X99 First ever water cooled build. (Pic heavy)

[Greeny]

Ok so I've never done a build log for a PC, hoping this reads ok.

Been saving up for this build for the last 6 months, and the parts I've been waiting for have finally all come out. This build is replacing my 3770k build which is going to my girlfriend, and is going to be used for everything from games to wasting a ****load of time on the internet.

Build:

CPU:
Intel Core i7 6850K
Motherboard:
Asus X99-Deluxe II
RAM:
G.Skill Trident Z F4-3200C16Q-32GTZB 32GB (4x8GB) DDR4
GPU:
2 x Gigabyte GTX 980
Case:
In Win 909 Aluminium Full Tower Case Black
Storage:
Samsung 950 Pro 256GB M.2 SSD, Samsumg 840 EVO 1TB, 1 x Toshiba 4TB, 1 x Seagate 4TB, 1 x WD 2TB Green, 2 x WD 4TB External, WD 2TB External
PSU:
Corsair HX1000i 80 Plus Platinum 1000W
Displays:
3 x Dell 3011 30" 2560x1600, Toshiba 46" LCD TV
Cooling:
EK CoolStream XE 360 Triple Radiator, EK XRES 140 Revo D5 PWM Pump/Reservoir Combo, 3 x EK Vardar 120mm Fan F4-120ER 2200RPM Black, EK-ACF Fitting 10/16mm - Black, TUBE PrimoChill PrimoFlex™ Advanced LRT™ 15,9 / 9,5mm - Elegant White.
Keyboard:
Corsair Gaming K95 RGB Red
Mouse:
Logitech G700
Sound:
ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Anthem MRX 500 Receiver, VAF DC-X 35 front channels, VAF DC-X center channel, 2 x VAF MPN SW4 Subs, DB Dynamics Centerpoint Series P663F surround channels, audio-technica ATH-A2000X headphones
Operating System:
Windows 10 Pro 64

Quick shot of what it'll be driving. Reason for the overkill, but still old video cards is that running 6k of screens isn't easy, and I would prefer to not do SLI again, thinking new Titan X maybe, we'll see.



CPU Cooling loop, adding a 240mm rad and water blocks when I get new GPU / GPU's, haven't decided yet.



95% of my parts, other than bits still in my current PC, EK 45 / 90 degree fittings, 2 more 120mm, 2 more 140mm Vardar fans, and the res mount which I havent worked out yet.



**** this is heavy and fingerprinty.



Less heavy with the glass off, reasonable amount of space inside to play with.



Bought sadly, because my old HX850 has horrible cables, also lets me keep that in current PC while I build new one.



Since it sits metal on metal in the case, I thought it might be an idea to put something between to reduce vibrations.



Sits at a slight angle since the screws at the back are held down, but shouldn't be noticeable once it's sitting on the ground.



EK CoolStream XE 360 Triple Radiator and 2200RPM Vardar Fans.



Fiddly to get this bolted up. I had planned on doing foam between the layers, but no chance of that with the length of the included bolts.



Set the fans up in pull since I figure it'll make cleaning the rad easier.



Looks like I'm going to need a lot of fan extension cables.



60mm thick, and only has a 10mm gap above and below the rad.



..........This box is so fancy.



Going to have to take more time then I ever have before back here since this case has a clear back panel.



To try and make some of the lower pass through points look better, trying to use foam to make my own. Might lose them, haven't decided yet.



Ok so when I was working out the theme with this build, I was jumping all over the place with Ram. So I was desperately trying to get this stuff in black, but couldn't find any, ended up getting silver. FFS, THEY ARE BOTH, one side is black, the other side is silver........ would have made my life easier if I'd known that. Also not at all sold on the red.



So here is how they look with the band pulled off, I'm debating painting them white, or just leaving them off.



But I'll bet all my remaining money they aren't fully seated......... they never are. Also wish the power switch and LED stuff wasn't so poxy.



..........So making this neat is going to be a nightmare.



Triangle is in the right place, I think.......... just weird.



Almost certainly used too much paste.



Trying to work out what angle fittings I'm going to need to make this work, which is a nightmare since there is almost no stock of EK stuff anywhere.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I like it with no trim on the RAM, loving the hardware pr0nz so far

 

[Joe88]

You can also just paint those red pieces with white plasti dip that way you keep the warranty and get some white accents.

 

[Soulcatcher668]

 

[wingman99]

That should be a great system when you get done.

 

[balroger]

Beautiful case, and then I checked the price... holy jumpin' Jehosaphat!

 

[Greeny]

You can also just paint those red pieces with white plasti dip that way you keep the warranty and get some white accents.

Exactly what I was thinking, maybe a job for tomorrow depending on if I can still walk...... (Have been riddled with arthritis since I was 22, and had to move / split 1500kg of wood today.)

Did get a couple of things done though which were driving me nuts.

Borrowed some 670's to work out where the hoses will need to go with cards in the way.



