Custom Loop Order (CPU & 3x GPU's)

[Cobra Khan]

If you have not bought your PC case yet I would seriously look at the Phanteks Ethoo for @$240 or if you can swing it the Corsair 900D at @$320.

Yes it is already bought, and HD cage removed! I looked at both of those, and the Phanteks looked to be just as big, if not, maybe a tiny bit smaller. The 900D would have been nice, but I am not paying $300+ for a case.

Here is what I have to work with now that the HD cage is removed (Had to drill out 20 rivets!!!):

Sorry for the crude drawings, but that's the best I can do haha. The only measurement that might be confusing is the one at the bottom of the case where it is labeled 6.5" (useable space). That is the width of the bottom of the case.

So, I know I can fit a 480 at the top, barely. As for the bottom, it looks like I could get a Monsta 360, or maybe even fit a couple 240's. I think I would have room for two 60mm 240's, or even two Monsta 240's depending on the how I would have to mount fans if putting two RAD's right next to each other. Hell, I could probably stack two 60mm 360's on top of each other if such a thing is possible.

EDIT: I think I have two options regarding my lower radiators. Either a slim 360 and 240(which will barely fit), or two Monsta 240's. I think I will end up going with two Monsta 240's because those won't choke the case and be spitting the exhausts directly into each other. I don't see any reason why those won't be enough for my needs.

 

[guskline]

With a 480 above and 2 240s below you should be good to go!

 

[Cobra Khan]

With a 480 above and 2 240s below you should be good to go!

I hope so! I know I can fit a 60mm 480 up there, but ill have to measure again to see if I can fit an 80mm.

Thanks for all the help guys! I'm sure ill have more questions soon!

 

[Aikouka]

Here's a picture of my HAF 932 with the external MO RA3 420. I have a set of Koolance quick disconnects between the internal RX 360 and the MO RA3.

I may have used a huge case with my water cooling setup (Corsair 900D), but that setup -- while it may look a bit more obtuse -- it looks like it would be a lot nicer to work with. I think I probably swore enough to make a nun blush as I sat there trying to tighten a fitting adapter (I think it was a 90-degree one) near the bottom of my case. Without radiators down there, dealing with things in that area would've been a breeze!

What exactly is your tower sitting on though? I ended up buying a cheap furniture dolly from Harbor Freight, and I painted it black. The 900D fits on it great length-wise, but the dolly is a bit wider than my case. For my 800D, I use this dolly.

 

[Cobra Khan]

I am going to build my workstation out of Inter-Metro shelving. I sell this stuff at my work so I get 40% off which is nice. You can build anything you want with Inter-Metro and it has great ventilation. Will hold hundreds of pounds of weight too.

As far as my build goes, here is the final cost total based on the direction I am going in. Looks like I came in a whole $23 under budget!!! I think I can get that down to $4,200-$4,500 since those numbers are retail cost for everything. That will leave me just enough to get the sim wheel I want. The PSU, memory, radiators, fittings, and water pump are all pretty available second hand at good discounts so I will take advantage of that. Definitely looking forward to the process over the next few months of getting all the pieces I need. I will wait until I have everything until I start installing stuff.

Thanks for all the help guys! I will have lots of pictures of my setup once I am all moved into my new place in a few months!

 

[guskline]

Aikouka: I have the casters installed on the bottom of the HAF 932 case so I bought a white laminated shelfing board from lowes to keep it off the carpet.

Since I only have the RX360 on the top of the case and then it hooks into the external MOP RA3 420 before looping to the cpu and then the gpu and back to the Twin D5 XSPC bay res I have plenty of room.

 

[z1ggy]

Good luck!! Would love to see pics.

Do you plan on modding at all? Custom paint, cable sleeving, etc?

 

[Cobra Khan]

Good luck!! Would love to see pics.

Do you plan on modding at all? Custom paint, cable sleeving, etc?

Custom paint, maybe. My buddy has a powder coating set-up, so I will talk to him about price.

I did plan on going with a Yellow/Black or Orange/Black theme so I will have UV Acrylic Hard Tubing and colored sleeves to match. Do I need anything other than the PCI-E Sleeves for the GPU's?

 

[z1ggy]

You can custom sleeve any cable you'd like. The 24-pin ATX cable, the 8-pin CPU, all your fans... etc.

You can also find UV sleeve as well which I think will really give your build an extra kick in the pants. Once I get my funds in order, I am going to probably do some custom sleeve work, too. Takes a lot of patience, but well worth it.

