The fittings As you know, Bitspower is helping me with this build. I have a design in my head on the tubing routing so I ordered what I think I'll need for this build. I have not seen the case yet, but I'm sure everything will work out. In the [Project Orange Horizon], I went with straight lines supported by 90° fittings. For this build, I wanted to go with 30° and 60° fittings. I'm still not going to bend the tubes. I guess I found my own style, I love those big blocks in my loop. I feel it accentuates the character of the beast... I decided to change all the black o-rings to the UV purple. I couldn't find any flat purple o-rings so I went with the UV version even if I'm not going to have an UV LEDs. The color is really bright and more pink-ish than purple but I'm sure it still do the job. I took a photo with the default black o-rings and one with the UV purple o-ring. After seeing the UV purple one, you almost feel that the black o-ring version was done in black & white. What do you think? I have some spare Bitspower white fittings from my last build, but I might have to buy a few more if my design doesn't work out. I'm crossing my fingers! Components 1x Deluxe White Mini Valve With Black Handle (BP-MVV-DWBK) [LINK] 8x Bitspower Deluxe White Enhance Rotary G1/4" 60-Degree Multi-Link Adapter (BP-DWE60RML) [LINK] 8x Bitspower Deluxe White Enhance Rotary G1/4" 30-Degree Multi-Link Adapter (BP-DWE30RML) [LINK] 1x G1/4" Deluxe White Q Plus-Rotary IG1/4"X4 Extender (BP-DWFR-C) [LINK] 8x G1/4" Deluxe White Stop Fitting (BP-DWWP-C09) [LINK] 4x G1/4" Deluxe White IG1/4" Extender-15MM (BP-DWWP-C60) [LINK] 2x Bitspower Deluxe White Enhance Rotary G1/4" 90-Degree Multi-Link Adapter (BP-DWE90RML) [LINK] 2x Bitspower Deluxe White Enhance Rotary G1/4" 45-Degree Multi-Link Adapter (BP-DWE45RML) [LINK] 4x G1/4" Deluxe White Multi-Link Adapter (BP-DWWP-C47) [LINK] 4x 10PCS Purple UV-Reactive O-Ring Set For G1/4" (BP-WTP-O10-UVPL) [LINK] Photos
The PSU I don't really need a powerful PSU as this is going to be an ITX build. Therefore, I decided to go with the EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G1. It was on sale during Christmas so I got a really good deal for it. I also read that it performed well even if it wasn't as silent as the Corsair AX series. Finally, I like the design so it's worth a try. I'm planning to paint it in white for the case body and purple for the fan shield (or the other way around). The other advantage of that PSU is that it's quite easy to paint since you can easily unscrew the different parts. I quickly sketched what it is going to look like. I'm waiting for the case to decided which tint of purple I'm going to take. I personally prefer the white case and purple fan shield compared to the other one, but the purple case and white fan shield is uncommon so I'm struggling to decided which way to go... What do you think? Components The PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G1 Power Supply (120-G1-0650-XR) [LINK] Photos (Photoshoped) (Photoshoped)
The motherboard There is not a lot of good mITX motherboard on the market. In my opinion, the best options for a i5-4690k is between the EVGA Stinger and the Asus Maximum VII Impact. I decided to go with the Asus since I really liked the Bitspower full motherboar block even if I knew it has harder to find in Canada... Installing the block was quite simple. I looked at this [video] and followed each steps... I haven't put the wifi and sound card cards yet but I will. I will also put a purple or white vinyl on top of the "START" button. I really like how this block looks like. What do you think? The components The motherboard: Asus Maximum VII Impact [LINK] The full motherboard waterblock: Bitspower AIZ97M7IITX Nickel Plated (Clear) (BP-WBAIZ97M7IITXNPAC-CL) [LINK] The photos
The memory waterblock - Part 1 I worked on the memory waterblock in the last few days. I was planning to work on the PSU first but I was too excited with this waterblock so, well, I changed my priorities As you're going to see, I haven't made my mind up yet about the color scheme. In fact, I haven't received my case so I'm not really sure if the purples will match (trust me, I'm crossing my fingers). Personally, I really like the purple with the two white stripes but I'm not really sure if it will be too dark once in the case. Which one do you prefer between the stock one, the full-white one, the white with the purple stripes, the full-purple and the purple with the two white stripes? The components The memory waterblock: Bitspower Universal RAM Module Water Cooling Set For 2 Banks 2-DIMMs (BP-RAMS22-CLBK) [LINK] The photos
