After almost 2 years of saving...

[Kopesetic]

Sometimes life has a way of spoiling plans. Mine was to build a WC setup in my 350D last year.

Unfortunately, financial complications ensued and I was forced to postpone my build once again after a year of planning it. I was bummed but didn't get myself down.

Instead, I took the sour lemon and made sweet lemonade with it. After 2 years of saving, I now have $4,000 to invest into my new setup Which I will begin around mid-January.

What I would like is just some tips and pointers about my hardware choices (what would you do in other words). So here is what I'm looking at now:

EDIT: Specs Revised See Link Below
http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?p=704240#post704240


Rig will be mostly for gaming along with some Unity3D work and video editing.
I'm going to be doing some modding to the case, mostly cosmetic though. However, I have already sent my side panel off to have the Corsair sail-logo cut out. Basically I'm going to install a window mod that will be the Corsair Logo with UV lighting on the interior.

Edit:
Also, my $4k budget isn't all for the tower. I will also be picking up a BenQ Gaming XL2720T Black 27" Monitor to go with my 2x Samsung 24" S24B150 LED Monitors along with new audio, keyboard and mouse. Although, I might sell my Samsungs and get 2 Benq 24" montiors to keep everything matched somewhat.

Any tips on Keyboard and Mouse would be handy too. Right now, I'm looking toward a Corsair combo since the system is primarily Corsair themed.

 

[Excalabur50]

TBH if you are mostly gaming I wouldn't recommend you go Ivy E I would say go Haswell 4770K as that will still do your Unity and photo work without too much trouble and put it in an MSI GD65 board with the money you save a bigger SSD like a Samsung Evo 500 gig and a 3-4tb WD Black, and put it with a 780Ti graphics card then get another later as to water cooling no my area but others here will help with that I'm sure hope this helps

 

[NeverBackDown]

I agree with excalabur but depending on how much Unity you use and how much it really benefits from six cores then it would be worth it, if not just go with a 4770k.

Depending on CPU you choose we can't really help with the motherboard area. As for now your motherboard is fine.

Personally could go with a 1tb Samsung Evo at this budget. If not then a 750gb or 500gb should be perfectly fine.

Does unity support OpenCL? If so then go amd. 290x watercooled would perform like crazy. But if Unity likes nvidia better than a 780ti is the logical choice.

First pick your parts you want then choose watercooling gear for them. Only thing i would recommend is D5 pump, compression fittings that fit with the tubing and Matching brands... tends to look nicer. Also gear will depend on the set up desired... should get a rough idea of how you want to set it up.. a diagram will help us immensley.

 

[SuB]

Which games do you plan on playing?

 

[SPS]

Does unity support OpenCL? If so then go amd. 290x watercooled would perform like crazy. But if Unity likes nvidia better than a 780ti is the logical choice.

Unity is a game engine and I don't believe it currently has any support for GPGPU. However, if it did, it still wouldn't be worth choosing one or the another at this stage based on GPGPU support.

 

[Kopesetic]

TBH if you are mostly gaming I wouldn't recommend you go Ivy E I would say go Haswell 4770K as that will still do your Unity and photo work without too much trouble and put it in an MSI GD65 board with the money you save a bigger SSD like a Samsung Evo 500 gig and a 3-4tb WD Black, and put it with a 780Ti graphics card then get another later as to water cooling no my area but others here will help with that I'm sure hope this helps

This build will be in an Obsidian 350D so the GD65 wouldn't fit. Probably should have mentioned that I already have the case.

I choose this CPU because I want 6-cores for future titles that would support more than 4-cores (Think of it as future proofing because it will be a very long time before I upgrade again after this). For now, I'll be playing BF4, Rift, WoW, etc. I want to be able to max the settings for any title I want with little to no fps drops (granted some titles cause the drops themselves but for those that don't, I want the hardware that will keep me running strong for years to come.)

I agree with excalabur but depending on how much Unity you use and how much it really benefits from six cores then it would be worth it, if not just go with a 4770k.

Depending on CPU you choose we can't really help with the motherboard area. As for now your motherboard is fine.

Personally could go with a 1tb Samsung Evo at this budget. If not then a 750gb or 500gb should be perfectly fine.

Does unity support OpenCL? If so then go amd. 290x watercooled would perform like crazy. But if Unity likes nvidia better than a 780ti is the logical choice.

