i7 3770k with Extreme6 Build Log

[archon20]

My build log is below

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($159.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.23 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($172.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Microcenter)
($21.90 @ Amazon)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N250PCe 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter
RX360 with D5 Pump http://www.xs-pc.com/products/watercooling-kits/d5-kits/raystorm-d5-rx360-watercooling-kit/ ($300.00)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Gold 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Other: nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum Panel ($35.00)
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-10 20:21 EDT-0400)

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[manofchalk]

Guessing an XSPC Raystorm 750 RX360 kit?

Pretty nice rig, though cable management and general tubing runs can be improved dramatically.

The case have cable management holes and space behind the mobo tray to run wires, use em
Nice tutorial on cable management.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERhxmzQR6xA

A couple of 90° adapter on the external rad would help with those loops of tubing you have to get to it. Switching the tubes going into the CPU block would also help, crossed tubing never looks good.
Do you have any plans on how to drain the loop? I suggest you incorporate some kind of drain line into the loop, because trust me, draining a Raystorm kit at stock is an annoying process.

 

[archon20]

Yes I have a rx360 kit with a d5 pump!

And yeah I realize my cable management is awful. (First time builder)

I do plan on making this build more organized in the near future to buy the 90 degree adapters for the water cooling fittings

 

[Lutfij]

AH, you've done a good job mounting rad on the back - nothing but all air passing through those rads ie ambient air) NICE!

tidy up them cables or modo will be walking with his guillotine round here though hi pointers are on the lighter sides of life since the waterblock locks onto a mount - you can rotate the block 180 deg and yet retain the original position of the XSPC plate to read the right way. Tubing route to and from the pump/res chamber will be a lil more straight forward. And no, you don't need angled fittings - swap the rad with the fans to face the back of the case. the ports should also face the rear fan space and the tubing should bend down to the watercooling/tubing grommets no problem(without kinks). The fans will help some space between rad mount and the case thus the no bend suggestion.

If I were you, I'd clear up the cables and then get to work on the tubing routes.

Word of caution, there's a reason the ports on the block are labeled IN (and the other leaving the end user to figure out is OUT) as the internal construct of the block will fail if reversed. You can try it out but the negative temp drop will mean a rework of the tubing once again. I like to do my work once and not hassle with it in the future

 

[archon20]

lutfij, i have another question!

Which direction should the fans mounted on the radiator be blowing air? Currently I have it blowing opposite direction of the radiator.

And, for the block, i did have the one labeled "IN" as my inlet

 

[Lutfij]

We refer to the direction of the air as in push or in pull. Push is as it means pushing air. Pull is the opposite. So i think you have the fans in pushing blowing towards the case right? Its okay - I have my rad fans setup exactly like your's.

The point I mean't about the IN port is that to avoid the crossovered tubing, rotate the block but leave the retention orientation the same way as is. Just swapping the tubing direction while leaving the block as is will net lesser than desired temps from a phenomenal block

 

[archon20]

I see what you mean now with the block.

However I'm still confused with the fan talk!

This is my picture representation of where I feel air with my hand from the fans on the radiator.

 

[manofchalk]

We refer to the direction of the air as in push or in pull. Push is as it means pushing air. Pull is the opposite.

A bit of clarification might help here.
Push or Pull only apply's to radiator or heatsink fans, and it means as it sounds. If a fan is in pull, it is pulling air through the heatsink or rad, if its in push it is pushing air through the heatsink or rad.
Push/Pull refers to when there are two fans on either side of the rad or heatsink, and both are blowing air in the same direction. So the rad has both Push and Pull fans on it.

What your confusing it with is general case airflow, and most cases have a standard front to back airflow. Air is intaked at the front, moves to the back and is exhausted.