Tweet
So it has started. My parts have been slowly arriving from NCIX.
My first computer build in over 13 years. Been relying on work laptops and such... but I figure now is the time again to have my own computer. This will be the 1st watercooled build I'm doing. I dreamed of doing a watercooled setup in 1999 with fish tank stuff and HomeDepot PVC tubing back then. Maybe get back into gaming again. Call of Duty 3 was my last game I played on a PC (Mac).
The idea is cram as much power into a little clean setup. Therefore I call this the "Diminutive White Beast"
Parts List:
- BitFenix Phenom mITX white case
- Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI (wifi is going to be disabled, so I can rob the PCI-E slot for a FW400/800 card)
- 16 GB kingston Blu-Black ram
- 256GB Samsung EvoPro
- 128GB Samsung EvoPro
- i7 4770k (going to see if I can overclock it to the moon and back)
Left to buy:
- Asus GTX770 (awaiting another sale at CanadaComputers)
- Seasonic Platinum 760watt
- Two Western Digital RED 1TB 2.5" HDD for storage
- various cables
Watercooling Parts (awaiting shipments from Daz and other sources)
- UN design bracket for 120mm fans. Will mount the reservoir using 60mm clamps
- UV Orange 3/8" ID, 1/2" OD hose
- EK-DDC 3.2 PWM X-RES 140 pump reservoir combo
- Two Dazmode R240 radiators
- Four Noise Blocker -BlackSilent XLP PWM Fan 1000-2000RPM Blue/Purple
- EK DazMode Special Edition - Universal CPU Block
- Alphacool HF 14 Smart Motion Universal Copper Edition to cool the Z87 southbridge on the Gigabyte Motherboard
- EK GTX770 DC2 waterblock
- various silver fittings. I basically picked the least expensive of whatever I need from Dazmode and avoided koolance
- Will use compression fittings
- Swiftech 8-Way PWM splitter box
- Noctua 150mm fan at the back
- Maybe (not sure yet)... two Noctual 80mm PWM controlled fans for the floor.
I read on the forums that the Gigabyte motherboard has an undersized heatsink for it's Z87 southbridge. Since I will be using this computer heavily for photo editing and such I wanted to make sure it was stable for terrabytes of photo files being moved from one drive to another.
I also chose the motherboard, CPU and also graphics because of their compatibility to building a hackingtosh. Will be running OSX Maverick on the 256 GB SSD, and maybe Windows 8.1 on the 128 SSD. With the intent to have the machine run OSX more than 75% of the time.
For case modding, just a simple tinted plexi window on both side panels with some u channel molding. Also will need to cut a rectangular slot out for the mini PCI-E FW800/400 interface. The BitFenix Phenom which I didn't realize only has a dual PCI slot at at the back, which the graphics card will sure to be using.
The idea is to keep it looking like the case came from the factory as is, but only see all the mods when you take a close look at the thing.
The fans and pump will be controlled by the UEFI of the motherboard. The swiftech PWM splitter will be connected to the CPU fan 4 pin output of the motherboard, all the fans and pump will be manipulated by the temperature vs fan speed curve profile in the UEFI... (hopefully this works). Intake air will be coming in from the rear via the 150mm Noctua Fan, and also dual 80mm Noctual fans on the case bottom. The front mounted radiator will have fans mounted behind it to push air from inside the case to the outside through the rad, and the fans at the top will push air up through the rad and out via the top opening of the case.
Hopefully the build comes out good. I'm already overbudget by about 400 bux from what I wanted to spend on a new computer.
More pics to follow when more parts arrive.
oh and one more thing... fittings are expensive! I'm going to do point to point as much as possible. Maybe if it comes out hideous I will invest in angled fittings everywhere.
My first computer build in over 13 years. Been relying on work laptops and such... but I figure now is the time again to have my own computer. This will be the 1st watercooled build I'm doing. I dreamed of doing a watercooled setup in 1999 with fish tank stuff and HomeDepot PVC tubing back then. Maybe get back into gaming again. Call of Duty 3 was my last game I played on a PC (Mac).
The idea is cram as much power into a little clean setup. Therefore I call this the "Diminutive White Beast"
Parts List:
- BitFenix Phenom mITX white case
- Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI (wifi is going to be disabled, so I can rob the PCI-E slot for a FW400/800 card)
- 16 GB kingston Blu-Black ram
- 256GB Samsung EvoPro
- 128GB Samsung EvoPro
- i7 4770k (going to see if I can overclock it to the moon and back)
Left to buy:
- Asus GTX770 (awaiting another sale at CanadaComputers)
- Seasonic Platinum 760watt
- Two Western Digital RED 1TB 2.5" HDD for storage
- various cables
Watercooling Parts (awaiting shipments from Daz and other sources)
- UN design bracket for 120mm fans. Will mount the reservoir using 60mm clamps
- UV Orange 3/8" ID, 1/2" OD hose
- EK-DDC 3.2 PWM X-RES 140 pump reservoir combo
- Two Dazmode R240 radiators
- Four Noise Blocker -BlackSilent XLP PWM Fan 1000-2000RPM Blue/Purple
- EK DazMode Special Edition - Universal CPU Block
- Alphacool HF 14 Smart Motion Universal Copper Edition to cool the Z87 southbridge on the Gigabyte Motherboard
- EK GTX770 DC2 waterblock
- various silver fittings. I basically picked the least expensive of whatever I need from Dazmode and avoided koolance
- Will use compression fittings
- Swiftech 8-Way PWM splitter box
- Noctua 150mm fan at the back
- Maybe (not sure yet)... two Noctual 80mm PWM controlled fans for the floor.
I read on the forums that the Gigabyte motherboard has an undersized heatsink for it's Z87 southbridge. Since I will be using this computer heavily for photo editing and such I wanted to make sure it was stable for terrabytes of photo files being moved from one drive to another.
I also chose the motherboard, CPU and also graphics because of their compatibility to building a hackingtosh. Will be running OSX Maverick on the 256 GB SSD, and maybe Windows 8.1 on the 128 SSD. With the intent to have the machine run OSX more than 75% of the time.
For case modding, just a simple tinted plexi window on both side panels with some u channel molding. Also will need to cut a rectangular slot out for the mini PCI-E FW800/400 interface. The BitFenix Phenom which I didn't realize only has a dual PCI slot at at the back, which the graphics card will sure to be using.
The idea is to keep it looking like the case came from the factory as is, but only see all the mods when you take a close look at the thing.
The fans and pump will be controlled by the UEFI of the motherboard. The swiftech PWM splitter will be connected to the CPU fan 4 pin output of the motherboard, all the fans and pump will be manipulated by the temperature vs fan speed curve profile in the UEFI... (hopefully this works). Intake air will be coming in from the rear via the 150mm Noctua Fan, and also dual 80mm Noctual fans on the case bottom. The front mounted radiator will have fans mounted behind it to push air from inside the case to the outside through the rad, and the fans at the top will push air up through the rad and out via the top opening of the case.
Hopefully the build comes out good. I'm already overbudget by about 400 bux from what I wanted to spend on a new computer.
More pics to follow when more parts arrive.
oh and one more thing... fittings are expensive! I'm going to do point to point as much as possible. Maybe if it comes out hideous I will invest in angled fittings everywhere.
Comment