Black and Blue 800D

This was my first attempt at water-cooling a PC.

 

Equipment Specs:

CPU: Intel i7 930

Motherboard: EVGA X58 SLI Classified (E760)

RAM: 24GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz DDR3 (6x4GB)

RAID0: 240GB (2x120GB) ******** 2 SATA II SSD

RAID1: 1TB (2x1TB) Seagate Barracuda HDD

GPU: (2) EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti Superclocked in SLI

PSU: Corsair AX1200 Modular

Case: Corsair Obsidian 800D

Optical Drive: LG Black 22x DVD/RW Internal w/ Lightscribe

Multimedia Controller: ######## Veris Multimedia Station Elite

Network Card: Bigfoot Network Killer 2100

Audio Controller: Sound Blaster X-Fi HD USB

 

Cooling Equipment:

Fan Controller: Scythe KM03-BK Master Pro 6-channel

Fans: (5) Cooler Master R4 120mm Super Silent Blue LED, (1) ******** T.B. Vegas Duo 140mm Dual LED

CPU Block: EK Supreme - HF (Acetal)

Motherboard Block: EK EVGA X58 Classified Full Board

GPU Block: (2) EK-FC560 GTX (Acetal + Nickel)

Reservoir: XSPC Dual 5.25" Bay w/ Blue LED

Pumps: (2) Swiftech MCP355

Hose: PrimoFlex Pro LRT UV Blue (3/8" ID x 5/8" OD)

Radiator 1: Black Ice Xtreme 3 X-Flow 3x120mm

Radiator 2: XSPC RX240 2x120mm

Fittings: Bitspower G1/4 Silver Shiny Compression, 3/8" ID x 5/8" OD

Radiator Grill: A.C. Ryan RadGrillz Stripes 2x120mm

 

After reading numerous threads, I decided to go with a dual-loop setup so that heat transference would not be an issue.

 

I started off modding the 800D case so that I could install a second radiator where the lower HDD assembly is. This mod is fairly easy and requires minimal tools (dremel, drill with 1/8" bit, rivet gun).

 

Here is a photo of the case before any modifications.

 

http://i.imgur.com/Yev4w.jpg

 

I decided to remove all the HDD bays from the case to easily drill out the lower HDD bay rivets that are hard to reach and trim the upper HDD rails where the reservoir will be placed.

 

800D case with all the bays removed.

 

http://i.imgur.com/ZwCqk.jpg

 

Close-up of lower area with HDD bays removed.

 

http://i.imgur.com/Jnu2W.jpg

 

Once the lower HDD bay was removed, it was time to break out the Dremel for some cutting.

 

Bottom of case marked for Dremel.

 

http://i.imgur.com/6I4MX.jpg

 

Cuts complete.

 

http://i.imgur.com/7nN9t.jpg

 

I used the A.C. Ryan RadGrillz Stripes 2x120 radiator grill to protect the bottom of the lower radiator.

 

Case bottom with radiator grill installed.

 

http://i.imgur.com/HiRdB.jpg

 

Once all the cuts were complete, it was time to reassemble the case. I used black rivets so that the case would keep the original all-black appearance.

 

The case is ready, now for the motherboard.

 

Here is a photo of the motherboard before any mods.

 

http://i.imgur.com/oKC8Y.jpg

 

EK EVGA X58 Classified Full Board water block

 

http://i.imgur.com/aTinb.jpg

 

I installed the EK X58 full board water block next.

 

http://i.imgur.com/mxFBY.jpg

 

Here is a shot of all six memory modules (24GB) before being installed on the motherboard.

 

http://i.imgur.com/rumHZ.jpg

 

Memory modules installed and ready

 

http://i.imgur.com/7tgEc.jpg

 

Black Ice Xtreme 3 X-Flow 3x120mm radiator

 

http://i.imgur.com/zk4FL.jpg

 

I used Cooler Master R4 120mm Blue LED fans for the radiators.

 

XSPC RX240 and Black Ice Xtreme 3 radiators ready for installation.

 

http://i.imgur.com/EFbpx.jpg

 

XSPC RX240 2x120mm lower radiator installed.

 

http://i.imgur.com/Ug6em.jpg

 

I wanted a clean appearance, so I went with the XSPC Dual 5.25" bay reservoir since the pumps are mounted under the reservoir to minimize tubing.

 

XSPC Dual 5.25" bay reservoir.

 

http://i.imgur.com/eL2Mm.jpg

 

2 Swiftech MCP355 pumps.

 

http://i.imgur.com/4pp87.jpg

 

Pumps mounted in reservoir.

 

http://i.imgur.com/1GzgQ.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/4Jwjr.jpg

 

Now to mount the water blocks onto the 2 GTX 560 Ti video cards

 

http://i.imgur.com/3V6LE.jpg

 

Shot of card before mods

 

http://i.imgur.com/0OUU9.jpg

 

Card stripped of air fan

 

http://i.imgur.com/o9x3K.jpg

 

Water blocks mounted and ready

 

http://i.imgur.com/bXtvO.jpg

 

Here is a shot of the video cards mounted in SLI with water loop connected.

 

http://i.imgur.com/Z6soW.jpg

 

Here is the system ready for action. Both the CPU/motherboard and GPU loops are completed.

 

http://i.imgur.com/8SQz1.jpg

 

System powered on and all lights looking good.

 

http://i.imgur.com/GAEij.jpg

 

Close-up of loops

 

http://i.imgur.com/ySrI8.jpg

 

Front panel of 800D

 

http://i.imgur.com/nj341.jpg

Nice build for sure. Saw a review recently using an h80 I believe showing that r4 is probably one of the worst fans for a radiator. Even the much lower cfm quieter bitfenix 120mm get better temps. I've owned many blue r4's to. They die or rattle really quick. Gorgeous build tho. Lets see some oc results on those 560ti's.

very beautiful installation

I likee...

Well, not to bad at all...though its too much fans for me. I'd only prefer the ones on the radiators. That's it. And too much of disruptive and annoying lights as well. Not good when watching a movie. I've built up my own Watercooler only with 3 Noise Blocker and 2 Scythe Slip Stream vents...and more than 3 liters of total circulating water! That is so much liquid that the system is not even able to heat it up enough to wake up the fans ;o) (controlled by Heatmaster II). Yes, I have a custom expansion "tank" (180x150x140 mm/9mm plexi) with looaaadsss of water;o)))) I believe they will only wake up during hot summer days. With only SSD it makes a black powerful machine, a piece of furniture, lying silently and obediently by its masters feet down below the table, waiting to be unleashed and eat up very bench its faced...

sweet

now you got me wanting to hydro my card.:D: