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Build your dream PCPosted at: Tuesday 19th December 2006 by Gareth Ogden

Building a high-end water-cooled Dream PC on your own is no easy task, but it can be done.Gareth Ogden shows you how.

Regular readers of Custom PC will know that we often run features thatexplain how to build great PCs. Usually, our aim is to show you how to do

this for as little money as possible, such as our Build a Perfect PC for £396feature (see Issue 32, p102), or to just give an expert guide to PC building ingeneral, such as our Build a Better PC feature (see Issue 24, p102).

However, in the wake of our recent Dream PC Labs test (see Issue 37, p72),in which we reviewed four of the most audacious and luxurious PCs you canbuy, we decided to step things up a gear this month and show you how, withyour own fair hands, to put together a system that can rival any Dream PC.

We won't lie to you - building a Dream PC is much more of a challenge than building a standard, air-cooledsystem. However, the rewards are far greater. A Dream PC is more than simply a collection of components; aDream PC has to be crafted, rather than merely assembled, and the end result is a unique combination of performance hardware and customisation that makes the PC something special. Put simply, owning a Dream

PC is like owning a sports car; it places you in the membership of an exclusive club.

There are practical benefits too, of course. For example, a Dream PC uses high-end water cooling, with CPU,Northbridge and graphics card blocks, as well as multiple radiators. These will all allow you to overclock thesystem much further than is possible with powerful air cooling, and without the noise.

Dream PCs don't have to be extortionately expensive either. We used a mid-range 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo E6600CPU in our Dream PC, and throughout the feature, we'll offer options at different price points to suit your pocket.

So, are you up for a challenge? Do you fancy building a PC that's so amazing even your mum will beimpressed by it? Of course you do - that's why you're reading Custom PC.

PC building 101

We've already explained the basics of PC building in our previous Build a Better PC feature (seewww.custompc.co.uk), but it's worth recapping the basic principles in case you're a bit rusty (or just a n00b).

First things first: you need to have the right tools for the job, as trying to make do with a crappy screwdriver anda blunt pair of kitchen scissors will make building any PC, let alone a Dream PC, an exercise in frustration.Before you start any PC-building project, make sure that you have a good No. 2 Philips head screwdriver (ideally a ratchet screwdriver with a magnetic tip), a pair of long-nosed pliers and a pair of wire cutters or sharpscissors. You'll also need some cable ties for basic cable management, and we advise that you buy spiral wrapin various sizes, as this helps to tidy up ugly-looking power cables and wires.

You'll also need to make sure that you have an uncluttered working area and, ideally, protection against staticelectricity, such as an anti-static wrist strap (£4.99 from www.maplin.co.uk). If you can't get hold of one, you canstill take precautions against static electricity by frequently grounding yourself - for example, by touching thebare metal pipe of a radiator. Also, only hold components by their edges and avoid touching metal contacts or semiconductor components. Static electricity can easily kill computer components, so it's better to be safe thansorry.

Planning is also very important; the hit-and-hope approach to PC building rarely produces good results,particularly when it comes to water-cooling your rig. It's important to plan where each component will be placed,and, if possible, test-fit your water-cooling hardware to ensure it will fit in the case without a hitch - we'll cover this in more detail later. For more information on the basics of PC building, refer to our feature athttp://tinyurl.com/yd8wnj

Easy moddingCustomisation is an essential part of any dream PC, and mods such as side-panel windows, custom paint jobs,appliqués and stickers can all help to give your PC a unique look. We've covered how to perform many of thesemods in previous issues, such as the Pimp My Rig feature (see Issue 27, p104, or online atwww.custompc.co.uk), and the How To Paint Your Case guide (see Issue 11, p94).

http://tinyurl.com/yd8wnj

http://tinyurl.com/yd8wnj



However, if you have the artistic talent of a one-armed Neanderthal, or the metal-working prowess of a wet fish,then there are some easy alternatives to obtaining a cool modded case. For example, kustompcs.co.uk offersseveral case-finishing options, from airbrushing any artwork you choose onto the case to fitting side-panelwindows.

The costs vary from very reasonable to pretty steep. For example, its custom airbrushing service costs £235,while having your entire case chromed and polished will set you back £299.99. However, a simple side-panel

window is much more reasonable, costing just £30 (or £40 with a mesh covering), and you can buy a custom-designed, laser-cut panel from £85, which isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things.

Modding purists will say that this is cheating, but if you lack the 'skillz' to do it yourself then there's no shame inhaving someone else do it for you, especially if it means that you end up owning a cool-looking, modded PCsporting an exclusive design theme of your own choice.

Customisation is an essential part of any dream PC, and mods such as side-panel windows, custom paint jobs,appliqués and stickers can all help to give your PC a unique look. We've covered how to perform many of thesemods in previous issues, such as the Pimp My Rig feature (see Issue 27, p104, or online atwww.custompc.co.uk), and the How To Paint Your Case guide (see Issue 11, p94).

However, if you have the artistic talent of a one-armed Neanderthal, or the metal-working prowess of a wet fish,then there are some easy alternatives to obtaining a cool modded case. For example, kustompcs.co.uk offersseveral case-finishing options, from airbrushing any artwork you choose onto the case to fitting side-panelwindows.

The costs vary from very reasonable to pretty steep. For example, its custom airbrushing service costs £235,while having your entire case chromed and polished will set you back £299.99. However, a simple side-panelwindow is much more reasonable, costing just £30 (or £40 with a mesh covering), and you can buy a custom-designed, laser-cut panel from £85, which isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things.

Modding purists will say that this is cheating, but if you lack the 'skillz' to do it yourself then there's no shame inhaving someone else do it for you, especially if it means that you end up owning a cool-looking, modded PCsporting an exclusive design theme of your own choice.

Build it - part 1

Preparation H (20)

Careful planning is important before building any PC, but it's even more important when you're building a water-cooled PC. However, it isn't possible to give a 'catch all' guide, because the way in which you put the systemtogether will vary, depending on which case you've chosen, how many radiators you're using and where youinstall them. If you want to install your components using a different method from the one we describe, that'sfine; as long as it all works, and doesn't leak, it's all good!

In an ideal world, you should first build the water loop outside the PC, so that you can test it for leaks withoutthe risk of soaking your precious components. However, the reality is that this isn't always practical, particularlyfor complex multiblock, multiradiator loops such as our system. This is because building our loop outside thecase to test for leaks means that we'd have to dismantle it again in order to install it properly, which defeats theobject of testing it outside the case in the first place.

If you're really dedicated, then you can also 'flush' the radiators before you install them. This involves runningwater through them, then filling them with vinegar and leaving them for a few hours. The theory behind this isthat the vinegar will clean out the gunk in the radiator's insides, which would otherwise end up in your loop. Thisisn't an essential step, although it certainly isn't a bad idea, providing you thoroughly flush the vinegar out of theradiator before you install it. We recommend against putting it on your chips afterwards though.

