My first upgrade! Help!

[JJLabrier]

Hi guys! So almost 3 years ago, I bought a custom PC build from CyberPowerPC.com. I regret that I spent so much money on this PC when I couldv'e saved a lot by building one on my own, but I just didn't have a clue back then. Now I'm a little more informed, and am ready to build (more like upgrade I guess) my first PC, all on my own. This PC has served me well for the past 3 years, but I have decided, it is time to move on to bigger and better things.

 

My current system specs are as follows:
GPU - GTX 590 Classified

CPU - i7-2700K

MoBo - Gigabyte Z68MA

PSU - Coolermaster Silent Pro 850W 80Plus Bronze

Case - White In-Win Mana 136 Mid Tower

RAM - 8x4 DDR3 1600Mhz

 

My plan is to keep the CPU since it's still pretty powerful, and go water cooled (my first time water cooling as well) to get a higher overclock.

I already decided on my new GPU, got the GTX 970 on the way. I'm gonna water-cool the GPU as well to get a better OC.

 

Which brings me to what I need help on from you guys:

1. Should I upgrade my Mobo to a more OC friendly type?

2. What are the best water cooling parts I can get? Most of the water cooling guides I see on youtube are a little dated, so I don't know if the parts are still the best available. I really want the best water cooling set-up for the coolest, quietest system.

3. I'm thinking of getting a Corsair 760T case, because my current case only supports single 140mm rads, while I'm planning to go 360mm on the 760T. And of course the 760T just looks amazing. If you know any cheaper alternatives to the 760T that are also white with a big window, please let me know what case it is!

4. Any other suggestions for this build? If it helps, this system will be used for gaming on a 1080p 60Hz monitor, and I might upgrade to 1440p in the future. I also try to keep my PC white/silver/light blue themed, so if it comes down to some equally good parts, the color will be the deciding factor for me. 

 

Budget is around $1K, but definitely flexible to achieve maximum awesomeness! Let's just say my ship came in. 

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

 

*Update*

10/24/2014 09:25am: Debate on case is out of the picture, I already ordered the 760T. It was on sale for a little cheaper on NCIX so I just jumped on the deal.

10/25/2014 01:11am: After further research, I decided on the EK Supremacy EVO to be my newly wedded CPU block.

10/25/2014 06:43am: I bought most of all the water cooling parts now, can you guys let me know what you think?

                                   Rads: Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper 360mm and Alphacool NexXxoS Monsta Radiator 280

                                   GPU block: I'm gonna wait for EK to come out with this one.

                                   RAM block: Took everyones advice and went EK monarch

                                   Pump and Reservoir: went with a combo on this one, XSPC D5 Photon 270 Reservoir/ D5 Vario Pump Combo 

                                   Fittings: I was surprised at how expensive the compression fittings were, so I decided to wait till I have all the parts first and have

                                   a good visual on what kinds of fittings I need before I buy them. I dont want to buy too many, or buy regular ones when I would

                                   want 90 or 45 degree ones.

[xnoobftw]

-snip-

1. Keep the MOBO since you are keeping your CPU

2.Full custom loop or AIOs?

3. H440. S340 are great cases!

4.You're fine for the most part

[Altecice]

Looks good but dont forget OCing is luck of the draw. Just because you go from Air>Liquid doesnt mean you will get a better OC, You could be at the limit of your chip even on air.

[xnoobftw]

I would recommand getting the h440/s340 (i just looked at the pricing of 760t and holy molely). (i would personally go for the s340 as they have radiator support 2x140/2x120 in the front which is sufficient)

I would get an AIO like a kraken x61 for CPU at the front and i wouldnt bother with liquid cooling a 970 as they dont run hot at all

[Demons Wrath]

Budget is around $1K, but definitely flexible to achieve maximum awesomeness! Let's just say my ship came in. 

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

 

Can I tempt you Frodo?!

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 WS ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($259.99 @ Mwave) 

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Luxe ATX Full Tower Case  ($149.99 @ Amazon) 

Total: $409.98

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-24 08:19 EDT-0400

[s3ns3]

keep the mobo. and AIO cooler isn`t exactly water cooling

[JJLabrier]

1. Keep the MOBO since you are keeping your CPU

2.Full custom loop or AIOs?

3. H440. S340 are great cases!

4.You're fine for the most part

keep the mobo. and AIO cooler isn`t exactly water cooling

 

keep the mobo. and AIO cooler isn`t exactly water cooling

 

My problem with the Mobo is that it's a pretty shitty one. I haven't tried OCing on it, so I don't know how well it will OC, but I havent been able to use the USB 3.0 ports on the front of my case because my Mobo doesnt have the right socket for it.

 

I do plan on going full custom water cooling, not AIO. My CPU is actually cooled by a AIO right now, but it still gets up to 88-92 degrees under load so I don't like it LOL

I'm might as well cool the 970, for aesthetics if anything, since I will be running a full custom water cooling set-up anyway.

 

I'll check out the cases!

[Eddprzz]

Hi guys! So almost 3 years ago, I bought a custom PC build from CyberPowerPC.com. I regret that I spent so much money on this PC when I couldv'e saved a lot by building one on my own, but I just didn't have a clue back then. Now I'm a little more informed, and am ready to build (more like upgrade I guess) my first PC, all on my own. This PC has served me well for the past 3 years, but I have decided, it is time to move on to bigger and better things.

