inactive . . .

The 7xx series would be a little dated and although for the money you are getting a block/gpu and backplate bundled in one package, the route to get a custom cooler on your GPU would yield the best results.

Furthermore going for a non reference card would allow you maintain compatability easy access to blocks for such a card whereas a reverse engineered pcb/non reference card would require you go for a block that is only compatible with that card. In some circumstances to the blocks will have etched in them the GPU that they alone support e.g:
http://www.ekwb.com/news/550/19/EK-releases-ASUS-GTX-980-Strix-Full-Cover-water-block/
Notice the Strix milling on the block indicating it is meant for the strix range of GPU by Asus.

Prices for blocks vary from vendor to vendor and ofc from retailer to retailer(3rd party)

You could just hold your breath and opt for a Galax GTX 980Hof card with a custom waterblock by EK that should add about $150 to cost of your card...?

edit: I forgot to ask, are you going to setup a loop as well or are you currently cooling the CPU and looking towards expanding the loop?

That was very soon to select my post as the solution. Are you sure you got your answer ?

On that note,
I personally love that case...haven't had the guts to shell out on one yet as I'm pending on some itx builds but I'd advise to either get another case or limit your rad to 240 at the front. The rear 120 would probably be a hassle to include into the loop as you have to deal with a cramped area around the CPU socket and the top 140 fan. The other issue would be that you'll naturally have to orient the front 240 as intake and the rear 120 as exhaust so if you do the math right on airflow and tdp, you are actually dissipating heat inside the case to the components and also in turn warming the rear 120 rad. I would just mount my rads outside to get the best possible temps and also drawing cooler ambient air instead of preheated air inside the chassis.

Just to be clear are we talking about AIO cooler or custom watercooling? You don't need to split your loop into GPU and CPU as you have 1 GPU only. You can have all the rads connected in serial to form 360mm worth of dissipation area and you would need to figure out where your pump/res would need to rest.

Hmmm, the Define R5 would be up your alley but we need to establish a few more levels.

What's
1| your full system specs?
2| your budget for watercooling?
3| Have you checked out the watercooling sticky?
and lastly are you willing to part with components if it was required?

You would need to figure out where to put the pump in case and the placement of your rads are pretty much fixed at two locations - the front and the back(if going internally mounted). That TR2 unit is the worst possible unit you could use on a build so I'd ask you swap it out and have you made a shopping list for your watercooling hardware? The budget seems nice and it wouldn't hurt if you could brush up on your parts to expose any mistakes/compatibility issues...?

The last pointer, I'd have to say with a heavy heart, although you're trying to offer something as a service to the masses...its much easier said than done. Nowadays people wouldn't bother with people who have machines marked up even by $100 USD. In fact those sort of mark ups are insane in this day and age. I'd suggest toning it down a little(alot) and start off small. You can establish a name for yourself this way and work your way up. Expecting to double your investments in a short time is a bad gamble furthermore those sort of prices would be highway robbery in daylight hours. People would rather prefer assembling their own machine(s) or hit the next best thing, Prebuilt systems courtesy of Aleinware, Digital Storm, FNW and the list goes on...but I hope you've got the point.

If you're a student the best option would be take up a part time job and take a look at machines on the off days/hours. Lastly, dream machines are best built with patience and hardships ... the taste of such labor is so sweet you'll be looking at the clouds on how you got that far.

Just some friendly advice, no offence given

The Swiftech H22x/H series or the Fractal Kevin range of products as well as the Coolermaster Glacer 240L(which is a rebranded Swiftech H220, which was sort of banned by Asetek due to a patent infringement) are all wonderful candidates to work either as a AIO unit without opening the tubings/fittings but double as an expansive cooling unit by only adding some tubing, fittings and a cooling block of your choice, say, something like ram blocks or in your case, full cover GPU blocks.

True it costs less than a full custom loop but the performance you're getting is a little lower and ofc reduced bling. But its an excellent opportunity to get your feet wet and you can learn alot from your first endeavor. Its right around the same price as an AIO Corsair/Coolermaster or so on unit, only difference being that the AIO unit has their warranties void the moment you cut the tubing and if you want to cool a GPU with an AIO unit you need to add a bracket of sorts...

Might I ask where you live?

20% is an unrealistic margin to be honest. Tone it down and you'll see clients come around and those who think its overpriced can go to someone else

Oh right, where else would you consider shopping? FrozenCPU/Performance PC's? Though I'd probably advise better if I knew where you live.

Push or pull will net similar results but when doubt, Push is preferred. I'm yet assuming yo're going for an internal mount so I'd advise noting the length of your screws as they could eat into you radiator fins. Alot of people have gone through the issue being a first time builder.

I didn't quite understand this though:

I'm putting two 140s up front so those should be enough for the exhaust fan to work with.

Click to expand...

are we talking about having dual 140's in exhaust or intake? The optimal airflow pattern in your chassis should be cold air intake front/lower front>top/rear exhaust or you will have a conflicted airflow path and since airflow is the quintessential element in a chassis' and components thermals you'll need to get that bit right.

I will probably go 5 1/4 on the res. this time.

