Maximum PC

While not quite a mod exactly Im going to post a log of the work im doing to my main gaming computer. This will include a new waterblock, fan controller, another rad, various new fittings, and anything else I can think of. Please excuse my bad photography and cable management!
First for some pics of what im working with:




My HAF X, its my pride and joy as far as my computers go.
The new components that came in the mail today, at a grande total of $50 for shipping, tax ($33), and brokerage charge ($70)......
Live and learn I guess never use UPS.

The Toys





And finally some parts I had collected or were leftover.


Ill post updates throughout the day and until I finish up!

Paper towel, my best friend!


New bitspower black connectors.

Now to get the new waterblock on!

Few more pics.



Nice and clean!

Got the fan and rad mounted too!

Got the video cards strapped back in.

Here is an update.
Not sure if I made the right call with the Blue Tubing... Have to wait and see what it looks like with the UV lights. Anyways leak testing is coming next I think.


Green to black! If anyone dosnt know about this trick its one way to allow you to turn your psu on without hooking it to your mobo.

Messy picture of whats going on... If you can see.

Leak testing going well. "Knocks on wood and crosses fingers" No leaks so far!

All done!
Well just have to put the covers back on. Those GT 5400 rpms sure can be loud!


Anything you guys would add at this point? Ill post some final pics in a few days when the air is mostly out and I can put the final touches back on.
Pretty fun build all in all. Only had a bit of fan trouble at the end but other than that it was stress free. Especially based on my previous experience with installing one of these water blocks and nuking the board... somehow.
Anyways hope you had as much fun as me!

That third video card, just makes it... Bad! Is that a 'Swiftech' block mounted on it? Anything to look out for when mounting the GPU block ?

Blue tubing looks good with lights. Only other choice might be gloss black. I'm with you, the Haf X looks good and roomy (Wide) if memory
serves me right. Not a con; just wondering. Is the 1200 PSU needed in present configuration? Have something else in mind for this machine?

Nice build!

Yes all three are swiftech blocks. I made a mistake the first time I mounted a block by putting too much AS5 on the block of chips in the bottom right. Im thinking that must have shorted them or something. Other than that just make sure everything is nice and clean and just take your time. The black tubing I had in before the blue looked OK but was not very wowy. Now the thing really glows at night and you can see bubbles in the line if you look close. The HAF X itself is a wonderful case to work with. Roomy and rugged. The only thing I would have asked for is a tad more room for rads and fans, of course this case was more designed for extreme air cooling with water as an option so I cant complain too much. I do believe I need about 1000w for three 470s OC'd and an OC'd 920. I went for the 1200w to try and future proof my power requirments for awhile and because its fully modular and highly recommended.

As for anything else... who knows. This last upgrade drained the computer fund pretty good. If I can sell one of my other machines then I might venture for a cpu upgrade but im leaning more and more towards saving up for a new mobo and cpu when Ivy comes out. Custom single braid psu cables would look pretty nice too, but the stock Corsair ones have pretty decent sleeving as is. Thats the joy of computers eh, your never really done upgrading!

absolutely DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN the screws that hold the block to the card, just tight enough to secure the block to the card....took me a bit of time to figure that one out.



good luck with the new parts, and may the folding work units be good to you!

Ah yes. Overtight screws can be a bad day too. That may have been a factor in that nuked card as well.

Yep and howdy, that is what I'm waiting for. Yes, to 22nm die size. I have a whole computer in a nice case just waiting in the garage for the new Ivybridge CPU and MoBo, 20 GB of RAM waiting on the shelf, I can't remember if it will be dual channel or triple channel so I have matched 4 GB sticks of each waiting in packages.

magnumsrule, did you use those water line quick-connect fittings that they were raving about in a MaxPC article approximately 10 or 12 months ago? Sorry, I cannot remember the brand name or model. Does anyone know the fittings that I am talking about? Are those still the best water tube connection fittings?
They said it saved them from puddles on the lab floor just by switching to those fittings.

Your unit really looks great. Things I love about it:
-- the reservoir in the front of the case that shows the water level. "Look Ethel, I think that is glowing bug juice in the front of that man's computer!"
-- the scissor hinge mount for the radiator on the back of the case.
-- of course, three GPUs.

I think ivy is quad channel, which kinda sucks since triple channel has hardly been adopted. Be nice if you had the option of running in either triple or Quad, or dual for that matter but I dont know much about it.

The fittings you are thinking of are called Koolance Quick Disconnects. Some people use them alot, I didnt use any as they are kinda pricey and are longer than standard fittings, and you have to buy each half separately, ie the end you attach to your component is not sold as a kit with the end that the tubing attaches too. If you plan on taking apart your system alot then I can see them being VERY advantageous as you would not have to drain your loop but simply disconnect the component and the fittings seal themselves. I personally use Bitspower brand fittings as they are high quality, highly recommended, and HIGHLY Expensive as anything though. Really once you have the loop assembled you shouldnt have to drain it very often so its a personal choice to go with the KQD. You wouldnt think it but fittings can quickly become the most expensive part of your water cooling project. Taking into account that each barb costs about $7, then there are 45s and any other special ones like whats on the bottom of my three vid cards, that one fitting cost about $22!

Thanks for your comments!

Got a new box in the mail today.

Maybe a little bigger box than they really needed to use.

I really love this new panel. Now I can really see all of my hardware, and that great tubing.








That should be the end of my mods for now. What do you guys think?
I really like the new panel, and the tubing is winning me over big time!
The only thing im marginally happy about are my fans. They are not easy to get a nice quite speed. No problem getting lots of power, but when you just want silence I usually just turn them off and use my Scythe S-flex fans on the 360, which works pretty good. I also really like the Lamptron fan controller, high quality and the ability to run tonnes of fans!
Any questions or comments please post!

Oh yeah! I didn't want to say (when you asked for suggestions) anything about your old panel. But that new one really cleans it up. And now... I'm seeing where you got the color idea for the anti-kink; it's from the lights (Don't change it!). The new panel favors my Lian Li 7FN replacement panel, except yours has the vents at the bottom. Much better!

Yes, the larger Plexiglass window really shows off the wonders of your cooling water tubing really well. Looks great!