First ever build - NZXT Switch 810

M

MarkChed

New member
Hi everyone,

After about a year of reading through these forums without being a member I have finally decided to sign up and join in.

As you can see from the title, this is the first rig I will have ever built, and because of that, I am not confident enough yet to be doing any proper modding.

I am still not sure about a name for the rig but would like suggestions if possible. I have been wanting to start overclocking for a while, but I have been without a desktop for the past 5 years so have not been able to. I have been saving my money up for this project, and hope to quickly learn how to overclock well.

Because of my limited knowledge, there are a few questions I do have which I haven't found an answer to on this site. Which programs should I get to monitor temperatures and to test overclocks etc?

Anyway, onto the components for the rig. I have ordered all of them and will post pictures as they arrive:

Case - NZXT Switch 810 Black

Motherboard - Asus Rampage IV Extreme

Processor - Intel i7-3930K

Memory - Corsair Red Vengeance 1866MHz 16GB (4x4GB)

Graphics - Nvidia GTX680

Power Supply - Corsair AX850

SSD - Intel 330 Series 120GB

HDD - 2x 1TB Western Digital Caviar Green

Optical Drive - Sony BWU-500S

Cables - Corsair AX850 red braided cables

Watercooling:

CPU - Koolance 370 CPU block

Graphics - Koolance Nvidia GTX680 block

Motherboard - Koolance RIVE block

Radiator - XSPC RX 360mm and XSPC RX 240mm

Fans - Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1450RPM

Reservoir - XSPC Dual bay with Laing D5

Coolant - Mayhems X1 Premix UV Red

A couple of points. If TTL is reading this, I know about the optical drive but I need one to burn disks. Also the other point that most people check, no I won't just be using this machine to go on Facebook or the like, I am a big fan of minesweeper.
 
For testing overclocks:

CPU-Z - just to have a full list of voltages and speeds and everything - and also to screenshot for us
wink.png


Hardware monitor - check temperatures across all components

Prime95 - To burn test and put 100% load on all cores.

Looks a very good build though! I am curious as to why you bought 2, 1tb drives instead of 1, 2tb drives? And also, why the Intel 330 SSD? Also, full motherboard watercooling was not really necessary but it'll still look good, and if you have the money to spend, why not?
 
jamesriley94 said:
For testing overclocks:

CPU-Z - just to have a full list of voltages and speeds and everything - and also to screenshot for us
wink.png


Hardware monitor - check temperatures across all components

Prime95 - To burn test and put 100% load on all cores.

Looks a very good build though! I am curious as to why you bought 2, 1tb drives instead of 1, 2tb drives? And also, why the Intel 330 SSD? Also, full motherboard watercooling was not really necessary but it'll still look good, and if you have the money to spend, why not?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information. I know the watercooling the motherboard isn't necessary but it would really bug me if I watercooled the cpu, gpu and there was a block specifically for the motherboard and I didn't do that. As far as the 2 HDDs, I wanted to connect them up in RAID 0, pretty much the only reason. The Intel 330 SSD, because I trust Intel series SSDs and it has decent read/write speeds without costing too much.
 
Raid0 to use as a data drive is pointless IMO, but it's up to you
smile.png


Also, agreed I'd also trust intel, but in SSDs it is the controller that fails, so it isnt anything made by intel that is likely to fail anyway. In the 330 series, they use the standard Sandforce controller, which is unreliable. In the 520 series, intel worked with sandforce to make the controller, so the 520 series is one of the most reliable SSD series around. If I'd have gone to the effort of buying an Intel SSD, I'd have made sure i'd have got a 520 series.

BUT,I'm sure it will all work fine! At least it isnt like OCZ where you can pretty much guarantee half of their drives to die within a year
smile.png


Good build anyway, you wont be disappointed!
 
Yeah, I realise the raid 0 is pointless, but I am trying to learn how to do things whilst building this, so just learning how to set up a simple raid array. I did not know that about the 330 series, oh well, hopefully I won't have any issues.
 
Good on you mate!

And I'm sure you wont have any problems with it, dont worry. Just make sure you back up frequently, and you get a long enough warranty so you'll be fine!

Good luck
 
Well from the specs, you have done some reading or know what you are looking for. Hope you enjoy the process and let's get it together.

Myself, I would build it and get it running before trying to learn anything else.. that way you have a running system til you mess it up
tongue.png
 
A quick update, I have received most of the hardware now, but still waiting on all the watercooling pieces. I will be using the Scythe GTs on the radiators, and could move the NZXT fans which come with the case to other parts. Is it worth using these or should I use other fans at the front and rear? Also, I have been thinking, the main colours are black and red. With the colour of the GTs should I still use red coolant?

Once the watercooling stuff comes I will post pictures and start on the actual build.
 
To be honest, the NZXT fans that come with the chassis are nice, quiet air-pushers. IF you use them as intake/exhaust they work very well. On rads, that's a different story, there's better fans for rads but these do work great as standalones.
 
some pics at last. great that you havefinally got your kit.

do be careful of static discharge with that table cloth though. you won't hear the crack you'll just have a motherboard that doesn't work for some reason.
 
G-Dubs said:
some pics at last. great that you havefinally got your kit.

do be careful of static discharge with that table cloth though. you won't hear the crack you'll just have a motherboard that doesn't work for some reason.
Click to expand...

I am using a anti static pad and also a wristband. Only on the table cloth when still in boxes. Put the CPU block on today and put the motherboard into the case. Also put the GTs onto the radiators and placed both into the case. The XSPC bay res is now in place with a variable D5 inside. I am not very good at taking pictures and am really struggling with reflections at the moment. So some of them are a bit rubbish.











 
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