Our PC has two radiators, so the first step, before installing any components, is to fit the radiators into the case.This was especially important for us, as our SilverStone TJ07 chassis required a little bit of modding before itwould accept the triple 120mm radiator and the 92mm radiator. The 92mm radiator was too deep to fit insidethe case without butting up against the dual 120mm fan enclosure at the top of the case, so we had to removeone of the two 120mm fans and Dremel off part of the metal enclosure to allow the radiator to fit. The size of theradiator also prevented us from installing a 92mm fan in the fan mount directly below it, so we filled this with afan guard instead. Installing the triple 120mm radiator into the lower compartment of the case simply involved



drilling the appropriate mounting holes, a task that even an odd-jobber extraordinaire such as myself couldmanage.

The location of your radiator(s) will depend on your case and the size/make of radiator, although recentSwiftech kits, such as the H20 Apex-Ultra (see Issue 32, p58), include a 'Radbox', which allows you to easilymount the radiator outside the case, if space is tight.

It's also worth fitting the fans to the radiator as this point, ideally before you mount the radiator to the case, asthis will be much more difficult later on. Some water-cooling aficionados advocate leaving a small gap betweenthe fan and the radiator, which helps to lessen the effect of the fan's 'dead spot' at the centre where the motor ishoused. This also reduces turbulence over the radiator's fins, which helps to lessen noise. It's up to youwhether you do this, but it's simple enough to accomplish using a few washers. You can buy these from Maplin,as well as rubber grommets in a variety of thicknesses, which are also handy for damping vibrations.

This is also a good time to think about how you're going to power the fans, because you may find that,depending on where you install the radiator, the 3-pin fan cables won't reach the motherboard. This was true for our PC, so we used 3-pin to Molex converters that also have female Molex plugs attached, which allows you todaisy-chain them together.

Next, you need to consider where to locate the pump and reservoir. This will largely be a case of placing them

where there's space, but it's important that you think about how to route the tubes to and from the componentsto make sure that you don't get in a tangle.

A good way to do this is to test-fit the motherboard and graphics card to see where the different waterblocks willbe located in the case. You can then formulate a plan for the location of the pump and reservoir, as well as howto cut the tubes to size (but don't cut them yet), so you don't end up with piping bent out of shape. Once youhave a plan, fit the reservoir and pump, but don't make the mountings permanent in case you have to modifyyour plan later.

Block party

The next job is to install the CPU and chipset blocks on the motherboard, and fit the graphics card block. Thiscan be a long-winded process, so it's a good idea to check that your components work beforehand by firing

them up with stock cooling attached. This is a pain, but it's worth making the effort, because finding out thatyour motherboard is dead after spending four hours fitting a multiblock water-cooling system is utterlymaddening.

When you get around to fitting the blocks, remember to clean the die or heatspreader of each chip usingAkasa's ever-handy TIM Clean and a lint-free cloth. You'll then need to apply a thin layer of TIM (thermalinterface material), but don't go mad, as applying too much TIM will have the adverse affect of reducing theblock's cooling performance.

Fitting CPU and chipset blocks is relatively straightforward, and if you've ever installed a large CPU HSF thatrequired its own mounting bracket then you'll have no problems at all. Most blocks come with instructions(some are clearer than others), so make sure you read and digest this information first.

Installing the Swiftech Storm waterblock on our LGA775 motherboard was simply a case of using the suppliedfixings, although with nine separate parts per mounting hole, it's certainly a fiddly process. If you have a SocketAM2 board then the process is much easier, as there are only three parts per mounting hole, although you haveto remove the motherboard's existing CPU mounting bracket first.

Fitting chipset blocks is usually a doddle for LGA775 boards, as they simply attach with metal clips to the wireloops already fitted to the board. However, our board had a heatpipe-based Northbridge cooler attached viapush-pin fixings, rather than wire loops, so we had to screw the chipset block through the board. You'll alsohave to do this if you have a Socket AM2 board.

One side effect of removing the heatpipe-based chipset cooler is that you have to remove the cooler attachedto the board's VRMs, as the two are connected. However, a simple solution to this is to cut off the heatpipe atthe chipset-cooler end using a Dremel, which is exactly what we did. This lessens the effectiveness of the

cooler, though, so adding a fan to blow over the VRMs is a good idea. We elected to use an Antec Spot Coolfor this job, which worked well.



GPU blocks are usually simple to install too, although the process is complicated by the fact that somemanufacturers don't expect you to remove the factory-fitted HSFs. Some GPU HSFs, such as the stock onefitted to the GeForce 7900 GTX, for example, contain more screws than a high-security prison.

Despite being a more complicated product, the 7950 GX2 is easier to disassemble. Firstly, you need tounscrew the pillars that connect the two PCBs from the lower of the two PCBs (leaving the pillars connected tothe top PCB only), and then gently prize the sandwich apart. After that, it's a simple matter of removing the

screws that hold the HSF in place - the entire process takes about five minutes. We also removed the thermalpads from the memory chips and replaced them with some TIM, although it's up to you whether you do this.

Fitting the waterblock is slightly fiddlier, and a second pair of hands certainly helps, but it's a relativelystraightforward job, involving just a handful of screws. It was at this point that we also replaced the 1/4in IDcompression-fit connectors with 0.5in ID barbs.

With all the blocks installed, you can now fit the motherboard and the main components in the PC. It's alsoworth installing the hard disk drives, optical drives, RAM and front panel connections, plus anything else thatyou need to connect to the motherboard, such as PCI backplates for USB ports, as doing this after you'veinstalled the tubing may be tricky. It's fine to leave this until later, though, if you're worried about leaks.

For now, however, don't connect any power plugs to any of the components, apart from the pump, as you'll

need access to the 20/24-pin ATX power plug to manually switch on the pump to fill and test the loop. If you tryto fill the loop by switching on the PSU while components are plugged in then you risk damaging your hardware, as there won't be sufficient (or any) coolant in the loop to remove the heat generated. It's also safer -if there is a leak then it's better that the coolant drips onto a component that isn't powered.

Preparation H (20)

Careful planning is important before building any PC, but it's even more important when you're building a water-cooled PC. However, it isn't possible to give a 'catch all' guide, because the way in which you put the systemtogether will vary, depending on which case you've chosen, how many radiators you're using and where youinstall them. If you want to install your components using a different method from the one we describe, that'sfine; as long as it all works, and doesn't leak, it's all good!

