Tuesday, March 27, 2012



That time of the decade has come where I dish out a little extra for a complete new rig. It happened in 2005, and it is happening now! Every 5-7 years I find my self throwing away copious amounts of savings for what I consider a gaming computer that will last me for the ages to come.


In '05 I had built a similar extreme build with what you would consider best available parts at that time, dual 8800GTX's etc, it had lasted me ~5years, with minor upgrade for BC2; and now I am making a similar build but minus dual GPU's, holding off for the "real" GTX680's that I've heard may be called GTX685 which are due in Q4 2012.


So for now, these are my current complete parts list inclusive of everything that is bought and installed:


Hardware:
Case: Coolermaster Cosmos II
PSU: Coolermaster Silent Pro 1300M
Mobo: ASUS Republic of Gamers Rampage 4 Extreme
CPU: Intel 3930K
GPU: Gigabyte HD7970 Overclocked @1Ghz
RAM: 32GB (4x 8GB DIMMS) Corsair Dominator 1600Mhz @10-10-10-27
SSD: Kingston HyperX 120GB (x2 in RAID0), Intel 520 60GB (boot)
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB (x2, considering RAID5)
Sound: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium FATAL1TY Champion Edition
Optical: Sony BD5300SOB Blu-Ray 12x Writer Internal Drive


Still undecided on Monitor to be honest.


Cooling:


Water Cooling:


Pump: Alphacool VPP655 Variable Pump
Pump Mod: Bitspower Pump Mod Kit - Acetal Top, Chrome pump housing
Radiators: Black Ice GTX Xtreme 240 (Black), Black Ice GT Stealth 360 (Black)
Reservoir: Koolance TNK-501 Single 5.25" Reservoir
Mobo Block: Koolance MB-ASR4E ASUS Rampage IV Extreme
CPU Block: Koolance CPU-370
Tubing: PrimoChill PrimoFlex PRO LRT Tubing 3/8" ID 5/8" OD with 1/8" Wall
Coolant: Distilled Water 
Additive: IandH Dead-Water Copper Sulfate Concentrate


Fittings: Bitspower G1/4 Matte Black 3/8 Compression Fitting (x5), Bitspower G1/4 Matte Black Dual Rotary 45 Degree 3/8 Fitting (x6), Bitspower G1/4 Matte Black Dual Rotary Angle 3/8 Fitting (x3), Bitspower G1/4 Silver Shining 3/8 Compression Fitting (x2), Koolance Drain Valve VLV-XTSPLB, KOOLANCE VL3N-F10-16S (x2 QDC female), KOOLANCE VL3N-M10-16S (x2 QDC male)


Air Cooling:


Case Fans: 200mm Front intake BitFenix Spectre Pro Black Tinted, 120mm Side door intake Scythe Ultra Kaze (x2, blows directly onto GPUs), 120mm Rear exhaust Scythe Ultra Kaze


Radiator Fans: Scythe Ultra Kaze (x4) in push+pull configuration on bottom 240 Radiator, Scythe Gentle Typhoon 3000 (x3) in pull configuation on top 360 Radiator


Yes, there is a total of 11 very high performance, very loud fans in the machine.


Additional bits and pieces:


Cabling: BitFenix 8pin EPS 12V Extension Cable 45cm Black, BitFenix Sleeved 24pin ATX Extension Cable 30cm Black, BitFenix 4pin ATX Extension Cable 45cm Black, BitFenix Sleeved 6-Pin VGA Power Cable 45cm Black, BitFenix Sleeved 8-Pin VGA Power Cable 45cm Black, BitFenix 3pin to 3x3pin Fan Power Splitter Black


Fan Grills: ModSmart 120mm Black Wire Formed Fan Grill (x6, to make sure no potentially damaging particles get sucked through the radiators)
Internal Powerboard: Bitspower X-Station Power Extension II UV


Cables are all individually sleeved.




So as of now, the rig is 80-90% complete, last night I did a leak test for about 12 hours, and this morning I had done a boot test and everything seems to be OK. Tonight I went to my buddy's place to pick up a genuine Win7 Ultimate 64bit Install Disk. 


Once a few remaining items arrive in the mail from PCCG I will be able to start cabling and cable management (assuming this will take some time), boot up, install Windows, and start overclocking, benchmarking, and stability testing. I'm aiming for 4.8-5Ghz @≤1.45V for 24/7 use.


It may seem complete, but there is still a while until I will be comfortable to start using it 24/7.


I'm not sure if I should post a separate work log here, with the 50 pics, or if I should just link you the thread on OCAU forums...

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