New Build, aka "Sledgehammer"

[Tweakin]

Well,

It's been some time since I've been on the forums, but I retired my water buffalo today and am starting a new build, Sledgehammer! This will be my third water project, and as always I will post pics as I go along so others don't make the same mistakes as I do.

The main components are as follows:

Lian Li PC-A70 or Lian Li PC-7H edit: NZXT H440
Gigabyte G1 Sniper Z87 Motherboard
Intel i5-4670K CPU
GS Kill Sniper DDR3 1866 Memory

I will be reusing most of my old water system which consists of:
Swiftech MCP355 Pump (will replace)
Swiftech MCRES Reservoir
XSPC E240 Rad
Tygon 3/8" Tubing
Assorted Compression Fittings

I will be adding some new Alphacool waterblocks on my GTX-760's, which should be interesting.

More to follow...

 

[Tweakin]

Back again,

I've run into some initial issues. My old pump is officially dead...50,000MTBF is pretty close as it's been on 24/7/365 for over 5 years!!! Not bad for a Swiftech MCP 350.

My rad now has a tiny leak in it...not sure what happened when I removed it from the old case.

Finally, some of my parts started to arrive today. I love the Lian Li PC-7H, but it is not well suited to multiple rads, and inlet air could be an issue. More engineering over the next few days as I really don't want another full-tower case. I'm currently burning in the system. The G1.Sniper coupled with the i5-4670K is really nice, as is the move to SATA3. I'm currently playing with the SSD's and benchmarking AHCI vs RAID with them. If it is close to my results last time, I'll leave them in AHCI mode as the access time increases with raid, but I did see a big jump (synthetic) with the read throughput.

So, the water setup comes down to a financial decision if I want to replace my old rad with two new ones...as one will not cool an i5 and dual GTX 760's and be quiet.

 

[Tweakin]

Testing has begun. I discovered that my rad wasn't leaking, it was the barb...I must have bent it when I was removing it from the old case.

I borrowed a friends pump so I could get some thermal testing out of the way. 1.35VID allowed me to hit 4.5 (not stable over 24hrs...dropped to 4.3 and stable) with decent thermals, but now I'm working on 4.2Ghz @ 1.25. Not a dog of a chip but close...

Update: Thermals @ 4.2Ghz and one 760 are 36c after one hour using just my small XSPC 240 rad.

 

[Tweakin]

While the system is burning in, I've been working on the physical locations for the Rads, and I've come to the conclusion that I can't fit the needed cooling capacity within the smaller 7H, I am now moving forward with the larger A-75.

I'm currently laying out possibilities for a 420 up front and a 240 on top...but this is still going to be tight.

The Alphacool waterblocks for my GTX 760's have arrived. Initial fitting has a small problem with the thermal pad size...which is causing a slight warpage on the board when tightened down. They are heavy and of really nice build, but unless I can resolve the thermal pad spacing, I may have to send them back. I also purchased the back plate for added thermals and stability.

Update: Corrected thermal pad issue and assembly went smooth.

 

[Tweakin]

I have finished with the internal mods and mounted the pump. Upon initial test with a small loop I noticed some nose from the vibration, probable due to transference from the heat sink/stand.

I might need to rethink this and mount the pump on gell again as this dampened all the noise in my last build...now if I could only remember where I bought that stuff from...

 

[Tweakin]

Let the games begin! System is now being tested for leaks. I'm going to have to isolate the pump a little more I think...but it's hard to tell as there is still air in the system.

 

[Aikouka]

Seems rather empty inside... where do your drives go?

 

[Tweakin]

Seems rather empty inside... where do your drives go?

I originally started in a mid-ATX, but the 420 rad was too much for that size. I also planned on push-pull with the 420, hence the need for the additional space, but as it turns out I didn't need all the fans...the SR1 really allows air to flow through it.

This case will keep me working until I figure out which "final" case I end up with. If thermals stay low, I'll probably go with a different mid and use my dual 240's and drop the 420.

As for the drives, the will go next to the MB on the back-plane above the res after I leak test.

 

[Tweakin]

So I'm just not happy with the latest coming out of Lian-Li. The case is really nice, but it is not very strong with all the components installed and just too big (tall)!

It will make a nice temp case as it's easy to work in, but I'll probably sell the 420 as I have way too many rads laying around my little shop so that I can pick up some new toys.

So, the project will now move into a new case which I just pre-ordered, it's a NZXT H440 from the egg...I'm going to put a dual alphacool configuration in there for cooling...

 

[DigDog]

posting some pictures wouldn't hurt ...

 

[Tweakin]

posting some pictures wouldn't hurt ...

The egg is shipping out on the 24th. I'll post pics as soon as I can and throughout the mod.

We have another custom build with an H440 coming from SimsReaper

No conformation from the egg yet on shipping, but the Alphacools are on the way!

edit: Case just arrived...need to hurry home. I haven't been this excited about a case in some time!