Watercooled build ~1800

[pink]

So I need some help with hardware choices, my primarily areas of concern are ...
... firstly the Motherboard; I just can't find one that I'm confident in capability wise and aesthetically, and I'm fairly sure someones going to recommend I go the Z77 route, even though on paper the i7-3820 is enticing me.

Secondly, I've never watercooled before, I've had plenty of time to read, research, learn etc (thanks Tom!) I'm confident enough to give it a go, but I don't know the parts well enough to make an informed buyer decision without the benefit of other peoples experience, so indepth help here would be appreciated. In part the reason for my choices thus far is, I've tried to keep as much plexi in the mix as possible as I'd like to put Mayhem Aurora Gemini Pink coolant through the system and therefore make the most of that visually, I'm planning on replacing standard blue LEDs found in the XSPC gear as much as possible with pink. As I'II note later below, the D5 I'd like because a. it's good and b. I can run it effectively below it's potential and reduce noise. I've priced in the XSPC D5 RX360 kit below mostly for simplicities sake, I'm totally up for buying parts separately or going primarily with a different brand like EK.

Ontop of that, I'm aprehensive regarding Waterblocks/backplates and GPUs, and I'm still up in the as to what the best GPU solution is going to be for me long term. As pointed out below, I'm currently looking at the EVGA GTX670 FTW, as it was recommended when I've asked elsewhere, but when putting the budgeting information together I noticed the GTX 660 Ti SC looking mighty fine and with the price difference I can't help but think with SLI in mind in the future, that it's a far more cost effective card. I'm also really worried about the size of the 660/670 when you remove the air cooling, I've been told that the GTX670 FTW will take standard 680 blocks and plates, but what's the extended dialogue on this - is this a general thing, if the 660 completely based on the 670 and so will this apply to the 660 as well ... basically, what's the best call GPU wise and what can I cool it with - do I even need cooling on the GPU? No? Not even for noise reduction?

Lastly, I'd like to clock the processor to at least 4.6 which I'm hoping won't be too much of a problem for most retail CPUs, but it'd be nice to know a head of time what problems I might face and what problems I can avoid. Cheers all.

-- Purpose --

Primarily gaming, but also Screen Recording, Streaming, Digital Graphics Editing, Video Editing/Rendering, 3D Renderering, Programming and I have a bad habit of doing a plethora of these things and more at the same time. I'm currently running 2 monitors (1920x1200), but might like to branch out into either 2 high resolution monitors (~2560x1440) or 3D for indulgent gaming and movies in the future.

-- Aesthetics --

I'm trying to stick with a primarily white build (because I love vogue), relying on the abundance of black across most components etc along with an injection of pink for accenting. I might end up doing some very basic case modding if necessary to fit rads etc and maybe a little bit of wiring and soldering to get the lighting right.

-- Budgeting --

150 Motherboard
250 CPU
150 SSD
150 PSU
350 GPU
100 WBlock/Back
150 RAM
300 WCool
150 Case
50 SoundC

~1800 total

-- prices are a mix of novatech and specialtech

150 Motherboard ???
Note: I'm having a hell of a time finding a board that will fit with the aesthetics of the build, and I cringe everytime I see one with a gun or bullets emblazoned on them.
239.99 CPU Intel Core i7-3820 3.60GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - Retail (Quad Core Technology, 3.60GHz clock speed, 10MB L3 Cache, Hyper-Threading Technology, Quad Channel DDR3 Controller)
139.98 SSD Samsung 830 Series 256GB Sold State Hard Drive 2.5" Basic Kit - Retail.
157.39 PSU Corsair Professional Series AX750 80PLUS® Gold Power Supply
Note: No AX650 at the retailer I'm looking at right now.
329.99 GPU EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2048MB GDDR5 (1006MHz Core, 1084MHz Boost, 1344 CUDA Cores, 2 x DVI, HDMI, DPort, PCIe 3.0, Overclocked)
77.59 WBlock EK FC680 GTX CSQ Full Cover Waterblock for Reference Design NVIDIA GTX 680 Graphics Cards : Copper Plexi
19.39 Back EK FC680 GTX CSQ Graphics Card Waterblock Backplate : Black
Note: I've been told the GTX 670 FTW uses the standard 680 block/plate so as far as I'm aware the above is appropriate.
84.98 RAM Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB ) DDR3 PC3-14900 C10 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit
289.68 WCool XSPC Raystorm D5 RX360 CPU Water Cooling Kit : D5 RX Series Kit
Note: This is primarily because of the D5 pump which I want for a mix of performance, reliability and the ability to run it below it's potential for some noise reduction whilst maintaining good flow.
135.99 Case NZXT Switch 810 USB 3.0 Full Tower Case White with Window : CA-SW810-W1
62.99 SoundC Asus Xonar DX