In an ideal world, you should first build the water loop outside the PC, so that you can test it for leaks withoutthe risk of soaking your precious components. However, the reality is that this isn't always practical, particularlyfor complex multiblock, multiradiator loops such as our system. This is because building our loop outside thecase to test for leaks means that we'd have to dismantle it again in order to install it properly, which defeats theobject of testing it outside the case in the first place.

If you're really dedicated, then you can also 'flush' the radiators before you install them. This involves runningwater through them, then filling them with vinegar and leaving them for a few hours. The theory behind this isthat the vinegar will clean out the gunk in the radiator's insides, which would otherwise end up in your loop. Thisisn't an essential step, although it certainly isn't a bad idea, providing you thoroughly flush the vinegar out of theradiator before you install it. We recommend against putting it on your chips afterwards though.

Our PC has two radiators, so the first step, before installing any components, is to fit the radiators into the case.This was especially important for us, as our SilverStone TJ07 chassis required a little bit of modding before itwould accept the triple 120mm radiator and the 92mm radiator. The 92mm radiator was too deep to fit insidethe case without butting up against the dual 120mm fan enclosure at the top of the case, so we had to removeone of the two 120mm fans and Dremel off part of the metal enclosure to allow the radiator to fit. The size of theradiator also prevented us from installing a 92mm fan in the fan mount directly below it, so we filled this with afan guard instead. Installing the triple 120mm radiator into the lower compartment of the case simply involved



drilling the appropriate mounting holes, a task that even an odd-jobber extraordinaire such as myself couldmanage.

The location of your radiator(s) will depend on your case and the size/make of radiator, although recentSwiftech kits, such as the H20 Apex-Ultra (see Issue 32, p58), include a 'Radbox', which allows you to easilymount the radiator outside the case, if space is tight.

It's also worth fitting the fans to the radiator as this point, ideally before you mount the radiator to the case, asthis will be much more difficult later on. Some water-cooling aficionados advocate leaving a small gap betweenthe fan and the radiator, which helps to lessen the effect of the fan's 'dead spot' at the centre where the motor ishoused. This also reduces turbulence over the radiator's fins, which helps to lessen noise. It's up to youwhether you do this, but it's simple enough to accomplish using a few washers. You can buy these from Maplin,as well as rubber grommets in a variety of thicknesses, which are also handy for damping vibrations.

This is also a good time to think about how you're going to power the fans, because you may find that,depending on where you install the radiator, the 3-pin fan cables won't reach the motherboard. This was true for our PC, so we used 3-pin to Molex converters that also have female Molex plugs attached, which allows you todaisy-chain them together.

Next, you need to consider where to locate the pump and reservoir. This will largely be a case of placing them

where there's space, but it's important that you think about how to route the tubes to and from the componentsto make sure that you don't get in a tangle.

A good way to do this is to test-fit the motherboard and graphics card to see where the different waterblocks willbe located in the case. You can then formulate a plan for the location of the pump and reservoir, as well as howto cut the tubes to size (but don't cut them yet), so you don't end up with piping bent out of shape. Once youhave a plan, fit the reservoir and pump, but don't make the mountings permanent in case you have to modifyyour plan later.

Block party

The next job is to install the CPU and chipset blocks on the motherboard, and fit the graphics card block. Thiscan be a long-winded process, so it's a good idea to check that your components work beforehand by firing

them up with stock cooling attached. This is a pain, but it's worth making the effort, because finding out thatyour motherboard is dead after spending four hours fitting a multiblock water-cooling system is utterlymaddening.

When you get around to fitting the blocks, remember to clean the die or heatspreader of each chip usingAkasa's ever-handy TIM Clean and a lint-free cloth. You'll then need to apply a thin layer of TIM (thermalinterface material), but don't go mad, as applying too much TIM will have the adverse affect of reducing theblock's cooling performance.

Fitting CPU and chipset blocks is relatively straightforward, and if you've ever installed a large CPU HSF thatrequired its own mounting bracket then you'll have no problems at all. Most blocks come with instructions(some are clearer than others), so make sure you read and digest this information first.

Installing the Swiftech Storm waterblock on our LGA775 motherboard was simply a case of using the suppliedfixings, although with nine separate parts per mounting hole, it's certainly a fiddly process. If you have a SocketAM2 board then the process is much easier, as there are only three parts per mounting hole, although you haveto remove the motherboard's existing CPU mounting bracket first.

Fitting chipset blocks is usually a doddle for LGA775 boards, as they simply attach with metal clips to the wireloops already fitted to the board. However, our board had a heatpipe-based Northbridge cooler attached viapush-pin fixings, rather than wire loops, so we had to screw the chipset block through the board. You'll alsohave to do this if you have a Socket AM2 board.

One side effect of removing the heatpipe-based chipset cooler is that you have to remove the cooler attachedto the board's VRMs, as the two are connected. However, a simple solution to this is to cut off the heatpipe atthe chipset-cooler end using a Dremel, which is exactly what we did. This lessens the effectiveness of the

cooler, though, so adding a fan to blow over the VRMs is a good idea. We elected to use an Antec Spot Coolfor this job, which worked well.



GPU blocks are usually simple to install too, although the process is complicated by the fact that somemanufacturers don't expect you to remove the factory-fitted HSFs. Some GPU HSFs, such as the stock onefitted to the GeForce 7900 GTX, for example, contain more screws than a high-security prison.

Despite being a more complicated product, the 7950 GX2 is easier to disassemble. Firstly, you need tounscrew the pillars that connect the two PCBs from the lower of the two PCBs (leaving the pillars connected tothe top PCB only), and then gently prize the sandwich apart. After that, it's a simple matter of removing the

screws that hold the HSF in place - the entire process takes about five minutes. We also removed the thermalpads from the memory chips and replaced them with some TIM, although it's up to you whether you do this.

Fitting the waterblock is slightly fiddlier, and a second pair of hands certainly helps, but it's a relativelystraightforward job, involving just a handful of screws. It was at this point that we also replaced the 1/4in IDcompression-fit connectors with 0.5in ID barbs.

With all the blocks installed, you can now fit the motherboard and the main components in the PC. It's alsoworth installing the hard disk drives, optical drives, RAM and front panel connections, plus anything else thatyou need to connect to the motherboard, such as PCI backplates for USB ports, as doing this after you'veinstalled the tubing may be tricky. It's fine to leave this until later, though, if you're worried about leaks.

For now, however, don't connect any power plugs to any of the components, apart from the pump, as you'll

need access to the 20/24-pin ATX power plug to manually switch on the pump to fill and test the loop. If you tryto fill the loop by switching on the PSU while components are plugged in then you risk damaging your hardware, as there won't be sufficient (or any) coolant in the loop to remove the heat generated. It's also safer -if there is a leak then it's better that the coolant drips onto a component that isn't powered.

