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) OCZ Vertex 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: Antec 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) Enermax 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.



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.



Close-up of lower area with HDD bays removed.



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

Bottom of case marked for Dremel.



Cuts complete.



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.



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.



EK EVGA X58 Classified Full Board water block



I installed the EK X58 full board water block next.



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



Memory modules installed and ready



Black Ice Xtreme 3 X-Flow 3x120mm radiator



XSPC RX240 2x120mm radiator



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

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



XSPC RX240 2x120mm lower radiator installed.



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.



2 Swiftech MCP355 pumps.



Pumps mounted in reservoir.





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



Shot of card before mods



Card stripped of air fan



Water blocks mounted and ready



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



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



System powered on and all lights looking good.



Close-up of loops



Front panel of 800D

As I am now working on a new case mod (QuakeCon 800D), I have given the computer to my son. He absolutely loves when I start a new computer since he knows that he will be getting my old computer.

He is not much of an overclocker and I doubt that he will be pushing them too far.