Something that needed fixing, badly.



Is this a premium item, or a wiring loom for a thermo fan in a car?



Half way fixed, would have preferred to not use shrink wrap to keep the ends in check, but it'll do.



But seriously EK, sleeve these wires the same way you do the Vardar fans!

 

[Nebulous]

Awesome build!

 

[Greeny]

Got bugger all done today, but a little something is better than nothing.

I was unaware that mesh shrink wrap was a thing.



Black, what is so hard about them using black wires? It's 2016!



Fingers crossed that these are plugged into the right spots.



Ok.... so I guess the reason I didn't know that mesh shrink wrap is a thing, is it doesn't really shrink. Still an improvement over what it was.



https://www.pccasegear.com/wish_lists/607068/Last Bits Ordering tonight, hopefully won't need anything else after these last bits. (Ah hahahahahahah, no chance)

 

[Leegit]

Looking good

 

[Dlaw]

That tubing is super small! How's your flow, I wonder?

I like the way it looks, though!

 

[Greeny]

That tubing is super small! How's your flow, I wonder?

I like the way it looks, though!

That stuff is just gas line for getting an idea of where to run hoses.

The actual stuff I'm using is 15.9/9.5mm PrimoChill PrimoFlex.

 

[Dlaw]

Gotcha, nice.

 

[Greeny]

Minimal work today, still waiting on parts, but I did one thing which I think worked out ok.

The red trim off the Ram was sitting in the tray, so I thought might as well see how they look white.

Enter the knock off Plastidip.



See you in hell red.



Weather couldn't be worse for painting really, it's about 7C today, but to be fair this is more of as proof of concept kind of thing. As long as the build works, I'll eventually paint them properly.



They look ok, bad finish in some spots, but shouldn't be noticeable once inside the build.



Yeah, that works I think?



Kind of glad this ended up being a white build. With the glass on, the only things that show through are the white parts.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

RAM came out really nice, might have changed my opinion on having the white pieces there

 

[Blaylock]

Build is coming along nicely Greeny.

I'm left wondering what the "question" in you sig means though.

"Has anyone really been far as decided to use even go want to do look more like?"

 

[Greeny]

Build is coming along nicely Greeny.

I'm left wondering what the "question" in you sig means though.

A now pretty old internet thing - http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/has-a...ided-to-use-even-go-want-to-do-look-more-like

Which now that I've looked up how long ago I started using it, has slightly depressed me.

In other news, I ordered the last of my parts on Sunday, which didn't ship until today (glad I paid extra for express =.=). As is tradition, I missed parts, and had to order more today, it never ends!

https://www.pccasegear.com/wish_lists/605709/2016 Total Build Been keeping a depressing running total which doesn't factor in shipping

 

[Greeny]

In theory, this is the last lot of parts to finish off...........



Well.............. bugger. My plan was to have the res off a 120mm fan in the front. But considering that the 980's I'm using for a few months are an inch longer than the 670's in the case now, I'm boned.



Can't say I'm super pumped having it mounted like this, but not much choice until new GPU and water block........ or blocks depending on what I do. With luck I'll be able to get another fan in front at some point.



Not super happy with the 140/120mm fan combo in the bottom, but it will have to do till the loop expands. Also, had to use 2 45 degrees off the res to make a 90, because there was no stock of 90 bends anywhere, something to fix in version 2. Thin hoses to determine length.



I'm like 90% happy with how it sits for now, hoses could have slightly better angles, but for my first attempt, I'm happy. 100% happy with how the drain turned out.



Going to be a duuuuuuuuuust magnet.



Thanks Asus for including no information as to how to fit this thing, Guesstimated my way through it, looks right. Had no idea these things were so tiny!



Actually getting stuff plugged into this is going to be interesting. By which I mean a pain in the *** =.=



Need to fill loop / check for leaks / flush maybe? Then wire all the fans up, tidy cables......... see if it works. Should probably get a copy of Windows for it at some time soon. If it all works, I can move sound card / GPU / 1TB SSD / HDD's over, and it's done.

 

[Greeny]

Ran for a few hours with no leaks, huzza.



Flushed the system a few times to try and minimise crud in the loop. Have realised I'll need another silver coil or 2 for the amount of liquid, so waiting for them to be delivered soon, hopefully it doesn't go green this week.



It lives! Always a nice surprise when a PC I built actually turns on the first time.



The lights breathe, even when the PC is off............ going to need to find where that setting is and kill it.



Going to be a long updatey weekend.



So, hadn't thought about this. Asus stuff is all still on disks, and this thing has no option to even have a drive. Dug around some old boxes and found my old external DVD drive, which wont run unless the lid is crushed down.



I'll sit down at some point when the thing isn't in my shed and manually do this, but for ****s and giggles I ran the Asus overclock software. Not a bad result really, though I'd be happier with less voltage.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Very solid for an auto OC, can't wait to see what you can do with manual!