Installing the 120mm radiator was a simple job of drilling the appropriate mounting holes



With nine separate parts per mounting hole, fitting our waterblock was a fiddly process

If your Northbridge heatsink is attached to the VRM heatsink then separating them with a Dremel is

the easiest way forward



Build it - part 2Plumb luck

You've now completed most of the hard work, so all that's left to do is to plumb in the tubes and fill the system.The order in which the coolant flows though each component isn't hugely important in a well set-up loop.

However, as we have two radiators, we arranged the loop so that coolant would be fed to the 92mm radiator after it passed through the chipset and CPU blocks. This means that some of the energy absorbed from thesetwo chips will be dissipated before the coolant passes into the graphics card block, which is the next port of call.Also, if you have a reservoir in your loop, you should place this before the pump, so that the pump always has aplentiful supply of coolant.

Tubes can be tricky to fit, especially if you're using thick 0.5in ID tubing, as we are, so a good trick is to have acup of hot water nearby to soak the end of the tubes in before you push them over the barbs. The hot water softens the material, making it easier to fit. As we're using barbs, we also needed to add jubilee clips, and it'simportant that you don't screw these on too tightly since you risk cutting into the tubing, which could create aleak.

Try to be as precise as possible when cutting the tubing, although it's fine to add in some slack to allow it to flex

and prevent kinking. If you have to bend the tubing tightly in order to fit it, then you should consider buyingsome Swiftech Smartcoils, which wrap around the tubes to prevent kinking.

It's important to take your time to ensure that the tubes are fitted correctly and are clamped on securely. Youdon't want a tube to come unstuck in a high-flow system, as you could then find yourself unwittingly flouting thehosepipe ban and making a sopping mess of your furniture at the same time.

When the tubes are installed, it's time to prime the system. This is much easier if you have a reservoir (one of the main benefits of owning one), otherwise you'll need to install a T-splitter (available fromwww.componentsuk.co.uk), ideally at a high point in the loop.

Pumps don't appreciate running dry, so fill your reservoir with coolant and let this circulate down into the pump.Now you need to prime the loop, which involves performing the pin trick to manually turn on the PSU.

Remember, you shouldn't have any components plugged in at this point, except the pump, as you won't beready to boot the PC until the loop is completely filled and bubble-free.



First, make sure that the PSU is unplugged, and then short the black and green pins on the 20/24-pinmotherboard power plug using a length of electrical wire with roughly 1cm of bare metal exposed at both ends.When you plug the PSU back in, it will automatically fire up and start the pump operating. In a high-flow system,the coolant will drain out of the reservoir pretty quickly, so be ready with your funnel and bottle of coolant to fill itup again.

Eventually, the loop will fill completely, although there will probably still be air bubbles in the system. The

reservoir will do a good job of filtering these out, but it helps to gently rock the PC from side to side to helpdislodge any air pockets.

When you're happy that the coolant is flowing evenly, unplug the PSU from the wall, remove the wire andconnect all the power plugs. Plug the PC back in and hit the power switch. Hopefully, everything should sparkinto life, the coolant should flow smoothly, and you'll be able to enter the BIOS and admire the chillytemperature of the CPU in the PC Health section. Congratulations, you've just built a ninja, water-cooled PC!

So, is it any good?

With our custom-made Phoenix side panel screwed on, there's no denying that our water-cooled PC looks thebusiness. However, with heavy-duty cooling hardware installed, it would be rude not to overclock the PC, sothat's exactly what we did.

After updating the BIOS, and installing Windows and all the latest drivers for our hardware, we headed to theBIOS to try to improve on the 2.4GHz stock clock speed of our Core 2 Duo E6600 CPU. After a few hours of intense BIOS twiddling and testing, we eventually settled on a 400MHz FSB (up from 266MHz), which gave usa mighty overclocked CPU speed of 3.6GHz with the DDR2 RAM running at 1GHz. However, to achieve this,we had to increase the CPU voltage to 1.575V, the Northbridge voltage to 1.45V and the RAM voltage to 2.1V.This is the advantage of high-end water cooling, as these voltages, in particular the very high CPU voltage,wouldn't be sustainable with air cooling. In contrast, our water loop had no trouble removing the excess heatgenerated.

We then tried overclocking the GeForce 7950 GX2 and managed to raise the GPU speeds to 570MHz, and theGDDR3 memory speed to 750MHz (1.5GHz effective), which is a reasonable boost from the stock clocks of 520MHz and 650MHz (1.3GHz effective) respectively.

As you'd expect, these overclocks resulted in tremendous performance. At its overclocked settings, the PCscored a massive 2.47 in our Media Benchmarks, which is slightly quicker than the 2.46 achieved by the VadimCepheus (see Issue 37, p80), which won this year's Dream PC contest.

Gaming performance was equally good, especially in titles that benefit from SLI. Hooked up to a 20in TFTmonitor with a native resolution of 1,680 x 1,050, the PC destroyed every game we threw at it. For example,Prey at 1,680 x 1,050 with 4x AA and 8x AF never dipped below 54fps, with an average frame rate firmly rootedat the game's 60fps cap. Need for Speed: Most Wanted was similarly smooth at 1,680 x 1,050 with high AA andhigh AF, averaging 72fps with a fast minimum frame rate of 40fps. Meanwhile, Tomb Raider: Legend, which isstill one of the most graphically demanding games around, was playable at 1,680 x 1,050 with Next-GenContent enabled, thanks to an average frame rate of 63fps and a minimum of 31fps. We also ran Serious Sam2 at 1,680 x 1,050 with HDR and 8x AF enabled, although this proved to be much less of a challenge than we

expected - how does an average frame rate of 135fps grab you? Finally, the PC scored 9,743 in 3DMark06,which certainly isn't to be sniffed at, especially considering Scan's £6,990 Black Rhino (see Issue 37, p78)scored 9,736.

At the beginning of this feature, we set out to build a high-end, custom-water-cooled PC that offers Dream PClevels of performance and looks, and we think we've achieved that goal. Our water-cooled PC looks thebusiness, thanks to its SilverStone case, customised side panel, green tubing and red internal lighting, and itsperformance is stunning too.

Hopefully, this feature has shown how you can put together a custom water-cooled PC of your own, and Iheartily recommend that you give it a go. Over the years, I've put together more PCs than I care to remember,and I've enjoyed building every one, but I can honestly say that I enjoyed building this PC more than any other,

simply because it has that elusive 'wow factor' that only a high-end, water-cooled Dream PC can provide.

