OTOY Forums

Hi Everyone,
I've finally decided to upgrade my workstation. I've been collecting components for my upgrade of my existing PC. The workstation is already in service with a 490GB OCZ SSD, AMD FirePro V5800 1GB Video card in a Lian Li PC7-FN case. I know the card is ancient. It's approaching 5 years, so it's time for it to be replaced. Items with a asterisk have already been purchased.

What I already have on hand as of 1/21/16. Lines in bold are what I received.

1. Supermicro Motherboard MDB-X10SRA-O LGA2011-3
2. Intel Xeon E5--2620 v3 Haswell 6 core 2.4GHZ CPU
3. 32GB Crucial DDR4 2133 ECC ram
4. PNY Quadro K4200 4GB Workstation class video card. $595 new from ebay.
5. 3X EVGA GTX 780 Superclocked 6GB video card. 2x brand new @$470 each, 1x used @$345 all from eBay.
6. 3X EK-FC780 GTX Ti Nickel Acetal Waterblocks. 2x brand new @$80 each from ebay. 1x used @$40 from eBay.
7. 2X EK-FC780 GTX-TI-BP Black BackPlate. 3x @$28.95 each from Performance PCs.
8. EK-FCQK5000 Waterblock for PNY Quadro K4200. $59.95 brand new from ebay.
9. Aquacomputer Aquaero 5 Pro. Brand new $100 from ebay.
11. Aquacomputer Aquareo 5 and 6 Pro Black faceplate. $10.39 Aquatuning.us.
12. 2X Aquacomputer Airplex Modularity System 480 copper tubes and fin Radiators. $203.78 each Aquatuning.us.
13. 2X sets Aquacomputer Airplex Modularity 480 Black Side panels. Aquacomputer
14. 2X Aquacomputer Temperature sensor G1/4 thread p/n# 53067 $9.44 each. Aquatuning.us.
15. Aquacomputer realtime clock p/n# 53127
16. Aquacomputer 400 flowmeter p/n # 53132
17. Aquaero 24 pin ATX standby power cable p/n# 53047
18. Aquabus Y-cable p/n# 53124
19. 2X Mod my toys 8 pwm fan connector pcb p/n# MMT-PCB-4P-84P
20. EK-RES X3 250 reseviour.
21. EK-FC Triple Parallell black Acetel Bridge
22. EK-Supremacy EVO CSQ 2011-3 CPU water block.
23. 11X Noiseblocker NB-Black Silent Pro PL-2 120mm.* $18.95 each from Amazon.
24. EVGA 220-P2-1600-X1 80 PLUS Platinum 1600watt Modular Power Supply. $379.99 from Newegg.

My PC is used for work primarily which is why the use of the Workstation class board, cpu, and video card. I'm a mechanical engineer, and I work for myself primarily in the Medical Device industry using Solidworks. I can use the motherboard for a long time by simply upgrading the cpu to more cores. Stability with the ability to add a ton of ram is more important then overclocking the motherboard and cpu. The GTX 780's are overclockable and are a prefect fit for rendering which is a new hobby for me. I thought I would combine what I do for work with using Maya, 3D-Coat for modeling, animation, and rendering. I don't really game on my PC. I usually game on consoles, but I might build another smaller rig in the future specifically for gaming.

I want a Case Labs case, but I'm not sure which one to get. I'm leaning too the SMA8. I think it's big enough without being huge. I've probably forgotten some things. If I have, your suggestions/recommendations would be most welcome.

Efrain

I'll write later today. For now look at my footer.

that One is going to end up like a nice build =) see some cool elements picked up for it =)

Glimpse, Smicha thanks!

I think I've settled on a Magnum SMA8 customized case. The ability to mount rads on both sides 360 and 480 plus a 480 on top should be fine. Have to double check on the size of the psu to make sure I can fit a 360 if I want too in the future. The configuration I've picked comes to $702.80. This is the most I've ever spent on a case, but I think it's going to be the easiest way to get all the components into a case with out modding it to death and have it look nice.

