[Zi0nex]

Hey there!

After over a year of reading and research I was finally ready to build my first water cooled system.

My goal for this build was to be as quiet as possible. I wasn't as concerned about having really low deltas or overclocking.

These are the parts I selected:

Case: Corsair 650D
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4
CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Quad Channel Kit
PSU: Corsair Gold AX650
SSD: Intel 520 480GB
Video Card: Gigabyte GV-R797WF3-3GD

Radiator: XSPC EX280
CPU Block: Swiftech Apogee Drive II
GPU Block: Swiftech Komodo 7970
Tubing: MasterKleer Blue UV 3/8" x 5/8"
Fittings: Monsoon Compression 3/8" x 5/8"
Controller: Aquaero 5 XT
Reservior: FrozenQ Dual Bay Blue
Coolant: Distilled + Silver Kill Coil
Fans: 2 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 1850 + Bgears 140mm to 120mm Adapter, 1 x Cooler Master MegaFlow 200 Blue

 

[Zi0nex]

I knew I didn't have much room to spare in the top of the case so I carefully measured everything before purchasing it and hoped it would all fit properly once I got it.

I didn't want to go any bigger than a mid tower and was constrained by the hutch of the desk the case was going to sit on. It fits, just barely.

First thing I did with the rad was a flush with boiling water and vinegar. I did this 4 times and it was surprisingly clean. I was expecting a lot worse.

I knew mounting the rad into the top of the case was going to be a challenge going into the build.

The first challenge was the location of the 8 pin CPU power connector. All the X79 boards I looked at had them in the same location at the top left edge and were just a few mm too high, enough to obstruct the bottom of the rad.

The solution I came up with was to break out the Dremel and make a notch in the shroud of the radiator.





My cuts weren't the prettiest but I'm happy with the result and it's not in a location that's very visible anyway.

The next challenge was how the heck to mount the rad to the top of the case.

The spacing for the radiator is 15 mm and the 650D uses 20 mm (why can't they standardize for 140mm!) and the added complication of the Bgears adapters. I got the idea to use these Koolance radiator mounting screws from lowfat's 650D build.



The only complication with those was that they use a M4 thread and the EX280 uses 6-32 so I had to tap some new threads in the radiator.

Here they are before being mounted in the case. The nice part about the screws is that they gave me just enough play to get them to fit in the existing 140mm mounting holes in the case.

 

[Zi0nex]

Reserved.

 

[Zi0nex]

Reserved.

 

[Frozenoblivion]

That rad cut :3