Plumb luck



You've now completed most of the hard work, so all that's left to do is to plumb in the tubes and fill the system.The order in which the coolant flows though each component isn't hugely important in a well set-up loop.However, as we have two radiators, we arranged the loop so that coolant would be fed to the 92mm radiator after it passed through the chipset and CPU blocks. This means that some of the energy absorbed from thesetwo chips will be dissipated before the coolant passes into the graphics card block, which is the next port of call.Also, if you have a reservoir in your loop, you should place this before the pump, so that the pump always has aplentiful supply of coolant.


Try to be as precise as possible when cutting the tubing, although it's fine to add in some slack to allow it to flexand prevent kinking. If you have to bend the tubing tightly in order to fit it, then you should consider buyingsome Swiftech Smartcoils, which wrap around the tubes to prevent kinking.

It's important to take your time to ensure that the tubes are fitted correctly and are clamped on securely. Youdon't want a tube to come unstuck in a high-flow system, as you could then find yourself unwittingly flouting the

hosepipe ban and making a sopping mess of your furniture at the same time.

When the tubes are installed, it's time to prime the system. This is much easier if you have a reservoir (one of the main benefits of owning one), otherwise you'll need to install a T-splitter (available fromwww.componentsuk.co.uk), ideally at a high point in the loop.

Pumps don't appreciate running dry, so fill your reservoir with coolant and let this circulate down into the pump.Now you need to prime the loop, which involves performing the pin trick to manually turn on the PSU.Remember, you shouldn't have any components plugged in at this point, except the pump, as you won't beready to boot the PC until the loop is completely filled and bubble-free.

First, make sure that the PSU is unplugged, and then short the black and green pins on the 20/24-pinmotherboard power plug using a length of electrical wire with roughly 1cm of bare metal exposed at both ends.

When you plug the PSU back in, it will automatically fire up and start the pump operating. In a high-flow system,the coolant will drain out of the reservoir pretty quickly, so be ready with your funnel and bottle of coolant to fill itup again.

Eventually, the loop will fill completely, although there will probably still be air bubbles in the system. Thereservoir will do a good job of filtering these out, but it helps to gently rock the PC from side to side to helpdislodge any air pockets.

Build it - part 2Plumb luck

You've now completed most of the hard work, so all that's left to do is to plumb in the tubes and fill the system.

The order in which the coolant flows though each component isn't hugely important in a well set-up loop.However, as we have two radiators, we arranged the loop so that coolant would be fed to the 92mm radiator after it passed through the chipset and CPU blocks. This means that some of the energy absorbed from thesetwo chips will be dissipated before the coolant passes into the graphics card block, which is the next port of call.Also, if you have a reservoir in your loop, you should place this before the pump, so that the pump always has aplentiful supply of coolant.


Try to be as precise as possible when cutting the tubing, although it's fine to add in some slack to allow it to flexand prevent kinking. If you have to bend the tubing tightly in order to fit it, then you should consider buyingsome Swiftech Smartcoils, which wrap around the tubes to prevent kinking.



It's important to take your time to ensure that the tubes are fitted correctly and are clamped on securely. Youdon't want a tube to come unstuck in a high-flow system, as you could then find yourself unwittingly flouting thehosepipe ban and making a sopping mess of your furniture at the same time.When the tubes are installed, it's time to prime the system. This is much easier if you have a reservoir (one of the main benefits of owning one), otherwise you'll need to install a T-splitter (available fromwww.componentsuk.co.uk), ideally at a high point in the loop.

Pumps don't appreciate running dry, so fill your reservoir with coolant and let this circulate down into the pump.Now you need to prime the loop, which involves performing the pin trick to manually turn on the PSU.Remember, you shouldn't have any components plugged in at this point, except the pump, as you won't beready to boot the PC until the loop is completely filled and bubble-free.

First, make sure that the PSU is unplugged, and then short the black and green pins on the 20/24-pinmotherboard power plug using a length of electrical wire with roughly 1cm of bare metal exposed at both ends.When you plug the PSU back in, it will automatically fire up and start the pump operating. In a high-flow system,the coolant will drain out of the reservoir pretty quickly, so be ready with your funnel and bottle of coolant to fill itup again.

Eventually, the loop will fill completely, although there will probably still be air bubbles in the system. Thereservoir will do a good job of filtering these out, but it helps to gently rock the PC from side to side to help

dislodge any air pockets.


So, is it any good?





Gaming performance was equally good, especially in titles that benefit from SLI. Hooked up to a 20in TFTmonitor with a native resolution of 1,680 x 1,050, the PC destroyed every game we threw at it. For example,Prey at 1,680 x 1,050 with 4x AA and 8x AF never dipped below 54fps, with an average frame rate firmly rootedat the game's 60fps cap. Need for Speed: Most Wanted was similarly smooth at 1,680 x 1,050 with high AA andhigh AF, averaging 72fps with a fast minimum frame rate of 40fps. Meanwhile, Tomb Raider: Legend, which isstill one of the most graphically demanding games around, was playable at 1,680 x 1,050 with Next-GenContent enabled, thanks to an average frame rate of 63fps and a minimum of 31fps. We also ran Serious Sam2 at 1,680 x 1,050 with HDR and 8x AF enabled, although this proved to be much less of a challenge than weexpected - how does an average frame rate of 135fps grab you? Finally, the PC scored 9,743 in 3DMark06,

which certainly isn't to be sniffed at, especially considering Scan's £6,990 Black Rhino (see Issue 37, p78)scored 9,736.



At the beginning of this feature, we set out to build a high-end, custom-water-cooled PC that offers Dream PClevels of performance and looks, and we think we've achieved that goal. Our water-cooled PC looks thebusiness, thanks to its SilverStone case, customised side panel, green tubing and red internal lighting, and itsperformance is stunning too.Hopefully, this feature has shown how you can put together a custom water-cooled PC of your own, and Iheartily recommend that you give it a go. Over the years, I've put together more PCs than I care to remember,and I've enjoyed building every one, but I can honestly say that I enjoyed building this PC more than any other,

simply because it has that elusive 'wow factor' that only a high-end, water-cooled Dream PC can provide.


So, is it any good?





Gaming performance was equally good, especially in titles that benefit from SLI. Hooked up to a 20in TFTmonitor with a native resolution of 1,680 x 1,050, the PC destroyed every game we threw at it. For example,Prey at 1,680 x 1,050 with 4x AA and 8x AF never dipped below 54fps, with an average frame rate firmly rootedat the game's 60fps cap. Need for Speed: Most Wanted was similarly smooth at 1,680 x 1,050 with high AA andhigh AF, averaging 72fps with a fast minimum frame rate of 40fps. Meanwhile, Tomb Raider: Legend, which isstill one of the most graphically demanding games around, was playable at 1,680 x 1,050 with Next-GenContent enabled, thanks to an average frame rate of 63fps and a minimum of 31fps. We also ran Serious Sam2 at 1,680 x 1,050 with HDR and 8x AF enabled, although this proved to be much less of a challenge than weexpected - how does an average frame rate of 135fps grab you? Finally, the PC scored 9,743 in 3DMark06,

which certainly isn't to be sniffed at, especially considering Scan's £6,990 Black Rhino (see Issue 37, p78)scored 9,736.

