Ghost's Build Log: Part 2

[Ghost]

Hello and welcome to the second part of my build log, or rather the first upgrade in my build.

 

In this build log the main thing I will be doing is water cooling the system as well as changing out all the components. In contrast to my previous build log this should be finished within a few days and the updates will mainly consist of pictures as people seem to prefer that. I have also made a couple of changes of plan since my last build log. Instead of putting all my new components in my Switch 810 I will be using the CM 690 II Advanced I modified in my previous build log. This of course means I will be water cooling in the CM 690 II, not the Switch 810. Before I jump into the water cooling though I should go into the hardware used in this build.

 

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Hardware

 

• Intel 3570k
• Asus Maximus V Formula
• Corsair AX760i
• MSI 7970 OC
• G.SKILL Sniper Gaming Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 1866Mhz
• Corsair Neutron GTX 240gb
• Seagate Barracuda 3TB
• Cooler Master 690II Advanced.

To quickly explain my choice in parts. I think the biggest question you probably have is; "Why Z77?". Well I bought the CPU and motherboard before Z87. I could have sold the CPU and motherboard while they were still new at a small loss, however, after seeing the performance of Z87, I prefer the "overclocking" fun that you get with Z77 and they perform roughly the same. There is no need for an upgrade.

 

Onto my second "strange" choice; the Maximus V Formula. I could have gotten other boards that my system could have performed just as well with. My main reason for getting the Maximus V was the software features that Asus gives you. Without "Fan Xpert II" I would have to buy 3rd Party Solutions to control my fans which would have never been as elegant. as Asus' implementation.

 

Well my third strange choice is the AX760i PSU. There was, of course, no need to get such a high end PSU. I could have spent much less on an equally good PSU. Well the main reason I got the PSU was the fact the fan will stay off most of the time while using it. The software control is also a benefit, although I don't see myself using that much.

 

Of course if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

 

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Watercooling

• Laing D5 Pump
• Monsoon Series Two Dual Bay Reservoir.
• Monsoon Free Center Compression Fittings.
• Monsoon Chain Gun Compression Fittings.
• Watercool HEATKILLER® CPU Rev 3.0 Ni-BL - CPU Block.
• Watercool HEATKILLER® GPU-X³ 79X0 - GPU Block.
• Watercool MO-RA3 360 LC - Radiator.
• MIPS Maximus V Formula Waterblock
• Primochill LRT Advanced - Tubing
• Koolance QD3 Quick Disconnects

As water cooling is the main reason for this upgrade I will put reasons for all my watercooling choices in the individual updates but if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

 

Before finishing off this post I would like to thank Monsoon for sponsoring me with their Series Two Dual Bay Reservoir and fittings for the build. It wouldn't be possible without them. I will be doing reviews of all the monsoon parts so keep an eye out for those. I will link them here after the reviews are done.

 

 

 

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Updates

 

Update 1.1 - Cleaning out the case that will be used in this build - Link

Update 1.2 - Test fitting - Link

Update 2.0 - Adapting the mid-plate - Link

Update 3.0 - The Waterblocks - Link

 

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Latest Picture

 

 

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Remember to follow this topic if your interested in the build log. You can also follow my personal twitter (@deadfire19) for random pictures while I build.

 

Thanks for reading.

[_ASSASSIN_]

awwww yeah

[thedigitalmilk]

This, this I am excited for, f*ck Christmas.

[Bluejay0]

Finally!

[Ghost]

ummmmmmm what? Fan control is possible on any board without having to buy software

But it's not as elegant as Fan Xpert II (at least imo), I also didn't mean 3rd party software but 3rd party hardware, the "Aquacomputer Aquaero 5 PRO" would have been my choice if the motherboard didn't have satisfactory fan control. I'm not that sure all (z77) motherboards have voltage fan control. There were other reasons as well, like colour scheme, watercooling options and other software features.

 

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I also added RAM and motherboard waterblock to the spec list. Forgot to include those.

[zxcvbnmmssdh]

Looks awesome

[Loe]

About time man

[mvitkun]

I think I'll be the first to say...

Looking forward to seeing this build,but don't want to sub since it'll be spammed by everyone's comments.

there should be an option to sub a thread for only the author's posts.

[Ghost]

I think I'll be the first to say...

Looking forward to seeing this build,but don't want to sub since it'll be spammed by everyone's comments.

there should be an option to sub a thread for only the author's posts.

 

I always do status updates for major updates, so if you add me as a friend you can get notified that way. Last time I found that that was the simplest way to get around that.

[mvitkun]

I always do status updates for major updates, so if you add me as a friend you can get notified that way. Last time I found that that was the simplest way to get around that.

or you could tweet when you have an update to the rig,so that anyone following you knows to check the thread.

[Ghost]

or you could tweet when you have an update to the rig,so that anyone following you knows to check the thread.

I will do that too, but on my personal twitter.

[Ghost]

Update 1.1 - Cleaning out the case that will be used in this build.

 

Just a short/mini update on what I did today:

 

 

Finished transferring my old system to the Switch 810. My CM 690 II is now empty and ready for the few mods I am going to need.

 

Incidentally this is the first time I have ever received a "Chassis Intruded Error". It happened during my first boot. I was actually surprised I got no real errors as I almost literally threw everything into the Switch.

 

Here is the picture of the old components in the Switch. Taken with flash at night so sorry for the bad quality but it's really just to show you what it looks like. I plan to move that to a smaller case at some point anyway so I really wasn't careful with cable routing.

