Super Ghetto Build

[Alexcalibur]

So I am doing a pretty sketchy build that probably is the best bang for buck that I am able to go for. I will de a brief run down of the parts and how much I got them for.

 

CPU: i3 2120 $52

I got this baby for about $50, which I was pretty happy with. It has the standard 2 cores, 4 threads and 3.3Ghz. I might however get myself a FX-6300 used or something of similar performance, as the i3 I have noticed is a bit lacking, and that the RAM speed is limited to 1333. What do you think I should do for CPU? I am going for cheapest as possible, but I also have to take into consideration the motherboard costs as well, or I would have gone for a Xeon E5 2670. (Thinking about it, I might switch out my brothers i5 4460 for this i3 2120, mostly because he never uses his PC anyway. Hmmmm (yes I know different socket types, I would switch the MOBOS as well)) 

 

Motherboard: Biostar H61MGV3 $49.99

I don't really know why I went the used route for this board. I had wanted something that would arrive quick and reliable, and I wasn't patient enough to wait. I wouldn't exactly call this the nicest board ever made but hey, it works.

 

RAM: Samsung 8gb 1066 $FREE

I had stolen this from my aforementioned brothers PC. It has a side panel window and everything and he still hasn't noticed. lol.

 

GPU: EVGA GTX 580 $55

I got this fairly cheap (I think/hope) however the thing is, it didn't come with a cooler. It came with the PCB and that's it. I will explain how this all will work in a bit. 

 

Storage: TBD

I got a 24Gb M.2 Boot SSD for $8, however I can't use it on either motherboards that would be a possibility (Biostar H61MGV3 & MSI H81M P33). I am a little afraid to buy HDDs off of ebay, so I don't really know what I am going to do for mass storage. I do however, have a 3TB WD Green external harddrive on my main rig, so I might wipe that and might use it on my newer system.

 

CASE: dunno man $FREE

I got a server case from my dad's old server that he passed down to me. The parts were from like '08 but the case was big and sturdy so I went with it. It has plenty of internal room for what I plan to do.

 

PSU: TBD

I have a 500W PSU from random company #8 but it doesn't have both if I remember correctly 8pin and 6pin connectors that are necessary to power the GTX 580. I might pull and Austin Evans and hook up two PSUs, or I might spend like $40 and get some cheap Corsair or EVGA PSU.  

 

Cooling: $49.51

So if it wasn't apparent already, I am doing some custom loop watercooling. However, my "twist" per say is that I am doing it cheaper than what I thought was possible (Credit where credit is due, I got my idea from Tech YES City Brian from YouTube. Can't recommend his channel enough Link here to the video which made all of this happen). So anyway, let me break down what I have, and then what I don't have. 

 

CPU Block $3.28 x 2: I got two of these because I needed one for my CPU and one for my GPU. I know they are crappy but they are cheap and sometimes the crappy stuff works better than the pro stuff. ok lets be real that never happens but I can still hop.

 

VRAM Heatsinks $10: I got 40 of these little guys, so I should have enough for this project 5x over. The only problem I have found is that the adhesive sucks. I have some nice 3M double sided tape would that work fine? My only concern is that the adhesive will melt in the heat or not properly transfer it to the heatsink.

 

Reservoir $8.06: Again, another cheap product. With this it came with no mounting hardware so I think I am going to have to either double sided tape it or I am going to have to make my own mount for it. Fun.

 

Radiator $14.89:  For the radiator, I decided to go for a single 120mm radiator, as I thought that my CPU and GPU wouldn't really be producing enough heat that it would need to be dispersed in a 2 x 120mm or 2 x 140mm radiator. Did I make the right choice here? The 2 x 120mm radiator was only $5 more. 

 

Pump $7.75:  Just some 12v pump. Don't know much about pumps so I don't have much to say. BTW this is my first watercooling build if you couldn't tell

 

Fans $2.25: I got a 4 pack of blue LED 120mm fans. Probably will break in a hour and sound like a dying horse in the process but hey, who is counting. Also, I am only having 1 fan in the case at a time, and that will be a pulling fan on the back side of the radiator and the backside of the case. Might do a push/pull if I feel adventurous. 

 

Conclusion

So yea. This is a $201.51 PC that probably will be able to run some pretty good games when it is completed. But first not only do I have to build it but I have to actually get all of the parts. I hope you guys can read my rambling. That is if you even made it to here. Should I update this with the process? Thanks!

 

Links to stuff I bought

(No CPU)

(Motherboard)

(GPU)

(Storage)

(CPU Blocks)

(VRAM Heatsinks)

(Reservoir)

(Radiator)

(Pump)

(Fans)

 

 

 

 

 

[Drunk_Klaus]

The rad is fine, I run a 6700k and 980ti on loop together with a single 120mm rad and temp under load is 67c, you will probably see higher than that because of the fin layout/pump speed of yours but I doubt it will overheat

[failblox]

I don't know how much I'd trust $8 pump of yours... Personally if I'm going to watercool, I'd rather do it properly and spend a lot of money on reliable parts that will last me a long time while not leaking.

 

I understand you're trying to save money, but I would recommend just going with air cooling. Going cheap on watercooling isn't worth the risk that the decision takes with it. All you need is one leak for water to short circuit your computer.

[Alexcalibur]

10 hours ago, failblox said:

I don't know how much I'd trust $8 pump of yours... Personally if I'm going to watercool, I'd rather do it properly and spend a lot of money on reliable parts that will last me a long time while not leaking.

 

I understand you're trying to save money, but I would recommend just going with air cooling. Going cheap on watercooling isn't worth the risk that the decision takes with it. All you need is one leak for water to short circuit your computer.

The plan was ghetto and ghetto it shall be. I appreciate your comment, but I have already bought the parts a while ago

[v-raze]

On 5/31/2016 at 10:47 PM, IskanderEXC said:

-snip-

I loved that TYC vid, and would probably also be doing this if I had the time & $ right now. But why did you go with the same terrible blocks??? Those are the one thing that I felt could have massively improved the system as a whole if he'd spent another $5 on blocks like these ones instead of him being all bitter about it and calling it the "rotten tomato".

Regardless I am excited to see pictures.

[Alexcalibur]

2 hours ago, v-raze said:

I loved that TYC vid, and would probably also be doing this if I had the time & $ right now. But why did you go with the same terrible blocks??? Those are the one thing that I felt could have massively improved the system as a whole if he'd spent another $5 on blocks like these ones instead of him being all bitter about it and calling it the "rotten tomato".

Regardless I am excited to see pictures.

I realise it now, but I didn't know anything about watercooling at the time. RN I am waiting on compression fittings for my reservoir and then this baby will be set

[v-raze]

3 minutes ago, IskanderEXC said:

I realise it now, but I didn't know anything about watercooling at the time. RN I am waiting on compression fittings for my reservoir and then this baby will be set

Sweet. Just make sure you grind down the mating surfaces like Bryan did, they're probably concave just like his were. If you have access to an orbital, disk, or belt sander, it would make that a much simpler task.

[Alexcalibur]

1 hour ago, v-raze said:

Sweet. Just make sure you grind down the mating surfaces like Bryan did, they're probably concave just like his were. If you have access to an orbital, disk, or belt sander, it would make that a much simpler task.

I am going to test the temps first and then if it is bad I will do that