At the beginning of this feature, we set out to build a high-end, custom-water-cooled PC that offers Dream PClevels of performance and looks, and we think we've achieved that goal. Our water-cooled PC looks thebusiness, thanks to its SilverStone case, customised side panel, green tubing and red internal lighting, and itsperformance is stunning too.

Hopefully, this feature has shown how you can put together a custom water-cooled PC of your own, and Iheartily recommend that you give it a go. Over the years, I've put together more PCs than I care to remember,and I've enjoyed building every one, but I can honestly say that I enjoyed building this PC more than any other,simply because it has that elusive 'wow factor' that only a high-end, water-cooled Dream PC can provide.

Everything elseIn addition to the main PC and water-cooling components, you also need to consider fixings, additives, fansand so forth, which may be boring, but are necessary. The 0.5in ID barbs, for example, are essential because,unlike the Swiftech waterblocks, the two radiators don't have barbs pre-fitted or in the box.



We chose to use ectoplasm-green Tygon tubing, red LED fans and cold-cathode lights to give the PC somecolour. The Zalman ZM-2HC2 heatpipe hard drive coolers also add a bit of bling to the insides of the case, inaddition to keeping the drives cool.Finally, we bought some Innovatek Protect IP coolant, which is electrically non-conductive, and also protectsagainst corrosion and what it rather alarmingly refers to as 'bio infestations', otherwise known as algae. UsingInnovatek Protect IP coolant is more expensive than simply using water to fill the system, but if you can't afford

it then it's important to point out that you must use distilled water (available from most petrol stations), as tapwater contains minerals that will eventually clog up the loop. You should also mix distilled water with an anti-algae/anti-corrosion additive, such as Asetek's Waterchill Waterwetter, although this isn't necessary withInnovatek's Protect IP coolant.

In addition to the main PC and water-cooling components, you also need to consider fixings, additives, fansand so forth, which may be boring, but are necessary. The 0.5in ID barbs, for example, are essential because,unlike the Swiftech waterblocks, the two radiators don't have barbs pre-fitted or in the box.

We chose to use ectoplasm-green Tygon tubing, red LED fans and cold-cathode lights to give the PC somecolour. The Zalman ZM-2HC2 heatpipe hard drive coolers also add a bit of bling to the insides of the case, inaddition to keeping the drives cool.

Finally, we bought some Innovatek Protect IP coolant, which is electrically non-conductive, and also protectsagainst corrosion and what it rather alarmingly refers to as 'bio infestations', otherwise known as algae. UsingInnovatek Protect IP coolant is more expensive than simply using water to fill the system, but if you can't affordit then it's important to point out that you must use distilled water (available from most petrol stations), as tap

water contains minerals that will eventually clog up the loop. You should also mix distilled water with an anti-algae/anti-corrosion additive, such as Asetek's Waterchill Waterwetter, although this isn't necessary withInnovatek's Protect IP coolant.



6 x nickel 1/4in thread to 0.5in ID hose connectors, £2.34 each. www.vadim.co.uk

Jubilee clips (12-20mm), £0.63. www.vadim.co.uk

Danger Den 0.5in ID tubing (10ft), £21.50. www.vadim.co.uk

http://www.vadim.co.uk/








3 x 120mm Revoltek UV red fans, £26.43. www.vadim.co.uk

1 x 92mm Revoltec UV red fan, £6.40. www.vadim.co.uk








2 x 1-litre Innovatek Protect IP fluid, £33.40. www.vadim.co.uk

2 x Zalman ZM-2HC2 heatpipe hard disk coolers, £47.92. www.vadim.co.uk

Water cooling 101 - part 1With the core hardware out of the way, the next step is to select which water-cooling components to use.However, before you do this, it makes sense to provide some background information on water cooling to helpyou decide which method is appropriate for your PC.








There are two general categories of water-cooling systems; high-flow and low-flow. There are pros and cons toboth approaches, but a high-flow system should provide better cooling since, according to the laws of thermodynamics, the rate of heat transfer is directly proportional to the mass flow rate.

The issue with a high-flow system is that introducing anything into the loop that has the effect of reducing theflow rate will also reduce performance. This may seem like stating the bleedin' obvious but, if you consider thateven adding a waterblock to the loop will cause a reduction in flow, you'll see how tricky it can be to create a

good, high-flow system.

Generating high flow also requires a powerful pump with a high flow rate and head pressure. The pump's flowrate is simply a measure of the maximum amount of coolant that the pump can shift in a given time, while headpressure is a measure of the pump's ability to move coolant when faced with some resistance, such as thepressure drop in a waterblock, and is arguably more important for determining a pump's quality. If your pumpdoesn't have the grunt to move coolant around your loop, then performance will obviously suffer, although youcan integrate multiple pumps and loops into your PC to get around this.

Also, as pumps are powered, mechanical components, they contribute to some of the heat in the loop, althoughthe effect is minor. This is why some people advocate placing the radiator immediately after the pump in theloop, so that it removes the heat that the pump introduces into the coolant. However, it's debatable whether thismakes any noticeable difference to the coolant temperature, so you don't need to worry about pumping coolant

directly into a waterblock.

After discussing some of the issues associated with a high-flow system, it's easy to see the advantages of alow-flow system, which is principally that it allows you to have a single, multiblock loop powered by a relativelylow-power (and therefore cheaper and quieter) pump. Low-flow systems tend to use thinner and more flexibletubing, and also push-fit or compression-fit connectors. These are simpler to use than barbs, which are typicallyrequired for high-flow systems. The flipside, however, is that the overall cooling performance level will be lower than that of a high-flow system.

However, since we like high performance at Custom PC, we're going to build a high-flow system, which meansour choices of pump, radiators and waterblocks are important.

When selecting water-cooling components, it's essential to make sure that all the blocks are compatible with

the same-sized fittings; for example, 0.5in ID (inner diameter). However, as many water-cooling componentshave the same thread size for their fixings (for example, 1/4in thread), you can easily change the fixings tomake sure everything matches.

You should also avoid using blocks constructed from different metals in the same loop, such as aluminium andcopper, as these have different electrochemical potentials. Using copper and aluminium in the same loopessentially creates a galvanic cell, more commonly known as a battery. The block with the higher potential actsas the anode and the block with the lower potential acts as the cathode, with the coolant acting as anelectrolyte. Current flow from the anode to the cathode will erode the metal in the anode (galvanic corrosion),which could cause the block to leak over time. It's possible to counter this effect by adding a corrosion inhibiter

to the coolant, although it's better to avoid using dissimilar metals in your loop to begin with.

