Custom Water-Cooled Gaming Build [Advice Needed]

Royalty

Royalty

The Aussie
I am building a high-end desktop for gaming and intense video editing. I currently don't have the money, but I will try and get before Christmas (Summer holidays from Dec-Feb).

Before giving any advice please consider the following:
  • Computer parts are sooo much more expensive in Australia.
  • I am planning to spend so much money on a case, because I plan to have this one last me at least a decade, and house all of my future upgrades.
  • I don't want any of this "Oh Razer is crap, don't buy Razer crap you *fancy lad*" *chocolate cookies*. Peripherals are entirely my choice. I will take recommendations, but only constructive criticism please.
Z77 BUILD Part Price

Graphics Card NVIDIA GTX670 2GB ASUS DCU II TOP $548
Processor INTEL IVY BRIDGE CORE CORE i7 3770K $349
HDD 2TB WESTERN DIGITAL BLACK $188
Power Supply COOLERMASTER SILENT PRO GOLD 800W $179
Water Cooling Kit CUSTOM FROM EK (SEE BELOW) $339
Mouse RAZER MAMBA 4G $144
Keyboard RAZER BLACKWIDOW ULTIMATE $145
Windows OEM 64BIT WIN7 PROFFESIONAL $138
RAM 16GB KIT 1600 (8GB x 2) G.SKILL CL10 RIPJAWS-X $105
Optical Drive INTERNAL SATA BLU-RAY COMBO PIONEER $68
Anti-Virus (COMES WITH MOTHERBOARD) $0
Mousepad ALREADY HAVE ONE $0
Motherboard ASUS ROG MAXIMUS V FORMULA ?(Not in Australia yet, will be in a week or so)
Case COOLERMASTER COSMOS II ULTRA TOWER $368
Microsoft Office NONE $0
Monitor ASUS VE278Q $325
Headset RAZER TIAMAT 7.1 $228
Sound Card ASUS ROG XONAR PHOEBUS $219
Additional Fans 9 x SICKLEFLOW 120 2000 RPM RED LED $108

Total Price $3,451

Specific Water-cooling parts:
Thanks for your help guys, I really appreciate it!
Currently money is my biggest problem, so fingers crossed I can get the funds...
 
Application-1

Application-1

test bester
This is the third thread where you are going to build a new computer someday. Will this actually happen one day?

Also razer headphones are great.
 
Royalty

Royalty

The Aussie
Application-1 said:
This is the third thread where you are going to build a new computer someday. Will this actually happen one day?

Also razer headphones are great.
Click to expand...
Well if I get the money, yeah it will actually happen. Wish I was older...
Do you have the Razer headphones? I've read many reviews and like you, they all say that they are amazing...

Dabbleh said:
Nice, only qualm is the Anti-Virus.. just get MSE.
Click to expand...
MSE- Microsoft Security Essentials right?
 
G

GundamExia00

Member
If you're looking to buy a mouse and headset, buy a G9 mouse and a G35 headset, which also comes in wireless.(Don't remember the wireless's name).
And if you really want something stupidly high-end just SLI two 6870s, they're really cheap now and the performance is great.
Microsoft Essentials is amazing, best free anti-virus you can possibly have. Why don't you keep your current monitor? (guessing no 1920x1080 res?)
Don't spend so much on a a sound card since most good headphones come in USB plug-in now so you're basically stuck with what the company gives you and your own hardware won't have an affect on the sound quality.
Keep your current optical drive.
You're spending WAY too *dancing* much on a case. The average price is like 70-150 on a decent one.
I don't recommend water-cooling since your building your own and it's just a pain to switch out hardware plus people are always paranoid about a leak.
Air cooling isn't that bad if you actually take a look at your hardware every 2-3 weeks and take out the dust. (NOT WITH A VACUUM, AIR CAN AIR CAN AIR CAN AIR CAN AIR CAN.)
I'm no tech, but hopefully what I provided you helps.
 
Pure

Pure

Member
Royalty said:
  • Computer parts are sooo much more expensive in Australia.
  • I am planning to spend so much money on a case, because I plan to have this one last me at least a decade, and house all of my future upgrades.

Water Cooling Kit CUSTOM FROM EK (SEE BELOW) $339
Mouse RAZER MAMBA 4G $144
Keyboard RAZER BLACKWIDOW ULTIMATE $145
Case COOLERMASTER COSMOS II ULTRA TOWER $368
Headset RAZER TIAMAT 7.1 $228
Sound Card ASUS ROG XONAR PHOEBUS $219
.
Click to expand...



Way to much on those parts and no way in hell in 10 years you will have this build if you buy it, technology in computer stuff is getting better by the day, buy the latest the next day something new comes out.
 
St3lth

St3lth

Backend Contributor
People who are complaining about the price of computer parts in his build, please consider the following
Royalty said:
  • Computer parts are sooo much more expensive in Australia.
Click to expand...

In all honesty you won't be need a ultra tower case. A mid-tower case should suffice, something like the Corsair 600D. Your rig isn't x79, its z77. Keep that in mind.

Also, why water cooling.......you could easily install a closed loop liquid cooler, like the corsair h60/h80. Seeing as you're only gonna liquid cool your processor, why bother? Are you gonna OC? Also, the cosmos II doesnt even have a clear window....Unless a professional is assembling the pc for you, I dont recommend getting a custom water cooler. You mess up, your pc goes to *chocolate cookies*.
 
