GilParnon
Description
My first ever custom watercooling loop. I wanted to do a purple build for a long time. I was able to part this out using mostly used parts over roughly a year. Everything went pretty smoothly, no leaks, no messed up bends. I did mess up my routing of tubing and had to do a completely new bend because I routed the water so it bypassed the GPU accidentally. I definitely wouldn't recommend the S340 for a loop. The pump mount on the radiator almost hit the GPU, I actually had to change how I had it setup so that it didn't. Also the fans had to be mounted outside the case and I had to remove the front panel to get them to have airflow. I sleeved the cables myself and I'm pretty happy with how they look.
I mostly use this for gaming, but I also do photography as a hobby so this build is also my workstation for school and photography. Wasn't planning on getting a 5930k but I got a bundle on the CPU, motherboard and ram on craigslist that was too good to pass up.
I used vinyl to make the pattern on the ssd as well as making the cable management bar. All the cables I sleeved myself and I removed the steel on the front panel and cut the plastic to allow air in.
Part Reviews
CPU
This CPU is a monster. It's handled everything I've thrown at it incredibly well. Photography, gaming and rendering all have been very smooth. It overclocked without too much voltage and it runs fairly cool.
Motherboard
First ASRock motherboard and I'm blown away. The BIOS is incredibly easy to use, it overclocks well, looks gorgeous and the built in bluetooth and wifi are very nice.
Memory
Holy **** this RAM looks incredible. The customization in the software is pretty nice, my only problem is that it 1. failed to boot running in quad channel mode and 2. the software can be a bit glitchy. I get that it's still in beta, but it's the big selling point of this RAM.
Storage
First PC part I ever bought, it was cheap and it does the job.
Video Card
This card is an absolute monster. Runs everything at 3440x1440 maxed at above 60 FPS. I cannot say enough good things about this graphics card.
Case
Clean, looks beautiful. Would not recommend watercooling in it. I had to remove the front panel so I could mount fans without them having 1mm of clearance so they got no airflow. It's pretty tight and there isn't much radiator support. For any non-custom loop build it'd be perfect.
Power Supply
Fully modular is nice, docked it 1 star because holy hell this is a monster to sleeve. The amount of capacitors is ungodly and it makes it horrible to sleeve this PSU.
Case Fan
I wish I'd sprung for the PWM version, thought I ordered it and realized once they arrived. They're not too loud though, and they move a lot of air.
Keyboard
I've had this keyboard for four years and never had anything go wrong. Docked a star because the orange on the side is really ugly. Luckily it was easy to disassemble and paint that white.
Mouse
Definitely the nicest mouse I've ever used, not the RGB version but I'll survive. It's comfortable, has lasted a long time and is amazing for games.
Headphones
For 18 bucks I cannot complain. This headset has served me well although the mic broke in the first few weeks of owning it, I have a webcam so I haven't minded too much.
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