Taking all these factors into account, this is the kit we chose, and whywe selected it.

With the core hardware out of the way, the next step is to select which water-cooling components to use. However, before you do this, it makes sense toprovide some background information on water cooling to help you decidewhich method is appropriate for your PC.

There are two general categories of water-cooling systems; high-flow and low-flow. There are pros and cons toboth approaches, but a high-flow system should provide better cooling since, according to the laws of thermodynamics, the rate of heat transfer is directly proportional to the mass flow rate.

The issue with a high-flow system is that introducing anything into the loop that has the effect of reducing the

flow rate will also reduce performance. This may seem like stating the bleedin' obvious but, if you consider thateven adding a waterblock to the loop will cause a reduction in flow, you'll see how tricky it can be to create agood, high-flow system.



Generating high flow also requires a powerful pump with a high flow rate and head pressure. The pump's flowrate is simply a measure of the maximum amount of coolant that the pump can shift in a given time, while headpressure is a measure of the pump's ability to move coolant when faced with some resistance, such as thepressure drop in a waterblock, and is arguably more important for determining a pump's quality. If your pumpdoesn't have the grunt to move coolant around your loop, then performance will obviously suffer, although youcan integrate multiple pumps and loops into your PC to get around this.

Also, as pumps are powered, mechanical components, they contribute to some of the heat in the loop, althoughthe effect is minor. This is why some people advocate placing the radiator immediately after the pump in theloop, so that it removes the heat that the pump introduces into the coolant. However, it's debatable whether thismakes any noticeable difference to the coolant temperature, so you don't need to worry about pumping coolantdirectly into a waterblock.

After discussing some of the issues associated with a high-flow system, it's easy to see the advantages of alow-flow system, which is principally that it allows you to have a single, multiblock loop powered by a relativelylow-power (and therefore cheaper and quieter) pump. Low-flow systems tend to use thinner and more flexibletubing, and also push-fit or compression-fit connectors. These are simpler to use than barbs, which are typicallyrequired for high-flow systems. The flipside, however, is that the overall cooling performance level will be lower than that of a high-flow system.

However, since we like high performance at Custom PC, we're going to build a high-flow system, which meansour choices of pump, radiators and waterblocks are important.

When selecting water-cooling components, it's essential to make sure that all the blocks are compatible withthe same-sized fittings; for example, 0.5in ID (inner diameter). However, as many water-cooling componentshave the same thread size for their fixings (for example, 1/4in thread), you can easily change the fixings tomake sure everything matches.

CPU block

Waterblocks come in many shapes and sizes, and for various prices, but we decided to use Innovatec's G-FlowCPU block, which has been designed to cause as little resistance to flow as possible. The block is an all-metaldesign, rather than a combination of metal and Plexiglas - which is often used by some manufacturers,particularly for lower-cost designs.

An all-metal design is arguably more robust than a waterblock with a Plexiglas top, even though these blocksare tested to withstand high pressures. Our money would still go on an all-metal design, though, especially asthese tend to offer higher performance. However, if you can't afford an all-metal block then you shouldn't ruleout Plexiglas-topped blocks, although it's worth examining them closely for any evidence of cracking.

We used...

Innovatec G-Flow (LGA775), £70.38. www.vadim.co.uk






GPU block

This Cool-Matic block has been specifically designed for GeForce 7950 GX2 cards, and it cools not only bothGPUs, but also the memory and PCI-E bridge. Its cooling performance is excellent, thanks to its high-flowdesign and nickel-plated, copper cooling cores, and it looks cool too. As standard, this block sports 1/4in IDcompression fixings, although these are easily replaced by 0.5in ID barbs with 1/4in threads.

We used...

Innovatec Cool-Matic (GeForce 7950 GX2), £165.55. www.vadim.co.uk

Chipset block

Intel CPUs still offload the job of controlling the memory to the Northbridge, which means that cooling theNorthbridge is essential if you want to achieve good overclocking results. For our PC, we've chosen a SwiftechMCW30 chipset block, which is an extremely versatile, high-flow block that's a doddle to fit.

We used...

Swiftech MCW30 universal chipset block, £27.31. www.vadim.co.uk








Water cooling 101 - part 2

Radiators

PC water-cooling radiators can be roughly split into two categories; single-pass and dual-pass. In a single-passradiator, the water flows directly from the inlet through all the tubes in the radiator to the outlet, which is typically

diagonally opposite the inlet.

In a dual-pass, dual-row radiator, the coolant first flows through one row, then U-turns and flows through thesecond row of tubes, before exiting the radiator. The benefit of this approach is higher coolant velocity andtherefore turbulence, which aids heat transfer from the coolant to the metal of the radiator.

It's difficult to generalise about the benefits of each type, since the cooling performance of each designdepends on a number of factors, and both types of radiator can perform well.

For our system, we elected to use dual-pass, high-flow radiators that are designed to perform well with typicalwater-cooling pumps and low-speed fans, which is important, as we also want our PC to be quiet. Therefore,we fitted a Thermochill PA120.3 triple 120mm radiator to the bottom of the case, and a single 92mm radiator tothe top of the case, and added 0.5in ID barbs to both radiators.

We used...

ThermoChill PA120.3 triple 120mm radiator, £56.99. www.vadim.co.uk

Vadim LiquoCool Extreme 92mm radiator, £25.40. www.vadim.co.uk

Pump

Pumps are often the main source of noise in a water-cooling system, as anyone who has had to suffer theirritating buzz of the older 12V Asetek pumps will appreciate. However, noise aside, a pump still needs toprovide enough power to circulate the coolant around the loop, especially in the case of multiblock loops.

Although the pump we've listed carries the Swiftech name, it's manufactured by German company Laing. TheDD12V-D5 is a 12V pump that's powered by a standard Molex power connector and has been designed tosupport multiblock water-cooling systems. It's also designed to run quietly, making it ideal for our system.



The D5 also has a built-in rheostat that allows you to adjust the flow rate, and therefore the noise level andpower usage too. On the subject of power, the pump obviously requires current to run and will thereforegenerate heat. However, even at maximum settings, the D5 only uses 23W, so realistically it won't contribute ahuge amount of heat.

We used...

Swiftech DD12V-D5 1/2in ID, £58.14. www.vadim.co.uk

Reservoir

While a reservoir isn't an essential component in a water-cooling system, installing one makes life a lot easier.The main benefit of a reservoir is that it makes it easier to fill and prime the system. Reservoirs also act as air traps, and can therefore help to remove air bubbles from the loop, which in turn helps to both reduce noise andmaximise performance.

