I have been planning on taking the plunge into water cooling for a while now and I have been doing a lot of research over the past few months. I finally purchased all of my parts and I wanted to do a build log and share my experience thus far with the community here, since I have used this forum extensively for reference and I even asked a few questions here and there. I have been trying to come up with a name for this build and right now it is tentatively called Tangerine Dream (The Vandals reference from Sweatin' to the Oldies) .
Project: Tangerine Dream
Main Components
Processor: Intel i5-3570K
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-77X-UP7
RAM: Corsair Dominator 16GB (4 GB x 4)
Power Supply: Corsair HX750 (Reuse from my existing rig)
Bluray Drive: LG WH12LS30 Blu-ray/DVD/CD RW Burner (Reuse from my existing rig)
SSD: Kingston SSDNow V100+ 96GB (Reuse from my existing rig)
HDDs: 2 x Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB (Reuse from my existing rig)
GPU: ZOTAC NVIDIA GTX 770 4GB
Case: Corsair 900D
Water Cooling
2 x Radiators (Top & Bottom): XSPC AX480
Reservoir & Pump: XSPC Dual 5.25" Bay Reservoir / D5 Vario
CPU Waterblock (Acetal Top): XSPC Raystorm
GPU Waterblock: XSPC Razor GTX 680
8 x Fans: Gentle Typhoon AP-15
Fan Controller: Lamptron FC5V2
3 x Fan Cable Splitters: Phobya Y Cable Splitter - 3-Pin to 4x 3-Pin (x3)
Tubing: XSPC FLX Orange UV Tubing 7/16in. ID x 5/8in. OD
Fittings: Monsoon Fittings (Orange) x 12 + 1 x 90 Degree Light Port Rotary (Used as a T) + 6 x 45 Degree Rotary Fittings + 2 x 90 Degree Rotary Fittings
Fluid: Distilled Water + PT Nuke Biocide
Cable Extension: Bitfenix Alchemy Orange Cable Extensions (24 Pin ATX, 8 Pin EPS, 2 x 8 Pin PCI-E, 2 Molex Extensions)
Misc: Orange LEDs, Tube Cutter, Funnel, Arctic Clean TIM Remover, Paint, Soldering Iron, Shrink Wrap, 6+2 PCI-E Connectors
The XSPC GTX 770 Full Cover Block is not compatible with the Zotac GTX 770 4GB, however the 680 full cover block is. XSPC customer service was great and they would answer any compatibility questions that I had within 1 days time. I am considering trying to change the logo on the block from 680 to 770 or maybe just blank out the 680 part and have it say just "GTX". Most likely I will just end up leaving it alone since that is the part of the block that faces down and will not be visible.
I was going to use Cougar fans for the orange theme, but after doing so much reading on fans and always seeing the AP-15's come out on top when it comes to radiator performance (static pressure and noise) I had to go with them. I do enjoy that they are not simple black fans and I think the grey & black matches nicely with the stock fans that come with the the Corsair 900D.
I have more to post, but I just realized it is getting late so I will follow up with more in the near future.
Project: Tangerine Dream
Main Components
Processor: Intel i5-3570K
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-77X-UP7
RAM: Corsair Dominator 16GB (4 GB x 4)
Power Supply: Corsair HX750 (Reuse from my existing rig)
Bluray Drive: LG WH12LS30 Blu-ray/DVD/CD RW Burner (Reuse from my existing rig)
SSD: Kingston SSDNow V100+ 96GB (Reuse from my existing rig)
HDDs: 2 x Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB (Reuse from my existing rig)
GPU: ZOTAC NVIDIA GTX 770 4GB
Case: Corsair 900D
Water Cooling
2 x Radiators (Top & Bottom): XSPC AX480
Reservoir & Pump: XSPC Dual 5.25" Bay Reservoir / D5 Vario
CPU Waterblock (Acetal Top): XSPC Raystorm
GPU Waterblock: XSPC Razor GTX 680
8 x Fans: Gentle Typhoon AP-15
Fan Controller: Lamptron FC5V2
3 x Fan Cable Splitters: Phobya Y Cable Splitter - 3-Pin to 4x 3-Pin (x3)
Tubing: XSPC FLX Orange UV Tubing 7/16in. ID x 5/8in. OD
Fittings: Monsoon Fittings (Orange) x 12 + 1 x 90 Degree Light Port Rotary (Used as a T) + 6 x 45 Degree Rotary Fittings + 2 x 90 Degree Rotary Fittings
Fluid: Distilled Water + PT Nuke Biocide
Cable Extension: Bitfenix Alchemy Orange Cable Extensions (24 Pin ATX, 8 Pin EPS, 2 x 8 Pin PCI-E, 2 Molex Extensions)
Misc: Orange LEDs, Tube Cutter, Funnel, Arctic Clean TIM Remover, Paint, Soldering Iron, Shrink Wrap, 6+2 PCI-E Connectors
The XSPC GTX 770 Full Cover Block is not compatible with the Zotac GTX 770 4GB, however the 680 full cover block is. XSPC customer service was great and they would answer any compatibility questions that I had within 1 days time. I am considering trying to change the logo on the block from 680 to 770 or maybe just blank out the 680 part and have it say just "GTX". Most likely I will just end up leaving it alone since that is the part of the block that faces down and will not be visible.
I was going to use Cougar fans for the orange theme, but after doing so much reading on fans and always seeing the AP-15's come out on top when it comes to radiator performance (static pressure and noise) I had to go with them. I do enjoy that they are not simple black fans and I think the grey & black matches nicely with the stock fans that come with the the Corsair 900D.
I have more to post, but I just realized it is getting late so I will follow up with more in the near future.