Custom Test Bench!

[Jacktastic-Mofo]

So some of you may know of my build "Ye Old Whisper" and before it reaches its final form it'll go through many iterations- today Ye Old was turned into an open air test bench that I'll be using to benchmark some cards on!

Here's the build log! (sorry for lack of pictures, I started working and just kept going)

 

Step 1: Cut Wood, this is a 18x12 inch base (not actually pictured, those are the walls for ye old)

*I do not smoke, that's my parents

**Safety goggles for protection

 

Step 2: Mount Motherboard w/ motherboard standoffs, then use industrial adhesive to mount PSU / HDD

 

Step 3: Cable Manage using adhesive zip tie mounts (not pictured, mounting of fan and power switch)

 

Beauty Shots:

 

All the components used to build this open air test bench cost about 10$.

[PillowSmoke]

MY EYES.

[Stardar1]

for a long time i have thought about doing a semi-open air case with custom liquid cooling. 

 

for a single GTX 970 and an I5 4690k, how much would the water cooling alone cost?

[Jacktastic-Mofo]

for a long time i have thought about doing a semi-open air case with custom liquid cooling. 

 

for a single GTX 970 and an I5 4690k, how much would the water cooling alone cost?

To do a custom closed loop you'd be looking at around 300$ minimum, that includes-

 

Pump / Res Combo 70$

CPU Waterblock 50$

GPU Waterblock 100$

Tubing 15$

Fittings 15$

Radiator 40$

Fans 20$

 

You could just get a AIO CPU cooler and a AIO cooler for the GPU.

[Stardar1]

To do a custom closed loop you'd be looking at around 300$ minimum, that includes-

 

Pump / Res Combo 70$

CPU Waterblock 50$

GPU Waterblock 100$

Tubing 15$

Fittings 15$

Radiator 40$

Fans 20$

 

You could just get a AIO CPU cooler and a AIO cooler for the GPU.

well, fans i have plenty of.

i would do closed loop, but i like the idea of custom cooling with clear tubes and colored liquid with an open-air case. idk if im ready to put $400-$500 into it, or if my GTX 970 is even worth water cooling. 

 

if i didnt water cool the GPU i could pull off the custom cooling for $150, right?

[Jacktastic-Mofo]

well, fans i have plenty of.

i would do closed loop, but i like the idea of custom cooling with clear tubes and colored liquid with an open-air case. idk if im ready to put $400-$500 into it, or if my GTX 970 is even worth water cooling. 

 

if i didnt water cool the GPU i could pull off the custom cooling for $150, right?

Maybe even less than $150. You could get a pump / cpu block combo, and then a rad + plus some tubing and fitting and you'll only have spent like 100ish bucks- I also believe EK recently released an AIO with clear tubing that is also expandable and upgradable.

[Stardar1]

Maybe even less than $150. You could get a pump / cpu block combo, and then a rad + plus some tubing and fitting and you'll only have spent like 100ish bucks- I also believe EK recently released an AIO with clear tubing that is also expandable and upgradable.

ooohhh

 

mental math time:

 

$100 cooling + $200 custom case + $100 new PSU = more money than i have!

 

my current PSU isnt cutting it, so i need a new one anyways

 

but still, 300-400, with holidays around the corner...