1687.97 total

additional costs ... fittings, fans, coolant, white braided cables, pink LEDs etc

-- Alternatives --
259.98 CPU 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7 3770K 3.50GHz Socket LGA1155 - Retail.(Quad Core Technology, 3.50GHz clock speed, 8MB L3 Cache, Dual Channel DDR3 Controller, 22nm, Integrated HD 2500 Graphics)
If I had to go with a Z77 board this is the sort of Processor I'd be looking at.
246.98 GPU EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti SC 2048MB GDDR5 (980MHz Core, 1059MHz Boost, 1344 CUDA Cores, 2 x DVI, HDMI, DPort, PCIe 3.0, Overclocked)
Impressed by the combination of card specs and price, which would make running SLI in the future more affordable. Seriously considering it depending on the WCooling options.

 

[Josh Weston]

X79 is good for like, tri-SLI+ and video editing, with the 6 core processors and loads of RAM. Going for a 3820 kind of defeats the purpose, in my opinion.
Go with Z77 - it's the newer tech, and clock for clock it's faster than Sandy.

Motherboard: hmm, a tricky one, seeing as you don't want any colours to take over. You could get a MSI Z77 MPower board, and paint the yellow accents a colour of your choice? A little backstory: MSI's Z77 range, from the G45 up, are the most recommended motherboards on this site at the moment. The MPower board uses an all-black PCB (the other ones are more of a dark brown) and, now here's the kicker, each board is individually tested in a hotroom to ensure that it can overclock well in even the worst conditions.
You have good chances of getting your chip to 4.6GHz, what with the cooling n'all, but it really is impossible for anyone to say until you actually try it. Each chip is unique.

 

[pink]

You could get a MSI Z77 MPower board, and paint the yellow accents a colour of your choice? A little backstory: MSI's Z77 range, from the G45 up, are the most recommended motherboards on this site at the moment. The MPower board uses an all-black PCB (the other ones are more of a dark brown) and, now here's the kicker, each board is individually tested in a hotroom to ensure that it can overclock well in even the worst conditions.

Ah thank you so much! The retailers I've looked at haven't had that board. That definitely looks and sounds like a winner.

I'm assuming certain CPUs models have better or worse overclocking potential than others... when looking for a 1155 socket CPU, are there any i7 recommendations?

 

[Josh Weston]

For 1155, anything with a 'K' suffix has an unlocked multiplier, and can be overclocked
Really, the only recommendation is the 3770K. I have mine clocked at 4.5GHz using an air cooler with fans at 5v, and my temps are still acceptable. You SHOULD be able to beat that easily, but as I say, it's all down to the 'silicone lottery'.

 

[pink]

Updated price list...