First pick your parts you want then choose watercooling gear for them. Only thing i would recommend is D5 pump, compression fittings that fit with the tubing and Matching brands... tends to look nicer. Also gear will depend on the set up desired... should get a rough idea of how you want to set it up.. a diagram will help us immensley.

I was looking at the Samsung Evo 500GB SSD. Already have 2x 1TB WD Black HDDs for media (internal) and 4x 2TB Seagate Barracudas (external enclosures) for backups, program storage, etc.

The 780ti is what I've been considering mostly and will give me the option to SLI when I'm ready to get a 2nd gpu and gpu block. Aside from that I've been looking at the Asus Matrix R9 280x but as it is a triple slot, I won't be able to CF those if I choose to later on. As for the 290x, I'm kinda waiting to see on these since they still are not fully available. I would perfer to go with Asus if I'm going to go with a 290x and they still aren't available on Newegg. There are alot of very good options here, I just don't know right now.

As for the WC parts, that's why I'm looking for advice. The Rads were chosen because of space limitations for rad mounting in the 350D and these 2 are matching brands, reliable, and will both fit clean and snug. I am going with a D5 pump so no worries there. Right now I have my eyes set on the Swiftech MCP655-B with like an XSPC top Res or something.

Unity is a game engine and I don't believe it currently has any support for GPGPU. However, if it did, it still wouldn't be worth choosing one or the another at this stage based on GPGPU support.

I agree, either CPU will work just fine for Unity. Really my CPU choise is just for any titles that might come out in the future with 6-core support.

 

[NeverBackDown]

Unity is a game engine and I don't believe it currently has any support for GPGPU. However, if it did, it still wouldn't be worth choosing one or the another at this stage based on GPGPU support.

Yes i know it is a game engine. I figured if it is their mine as well use it.

Six core cpu will give you that future proofness you are seeking for and should benefit just about everything.

As for the 290x vs 780ti. Pick the cheaper one as the extra money won't be worth it after adding in all the blocks.. Why an asus? As of now they are all reference design. Should see more aftermarket coolers soon but who knows.. besides a waterblock would be better than any other 3rd party cooler anyway.

500gb Evo drive then is completely worth it. You don't need much more space according to you so no reason to spend more.

I perfer alphacool rads. Usually a little cheaper and perform equally. In my opinion a tube res in this case will be very difficult in such a small case. Maybe look into a pump res bay?

 

[Kopesetic]

Yes i know it is a game engine. I figured if it is their mine as well use it.

Six core cpu will give you that future proofness you are seeking for and should benefit just about everything.

As for the 290x vs 780ti. Pick the cheaper one as the extra money won't be worth it after adding in all the blocks.. Why an asus? As of now they are all reference design. Should see more aftermarket coolers soon but who knows.. besides a waterblock would be better than any other 3rd party cooler anyway.

500gb Evo drive then is completely worth it. You don't need much more space according to you so no reason to spend more.

I perfer alphacool rads. Usually a little cheaper and perform equally. In my opinion a tube res in this case will be very difficult in such a small case. Maybe look into a pump res bay?

Why Asus? Simple. I trust Asus and have always had good experiences with their products and customer service so I would rather stick to a brand I can trust and rely on.

Wasn't planning on using a tube-res and installing the res/pump in my 5.25" bays is what I do not want. I'm going to be modding the front of the case so the bays need to remain empty for what I'm going to do.

From what I've seen, the XSPC Tank Reservoir - Laing D5 will fit just fine. ArkAngel I believe did a WC build with almost the same setup and this was the res/pump that was used, and he had SLI also while I'm probably just going to be running 1 card for now. So yea, I don't think I'll have a problem mounting the hardware, just making up my mind

Here's a link to the 350D worklog I have been referencing so that I can see what fits and figure out what will not.

http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?t=55014

I'm not going to be copying this build of course, the things like the Rads and the pump will go in the same place. Tubing definately will not be the same along with the CPU and GPU block. Really don't like the look of the EK waterblocks, but that's just me. I'd just rather go with 'tried and true' since I'm working in somewhat limited space.

 

[NeverBackDown]

Ah okay i see. Should work out then nicely. Do you need more help with anything else? Seems like you got it figured out now.

 

[Kopesetic]

Ah okay i see. Should work out then nicely. Do you need more help with anything else? Seems like you got it figured out now.

Well this thread is really for just some back and forth to brainstorm build ideas. I've been researching and planning this for a long time but sometimes there are things that others may know that I don't that could cause problems for me later. Just making sure I have all my ducks in a row before it's time to start the project log.

