Remmy
New member
The Monolith - Switch 810 Watercooled Build
I call it The Monolith simply because it is big, black, and well.. monolithic.
I originally built this PC 2 years ago, but since last October there has been many many upgrades (with many more yet to come), and the only remaining original parts are the motherboard, CPU, HDD, and the optical drive. I'm at uni so I spend most of my student loan on this thing hehe.
In around 6 weeks I'm upgrading several more things, including: Watercooling my 2nd GPU (I bought them at different times), adding a second radiator, going push/pull on both radiators, new pump, new reservoir, a flow indicator, Corsair individually braided cables, and making some aluminium panels. I want the XSPC Raystorm CPU block too but it's hardly essential (not that any of the rest of the hardware is either lol).
Rig Spec:
NZXT Switch 810 Black
Corsair AX850
Asus P8P67 Pro
Intel i5 2500k
16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz
Zotac GTX580 1.5GB
Gainward GTX580 1.5GB
Asus Xonar D2
Corsair SP2500
128GB Vertex IV SSD
1TB Hitachi HDD
Samsung Blu-ray rewriter
Asus VE228HR 21.5" Monitor
Generic Microsoft Keyboard & Crappy Dell Mouse
Water cooling components:
EK-DCP 2.2 Pump/Res combo
EK-Supreme LTX CPU block
Aquagrafx GTX580 block
Phobya G-Changer 360mm 60mm thick
3x Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition (Soon to be 10!)
EK 3/8"-1/2" Compression fittings (The angled fittings are just non-branded fittings)
Here is my desk area (I have the worst mouse/keyboard money can buy pretty much; I'm going to be getting a Corsair M65, and likely the K95, I just don't know when. I tend to prioritise the PC components over the peripherals):
The black panels on the bottom and right hand side are just makeshift panels made from an A4 file folder, and these will be replaced with aluminium panels coated in carbon fibre Di-Noc, I also plan to make a panel to cover the side of the optical bays. The HDD is in a Hot Swap bay in an optical bay.
The cables which could really do with some work lol :/ Plus Jeremy Kyle in the background haha
The upgrades I'm looking forward to putting in oh so much...
The extra fans I need for push/pull
My new pump, the trusty ol' MCP655 Vario (I'm getting the alphacool acrylic pump top for this)
My reservoir, I absolutely love this thing and have done since I first laid eyes on them
It was well worth the HUGE hole in the pocket
Cathode off:
and on:
Here is the flow indicator I'm getting, whenever they get released
The second rad I'm getting is the Phobya G-Changer 240mm to match the 360mm in the roof.
Stay tuned for the updates, and feel free to leave any suggestions/criticisms you may have
Thanks for reading,
Jamie!
Edit 25/6/13: I've seen that the flow indicators have already been out for a week on SpecialTech, I don't know how I never saw that, so I've just ordered the indicator and pump top
UPDATE 9/8/13: I've had my delivery of supplies now, and I've got everything I need to finish this bad boy for the time being All of the hardware is the same, only the water cooling, cables, and panels have changed.
Water cooling components:
Swiftech MCP655 Vario w/ Alphacool pump top
FrozenQ Fusion 250mm reservoir - Flourescent blue helices
Phobya G-Changer 360mm x 60mm
Phobya G-Changer 240mm x 60mm
EK LTX CPU block
2x Aquagrafx GTX580 block
Primochill Vortex Flow Indicator
EK compression fittings 3/8" - 1/2"
Masterkleer tubing
Like a kid at Christmas:
I love the smell of new rad
The Corsair braided cable kit
I've made a few custom aluminium panels, covered with carbon fibre vinyl, here's the corner/box section I made to cover the side and back of my optical bays:
The naked GTX580
With the lovely new block on it
I had some spare carbon vinyl so I thought I'd stick some on my SLI bridge
The case pretty much gutted out
Starting to come together
Shamelessly took 'inspiration' from Tom with the SSD mounting, but let's be fair it's a fantastic place to stow them away
I put the fillport out the back here instead of through the top which is where I wanted it but the tubing just wouldn't allow it, so I put the res cathode switch in the top instead
The finished loop reading for filling
I had to make many compromises to get it to look as neat as this, for example I had to betray one of my most fundamental beliefs that I've been brought up on since I was a nipper, and put the front radiator in upside down, and no, putting it horizontal is not okay either
I'm still happy with how it looks but it's a bloody PITA to bleed that thing. I really like the straight and neat look of the SLI fitting between the GPUs and the flow indicator and GPU though
Filling, bleeding, and leak testing...
And finally, a few pictures of the end result
I'm so happy with how it's turned out now, there's just one or two things I can still think of to do:
The PSU top still has a plain black cardboard panel on it, so I'd like to carbon fibre that, and I would like to make a panel to cover the 4 w\c tubing holes to the left of the GPUs which are a bit of an eyesore, and also maybe wrap the bottom of the pump, and the end caps of the res in vinyl. The USB 3 cable was impossible to heatshrink so unfortunately I've had to use electrical tape, so if I can find a braided USB3 header extender that'd be great. One more thing that I couldn't really get around was getting the pump in in such a way that it would be neat, and also allow me to access the speed control, so I've just got it stuck on 2 at the moment, and the temps are good, and the whole rig is silent as anything, but when I next fiddle with the loop I might try setting 3. I've also got my old NZXT braided LED cable to put back in but I've got no adhesive hooks at the moment so I'll do it soon, but it's hardly that important
Thanks for looking guys, feel free to leave any suggestions/criticisms/questions etc..
