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BlackBeauty to be born

Zka17
Level 16
Hi everyone, I am starting this thread to document the build of my new system. I am not a pro, however I do have some experience in putting together some pc hardware. Also, I am not afraid to use some tools for cutting, drilling, etc. to obtain what I dreamed about. I do have a life, family and professional – so building this system may take a while... In mean time, any comment, suggestion, idea is welcome!

The basic plan is to build the strongest computer I can with decent external look and do it in a way to keep it as silent as possible. By “strongest” I mean the best I can afford. I do have some parts already and I am ready to upgrade some of them as well as I am prepared to spend more – but all in a resonable limit. “Decent external look” for me is simple as possible. A simple black (possible matte) exterior with as few lights as possible – the essence will be inside! “Silent” is quiet. Intending to make a balance between performance and quietness, sometimes even going more for quiet.

Let’s see what I am starting with. I have an Asus Rampage III extreme motherboard and an Intel Core i7-980X processor. Regarding the graphics, I am definetely going for an SLI system, not sure yet about the cards... Right now I do have 3 EVGA GTX 480 Superclocked ones, but will see. As for the memory, I have a 12GB Corsair Dominator and a 24GB Kingstone HyperX kit, both of them at 1600 MHz. The storage will be a combination of SSD(s) and HDD(s), right now having 2 120GB Corsair Force GTs and 2 2TB Western Digital Caviar Blacks. I have two strong power supplies, a Corsair AX1200 and a Silverstone ST1500, will use them based on needs (depending more on what graphic cards will use at final assembly).

All my build is going to be based on a Corsair Obsidian 800d, hundred percent sure that will be modded. More on this later.

A basic recuirement to achieve my goals (especially the “silent” part, but benefic for the “strongest” part too) is the water cooling system. In my next post this will be the focus of my writing.
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67 REPLIES 67

Zka17
Level 16
Thanks, my friend! Unfortunately, since I've got poisoned by benching, this project got stuck... Well, one day will finish it... also got newer/better hardware since, so may need some re-planning...

LeviathanPT
Level 10
Congrats, beautiful work!

As an "old skooler" who's built custom rigs--but none with WC (yes, THAT old), please take this for what it's worth. (& yes, it is the voice of experience I'm sharing...)

WC is nice, & I hope it goes well for you. But please don't forget that other components of the system also generate heat, such ad HDDs.

Just make sure that you've planned for "general air flow," & don't have fans on the backplate blowing in, fans on the face of the chassis also blowing in, fans on top vents blowing into the chassis, etc. Likewise, don't have everything in a closed chassis blowing out. I tend to have fans on front & bottom blowing in & those on back & top blowing out. (I've heard equal arguments concerning side fans--specifically those mounted right over the CPU(S) in the side of the chassis, to the point where I'll leave that to "personal preference.") I'd think you'd want all the radiator fans to blow out somehow, but were it me, I'd also have a few fans pushing outside air in as well. Oh, & yes, more fans can increase noise--or so I've heard.

Good luck. Looks like a good plan being properly executed--even if it is taking longer than anticipated. 😉
"If it moves, salute it. If it doesn't move, pick it up. & if you can't pick it up...paint it RED & BLACK !!"
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Zka17
Level 16
Thanks, LeviathanPT!

Skull6, thanks for your comment! Regarding the HDD cooling, my experience is that they don't generate enough heat to worth cooling them... yes, I was planning to do that, but then realized that it doesn't worth it... The thing is that the system is running from SSD, the HDD is for storing data only - so it would rarely spin enough to heat up...

As for the fans... well that need to be experienced... what you can not see yet on my built are the side fans... and there will be one or two fan on the front too... - bottom fans will not be required as the bottom radiator will intake fresh air from one side and exhaust on the other side... (the PSU will have bottom intake, of course, but that's a separate airflow)

KPRage
Level 10
Nice build buddy.. 🙂
CPU: Intel i5 3570k OC'd to 4.6GHz @1.170V; Mobo: MVG; GPU: Zotac 1070 mini OC'd to +210MHz/+205MHz; Memory: 8GB (2X4GB dual channel) Corsair Vengeance 1333Mhz 9-10-9-T2; SSD: Samsung 840 pro; HDD: 1TB WD Green 6Gbps; PSU: Corsair GS 600w; Case: Bitfenix Merc Alpha:Hybrid Octane in progress; Cooler: Corsair H80 closed loop cooling @ high profile;

Pre & Post Build Guide

A lot of epic FAIL videos are made before one epic WIN video is made 🙂

chrsplmr
Level 18
I have a tear my brother .. our little Zka is all grow'd up .. I am so happy ...
It boggles the mind how deep you think my friend ... chrsplmr~bows to the'Z'ness~and goes makes popcorn.

One day maybe 'they' will reName this AZUS ... hehhehee.c.

Zka17
Level 16
Thanks, guys!

You're making me to feel bad... it's been more than 6 months since I last time did something on this build... - you know, I've got poisoned by OC'ing and benching...

But I'm telling you, one day I will finish this project too!

chrsplmr
Level 18
less talk .. more pics .. hahahhaa

you will OC the ROGs off this before you are done .. we are panting.

Feel Bad ??? Save that for the DellApple guyz ... hahahhahahaa. Perfection takes time.c.