[Build Log] Orange You Glad You Switched? (Re-build, Switch 810)

[The Jesus]

NZXT Switch 810 Black
i7-2600K
Asus Maximus IV Extreme
2x Sapphire 7950
2x OCZ Vertex 3 60GB
WD VelociRaptor 300GB
Corsair HX1000 Sleeved
Laing D5 w/ BP dress kit
XSPC EX240
SR1 360
EK Supreme HF
EK 7950 Blocks (with EK single-slot brackets)
EK Maximus IV Extreme Block
EK Dual-Series 3-Slot Bridge
PrimoChill PrimoFlex LRT Black 1/2" ID

Overall orange/black theme, tired of all the black/red, green, blue.

I'm hoping to get some different things from EK and NZXT, but we'll see. The case gets here tomorrow, the SR1 on Friday, the 7950s when EK confirms new blocks, board/CPU sometime around Wednesday.

Keep watching this as I update it!

Been keeping this on OCN for awhile now to do MotM, but I realized sponsored builds can't compete

[The Jesus]

Unboxing of the Switch 810 Black and a test mount of EX240 with push, push/pull fans:































































































Mobo came in!











Decided to do a mock placement of the board for anyone to reference. This is what E-ATX is like in this case









My 360 got here today, thanks Desert Rat! This is a bunch of other stuff going into the build as well (I forgot to add my HDs to the OP, updating now!).



Velociraptor 300GB



XSPC 450 Pump/res



XSPC EX240



Black Ice SR1 360



Rads compared



6 Bitspower Matte Black Fittings
4 Bitspower 90* Fittings



4x4GB G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3-1600 + 2x 60GB OCZ Vertex 3 RAID 0



Xonar Essence STX + EK Supreme HF





Decided to replace the bracket on the mobo while I was sitting here. Its the 115x EK Bracket that keeps you from having to use spacers



I felt like seeing if I could stuff a fan controller in the stealth bay with a 360 up top with push/pull fans... BYAH!























Look what UPS left for me:























USPS' turn today (big thanks to Bacchus451 for the good price and fast shipping ) :







Huge update

Here's my awesome package from EK! Big thanks to Gregor Hribernik at EK for helping me and keeping me up to date on progress since late January and the sponsorship/review material (review will be written as I build this weekend, I'll add it in the third post for the 7950 blocks/backplates). This would've been much more difficult to accomplish without him





EK FC-7950 Acetal + Nickel Blocks



EK FB-Maximus IV Extreme Block



EK FC-7950 Backplates



Unboxing of the 7950 blocks







Special notice now included with EK nickel blocks. Use coolants with corrosion inhibitors pre-mixed or make sure you include corrosion inhibitors in distilled water to make sure the plating does not fail.



Notice, Manual, Thermal Pads, and Hardware





That feel (or sight I guess) bro







I love this block. There's no other way to describe it. Its far better than the 5970 block I used to have (and I really liked that one). I'll save the other comments for the review

















The pair together







Backplates unboxing (unwrapping technically )



Backplate, Manual, and Hardware/Thermal Pad







That's nifty







EK Maximus IV Extreme Block Unboxing







Manual, Thermal Pads, Hardware



I think EK really wanted to make sure I knew how to install it. Two manuals :P USE ALL THE MANUALS!



Oooo, shiny and gigantic







Again, an amazing block. Fantastic build quality, appearance, and just lots of thought went into it.















Everyone out of their shell!



An idea of how big the blocks are compared to backplates if they were installed (screwholes lined up) as well as an actual measurement





Family photo! This is the 7950 blocks, single slot brackets, backplates, Max IV block, EK HF Supreme Acetal, EK FC Bridge Dual-Serial 3-Slot, and EK FC 58x0/68x0/78x0 Links. So much EK, lol.











The prized jewel Big thanks to Mallory Kolbe at FrozenQ PC Mods for sponsoring this build! She was quick to answer my questions, got my sponsorship order put right in, and shipped immediately when it was ready! This reservoir's look and quality blew me away when I opened the box. I can't wait to get it installed and running!













