For Science!
New member
This is my first PC build which ended up also being my first custom watercooled PC! It all started with an AIO cooled CPU and 2 reference-style blower GTX1080s. The 2 cards are necessary for scientific calculations but also this is my personal gaming rig so it kills two birds with one stone.
Although the CPU cooler was quiet, I eventually got annoyed at the twin turbines that the Turbo cards are known to be (although this was necessary to keep the heat out of the case during long GPU calculations). So I set out to water cool the rest, being fully aware of working in the tight Fractal Define C. I watched tinytomlogan's video and got some ideas, but decided to jump into the deep end and go rigid tubing.
Rig Specifications (Before Custom):
Intel Core™ i7-7700K
ASUS PRIME Z270-A
Vengeance® LPX 64GB ( 4x16 GB ) DDR4
ASUS TURBO-GTX1080-8G in 2-way SLI
Storage
Samsung 960 EVO x2
Samsung 750 EVO x2
Corsair RM750x
Corsair H100i v2 + Noctua NF F12 industrialPPC-2000 PWM x 2
Custom Loop Parts:
Noctua NF F12 industrialPPC-2000 PWM x 5
Koolance Flow Meter
HardwareLabs Nemesis GTS 240
HardwareLabs Nemesis GTS 360
EK-FB ASUS Z270E Strix RGB Monoblock - Nickel
Bitspower ASUS Turbo GTX 1080 Acrylic (Clear) x 2
Bitspower Deluxe White Temperature Sensor Stop Fitting
Bitspower Deluxe White Mini Valve Rotary
EK-HD Tube 12/16mm
EK-CryoFuel Navy Blue
EK-Cable Y-Splitters
EK-XRES 100
EK D5 Pump + Plexi Top PWM
EK-UNI Holder 50/70
Various Fittings
---------------
Last check before building, literally "desktop" PC
----------------
Since I was voiding the warranty of most of my stuff anyway, I decided to delid the 7700K too.
----------------
GPU waterblock installation, it is very nice that Bitspower blocks come with backplates. I am using Arctic MX-4 here (EKWB-style applcation)
--------------
Since the Fractal Define C is such a compact case with almost no clearance I had to come up with the lowest profile mounting solution for the D5 pump. I bodged some feet using the EK-Uni Holder and glued some rubber feet and hook & loops tape so that it came be mounted in the basement of the case.
Quite ghetto, but it works.
--------------------------
Monoblock installation, nothing much to note here
---------------------------
Motherboard and 360 mm Radiator installation. the 360 had to go in first, since the 240 gets in the way otherwise.
----------------------------
240 mm Radiator, GPUs, pump and initial reservoir mounting check. Very originally I had planned to use a pump/res combo in the place where the Res is mounted but there was not enough clearance so I had to ditch that idea. In fact, the way the reservoir is mounted now also had to be ditched because it was interfering with the tubes that would need to go to the 240 rad.
-----------
After Day 1, some tubes bent, some tubes ruined.
At this point I decided to "mount" the reservoir by propping it up by using two EK-Uni Holders and also relying on the rigid tubes themselved to a degree.
-----------------
Day 2, more tube bending. This is the final collection of bends that went into this build.
----------------------
Connected the tubes. Not that it matters but the runs go as following:
Res --> Pump --> 360 rad --> Flow meter --> GPU (parallel) --> CPU --> 240 rad --> res
----------------------
The final product. Hope this post-build log will tickle somebody's interest
Although the CPU cooler was quiet, I eventually got annoyed at the twin turbines that the Turbo cards are known to be (although this was necessary to keep the heat out of the case during long GPU calculations). So I set out to water cool the rest, being fully aware of working in the tight Fractal Define C. I watched tinytomlogan's video and got some ideas, but decided to jump into the deep end and go rigid tubing.
Rig Specifications (Before Custom):
Intel Core™ i7-7700K
ASUS PRIME Z270-A
Vengeance® LPX 64GB ( 4x16 GB ) DDR4
ASUS TURBO-GTX1080-8G in 2-way SLI
Storage
Samsung 960 EVO x2
Samsung 750 EVO x2
Corsair RM750x
Corsair H100i v2 + Noctua NF F12 industrialPPC-2000 PWM x 2
Custom Loop Parts:
Noctua NF F12 industrialPPC-2000 PWM x 5
Koolance Flow Meter
HardwareLabs Nemesis GTS 240
HardwareLabs Nemesis GTS 360
EK-FB ASUS Z270E Strix RGB Monoblock - Nickel
Bitspower ASUS Turbo GTX 1080 Acrylic (Clear) x 2
Bitspower Deluxe White Temperature Sensor Stop Fitting
Bitspower Deluxe White Mini Valve Rotary
EK-HD Tube 12/16mm
EK-CryoFuel Navy Blue
EK-Cable Y-Splitters
EK-XRES 100
EK D5 Pump + Plexi Top PWM
EK-UNI Holder 50/70
Various Fittings
---------------
Last check before building, literally "desktop" PC
----------------
Since I was voiding the warranty of most of my stuff anyway, I decided to delid the 7700K too.
----------------
GPU waterblock installation, it is very nice that Bitspower blocks come with backplates. I am using Arctic MX-4 here (EKWB-style applcation)
--------------
Since the Fractal Define C is such a compact case with almost no clearance I had to come up with the lowest profile mounting solution for the D5 pump. I bodged some feet using the EK-Uni Holder and glued some rubber feet and hook & loops tape so that it came be mounted in the basement of the case.
Quite ghetto, but it works.
--------------------------
Monoblock installation, nothing much to note here
---------------------------
Motherboard and 360 mm Radiator installation. the 360 had to go in first, since the 240 gets in the way otherwise.
----------------------------
240 mm Radiator, GPUs, pump and initial reservoir mounting check. Very originally I had planned to use a pump/res combo in the place where the Res is mounted but there was not enough clearance so I had to ditch that idea. In fact, the way the reservoir is mounted now also had to be ditched because it was interfering with the tubes that would need to go to the 240 rad.
-----------
After Day 1, some tubes bent, some tubes ruined.
At this point I decided to "mount" the reservoir by propping it up by using two EK-Uni Holders and also relying on the rigid tubes themselved to a degree.
-----------------
Day 2, more tube bending. This is the final collection of bends that went into this build.
----------------------
Connected the tubes. Not that it matters but the runs go as following:
Res --> Pump --> 360 rad --> Flow meter --> GPU (parallel) --> CPU --> 240 rad --> res
----------------------
The final product. Hope this post-build log will tickle somebody's interest
Nice job. 
