Arc Under Water [Bitspower, EK, and Alphacool deliciousness]

[failwheeldrive]

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Hey guys, I'm new to the forum so I figured I'd use this thread to introduce myself and share the build I've been working on the past few months.  This build started out as a 7970-powered Bitfenix Prodigy that I got through a trade back in March/April for an Alienware M14x.  I liked the build so much that I decided to sell my main setup at the time (a maxed out Alienware M18x r2 with a 3920XM and 680m sli) to focus on desktop building and modding.  Since then, the build has gone through countless stages, while growing in scope and performance to what you'll see here.  As much as I liked the little Prodigy, it was parted out piece by piece until absolutely everything was brand new.  The last iteration was an NZXT Phantom 630 (mostly air cooled except for an H100i) with decent performance and aesthetics (Titan Superclocked, 4770k, etc) but I wasn't happy with the weight of the chassis, unused internal space, and cooling.  I decided I would downsize the build some while substantially increasing gaming and cooling performance.  I wanted a case with minimalistic styling that would accommodate a full sized ATX motherboard and high end water cooling, all in the smallest and most efficient package possible.  The one case that really stood out was the Fractal Design Arc Midi r2.  The subdued aesthetics and offset radiator mounts hooked me from the very beginning, so I ordered the case and began planning out the build from there.  After collecting all the parts, I started the final build a few weeks ago, and now it's basically completed.  I had a longer build log over on OCN, but now that it's about done I figured I'll keep it pretty short here so you guys can see the near-finished pics I took today.

 

I suppose that's enough background info, so I'll go ahead and list the specs and post the pics.

 

Hardware:

Fractal Design Arc Midi r2

Gigabyte G1 Sniper 5

Intel i7 4770k

GTX Titan Superclocked

Corsair AX850 with fully sleeved custom cables by Ensourced https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ensourced-Custom-Sleeved-Cables/351225731619723

8gb Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133mhz

2x 256gb Samsung 840 Pro

 

Cooling:

Bitspower Summit EF Nickel plated

EK FC Titan Special Edition water block (Original CSQ)

EK-FC Bridge SINGLE CSQ - Plexi

EK-FC Titan SE Backplate - Black

Bitspower Matte Black 3/8" ID 5/8" OD compression fittings

Primochill Advanced LRT

XSPC D5 Vario

Bitspower D5 Mod Top v2 (POM)

Bitspower D5 Mod Kit (Matte Black)

Bitspower Dual / Single D5 Top Upgrade Kit 150 (Black POM Cap)

Bitspower Z-CAP II With G1/4" x3 ( POM Version )

Phobya G-Changer 240mm (top radiator)

Alphacool NexXxos Monsta 280mm (front radiator)

Phobya Touch 6 Fan Controller

4x Noiseblocker NB-BlackSilentPro PK-3

2x Noiseblocker NB-Eloop

Mint Green Mayhems Pastel (Mixed with Mayhems Ultra Pure H2O

 

Future Upgrades

GTX Titan sli

 

 

 

The Arc Midi arrives:

 

So much interior for such a small case

 

The Phantom immediately before the teardown

 

Huge shipment from performancepcs.com

 

Phobya G-Changer 240 v2 with Aplacool Monsta 280

 

CPU Water Block

 

Cheap Techflex sleeving for front panel connectors, fan controller, and misc accessories (POS Bitfenix Alchemy extensions on the left)

 

 

Phobya Touch fan controller

 

Touch's stock sleeving

 

After being sleeved

 

Bitspower D5 mod top and 150 upgrade kit assembled/sleeved

 

EK Titan FC Special Edition (OG CSQ) 

 

 

And now we get to the good part :D Building begins.

 

SSDs mounted behind motherboard tray

 

Anyone feel like coming over and fixing this rat's nest?

 

Sleeved cables from Ensourced

 

Radiators and blocks assembled and installed

 

As I'm sure the Arc Midi owners out there know, the r2 only supports front 240mm rads natively.  Witht he front drive cages removed, the Monsta 280 won't match up with the fan mounts on the front panel.  To fix this, I had to cut two holes in the 5.25" bays to allow for the top stop fittings to fit through.  Unfortunately I forgot to take pics of this until I already had the rads fitted, so it was a total pita to take a pic.  Sorry for the horrible quality, but here's a pic of one of the holes I cut so you can see what I mean:

Loop completed

 

Fittings running from the front radiator outlet to the reservoir's inlet

 

Leak testing/flushing.  I used the kitten in case something sprung a leak.  Kitties make great sponges.