I call it The Monolith simply because it is big, black, and well.. monolithic.
I originally built this PC 2 years ago, but since last October there has been many many upgrades (with many more yet to come), and the only remaining original parts are the motherboard, CPU, HDD, and the optical drive. I'm at uni so I spend most of my student loan on this thing hehe.
In around 6 weeks I'm upgrading several more things, including: Watercooling my 2nd GPU (I bought them at different times), adding a second radiator, going push/pull on both radiators, new pump, new reservoir, a flow indicator, Corsair individually braided cables, and making some aluminium panels. I want the XSPC Raystorm CPU block too but it's hardly essential (not that any of the rest of the hardware is either lol).
Rig Spec:
NZXT Switch 810 Black
Corsair AX850
Asus P8P67 Pro
Intel i5 2500k
16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz
Zotac GTX580 1.5GB
Gainward GTX580 1.5GB
Asus Xonar D2
Corsair SP2500
128GB Vertex IV SSD
1TB Hitachi HDD
Samsung Blu-ray rewriter
Asus VE228HR 21.5" Monitor
Generic Microsoft Keyboard & Crappy Dell Mouse
Water cooling components:
EK-DCP 2.2 Pump/Res combo
EK-Supreme LTX CPU block
Aquagrafx GTX580 block
Phobya G-Changer 360mm 60mm thick
3x Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition (Soon to be 10!)
EK 3/8"-1/2" Compression fittings (The angled fittings are just non-branded fittings)
Here is my desk area (I have the worst mouse/keyboard money can buy pretty much; I'm going to be getting a Corsair M65, and likely the K95, I just don't know when. I tend to prioritise the PC components over the peripherals):
The black panels on the bottom and right hand side are just makeshift panels made from an A4 file folder, and these will be replaced with aluminium panels coated in carbon fibre Di-Noc, I also plan to make a panel to cover the side of the optical bays. The HDD is in a Hot Swap bay in an optical bay.
The cables which could really do with some work lol :/ Plus Jeremy Kyle in the background haha
The upgrades I'm looking forward to putting in oh so much...
The extra fans I need for push/pull
My new pump, the trusty ol' MCP655 Vario (I'm getting the alphacool acrylic pump top for this)
My reservoir, I absolutely love this thing and have done since I first laid eyes on them
It was well worth the HUGE hole in the pocketCathode off:
and on:
Here is the flow indicator I'm getting, whenever they get released
The second rad I'm getting is the Phobya G-Changer 240mm to match the 360mm in the roof.
Stay tuned for the updates, and feel free to leave any suggestions/criticisms you may have
Thanks for reading,
Jamie!
Edit 25/6/13: I've seen that the flow indicators have already been out for a week on SpecialTech, I don't know how I never saw that, so I've just ordered the indicator and pump top
UPDATE 9/8/13: I've had my delivery of supplies now, and I've got everything I need to finish this bad boy for the time being
All of the hardware is the same, only the water cooling, cables, and panels have changed.Water cooling components:
Swiftech MCP655 Vario w/ Alphacool pump top
FrozenQ Fusion 250mm reservoir - Flourescent blue helices
Phobya G-Changer 360mm x 60mm
Phobya G-Changer 240mm x 60mm
EK LTX CPU block
2x Aquagrafx GTX580 block
Primochill Vortex Flow Indicator
EK compression fittings 3/8" - 1/2"
Masterkleer tubing
Like a kid at Christmas:
I love the smell of new rad
The Corsair braided cable kit
I've made a few custom aluminium panels, covered with carbon fibre vinyl, here's the corner/box section I made to cover the side and back of my optical bays:
The naked GTX580
With the lovely new block on it
I had some spare carbon vinyl so I thought I'd stick some on my SLI bridge
The case pretty much gutted out
Starting to come together
Shamelessly took 'inspiration' from Tom with the SSD mounting, but let's be fair it's a fantastic place to stow them away
I put the fillport out the back here instead of through the top which is where I wanted it but the tubing just wouldn't allow it, so I put the res cathode switch in the top instead
The finished loop reading for filling
I had to make many compromises to get it to look as neat as this, for example I had to betray one of my most fundamental beliefs that I've been brought up on since I was a nipper, and put the front radiator in upside down, and no, putting it horizontal is not okay either
I'm still happy with how it looks but it's a bloody PITA to bleed that thing. I really like the straight and neat look of the SLI fitting between the GPUs and the flow indicator and GPU though Filling, bleeding, and leak testing...
And finally, a few pictures of the end result
I'm so happy with how it's turned out now, there's just one or two things I can still think of to do:
The PSU top still has a plain black cardboard panel on it, so I'd like to carbon fibre that, and I would like to make a panel to cover the 4 w\c tubing holes to the left of the GPUs which are a bit of an eyesore, and also maybe wrap the bottom of the pump, and the end caps of the res in vinyl. The USB 3 cable was impossible to heatshrink so unfortunately I've had to use electrical tape, so if I can find a braided USB3 header extender that'd be great. One more thing that I couldn't really get around was getting the pump in in such a way that it would be neat, and also allow me to access the speed control, so I've just got it stuck on 2 at the moment, and the temps are good, and the whole rig is silent as anything, but when I next fiddle with the loop I might try setting 3. I've also got my old NZXT braided LED cable to put back in but I've got no adhesive hooks at the moment so I'll do it soon, but it's hardly that important
Thanks for looking guys, feel free to leave any suggestions/criticisms/questions etc..
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