Description

My Second Featured Build Wohooo

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the feedback and your toughts. Been hearing the build is really clean and that was definitely my toughts while making the build.

So i have uploaded some of my current builds and wanted to upload my first delve into the water-cooling world. I did this back in 2015-2016 i believe. I have uploaded quite a few pictures so hopefully it can take you through the entire build from start to finish. My theme was black and chrome which i hadn't seen many builds with this color scheme at the time.

I picked up my GPUs second hand out of someones show build as you can see they were painted orange. I had to fix that so some sanding, primer, and paint and restored them to there somewhat original color. Bitspower is the only company that makes GPU blocks for this GPU. Was pretty difficult tracking them down and purchasing them. So that was one difficultly during the build. Also don't count the 980Ti out it is still an extremely good card even today.

Removing the heat shield on the ram was a little nerve wrecking at first. It took a lot of heat and more pulling than i anticipated. But the results are worth it. I loved the ram water-cooling look which added a very unique aspect to the build. It also made the run shorter and cleaner in my mind.

Bending the tubing was also difficult at first. I didn't have difficulty with the heat but getting the length of the tubing just right was the most difficult part. So what i did was made sure the lengths between the bends were correct but trimmed the edges so the bends would fits perfectly. The bend from the pump to the gpu was a nightmare. I think i redid that four to five times and just gave up.

Another little mod i had to do was shave part of the motherboard shield as it didn't allow the GPU to be placed in the first slot with the shield. I made it look natural as possible so you shouldn't be able to tell. Temps are a dream i did not see anything over 55C on my overclocks. Noise was great as well due to the fans. I think that is all i have to say on this build. I hope you guys love another Enthoo Evolv as there aren't enough of these build . Let me know what you guys think below

Part Reviews

CPU

Intel Core i7-6700K 4 GHz Quad-Core Processor

Was in its prime the best cpu for gaming. Still hasn't showed much age since there wasn't a large improvement to the 7700k. If you can find one for a good deal i would highly recommend it.

Thermal Compound

Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut 1g 1 g Thermal Paste

Best thermal paste. Reasonably price if you don't do a ton of applications. If your water cooling it is a must have to hit the best temps.

Motherboard

EVGA Z170 Classified K ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

Not as flashy as its competitors but has great PCIe spacing. I love the color scheme and it fit nicely in my build. EVGA has the best warranty out of any manufacturer so highly recommended.

Memory

G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory

These were the go to for price to performance ratio. The red color was nice for my evga motherboard to highlight the red accents. Perform great, g. skill is a great ram brand. Been using them for years and have had zero issues. Again more flashy choices now but these are solid modules.

Storage

Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

Amazing SSD for standard use. Kind of the "gold standard" for ssd drive for performance if your not jumping into the NVMe or pro series line. Great reliability

Storage

SanDisk Ultra II 960 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

just needed a bigger ssd drive but didn't need the performance of a pro or samsung drive. Great price however i did have to send it in because it wasn't functioning but the new one i received back has had zero issues.

Video Card

Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6 GB AMP! Extreme Video Card

was a monster at it's time. High clocks and biggest cooling known to man. Still is a fantastic card if you can find one. Literally zotac makes some good cards.

Case

Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ATX TG ATX Mid Tower Case

One of the first reviews on amazon for this case was from me. I bought it right when it came out. Build quality is top notch. Really set the standard for aluminum at a reasonable price compared to lian li. Great looking case and they did think of a ton of options for builds. Only downside is top airflow is not the best but i am willing to sacrifice that.

Power Supply

EVGA SuperNOVA G2 1300 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

10 years warranty and enough power to do any build ever. I never have to worry about getting another PSU again basically. Has an ECO mode where it does not run the fan unless it absolutely needs to.

Comments

  • 30 months ago
  • 5 points

Epic!!! I don't often see water-cooling for RAM.

  • 30 months ago
  • 3 points

Thanks!!! yeah you really don't and i thought it added some flair to the build.

  • 30 months ago
  • 3 points

That's ******* awesome, hope you have fun with that, it looks so nice. +1

  • 30 months ago
  • 3 points

DAMN

i really like it ;D 1+! hope this gets featured!