Smicha I did read your thread. Very impressive, and I learned a lot too. Your build was what inspired me to proceed with my upgrades. I'm trying not to look at the cost to much. It makes my head spin! The nice thing is that it becomes a asset that I get to write off, so the cost in the end will be reasonable. The rads are on their way now as are the fans. I think I'll order the psu soon. Smicha I looked at a lot of your threads and read the water cooling section at overlockers.net.

I'm trying to get all the internal components before ordering the case.

I have the same case! It's a little tight, but it should do the trick. You can also order a pedestal base if you need extra room. Can be used to house an additional power and radiators. You will need to get third party filters, though, as discussed in the Caselabs forums...

Hi Jay,
The Magnum SMA8 judging from the pictures of builds on the caselabs site, and looking at the thread and youtube videos that some had links for. It looks like a good case for me to get. I like that fact that if I wanted to get a pedestal I can in the future. It is a little snug, but given that I don't have the mod the case is a big selling point for me. Other then drilling a few holes here and there is not a big deal, and I can get another part if I mess up. Getting ready to pull the trigger on the power supply! Do you have pics of your build?

One thing that I'm in a quandary about is my motherboards limited usb ports. All ports are 3.0 which is not a big deal as they are backwards compatible. There are plenty of ports, but there are only two internal connections. It's a single 20 pin connector for two usb 3.0 ports. I need at least one port on the front of the case for thumb drives, so I could get a cable that splits for one port on the front of the case and the other for driving the Aquaero 5 Pro. The other option is to just route a cable through the back of the case and the Aquaero into one of the external ports on the back of the mother board. Thoughts?

Write exactly which parts have you already bought? If you haven't bought WC stuff- good. Just don't go with these parts. I'll guide you with the best and price competitive solutions. As for the case of CL - how many HDDs and SSDs you need? Any other 5.25 bay hardware?

Hi Teddy,

I misread your case spec. Mine is the Mercury S8, as stated in my sig. Sorry about that. Love my case though!

Hi Smicha,

The motherboard, cpu, ram are already in service in a existing setup. Right now I have a 490gb SSD, blu-Ray burner. All the existing components will go into the new case. I'm planning on adding a 1TB SSD, another three or four large capacity mechanical drives for the upgrade.

I've already purchased:
Two 480 Aquacomputer Airplex Modularity radiators.
Aquacomputer Aquaero 5 Pro
Two Aquacomputer inline temperature sensors.
Three EVGA GTX 780 6gb superclocked graphics cards.
PNY Quadro K4200.
Eight Noiseblocker black PL-2 120mm fans.
EK waterblocks for all four graphics cards.
EVGA 220-P2-1600-X1 80 Plus Titanium 1600w power supply.

This is what I've purchased that's already here or in transit.

Looking at my motherboard I might have to perform a mod on one of the 780 graphics cards to single slot due to connector spacing, or I Could just go with two for rendering. If I use all three I may not be able to use a manifold because of again connector spacing on the motherboard unless I design one that will fit at least three 780s. The k4200 may not align with the three 780s. I'm not sure yet due to the cards design. All the cards are reference design.

I'd suggest going with push pull config so get extra fans for the rads. I own one of the airplex and they are very expensive but not necessary the best performer - for 1/3 of their price you may get coolgate rads or EK rads for 1/2 price.

You'll need fan splitters (phobya, modmytoys) with extra 3 pin cables.

Why aquaero 5, not 6 PRO?

As for the case - if you have enough space in your room STH10 is the best of the best. If you want something more compact S8 but this requires 360 rads. I would not go with SMA8 (compared to STH10). Just make sure get proper accessories to mount all HDDs and rads and fans.

Get the new dual D5 EK pump top with their PWM pumps + EK holder. As for a reservoir - bitspower rocks.

I think that with a waterblock on 4th gpu you'll have access to lowest inputs on your mobo. I have.

Fittings - koolance + primochill tubing or EK ZMT (norprene), all 10/16mm.

Not sure if there is a need to measure flow - pums set to 2200RPM (50%) are powerful enough.