[Ghost]

Update 1.2 - Test fitting

 

Today I put in the motherboard and gpu just to mark out where I will be drilling in the case and dremelling and mid-plate tomorrow. A key mistake I made with the midplate last time is that I didn't make any holes for the IO panel cables to go through. As the motherboard was touching the mid-plate I really needed to do this. In the last build I ended up squeezing the connectors between the motherboard and mid plate and then routing the IO connectors under the motherboard. This made the motherboard take a very long time to mount as I had to correctly position 4 cables under the motherboard so they didn't overlap and they were tense. It also meant I had to strip the USB cables so they would fit in the gap between the motherboard and mid-plate.

 

Now that I will dremel slits for the cables it should all become relatively simple to mount.

 

I also mounted the new top panel for the CM 690 II that now has USB 3 as oppose to e-sata.

 

Here is a picture of the GPU and motherboard mounted in:

 

Apologies for the flash but this was taken on a phone. My camera had ran out of battery.

 

 

Thanks for reading.

[Loe]

That aftermarket motherboard waterblock.

[zeros]

Looks great so far .

[Ghost]

All the modifications to the case have now been done, here's a teaser pic before tommorows update:

 

[Ghost]

Update 2.0 - Adapting the mid-plate.

 

I had to adapt the mid plate slightly to allow the front IO panel connectors to come through the mid-plate, instead of having to pass them from behind the motherboard like I did in the previous build. I just grabbed a precision file and spent an hour or so filing small slits into the mid-plate, this was easy for the two USB sockets and the case LED/switch connectors as it only require filing slightly into the midplate from the side of the hole made for the frosted plexiglass. I circled the slits in red.

 

 

The USB cables will of course be sleeved or more likely just heat-shrunk to hide the coloured cables going above the hole. The same goes for the case LEDs and switches. The advantage of putting them in from the side of the frosted plexiglass hole is that I can remove them at any time without having to remove the motherboard.

 

What turned out to be the big problem is the front audio connector. I couldn't do what I did for the other connectors as the frosted plexiglass hole is only towards the front of the motherboard. My initial idea was to create a hole from the side of the motherboard to give a channel for the cable to go down behind the motherboard tray. I did initially do that, however, the motherboard still did not go into position correctly over the screws with that solution. For some reason the motherboard wouldn't let me put something between it and the motherboard tray. I ended up having to use a saw to cut away a large part of the mid-plate under the connector and now the cable goes (or rather is squashed) between the PSU and the midplate.

 

 

Now the motherboard finally fit in the case. I will cover up the coloured cables with something later in the build.

 

One unfortunate thing that I can't change to the mid-plate is that the frosted acrylic goes 1-2 cms over the PSU. This was mainly because the mid plate was built with the CM PSU from the previous build in mind and that PSU was considerably shorter. I have no way to change that as I can't "add" a part of the mid-plate back. Hopefully the shadow won't be too visible when the LEDs come on.

 

Thanks for reading this short update. The first of the watercooling updates is coming soon!

[AxelPeeters]

Are you gonna paint the front-panel-header-cables black ? looks good so far !

[Ghost]

Are you gonna paint the front-panel-header-cables black ? looks good so far !

I probably won't paint them. Either heat shrink them or put vinyl on them.

[Str_Mape]

Nice build Ghost, can't wait to see it finalized.

[thedigitalmilk]

Looking good so far:)

[Ghost]

Update 3.0 - The Water Blocks

 

Apologies again for the long overdue update but I have been very ill for the past week or so. The build is now complete, and there will most definitely be a part 3 to this build log. For now I will be slowly posting pictures of what the I did for the past two weeks.

 

 

First off I drilled two holes in the back of the case, one at the top and one at the bottom. Through these holes I put a bulkhead fitting. For those of you that don't know what that is: it lets you screw a fitting in on both sides and it also has another thread to allow you to "compress" the case in-between so it stays in place.

 

I didn't use the water-cooling grommets that the case comes with; firstly because there wasn't one in the bottom, which would have meant I would have had to make the loop look messy and secondly because I wanted a very solid connection. I didn't want there to be the possibility of there being any force put on a fitting inside the case, which means I can make sure there will never be leaks inside the case as the tubing will never be tense.

 

 

I decided to go with a MIPs waterblock for the motherboard block. Support for the block is non-existent as MIPs doesn't exist anymore, however, their water blocks have very nice aesthetics that go well with the "Watercool" blocks I used within the case, the only downside to them is the copper base plate which is visible at the ends of the block but that can be fixed with vinyl at some point.

 

 

As you can probably tell by now I have gone with the "typical" look of red and black, which is of course, mainly due to the motherboard, which has, not only red accent but also red lighting.

 

I tried to do a split of themes within the build, black and red for the components, and black and silver(nickel) for the watercooling parts, the coolant will be plain water. Black is  the colour that keeps consistency through the build and the silver adds a lot of "shiny" accents to the build as well as reflecting the black and red of the motherboard so it "extends" the theme of the components. I will have a few more pictures of that effect in another update.

 

 

Of course the biggest thing in any build (besides big tube reservoirs) is the back the top graphics card and I think a silver back plate, reflecting the build adds a lot more than a black backplate. The nickel block I choose for the graphics card is mostly to keep consistency with the CPU block in this build. Right now it doesn't really matter but when I add a second GPU to the build the crossfire connecter for the blocks that watercool has for the blocks really fits the style of the CPU block.

 

To finish off I thought I'd include a picture of the final build. The last few updates will be coming soon so keep an eye out!

 

[Bluejay0]

That backplate <3

[thedigitalmilk]

Soo shiny... My eyes! They're burning!

 

Edit: Shitty spelling.

[kungfury7]

awwww yeah

 

That cat....that cat should get a national awesomeness award or something.