 

[Kopesetic]

Ok, so the more I think about it, I guess I'm going a little overboard on the hardware. So I sat down, gave it some thought along with the advice I've gotten and have come up with the following build including accessories and sleeving:


Core Components
Case: Corsair Obsidian 350D mATX (Obtained)
Processor: Intel Core i7-4770k
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Gene
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 1866 (8g - 2x4g)
Graphics: EVGA GTX 780
Power Supply: Corsair AXi Series AX860i
System Drive: ASUS ROG RAIDR Express 240g SSD

Watercooling Hardware
Radiator (T): Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 240mm (Ordered)
Radiator (F): Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 240mm (Ordered)
CPU Block: XSPC RayStorm
GPU Block: XSPC GTX 780 Razor
Reservoir: XSPC Tank Reservoir (Ordered)
Pump: Swiftech MCP655 Variable Speed (Ordered)
Tubing: PrimoChill 1/2" OD Rigid Acrylic - Clear (Ordered)
Fittings: PrimoChill 1/2" OD Rigid Ghost - Anodized Black (Ordered)
Coolant: PrimoChill Ice Intensified Non-Conductive - UV Red

Fans and Lighting
System Fans: Corsair AF120 High Performance 1650 RPM (x1 @ Rear) (Obtained)
Radiator Fans: Corsair SF120 HSP 120mm 2350 RPM (x2 @ Top, x2 @ Front) (Obtained)
Fan Controller: Lamptron CW611 6-Channel Liquid Cooling Controller
LED Bars: Logisys 16" Corner LED Light Bar - UV (x2) (Obtained)
Tailed LEDs: 3mm 2-Pin 24" LED - UV (x4) | 5mm 2-Pin 24" LED - UV (x4) (Obtained)
LED Manager: 2-Pin Power Distribution PCB 8-Way Block (Obtained)

Cable Sleeving
Mod/Smart Professional Kobra System Sleeving Kit - Black (Obtained)
-LEDs: Black
-PSUs: Black/ UV Red (Black Obtained)
-Fans: Black

Estimated Cost Including Shipping: $2,850

Any thoughts, opinions, or suggestions? (On Items not already obtained or ordered of course.)

Might go ahead and order the PSU once I settle on either Red or UV Red sleeving for the secondary sleeve color and start the project log in December.

 

[NeverBackDown]

Get the psu since you already have the cables.

As for the main hardware getting a 780 is a solid choice but if you have the extra funds and want to spend it then go for a SLI 780/290 set up and either one will dominate whatever you throw at it... Or just stick with a single card and go for a 1440p monitor. Big difference in quality.

Everything else looks solid to me.. Only thing i can't help with is a fan controller. Never owned one. Though Swiftech have a 8 way splitter if that interests you? Very small and can but put anywhere(it comes with adhesive).

 

[Kopesetic]

Get the psu since you already have the cables.

As for the main hardware getting a 780 is a solid choice but if you have the extra funds and want to spend it then go for a SLI 780/290 set up and either one will dominate whatever you throw at it... Or just stick with a single card and go for a 1440p monitor. Big difference in quality.

Everything else looks solid to me.. Only thing i can't help with is a fan controller. Never owned one. Though Swiftech have a 8 way splitter if that interests you? Very small and can but put anywhere(it comes with adhesive).

With this setup I'm going to be sticking with 1 GPU because the SSD is a PCI-e card. I may take a look at where my funds are after I buy my new monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc. If I can afford it I might just go for a GTX 780ti

I still have to order the secondary (and possibly third) sleeve color after I settle on it. At this point I have several ideas for the sleeving, just haven't decided yet. I'll more than likely grab the PSU when I do settle, but for now I'm gonna wait until I actually order the rest of the sleeve colors to order the PSU.

Don't need a splitter, just the controller. I'm already packing alot into this sucker, along with an 8-way 2-pin led power distribution block that's mounted via adhesive velcro to the back of the MB tray. Basically, I want to juice it up, but not so much that it's overkill.

 

[Kopesetic]

Here is an idea of what I'm planning for the front panel mod.

The buttons to the left of the LCD display are the power and reset buttons. The display and right-hand buttons are the Lamptron CW611.

The ROG logo will have translucent UV/Red Acrylic with UV lighting behind. Basically, this will be my power indicator light, haven't figured out what to do for the HDD activity status light yet.

Also, keep in mind the window mod I spoke of in the OP.