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

Aaaaand it's featured :D

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

nice :D.

  • 30 months ago
  • 3 points

Great looking build.

Congrats on the featured spot.

Thumbs up.

  • 30 months ago
  • 2 points

Congrats on featured!

A little tip when it comes to those tough bends. (GPU to pump) Always start with the component that is more cramped so that you can run the excess tubing long if possible. In this case it would run all the way towards the back of the case. But instead of trying to figure out the exact distance, let it go longer than what you think you'll need by like 100mm. Also since you have a base to measure from you can measure from the bottom of the case to the top side of the OD of the tube that goes into the pump.

So once you have that measurement. You can mark it on a table or scrap piece of paper to give you the outside to outside dimensions on a flat workable surface. Then you can make the first 2 90 degree bends. And once you have the bends made (much easier when you have extra length), you cut to fit the end that goes into the pump/drain assembly.

Once you have that one all squared away, you should have plenty of tubing running under the GPU towards the back of the case. But here is a cool way to measure. Take that scrap piece you just cut off from the other end and place it into the fitting for the GPU where you want to terminate the tube. If its too long to fit strait, trim it. Then you can measure outside to outside of the tubing from left to right across your case from the GPU to the pump. That'll give you the exact dimensions of that length with the 90 degree bend. Mark that dimension on another piece of paper. Something like this: | <-left line (this is the distance in between) right line -> |

To help figure out where you are concentrating the bend, lay the piece of tube down on the flat surface letting the extra length go over the line you drew. But measure 15 to 18mm back from that line and mark the tube. I've found that is a good distance to start a good 90 degree bend.

I know this may sound confusing, I may have a few pictures to explain what I mean.

  • 30 months ago
  • 2 points

Thanks for the tip. What I did since I had the bending kit is I marked both sides of a piece of wood with lengths in a 90° angle. Once I measured it in the case I then used that measurement on the marked board to bend in the exact spots I wanted. For the most part I never had to do a bend twice except for one pesky run. I'll try your suggestion in the future.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

Oh cool, I need to look into those kits. Might make my life easier haha. If you have time check out my recent build. My run from the CPU to the reservoir had 6 x 90 degree bends in it! FML its in my build list under Miami Hurricanes.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

Definitely saw it had some clean runs. I am just OCD so i wanted everything to be perfect which is why i got the kits. There were a two bends i couldn't use the kit for but all in all i recommend it.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

Just gorgeous. Super nice build. Props!

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

That PC looks DAMN good, super clean and the dual cards makes it go from a 10/10 to a 100/10! I love it! +1

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

I'm digging it for sure... love the black liquid!

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

Nice build, super clean looking. Don't really see many loop builds with liquid cooled RAM, either. +1 :)

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

Nice and clean! +1

Congrats on the featured... :)

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

Now this is classy as hell. Wow, I'm super impressed! LOVE the ram cooling, just a sweet, unexpected touch that just nails it. The composition is just kick-***.

Well done! +1 !!

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

Whats the speed on the RAM, since its part of the loop?

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

i left it at 3200hz. I am sure i could have pushed it faster but i just wanted to declare a war on heat everywhere.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

fair enough- it'd be fun to try to push it to the max, see how far it'll go, and then reset it to 3200.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

I have a question. How is your overclocking experience with that board and cpu? I also have the same MB and CPU and feel like I have a horrible time managing even 4.6 without some heat and instability. The cpu can boot 4.8 but has some instability with certain games and heat issues I can only do 4.4 without worrying.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

I didn't have much issues. I followed a video EVGA made for the board and the intel 6700k. Not sure if it is around but you may be able to find it. I set it to 4.5 and didn't think twice about it. It is possible you just got a lemon chip maybe. I feel that it is low though and shouldn't be having those issues.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

TOO O.P.

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  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

The subtle nudity in some of the pics had to help the feature vote ;) Nice build also .