And that about sums up the actual parts! Check the next post momentarily for a quick sneak peek at what I've been up to

[The Jesus]

My plan is coming together... Nicely... *taps fingers together*

The paint on some pieces will be done Friday night, the other part needs to be sanded some more (this is exhausting, but here's the beginning of my labors):











Finished the mesh pieces, absolutely beautiful:















I forgot/didn't notice the mesh on the bottom sides... So I painted them and here they are (yes, the case is upside down, lol):





Forgot how much I hated sleeving, lol. These came undone since the last build due to my terrible sleeving skills:







Don't worry, I redid them so they'll stay in place. Discovered a technique that actually works (consistently too).

IT LIVES:







That's professional cable management on the rear

I also finished painting my EX240 rad after about 3 or 4 tries









Redoing my sleeving on the new Corsair HX1000 Here's two firsts I've seen, the orange/black camo Paracord and braided cables!











Quick note, I have been redoing that sleeving with a better braid I'll take pictures once I have all the cables I want braided done

Here's a quick top secret preview :P Replacing the labels on my Corsair HX 1000 with some better colored choices (Ignore the peeling sticker, I superglued it and its flat now. My fingers were mad though )





Huge update, brace yourselves.

Goodbye air setup (especially that stock Intel cooler, ugh).



Gotta love when you already have rads installed but you have to remove them anyways -_-



You're coming out too.



Let the mobo dissection begin! This is the stock cooler removed. (Look at the AS5 on the CPU from the Intel cooler, gross)









Now we place our thermal pads in the appropriate areas



Thermal paste



Absolutely sexy My first FB block, always wanted one, never had the money.



Card #1. Powercolor 7950. (I'll be writing a review for the whole block and installation in the coming days once I get my A/C fixed - 82F is not comfortable, that's part of the reason I'm awake at 4AM - so I can use normal ambient temps for better comparisons)





They are getting really cheap on these coolers No heatsink for anything besides the die? I think it might touch the RAM, but that's not even thermal pads, just some weird plastic material.



Naked :P



Gross.



That's much better



Thermal pads and paste applied



Gotta prepare the backplate with a thermal pad for the rear of the VRMs



So sexy.





Just put on my gloss black painted single-slot bracket





Card #2. Sapphire 7950. They were almost identical to disassemble.







Sapphire is much better about thermal paste







Just as awesome as the first one





Some barbs.



Finally get off the stock cooler



The first tube to be installed





Here's the bridge installed with the FC-Links. I had to make a trip to Lowe's to get appropriately sized screws because I bought the bridge used and he didn't include screws



Big thanks to Kortwa for getting these stop fittings and the pump top out to me at the perfect time



First bridge I've used, looks way better in person (weighs an unbelievable ton though :P )



Got the board back in, got the 360 back in with tubes (extra slack) attached so I could actually clamp it down



Not going to lie. I made a huge mistake going with the 250MM res and D5. They were not going to fit at all with push/pull on the 240 at the bottom. I ended up sacrificing one of the top fans and both of the bottoms :o Not to mention the filling, oh boy.



No res.



Res Just like magic.



Now its gone again :P



This is not an optical illusion. I leaned the reservoir outward, undid the stop fitting, attached a barb (do not use 90* to fill, absolutely worthless, trust me), put tubing on and funneled in. Again, poor idea of the huge res/pump, but they worked out in the end.



Leak test!



Nothing was seen for 8 hours, so that was good enough for me, wired it all up.



Here's some more close-up views of everything in it's current state.









So the liquid is done, but there is more to come


*NOTE* I've been asked this a few times in PMs actually. "How did you mount the res?" Well, I took the normal mounts FrozenQ provides (they gave me normal and extended, wasn't sure what I needed), put those on to have proper spacing. I then put three zipties together, and wrapped it around the res at each end by the acetal (blends really well ) and looped them through the wire grommets. Also, the pump keeps it pushed up and it keeps the pump from bursting forth (it was a nightmare with that crazy angle I have down there), gotta love symbiotic relationships :thumb: *NOTE*

And, after many painstaking soldering sessions (I mean literal pain, burning/cuts... ), I have achieved my goal (part of it, the finer points will be taken care of later :P )

[The Jesus]

Reserved for final photos.

Feel free to post questions/comments

[The Jesus]

Updated!

[Mefist0]

I think for your Orange project you need orange fans Cougar Vortex. They will perfectly look in your system .