 

Leak testing went well, so I went ahead and filled the loop with pastel

[skullbringer]

Build log of the week. The cat is awesome, YES!!! JUST YES! GREAT !

[laxer]

Looks Awesome!

 

Great work.

[failwheeldrive]

Those pics were from a few days ago.  Since then, I've been working on cable management and lighting.  I've still got a little ways to go, but I went ahead and did a mini shoot tonight.  Hope you guys enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry about the quality of some of the pics, I'm not much of a photographer.  I'll update again once I've finished the final touches and get my hands on a DSLR.  Thanks for checking out my thread!

[failwheeldrive]

Looks Awesome!

 

Great work.

 

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it!

[laxer]

No problem,

 

I really like the Green, Black and Grey color scheme, it is a pleasant change from black and red/blue  ^_^

[TicTac]

Nice man this is awesome, good job! love your cat heheheh :P

[HTiLewis]

The green in the graphics card looks amazing. Great job!

[Homicidium]

That is just a stupidly beautiful build! @JoshFractal needs to see this!

[everything count to life]

If this build isn't build log of the week then I don't know what will be

Great job really amazing build ;) I'm loving the pastel green looks really nice :D

[bchampion96]

What a way to introduce yourself to the forum :D

[failwheeldrive]

Thanks for the kind words and warm welcome guys, it really means a lot.  I feel kinda bad for posting what's essentially the whole build log all at once like this, but I promise I have some more changes and pics incoming

[jclappers]

Looks great and that radiator in the front, wow just wow thats thick

[Colombini]

Beutiful elegant build, great job!

Good pictures!

[CJPowell27]

Thanks for the kind words and warm welcome guys, it really means a lot.  I feel kinda bad for posting what's essentially the whole build log all at once like this, but I promise I have some more changes and pics incoming

How would you possibly change this sexy beast?

[A93nt47]

This build is just gorgeous. I wish my system needed the upgrade to Haswell so I could have and excuse to build something like this.

[failwheeldrive]

How would you possibly change this sexy beast?

 

I'll be changing the lighting up a bit this week, but the major changes will be coming later on.  I'm still in the early planning stages, but I'm thinking about fabricating enclosures for the psu and 5.25" bays using aluminum and smoked acrylic.  I love the custom work that MetallicAcid did with his TJ108 http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/31322-metallicacids-rog-v-gene-tj08-e/ and that inspired me to try something similar  Oh, and I'll be throwing in another Titan if my starving wallet can handle it lol.  A build isn't complete without moar Titans, amirite? :p

 

This build is just gorgeous. I wish my system needed the upgrade to Haswell so I could have and excuse to build something like this.

 

TY kind sir.  Trust me though, you're not missing out on too much when it comes to Haswell.  The main perk is the smexy new motherboards, but other than that it's just like Ivy Bridge but with higher temps lol.

[gastew15]

Wow, that looks absolutely fantastic. I really do like the green builds when they pop up, and those radiators make the Great Wall of China seem thin...

[CJPowell27]

I'll be changing the lighting up a bit this week, but the major changes will be coming later on.  I'm still in the early planning stages, but I'm thinking about fabricating enclosures for the psu and 5.25" bays using aluminum and smoked acrylic.  I love the custom work that MetallicAcid did with his TJ108 http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/31322-metallicacids-rog-v-gene-tj08-e/ and that inspired me to try something similar  Oh, and I'll be throwing in another Titan if my starving wallet can handle it lol.  A build isn't complete without moar Titans, amirite? :P

 

 

TY kind sir.  Trust me though, you're not missing out on too much when it comes to Haswell.  The main perk is the smexy new motherboards, but other than that it's just like Ivy Bridge but with higher temps lol.

Ooh yummy :P can't wait.  Of course moar Titans are always better :P. Love the work!  And also this is now my wallpaper on my phone

[DinckelMan]

Haven't seen a good green build in a long time!

Nice job

[_wky]

That liquid looks awesome with the lighting you've done. Nice clean job

[Nicktrance]

Looks absolutely beautiful I love the bright green and black colour scheme and the lighting, great job!

[failwheeldrive]

Thanks guys!  I'll be posting a small update tomorrow once I get a few new parts in.  

 

I could use your opinions of something I'll be trying out though.  I've been thinking about using vandal switches to control the LED strips in my case.  I ordered a couple switches along with this mounting plate http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=60_374_412&products_id=24542 that'll go below the fan controller.  Thoughts?  I'm undecided until I see it in person, but let me know if you think it'll be cleaner without them.  Thanks again :D

[MPX309]

that's turned out gorgeous, love it

[GameDane]

Amazing. :-)