WildFire

WildFire

Warrior of Linux
St3lth said:
Also, why water cooling.......you could easily install a closed loop liquid cooler, like the corsair h60/h80. Seeing as you're only gonna liquid cool your processor, why bother? Are you gonna OC? Also, the cosmos II doesnt even have a clear window....Unless a professional is assembling the pc for you, I dont recommend getting a custom water cooler. You mess up, your pc goes to *chocolate cookies*.
Click to expand...

This. Reduce prices on the case and sound card. I would suggest getting a sound card as they do come in handy, but the difference between and expensive and a cheap one is so slight you might as well just get the cheap one and save yourself $$$. By saving that cash there, you can probably then afford a 120gb or so SSD for your bootdrive and essential programs (i.e. your video editor, fav games) and that hdd for storage.
 
Fissurez

Fissurez

Puzzlemaster
*Fireblasto* said:
This. Reduce prices on the case and sound card. I would suggest getting a sound card as they do come in handy, but the difference between and expensive and a cheap one is so slight you might as well just get the cheap one and save yourself $$$. By saving that cash there, you can probably then afford a 120gb or so SSD for your bootdrive and essential programs (i.e. your video editor, fav games) and that hdd for storage.
Click to expand...

you really don't need a soundcard, motherboard sound is good enough.

*looks at what royalty is buying*
Holy *dance*, why? Buy me something (i'm taking nexus 7's :p) instead and use the motherboard sound.
 
SeymourGore

SeymourGore

Flatulent Cherub
Yar, I dunno. This seems more like a 'Dream Build' thread than anything realistically coming out of it.

With that said, I'll make a couple of comments on a couple of things. That's a beautiful case, and while some may scoff at the price tag, the thing is gorgeous (and as big as a tank, which Seymour approves of). However, it's ability to watercool (when it comes to size of radiators) does leave a bit to be desired. My suggestion would be if you're looking at spending that much on a case and want to have a huge custom loop in it, you might be better off looking at a Mountain Mod watercooling case. Which will also cost you big money (not sure what the Aussie availability is like for these cases). For a lower cost, the NZXT Switch has been well reviewed for its watercooling potential.

As for the desire to run a custom watercooling loop, don't listen to these boring nerds. Sure, a custom watercooling loop isn't overly practical, requires periodic maintenance (coolant changes, cleaning, etc) and can have costly initial costs, but it's damn cool looking. And that's 'initial' cost, a quality custom water loop with decent hardware (pump, reservoir, radiator) could last you for years. I like to think the building and maintaining of a custom loop as being part of the experience and have personally wanted to go in that direction for a long time.

Basically, if you're really set on having a custom water loop, definitely research the hell out of it and make sure it's something you really want. The route I plan on going is purchasing a 'XSPC' 'all-in-one kit. It's different from the closed loop watercoolers (ie: H60s) in that it's still a open loop that you need to put together and maintain, but it gives you all of the necessary hardware for a small loop and at a reasonable price. And, since it's not a closed loop, you can upgrade specific aspects of the loop as you desire (ie: more powerful pump, larger radiator, etc). Also, the reviews show some nice gains over standard air cooling and it still looks really good.
 
Royalty

Royalty

The Aussie
GundamExia00 said:
Why don't you keep your current monitor? (guessing no 1920x1080 res?).
Click to expand...
I don't have a monitor, only a laptop... :(
GundamExia00 said:
Don't spend so much on a a sound card since most good headphones come in USB plug-in now so you're basically stuck with what the company gives you and your own hardware won't have an affect on the sound quality..
Click to expand...
So I should just use the Razer Tiamat 7.1's USB without a soundcard? Will it still sound awesome? Will having a sound card make it sound better?
GundamExia00 said:
Keep your current optical drive.
Click to expand...
Again, don't have my own desktop.
SeymourGore said:
As for the desire to run a custom watercooling loop, don't listen to these boring nerds. Sure, a custom watercooling loop isn't overly practical, requires periodic maintenance (coolant changes, cleaning, etc) and can have costly initial costs, but it's damn cool looking. And that's 'initial' cost, a quality custom water loop with decent hardware (pump, reservoir, radiator) could last you for years. I like to think the building and maintaining of a custom loop as being part of the experience and have personally wanted to go in that direction for a long time.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that is exactly my view on this subject.
Does anyone know how often you should flush/ refill a loop?

I will keep every opinion in mind...
 
Armageddon

Armageddon

Teapot
That mother board is a piece of *chocolate cookies* man, i know i ordered two defective boards.
The first had a bad video slot and the second had 2 bad ram slots. The board looks nice and would have set my rig off but it never worked and i ended up getting a gigabyte.
Just be careful.
 
Royalty

Royalty

The Aussie
Armageddon said:
That mother board is a piece of *chocolate cookies* man, i know i ordered two defective boards.
The first had a bad video slot and the second had 2 bad ram slots. The board looks nice and would have set my rig off but it never worked and i ended up getting a gigabyte.
Just be careful.
Click to expand...
I can just send it back if it's faulty right?
That's weird though, haven't heard any other faulty reports...
 
Ucantry2run

Ucantry2run

Private Tester
GundamExia00 said:
If you're looking to buy a mouse and headset, buy a G9 mouse and a G35 headset, which also comes in wireless.(Don't remember the wireless's name).
Click to expand...
Agree with Muk here, I use a G9 mouse and a G35 headset and they are really worth it. Also Razors are really nice as well. I had a Tiamat but it broke, but it was still great.
Good luck getting the money for it.
 
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