Also I am kind of surprised for your first WC build you're going right into Acrylic. Pretty ballsy.

 

[Cobra Khan]

You can custom sleeve any cable you'd like. The 24-pin ATX cable, the 8-pin CPU, all your fans... etc.

You can also find UV sleeve as well which I think will really give your build an extra kick in the pants. Once I get my funds in order, I am going to probably do some custom sleeve work, too. Takes a lot of patience, but well worth it.

Also I am kind of surprised for your first WC build you're going right into Acrylic. Pretty ballsy.

Gotcha. I know the GPU's cables will be the biggest eyesore since they will be right in the middle of my window. Damn you as well! I just looked up UV sleeves and now my bill just grew!!! Those are awesome.

I will sleeve everything that is showing, but I'll have to wait until build time to see exactly what I need.

I have SUPER OCD, so if I am going to be doing something, I am going to do it the right way the first time. I don't like constantly upgrading and changing parts. It always ends up being more expensive down the line. Seeing those "floppy" lines would have annoyed me from day one. I have a shop by my house that sells the acrylic tubes so I can get 12 feet for about $5. I am going to practice and mock up my lines with those, and use them as templates when I am ready to bend all the UV tubes.

 

[z1ggy]

Gotcha. I know the GPU's cables will be the biggest eyesore since they will be right in the middle of my window. Damn you as well! I just looked up UV sleeves and now my bill just grew!!! Those are awesome.

I will sleeve everything that is showing, but I'll have to wait until build time to see exactly what I need.

I have SUPER OCD, so if I am going to be doing something, I am going to do it the right way the first time. I don't like constantly upgrading and changing parts. It always ends up being more expensive down the line. Seeing those "floppy" lines would have annoyed me from day one. I have a shop by my house that sells the acrylic tubes so I can get 12 feet for about $5. I am going to practice and mock up my lines with those, and use them as templates when I am ready to bend all the UV tubes.

Yeah GPU ones are the biggest item you'll want to sleeve nicely. Yeah I hear ya on that one. I just worry about being off even just a few millimeter and having to recut/rebend more tube and waste a ton of money.

Someday I'll go for Acrylic. For now, I'll stick with my PrimoChill UV flexible tube

 

[Cobra Khan]

I just worry about being off even just a few millimeter and having to recut/rebend more tube and waste a ton of money.

I hear you on that. I think I will buy 24 feet of the acrylic tube ($12 ) from the shop by my house and mess with that before I work with the more expensive stuff that I have to have shipped to me.

I just talked to my friend and he apparently has an oven big enough to easily powder coat my case. For only $50 too!

I plan on putting the whole thing together first, then I will decide on my color theme based on how everything ends up fitting inside. Then I will dismantle everything, and have my buddy powder coat the case while I do all the sleeves and bend the final UV tubes. Should be fun!

EDIT: Looks like I can have some fun inside the case using THIS

 

[Cobra Khan]

So, apparently I am a doofus. I read the description wrong in auction for the Alphacool Dual 5.25. I thought I was bidding on a reservoir with only one D5 port, but apparently I was bidding on one with dual D5 ports. It also comes with a blanking plate, so you can mount only one D5. I think that is where I misread and got confused.

Now I don't have to worry about putting another pump in line somewhere else. That saved me a big headache. For once a mistake that works in my favor!

(Not sure why the front on the bay looks really scratched in the picture. No scratches at all)

 

[z1ggy]

I hear you on that. I think I will buy 24 feet of the acrylic tube ($12 ) from the shop by my house and mess with that before I work with the more expensive stuff that I have to have shipped to me.

I just talked to my friend and he apparently has an oven big enough to easily powder coat my case. For only $50 too!

I plan on putting the whole thing together first, then I will decide on my color theme based on how everything ends up fitting inside. Then I will dismantle everything, and have my buddy powder coat the case while I do all the sleeves and bend the final UV tubes. Should be fun!

EDIT: Looks like I can have some fun inside the case using THIS

Good idea. You should consider doing a build log here, and also on OCN (overclock.net). You'll get a lot of feedback on OCN (I'm a member there) and maybe a little bit here, but I think it'll be cool to show off your progress over time.

Some of the cases people put together out there are just insane. Custom mods, custom paint, sleeves...You name it, it's probably been done.

If I didn't have such expensive hobbies I'd be able to do fun mods myself ) c :