Click to expand...

5x(times) 1/4" fittings? The mimimum internal dia you should have is 3/8" ID but it is advised to go above that.

Sadly down int eh world of watercooling, we don't prescribe parts or make a list for you to purchase as it takes the fun out of the build and ofc kills your creativity/thought process. The sticky covers alot of things to look out for and the color/aesthetics aspect can be dealt with at you a pace you are comfortable with.

Personally I'd opt out of coolants and go for plain ol' distilled water. If you are hell bent on getting some color into the loop you can opt for colored tubing(with mathcing or contrasting fittings) but if you really want to go further, then there is Mayhems Pastel to add to your distilled. Mind you you would need to refrain from using a silver kill coil if you go mayhems.

Are you looking forward to just gaming or possible content creation/3D rendering? IF so then in this day and age you need more than 8GB and since you're looking at the X99 platform, you'll need to populate 4 slots as opposed to 2 on a mainstream board. So that is 4x2GB Sticks?

I'm flattered but we're here to help + You're welcome.

You haven't told me where you live...

Alright the intakes are clear, the res is okay, any bay res will work provided the arey of good build since there a number of brands that offer bay res'. Acrylic bay res' do have some issues with cracking if the fitting is screwed on too tight or if you force the tubing on the fitting while its on the res' end.

I would rather suggest looking at the parts you have available to you and also educating yourself via the watercooling sticky so you aren't trumped into buying something they would normally want to clear their shelves off of. Furthermore, these sort of things can be verified on the watercooling sticky and an inquiry on Tom's.

You've misunderstood me again, you'd need to populate 4 of the 8 slots on the X99 mobo to start with. FYI - ram compatible with the X99 platform come in a quad channel kit, 4 sticks of ram i.e .

Newegg is a good stop for computer hardware and you have access to pretty much any watercooling e-tailer...

You're welcome! Regarding the watercooling sticky, its considered the holy grail for any watercooling newcomer/enthusiast so its like the one stop solution for brushing up on your watercooling knowledge and ofc to fall back on when in doubt...btw alot of time has been dedicated on that sticky by my colleague Rubix and it was what helped me start up when I delved into watercooling for the first time. So speaking from experience, read first and then go shopping.

Microcenter isn't that good either. I've read horror stories from them too. Provided you know what you're looking for, the deals available are plenty and the parts range are slim.

Different strokes for different folks then Alright, you've made your point, Microcenter it is!

So when are you going down to them? Will you be going to buy them at first glance or just window shopping and then come home to make a final decision?

Windows will act weirdly when you only transplant the drive to a new system while you keep the OS intact. Eventually you'll need to install drivers - if not then the hassle of running a system without proper drivers will only result in less hair on your scalp and more hours here on Tom's Troubleshooting. Thus why I suggested the OS. The OS critical mind you!

Explanation:
CPU - as is

Mobo - more feature rich than what you get on a matx form factor compared to the EVGA and there are currently only 3 boards offering X99 platform on matx form factor. I thought downgrading in size would benefit in your setup and space arrangement as I'm an architect and I tend to think about space saved and ofc the overall professional look of the setup. The Obsidian series is professional enough to be in an office yet snazzy enough to fit as a gaming chassis, all in all, casual. So that explains the case.

Cooling - The CLC is there since you didn't want to include the GPU int he loop and so I assumed you're going watercooling only for the looks so for a few dollars less you get a cooler in there that can handle the hot headed 5820K however do note, if you'd like to migrate to custom level watercooling, you sure can as there a number of build logs showcasing a fully packed watercooled 350D with dual GPU's

Ram - Fits the color scheme and Mushkin hasn't let me down in my systems and system builds.

GPU - single most powerful card, no issue of sli'ing or driver support to get increased performance. When you take into account the single GPU, you can populate the other slots with probably add on cards but the board already comes fully featured. The only additional accessory you'd need would be a wifi dongle+router to go with it.

PSU - Its a seasonic unit that is platinum rated. Period!

I figured since they slash their prices for you, the prices above from Newegg could be translated to Microcenter pricing , no ?

* I was thinking that of the RVZ01 as well but I didn't want to toss out the idea of watercooling in your build. Personally you could opt for an EVGA Hadron build too but you'd have to swap to Z97 platform since X99 doesn't come in an itx form factor due to manufacturing/socket placement constraints.

AMD and Intel don't use the same drivers for their chipsets but You'll understand what I was saying when you migrate to your new hardware.

Head down to the main page on Tom's and check out the carousel where you can see the EVGA X99 micro reviewed. I'd suggest reading the Asrock X99 matx mobo review here on Tom's too before deciding to go with the EVGA X99 micro. The titan is an old card compared to the 980 but it it doubles as a workstation card and a gaming card however with all things tech, it'll show its age in due time about a year or so after purchase. Don't get me wrong but where on earth are you getting a Titan from at that price - I'm not sure if you're trolling since they are nowhere to be found only to be succeeded by the Titan Black and Titan Z. Modifying the parts will most certainly void your warranty so be careful of what you do

Looks like you're set(once you get your GPU matter sorted out)...except for your OS.