 

My current system specs are as follows:

GPU - GTX 590 Classified

CPU - i7-2700K

MoBo - Gigabyte Z68MA

PSU - Coolermaster Silent Pro 850W 80Plus Bronze

Case - White In-Win Mana 136 Mid Tower

RAM - 8x4 DDR3 1600Mhz

 

My plan is to keep the CPU since it's still pretty powerful, and go water cooled (my first time water cooling as well) to get a higher overclock.

I already decided on my new GPU, got the GTX 970 on the way. I'm gonna water-cool the GPU as well to get a better OC.

 

Which brings me to what I need help on from you guys:

1. Should I upgrade my Mobo to a more OC friendly type?

2. What are the best water cooling parts I can get? Most of the water cooling guides I see on youtube are a little dated, so I don't know if the parts are still the best available. I really want the best water cooling set-up for the coolest, quietest system.

3. I'm thinking of getting a Corsair 760T case, because my current case only supports single 140mm rads, while I'm planning to go 360mm on the 760T. And of course the 760T just looks amazing. If you know any cheaper alternatives to the 760T that are also white with a big window, please let me know what case it is!

4. Any other suggestions for this build? If it helps, this system will be used for gaming on a 1080p 60Hz monitor, and I might upgrade to 1440p in the future. I also try to keep my PC white/silver/light blue themed, so if it comes down to some equally good parts, the color will be the deciding factor for me. 

 

Budget is around $1K, but definitely flexible to achieve maximum awesomeness! Let's just say my ship came in. 

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

I wudd not upgrade mobo as for rads I jus went with alphacool rads cuz they come with shit ton of screws jus In case I need extra compression fitting I went was the bitspower they are great cpu block is personal choice gpu block I went bitspower but people say you should go EK for gpu tubing there is only one and it's primo as for pump I am using mcp655 it's quiet as balls and last is case I used enthoo pro but it doesn't support thick 360 rads so I will say go a thin rad on top like ut30 360mm from alphacool or the 480 because it supports it and a thick 240 in front I've recently worked with the case so I like it like literally recent like yesterday lol but if u want to spend more on case go for enthoo primo

[Demons Wrath]

My problem with the Mobo is that it's a pretty shitty one. I haven't tried OCing on it, so I don't know how well it will OC, but I havent been able to use the USB 3.0 ports on the front of my case because my Mobo doesnt have the right socket for it.

 

I do plan on going full custom water cooling, not AIO. My CPU is actually cooled by a AIO right now, but it still gets up to 88-92 degrees under load so I don't like it LOL

I'm might as well cool the 970, for aesthetics if anything, since I will be running a full custom water cooling set-up anyway.

 

I'll check out the cases!

 

Get a good Z77 mobo if you're not sure about it, the one I recommended is fairly solid. Also look at ebay or other 2nd hand places. 

[Eddprzz]

Can I tempt you Frodo?!

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14CS 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler  ($41.01 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 WS ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($259.99 @ Mwave) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($329.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Corsair SPEC-03 Red ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 

Case Fan: LEPA Vortex 12 PWM 63.9 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($1.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case Fan: LEPA Vortex 12 PWM 63.9 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($1.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $684.96

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-24 07:23 EDT-0400

u didn't read his post did u?

[Eddprzz]

Never asked but do U have an ssd??

[Demons Wrath]

u didn't read his post did u?

Fixed.

[JJLabrier]

I wudd not upgrade mobo as for rads I jus went with alphacool rads cuz they come with shit ton of screws jus In case I need extra compression fitting I went was the bitspower they are great cpu block is personal choice gpu block I went bitspower but people say you should go EK for gpu tubing there is only one and it's primo as for pump I am using mcp655 it's quiet as balls and last is case I used enthoo pro but it doesn't support thick 360 rads so I will say go a thin rad on top like ut30 360mm from alphacool or the 480 because it supports it and a thick 240 in front I've recently worked with the case so I like it like literally recent like yesterday lol but if u want to spend more on case go for enthoo primo

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll check them all out!

 

 

1. Keep the MOBO since you are keeping your CPU

2.Full custom loop or AIOs?

3. H440. S340 are great cases!

4.You're fine for the most part

 

I checked out the 2 cases, for some reason they seem to not have any optical drive slots? That'll be a problem beause I have a Bluray drive.

 

 

Never asked but do U have an ssd??

I didn't feel that it was important to mention it, but I already have a 1TB 840 EVO on the way too.

 

 

Get a good Z77 mobo if you're not sure about it, the one I recommended is fairly solid. Also look at ebay or other 2nd hand places. 

I'll check it out.

 

Guys, what I really want the most help on is the parts and pieces for the custom water cooling setup. GTX 970 waterblock, i7-2700K waterblock, RAM waterblock, pump,  compression fittings, tubes, etc.

[xnoobftw]

-snip-

But how many times do you actually use your blueray drive?

[JJLabrier]

But how many times do you actually use your blueray drive?

 

Not a lot, but I still do use it. I like having a physical copy of my games, so I still use disks to install most my games.

[JJLabrier]

Updated original post with some new parts I bought.. what do you guys think?