-- prices are a mix of novatech, specialtech and scan

144.92 Motherboard MSI Z77 MPower, Intel Z77, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, RAID, PCIe 3.0, DPort/HDMI, ATX
259.98 CPU 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7 3770K 3.50GHz Socket LGA1155 - Retail (Quad Core Technology, 3.50GHz clock speed, 8MB L3 Cache, Dual Channel DDR3 Controller, 22nm, Integrated HD 2500 Graphics)
139.98 SSD Samsung 830 Series 256GB Sold State Hard Drive 2.5" Basic Kit - Retail.
157.39 PSU Corsair Professional Series AX750 80PLUS® Gold Power Supply
Note: No AX650 at the retailer I'm looking at right now.
329.99 GPU EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2048MB GDDR5 (1006MHz Core, 1084MHz Boost, 1344 CUDA Cores, 2 x DVI, HDMI, DPort, PCIe 3.0, Overclocked)
77.59 WBlock EK FC680 GTX CSQ Full Cover Waterblock for Reference Design NVIDIA GTX 680 Graphics Cards : Copper Plexi
19.39 Back EK FC680 GTX CSQ Graphics Card Waterblock Backplate : Black
Note: I've been told the GTX 670 FTW uses the standard 680 block/plate so as far as I'm aware the above is appropriate.
84.98 RAM Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB ) DDR3 PC3-14900 C10 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit
289.68 WCool XSPC Raystorm D5 RX360 CPU Water Cooling Kit : D5 RX Series Kit
Note: This is primarily because of the D5 pump which I want for a mix of performance, reliability and the ability to run it below it's potential for some noise reduction whilst maintaining good flow.
135.99 Case NZXT Switch 810 USB 3.0 Full Tower Case White with Window : CA-SW810-W1
62.99 SoundC Asus Xonar DX

was 1687.97, now 1702.88 total

Does anyone have any information on the 660 TI versus the 670 FTW? And how one would go about watercooling the 660 TI?

 

[Master&Puppet]

For this budget? Steer clear of the 660ti. If you are water cooling I hope you will be overclocking the GPU too? The 660 has quite a limitation because of the BUS. 670 is your card. Truthfully the 660ti is about 5% slower than the 670 which is about 5% slower than the 680 (when all are overclocked). As games get more detailed the limitation on the 660ti's bus will feature more heavily.

The XSPC D5 RX360 kit is a good choice for a first WC build and will suit this rig well.

 

[pink]

For this budget? Steer clear of the 660ti. If you are water cooling I hope you will be overclocking the GPU too? The 660 has quite a limitation because of the BUS. 670 is your card. Truthfully the 660ti is about 5% slower than the 670 which is about 5% slower than the 680 (when all are overclocked). As games get more detailed the limitation on the 660ti's bus will feature more heavily.

The XSPC D5 RX360 kit is a good choice for a first WC build and will suit this rig well.

Awesome. Thank you very much.

Does anyone know whether the 680 waterblock and plate I've got listed will work with the EVGA 670 FTW? Or perhaps have a better suggestion?

And does anyone have any recommendations on fittings, tubing and dust filters etc based on their own experience?

I was looking at using Mayhem Aurora coolant, which I remember reading somewhere has some "pooling" issues of the aurora with reservoirs with built in pumps and is more susceptible to plasticiser... Seeing as the XSPC kit doesn't really display the coolant that much via the Res anyway, should I be looking at using something else coolant wise? Or do the pooling issues not apply with the double bay res/XSPC kit?

Fan wise I've always been assuming I'd be going with Corsair 120s/140s... but AFs or SPs? SPs on the rad and AFs on the case?

 

[Josh Weston]

Any block designed for a reference 680 shall fit the 670 FTW. And yeah, SPs are for rads, AF for most other things in the case.

 

[jimbo32]

Honestly, given your setup and system use, I'd go for a 7970 over an NVidia card. They're around the same price as a 670, and would be better for your high-res multi-monitor setup. In my opinion anyway.

 

[Master&Puppet]

That's a good point jimbo, upgrading to multiple 1400p monitors will have a big impact. Need 2 GPUs for that I think. 7970 or 4gb 670.

You will get pooling with aurora - that's just the way it is. Have a read of this.

 

[pink]

Thanks for the link regarding Aurora, was a really useful read.

As for GPUs, I'm going to give it some thought, I'm not comfortable moving away from NVidia straight away as I've had a good relationship with their products for many years - but I know on paper the 7970 makes a lot of sense.

I've got a couple of modding questions.

