- Joined
- Jul 14, 2003
Hi all. A friend built a custom loop for his computer not too long ago and it got me reassessing what I want to do with my current setup. That and the release of the pascal cards. So I figured its time for an upgrade, and time to get overclocking. CPU is an i7-3770k with a Cooler Master Hyper 212+, GPU is an EVGA 970 FTW+, PSU is an OCZ 80+ bronze 700w, and mobo is an Intel DZ77GA-70k. A pretty good setup or so I thought. Current case I got for free some years ago through the Intel RetailEdge program, a Silverstone Redline RL-01. It has the factory front 120mm intake, a rear 120mm exhaust, and a top mounted 120mm intake. Heavy gaming can see the processor get up to 74c max, usually less, and GPU can get up to about 80c. As it stands, it doesn't appear I have any thermal headroom for overclocking so I was considering going a 240mm AIO water for CPU and a 120mm AIO with a Kraken G10 adapter and some VRM and VRAM heatsinks for the GPU. I figure i'll keep it simple and maintenance free, and also keep it within budget since I have a wedding I'm saving for. This method keeps me around $200 whereas a custom loop obviously would not. An in-between solution would be like a Swiftech H220-X2 and expand it with an alphacool semi-full coverage waterblock for the GPU (no full coverage waterblocks fit the FTW+ version). This puts me at around $300.
Then I had a closer look at my case and realized maybe water cooling wont fit, well unless I do some sort of external contraption because at least the grommets are there. Anyways heres pics of the case and internals. Judging by how it looks, might be better to optimize my air cooling.....or get a difference case. What do you all think?
Then I had a closer look at my case and realized maybe water cooling wont fit, well unless I do some sort of external contraption because at least the grommets are there. Anyways heres pics of the case and internals. Judging by how it looks, might be better to optimize my air cooling.....or get a difference case. What do you all think?