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

Awesome build! But I have some questions my friend, I'm actually trying to do a build in that case but I don't want to mod it to do watercooling, did you do any mod to the case so that way you can fit the rads, or pump? +1 btw

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

I drilled holes in the case to mount the pump on the back wall and low as possible. I would recommend getting a pump mount to mount to the front rad. You will achieve a similar look without the drilling. There was no modding to the case otherwise. You can also do a aluminum plate mod to get a bigger rad on top without adjusting the case but that does take some skill but would be more than happy to share.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

I'll consider getting a pump bracket, thanks I didn't know that it was possible. Also, do you think that in that way the case can fit the pump and a 250mm reservoir? Any ideas?

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

Sorry for the delayed response. I would recommend against a 250 reservoir. It doesn't look good in my mind and is way to big for this particular case. It can be done if you don't do a pump res combo but there really isn't a lot of room for it. You would have to mount the pump separately solo under the gpu and the reservior on the radiator. The sweet spot for this case really is 150mm reserviors. If you do the pump bracket there is no way to do a 250mm with pump reservior combo.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

I think I'm going for a 150mm res+pump, but from EK there is only a pump bracket, I think this one can handle the whole pump/res combo.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

Oh! I have another question. When using a thicker rad than the one you have on top, do you think there would be any clearance issue with the ram block? I plan on watercooling my ram as well! As I see the fans barely don't touch the ram block.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

I love it! Great build. Good job, good luck, and happy gaming :D

Tbh I can't give this build enough +1s. I'm broken :/

Also, congrats on the feature :D

Also also, just looked at the pictures, and this build looks DAMN fine with the black liquid and the water cooling Oh goodness I think I'm having a nerdgasm (JK on the nerdgasm :P,) great build anyways. I hope you make good use of this beast of a PC.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

Thanks! yeah i wanted a clean look and decided black and chrome does just that. There is white and grey of course but it all blends in for a nice look. I am really happy about the build. The black liquid really adds that touch and i wanted to show the before and after.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

Awesome build! I started drooling at the color of your cooling liquid. It's my favorite color on cars and looks amazing here too. And water cooled RAM?!?! Hardly ever see that. Very nice my friend.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

I would be lying if i didn't get some inspiration from cars. You can never go wrong with black and chrome it is classy.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

if all those fans are blowing out you are going to have serious dust issues

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

I thought that too, but i have two 140mm pushing in. There are furious F4 and are beastly. Also there is major air restriction on top of the case so really the dust hasn't been as bad as i had anticipated. But i thought the same thing as well going into it.

  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

Damn nice rig. Be proud of it.

  • 29 months ago
  • 1 point

For 699 on you 98ti's why didn't you go get a 1080ti or 2

  • 29 months ago
  • 2 points

This build was done before there was even a 10 series out. At the time 980 Ti was the best and still are fantastic cards. I just uploaded it now so everyone can check it out and hopefully give some people ideas for builds.

  • 29 months ago
  • 1 point

Oh my bad didn't know that, but yeah great build tho

  • 25 months ago
  • 1 point

Awesome build! I am about to build a liquid cooled setup using the same case and all EK parts (same rads and pump/res combo and 12/16 PETG). Regarding fan selection/fitment, did you have any issues fitting the rad up top and in the front with your fan selection? I believe you did the EK Vardars in the front and Phanteks fans across the top. Any case modding needed?

Also, can you help me out with the parts I need for a drain valve? I think I want to do the same as you with a tube going out from the pump down into the basement. I'm just not sure which fittings are needed to connect to the pump and then tube.

Thanks!

  • 18 months ago
  • 1 point

Nice.

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  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

oh it's my second build that has been featured. :) not the same build

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  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

That means a lot thanks!!

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  • 30 months ago
  • 1 point

It was definitely worth it. If you can go some time without the pc while you are doing the build i highly recommend it. Yeah it is pricey and you wont see much if any performance over an AIO but is it worth it. I finally did the jump when i thought i can reuse all the materials for all my future builds. Don't let bending tubes scare you. You will waste some tubing but it isn't difficult just time consuming. Everyone has to start somewhere. I really don't know about the SSD as i mostly just game so SSD speeds don't play a large role between each other. EK just came out with an all aluminum kit that is very reasonably priced. There is no feeling once you done and you see the piece of art you made. Just make sure you do your research before starting.