Description
The Gorgon Redux. https://pcpartpicker.com/b/fZpbt6
I've always thought of doing a custom loop but never had the huevos to try. So after getting the parts and realizing I forgot a fitting or got the wrong size and after several returns and sitting in my garage for weeks I finally had enough to start. Never order fittings at 3am and drunk. I had planned it out and wrote it down but as a 1st timer you really can't imagine the snags you might have until you can start piecing it together.
1st snag my motherboard the crosschill EK block was so big and my 360 rad was so thick that the rad couldn't mount as intended. I had to Mickey it up top to get it to fit. Now my 140 back exhaust won't fit. I can probably fix this easily but for now I just left it out. I was going to mount the res/pump to the front of my case I had the screw holes to mount it but since my 140 rad couldn't fit in my back I had to move them to the front of my Corsair 750D. So again I had to find a spot for my res/d5pump. With very little clearance in the middle of my case I found mediocre fit for the res. I didn't plan to put my res/pump there because my GPU's are the size of a small baby.
Onto the GPU sli bridge. I open it up put it on and notice it's a slot too short. ARRRRG I got the wrong one. Ok no problem I'll just do it the other way. Put my cards back in and try to fit that 1 inch tube into the fittings. After about 30 minutes of frustration I took out my GPUs and did it outside the case. I think that process took years out of my life. Got the 14lbs of GPUs linked and they should just easily slide right into the MB. WRONG! Ok it wasn't that bad but man that is stressful when your holding $1500 of GPUs and hoping you don't scratch the connections and ruin your GPU in some way.
Get the links all hooked up paper towels ready and leak test it. O'boy I got leaks plural. The barb fittings which I thought would save some $ were leaking. Should have just got the compression fittings. I had to double zip tie the barbs. So far problems fixed. I go to turn on my computer after abut 10hrs of leak testing. MB hangs on A0. Reboot hangs on 40 q code. Reboot hangs on q code 00. Three boots 3 different errors. All this time my monitor isn't coming on. Can't get to post. Go to my sons computer and start reading about these q codes. Tried several things but to no avail. I actually quit and walked away from it. Pissed I thought I was going to have take this apart and breadbox it. All that work for nothing.
The next day I get right to it taking off the GPUs and splitting them up. I Mickey the loop with just the CPU and boot without my GPUs in. Same code A0 with no post. After digging deep into Tomshardware post I found something on a q code 40 error saying it was the happy error. I'm not happy. Meaning everything is fine. I go back and look at my PSU and all the cables are plugged in but the 8pin cpu cable is slightly crooked by a mm. I push it in flush and viola it works. While running the leak test I did some cable management in the back and must have pulled on the cord. What a relief. After 2 days of stressing out I somewhat finished the monster. I need to redo the drain at the bottom it isn't what I want. I just rushed it after redoing the GPUs. I might go with hard tubing after this tube starts to get foggy.
I stream and play games on this PC. I've been watching 4k content like House of Cards on my 60" Samsung while gaming at 3440x1440. Not the best monitor for FPS games but it did alright in the Overwatch beta and I will be playing that when it comes out.
I think I'll pass on the 1080s that are coming out and wait for the next gen 1100 or maybe something better. Also plan on upgrading Monitors in a few years when the 3440 are 144hz or 200hz gsync are affordable. You know it's coming! Thanks for reading my rants. Any comments welcome.
EDIT - Added some more photos on 5/22/16. Changed the loop from a suggestion from Thecausiousone. Reversed the bottom Rad so it is the lowest point of my loop. Added my Formula VIII into the loop. The XSPC 120's had a defect and rattled and made a lot of noise. I replaced them with Aero Cool Dead Silence fans. Got rid of the Noctua's in the front for the Aero Cools just for the looks at the front of my case. Custom red power cables and cables combs came in today but I didn't have time to install them.
Part Reviews
Thermal Compound
I like it because I can be messy. Works well too.
Motherboard
For M.2. drive it's blazing hot. Not sure how long it's going to hold up inside the armor but my fingers are crossed. As for the rest of the board it's about as good as it gets but the audio still pops from time to time on loading programs. I will be using the EK Crosschill blocks on it. Probably the main reason I purchased it.
Storage
I've had this for about a year and it still works. I put some games on it like Battlefield4 and LOL so it can load faster.
Storage
Blazing fast. Also blazing. This runs very hot 50-60c idle temps inside the Maximus Formula's armor.
Storage
Would be 5 star but this thing makes a chunking noise when it's being used. Seems to be very fast for a hard disk. It's very loud but the drive is nice to have all that storage.
Video Card
Boosts out of the box higher then the specs say. The tri cooler never ran higher then low 70s C even on a hot day. Super long card the cooler is about an inch past the card. This is the top tier 980 Ti that will hold it's own to the 980 Ti Kingpin and a Titan X for a few bucks less.
Case
Had to make several adjustments to my custom water loop and this case was good to work with. I like the mesh holes in the top because I had to make an on the fly adjustment to my 360 radiator and because of those holes I was able to fit it.
Power Supply
Absolutely silent on eco mode. If I take it off eco I can hear the fan over my case fans. Good thing I don't need to do that.
Monitor
3440x1440 is massive. After a week I tried my other 27" 1440 144hz monitor and I couldn't. This massive display draws you in when your gaming at that resolution. I was able to overclock this to 75hz so that was a plus and the base on this monitor is sturdy and adjustable. Not the best for FPS games. I'll take that trade off.
Headphones
I like the wireless. Drivers are bad for win 10 you have to get the older ones v8.46
External Storage
Used for backups. Works great. Portable. On the slow side but I knew that when I purchased it.
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