies that make premium products nowadays. To name a few Swiftech, Koolance, Bitspower and Black Ice. If I recall correctly one of the stickies actually has a list of all the present companies and retailers in the market nowadays.

I would also advise you to keep all the components under one loop. As you already know your water temp will reach a equilibrium even though you might shave off a few C if it was 2 separate loops. Majority of the folks do one full loop nowadays. Even with 3-4 GPUs with CPU. Times have changed and water cooling tech has gotten a lot better since than. What Delta-T are you aiming for? You could add alot of raddage and have a sweet quiet "blingy" but fast performing rig.

Its up to you again but in your case I would do a CPU + 2 GPUs which should be enough. Grab a pair of 480s and slap them in a 900D. You'll have more than enough room to OC on a silent rig. Grab some AP-15s or Helix 120s and you're off to the races. If you want to add the chipset and ram for looks go right ahead. I am assuming you want a nice 5+ GHz clock on CPU and high speed on ram. Nothing crazy like the guys on LN2 I am assuming.

Good luck on your build and keep us posted with more pics.

 

[Zodicus]

Not looking at breaking any world records as I really don't want to mess with phase change or mineral oil (remember that one?) And yes all the coke and ramen noodles keeps me going through raids when the wife isn't home One of the benefits of being the society leader - first in last out.

I wanted to do 3-4way SLI really for the hell of it. I know 2 way would be plenty good enough running things like Metro LL, Cry3 and BF3. And that's maxing everything including AA with just 2 780's. That card is a beast btw I am very impressed with it.

It's sad to see DD go. I had a lot of good memories with them back in the day of my Core2 Duo machine. They made good solid stuff. I loved their acrylic water blocks! As for the current market I am leaning towards Alphacool. Their 80mm thick rads look very good for thermal properties. I am still shopping frozencpu to see what I can come up with.

Yea you can tell I'm old school I hadn't realized how much has changed since then. Before wc systems were relatively inefficient (well, in fairness 4870's ran hotter than hell) On my previous build I was at 44 idle and pushing up to 66 under heavy load in Cry2. That was a single loop system with 2 DD GPU blocks, DD CPU block, 240 rad with Coolmax Tornado or cyclone? fans. Also was pushing a 185GPH DD pump with 5/8 - 3/4 Tygon tubing.

As far as my research goes a D900 can hold 2 480 rads one in the top and one on bottom. Catch is you can not use 5 1/4 top bay or add a rad to the front of the case. What I need to do is see if I can dig up a CAD model of that case and really layout my system.


As far as the final clocks? I am aiming for mid 5's on the cpu. Aiming for 35-40 idle and 60 max for load. I figure 60 is nice to ensure longivity. For that matter. Tech changed fast! When I went to o/c my build after running stock for a month I realized about the only option that didn't change was the multiplier! Everything in BIOS looked alien to me! Had to come here and brush up again and I am still learning.


Thanks for the warm welcome. I've been here for years sporadically unregistered. But today I finally created my account. As for everyone who has popped in so far, I was so impressed with the activity and conduct of the members that I signed up for premium not 4 hours after I registered.

BTW Jack. Nice choice of monitor. Exact same ones I have! Love em Although I can't get the color quite right on my center one.

 

[Conumdrum]

Welcome to OCF! We'll help you all we can. Ram overclocking gets very hard once you move to 32 GB+. For gaming 16 is enough and it overclocks pretty well.

Getting 5G on a watercooled CPU is pretty hard these days due to the heat problems. And under Prime 95 loads you'll for sure see lots more than 60C, and probably higher than 60C while gaming, even if your CPU can do it.

WCing the RAM? WC the Mobo? Maybe, won't need to if you buy a top Mobo, the active cooling is plenty, you'll be CPU temp limited, not Mobo temp limited.

We are limited by the CPU thermal interface under the CPU cover these days. Read around to see what folks are getting. You could de-lid the CPU at a huge risk and get better temps. The amount of raddage once you get under a 5C Dt won't help anymore with temps. If you have a 5C Dt, to drop it to 2.5C Dt you have to DOUBLE the rad space.

Will the 900D hold 480x2 and a 360x1 to keep your slots? The loss of that one 120x1 will make a very small diff (small) in temps.

I was sad to see DD go, I met him a few times, great peeps they were. I used some of their stuff also in the early days, and my Avatar is a DD Monsoon when they first came out I won in a drawing.

 

[Conumdrum]

Some info from another site (you should also bookmark them) you can see what we have here already, and I think we have reviews up on the front page for Haswell results.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums...swell-i5-4670K-i7-4770K-batch-and-o-c-results

Quick scan a guy did hit 5.1 stable, under Ln2 though.............

 

[Zodicus]

Thanks for the link. Reading through the thread now. Lot's of really good useful info there. I've been reading through the Intel forum here as well brushing up on my o/c knowledge. I was so surprised at how much has changed in the 4 years! My last system I built the same month I got out of the army (January '09) and was a E6600 on a Asus P5Q-E Mobo. That was easy compared to my new system. There's definately a steep learning curve here but I'm adjusting - I think.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Thanks for your service first and foremost.

The CPU you grabbed in '09 had been out since '06. I am sure you got a ridiculously huge jump in performance once you upgraded. I love those huge leaps in tech feeling. It feels like you hit the lotto.

Yes, you'll have to do some catching up as you stated.

As for the 900D you can fit a good amount of radiators in it as compared to its competitors unless you go with a custom case. (Case Labs, Mountain Mods)

Here is a Video I watched that best describes the Corsair 900D. It is movie length so giving you a heads up. lol I watched all of it and agreed to everything this gentlemen had to say. Bare with him and his UK accent. He explains exactly what radiators you can fit and what not and any issues you might see ahead. Really good video and would advise anyone to take the time and watch it.

As for the screens, yes I couldn't pass them up as I got them for a really good deal for my first leap into surround setup. I can never go back to single EVER! lol I read a lot of complaints that some were getting really bad ghosting or that the settings weren't set right by default out of the box. Anyways, I went searching everywhere and finally came to some info that resolved the issues. Great picture and color. Only problem I seem to have is during my screensaver the left monitor seems to have a bleeding effect all around its border and the black looks brighter than the other 2 that look the same. Other than that I have no issues whatsoever.