Any advice on making a PSU white? Paint, vinyl etc? Haven't found any information on it thus far.

And colouring Radiators... Right now I'm looking at running some pink LEDs along the inside of the case where the Radiator is placed to colour it with light. Is this perhaps a bad idea or is there a better way to colour mod radiators?

 

[SEBAR]

I've got a couple of modding questions.

Any advice on making a PSU white? Paint, vinyl etc? Haven't found any information on it thus far.

And colouring Radiators... Right now I'm looking at running some pink LEDs along the inside of the case where the Radiator is placed to colour it with light. Is this perhaps a bad idea or is there a better way to colour mod radiators?

Best bet would be to get a white PSU, but you could do a vinyl wrap. There are lots of people who have wraped their PSU in carbon fiber. Painting a PSU is not a great idea. It can be done and I have done it and documented the process on YouTube but removed the videos because there was a recent news story of a kid that killed himself by taking his PSU apart. To much risk involved with messing around with a PSU.

 

[Josh Weston]

Best bet would be to get a white PSU, but you could do a vinyl wrap. There are lots of people who have wraped their PSU in carbon fiber. Painting a PSU is not a great idea. It can be done and I have done it and documented the process on YouTube but removed the videos because there was a recent news story of a kid that killed himself by taking his PSU apart. To much risk involved with messing around with a PSU.

What did he do, stick his all-metal screwdriver in the mix whilst it was plugged in at the mains?

 

[SEBAR]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...lahoma-dies-electrocuted-fixing-computer.html

Here is an article. Seems it was unplugged. Some of the compenents inside the PSU can hold a charge.

 

[Josh Weston]

Aah, capacitors. That sucks. Like really really sucks.
Note to self, never go near a PSU's internals.

 

[jimbo32]

Apparently if you remove the power cord from the back of the psu while the PC is powered up, it can drain a lot of the charge in the capacitors. Not something I'd want to test though.

 

[Master&Puppet]

Not sure why he was taking the PSU apart? I've done it to change the fan but there's nothing else worth doing in there really. If the PSU is actually broken then replace under warranty or get a new one.

 

[pink]

That's a good point jimbo, upgrading to multiple 1400p monitors will have a big impact. Need 2 GPUs for that I think. 7970 or 4gb 670.

So I'm aiming to start putting money down by the weeks end. I've looked into specifying in my own mind what I want to achieve as an end result and done laymen research into what I'd need to acquire to achieve this.

Many of the games I play, and will play in the future are optimised for NVidia. My past experience with ATI GPUs has been *bang for buck* but poor drivers and adequate performance, my personal experience with NVidia comparatively has been more "Hell yeah!". AMD GPUs have well proven multi-display support, but with the release of the 680 NVidia also have begun to push their own multi-display support, and subsequently the 670 also benefits from this. NVidia also have well proven 3D support (but this isn't a huge deal for me at this time, just a nicety).

My eventual desire is going to be a 3 Monitor setup, 1920x1200s or 1920x1080s (so 1080p rather than 1440p). I'm unsure whether it's been implied that this would require SLI/Crossfire, but some information I've read elsewhere has talked about doing this off one card "so long as it's >2GB". If I need only one card (for the next 4-6 months) I would like to inject extra cash and go with the...

EVGA GeForce GTX 670 Superclocked+ 4096MB GDDR5

... if I'm going to need multiple high memory GPUs, I think the extra cost is going to push me towards, 7970s ... very reluctantly.

So with this in mind, which path do I take... GTX 670 4GB, or ... grab a 7970 3GB now and another 7970 a month later and redo/wait on putting in a WC loop?

Depending on what GPU setup you think I should go for ... do you have any tech or aesthetic advice or comments regarding waterblocks?

I'm assuming the D5 will have no problem providing flow for a CPU and 2x GPU loop?

Will the 360 rad be enough if I manage push pull in the roof of the 810 Switch?

And finally - thanks guys, I really appreciate all the help and advice you've given, I'II do my best to put it to good use.