The case has arrived Just to let you know that I received the case today. I had some issues with UPS but everything has been sorted out. For now, just a sneakpeak of what it looks like... The photos
Tubing - Part 1 In my last post, I had an unusual piece that I'll be using for this build. This piece will be really important because the bottom panel will be 100% custom. If everything goes as expected, the fluid will run through the bottom panel. Now that I have the case, I can start planing the tubing routing. I had an idea at the beginning of the project, but after a few tries it didn't work out too well. I'll keep working on that and show you more in a few days. A few other things from the photos below: I'm going to use some fan filters; The radiator will be painted probably purple-ish with maybe some silver or purple flakes (still not sure about this); I'm going to use a fan gasket between the fan and the radiator; and All fittings will have the purple o-rings. The photos
The video card As for tonight, I installed the GPU water block. As you know, It's a pretty straight forward operation but I still consider it as a long process when you take photos between each step! Step 1 - Remove the air cooler by unscrewing all screws in the back of the video card and by unplugging the little connector attached from the air cooling case to the GPU board; Step 2 - Download the latest installation guide from Bitspower (to be sure they haven't released a new version); Step 3 - Remove the thermal paste; Step 4 - Install the thermal pads; Step 5 - Install the waterblock; Step 6 - Install the backplate; and Step 7 - Screw everything together I decided to go with the 970 since the Project Orange Horizon will remain my gaming system. As for the Project Purple Horizon, it will only be used for everything else so most likely web-browsing and some casual games. In addition, the 970 was more affordable. I would like to thank you again Bitspower and Darkside for sponsoring parts of this build. Thank's Roger, Thank's Daz! Components The video card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 Superclocked ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-2974-KR) [LINK] The GPU waterblock: Bitspower VG-NGTX970ESACX Acrylic Top With Stainless Panel (Clear) (BP-WBVGNGTX970ESACXNPAC) [LINK] The LEDs: Darkside DUAL Set 5mm DarkSide Connect Modular LED - WHITE: (DS-0354) [LINK] Photos
Tubing - Part 2 A small update today since I'm still working with the tubing routing. I initially wanted to go with 60° and 30° fittings but it doesn't seem to work. I tried 60° with 60°, 30° with 30° and 60° with 30° but no luck. I think the case is a little bit too small to have them aligned properly so I'm thinking that I might go with 90° and straight fittings. I'm still not sure where I'll put the pump/reservoir yet. It fits perfectly in that space, but I fear that the heat generated by the front radiator will have an impact on the pump so I'll probably move it. The bottom panel will be 30mm thick with G 1/4 threading so I can fix my fittings straight on that panel. I'm pretty sure it will look pretty awesome. The photos
The memory waterblock - Part 2 Finally, the memory waterblock is now installed. It took me a while to complete the assembly because I made a small mistake since the Corsair Vengeance only has chips on one side. Fortunately. [@]Dazmode[/@] published a video a few months ago about this "issue" and explained how to fix it. I've posted the tutorial below this section. To be honest, removing the thermal pad from the heat spreader was really long. The best tool I found to remove that was my old collar stays. It's small, rigid and in plastic so it was, I think, the perfect tool to unstick the black thing from the heat spreader. I was hesitating about the color of the memory waterblock in the [The memory waterblock - Part 1] post. I decided to go with the white vinyl with the purple stripes. The purple vinyl is a little bit too dark and I'm worried that the light will not reflect properly. It will look a little bit more common than if I went with the full purple vinyl but I think the result is pretty good. What do you think? The tutorial Video from Dazmode The components The memory waterblock: Bitspower Universal RAM Module Water Cooling Set For 2 Banks 2-DIMMs (BP-RAMS22-CLBK) [LINK] The memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 (CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9) [LINK] The White 3D Carbon Fiber wrap (VViViD7-WCF-3) [LINK] The Purple 3D Carbon Fiber wrap (VViViD7-PCF-3) [LINK] The photos
Not really an update, but here is a sneak peak of the current status of the build... With ambient light Without ambient light