For simplicity, we chose a 5.25in bay reservoir, as these are easy to fit and don't require you to modify the case.This Repack Cooling model has a 120ml capacity and four mounting screws, so it can be easily secured in the

case.

We used...

Repack Cooling 5.25in reservoir, £36.77. www.vadim.co.uk

Core hardware - part 1

Before we introduce the water-cooling components, we first need to select the key components for our PC and,as this is going to be a high-end PC, we've splashed out a little. That said, we recognise that not everyone canspend £700Before we introduce the water-cooling components, we first need to select the key components for our PC and, as this is going to be a high-end PC, we've splashed out a little. That said, we recognise that noteveryone can spend £700 on a top-end CPU plus all the trimmings, so we've included two options in eachcategory - one for the person with a vault-load of cash, and another for the person with a jam jar's worth. on atop-end CPU plus all the trimmings, so we've included two options in each category - one for the person with avault-load of cash, and another for the person with a jam jar's worth.






Before we introduce the water-cooling components, we first need to select the key components for our PC and,as this is going to be a high-end PC, we've splashed out a little. That said, we recognise that not everyone canspend £700Before we introduce the water-cooling components, we first need to select the key components for our PC and, as this is going to be a high-end PC, we've splashed out a little. That said, we recognise that noteveryone can spend £700 on a top-end CPU plus all the trimmings, so we've included two options in eachcategory - one for the person with a vault-load of cash, and another for the person with a jam jar's worth. on atop-end CPU plus all the trimmings, so we've included two options in each category - one for the person with a

vault-load of cash, and another for the person with a jam jar's worth.

CPU

Despite AMD slashing the price of its Socket AM2 Athlon 64 X2 chips, Intel's Core 2 Duo processors still give them athorough spanking in the bangs-per-buck department. We're using high-end water cooling, so overclocking will definitely bethe order of the day, which means that a Core 2 CPU is the best way to go for both our value and money-no-object options.However, we chose to use a lower-spec 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo E6600 CPU in our PC, so that we could see just how far thismid-range chip can overclock with top-notch cooling.

How much?!

2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 - £773.09. www.scan.co.uk

That's good value!

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 - £211.32. www.scan.co.uk



Motherboard

Initially, motherboards that supported Core 2 CPUs were pretty thin on the ground, but there are now plentyavailable, as our recent motherboards Labs test illustrates (see Issue 39, p66). A word of warning, though - notall Intel 975X boards will support Core 2, as older boards lack the correct power circuitry, so check before youbuy.

This isn't a problem for us, though, because our chosen board is the Intel P965-based Asus P5B Deluxe WiFi-AP, which is a great overclocker. With the latest BIOS installed, this board also supports ATi's CrossFire dual-graphics technology.

However, if you can't afford this board then a cheaper alternative is Gigabyte's GA 965P-S3, although it isn't asgood an overclocker. Skimping on the motherboard is generally a false economy, as you simply limit your overclocking potential, which ultimately means you'll get less value for money from the system.

I want to overclock to the max!

Asus P5B Deluxe WiFi-AP, £128.53. www.scan.co.uk

I want to save a bit of cash

Gigabyte GA 965P-S3, £86.35. www.scan.co.uk

Graphics card

http://www.scan.co.uk/

http://www.scan.co.uk/



A Dream PC should be able to play games at high resolutions with AA and AF, so a powerful graphics card is amust. Unfortunately, we didn't have a spare GeForce 8-series card to hand when we were building this PC, sowe opted for the next best thing - a dual-GPU XFX GeForce 7950 GX2 M520 Extreme Edition. A cheaper option is to buy an EVGA GeForce 7900 GS KO and overclock it, which will still provide great performance inmodern games.

Superrific

XFX GeForce 7950 GX2 M520 Extreme Edition, £379.34. www.vadim.co.uk

Bargaintastic!

EVGA GeForce 7900 GS KO, £157.69. www.overclock.co.uk

Memory

As our DDR2 memory megatest showed (see Issue 38, p72 and www.custompc.co.uk), Core 2 CPUs don'tbenefit from low latency timings, although a high frequency is still important to achieve a big overclock. Wecouldn't get hold of our Labs-winning A-Data Vitesta DDR2 1000+ modules, so instead we chose 2GB of PatriotPDC22G6400 LLK, which can still run at speeds of well over 1GHz. It isn't the cheapest RAM around, though,so if you're on a tighter budget then 2GB of G.Skill F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ or Crucial's incomprehensibly namedCT2KIT12864AA53E would still work well.

Dimm sum

2x1GB Patriot PDC22G6400 LLK, £245.85. www.vadim.co.uk

Nice but dimm

2x1GB G.Skill F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ, £182.07. www.chillblast.com

http://www.overclock.co.uk/





Core hardware - part 2

Hard disk(s)

Building a Dream PC is a great excuse to splash out on a Raptor X or Raptor 150 hard disk drive (or two, if you're feeling totally crazy), so we added one of these 10,000rpm beasts to our list. The Raptor 150 only has150GB of storage space, though, so we added a voluminous 750GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 for music,video and photo files.

If you can't afford to super-size your storage in the same way as we did then a single 300GB SamsungSpinPoint T HD300LJ is great value for money at just £63.

Super-size me!

Western Digital Raptor 150

£162.14

www.scan.co.uk

750GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10

£260.60

www.scan.co.uk

I'll have the salad

300GB Samsung SpinPoint T HD300LJ

£63.02

www.scan.co.uk



Chassis

If you're planning a multiblock, high-flow water-cooling project (which is precisely what we're doing) then thechoice of case is extremely important. However, it isn't simply a matter of choosing a big case, because youalso need to make sure that the radiators you're intending to use will fit inside it.Our PC uses a triple 120mm and a single 92mm radiator, so we chose SilverStone's TJ07, which can

accommodate both of these rads, albeit after a little modding. This is a gorgeous-looking case that's perfect for a Dream PC, but we also added a custom-made side-panel window to give it some extra style.www.vadim.co.uk (the supplier of our kit) provided this, and you can also specify a side-panel window when youorder. If you're a bit crap at modding then there are also some more exotic mods that you can have done,providing you're willing to pay for them.

Even ignoring extra modding costs, many people will still, understandably, balk at the TJ07's wallet-crushing£239 price tag, so a cheaper alternative is the Cooler Master Stacker 810, which can easily accommodate adual 120mm radiator at the rear (and more, if need be).

Head case

SilverStone TJ07, £239.09. www.vadim.co.uk

Just in case

CoolerMaster Stacker 810, £108.26. www.vadim.co.uk






PSU

The rise of dual- and quad-core CPUs and dual graphics/GPU configurations means that the choice of power supply is very important. For our rig, we chose a 650W Seasonic S12-650+ PSU, which is an update to aprevious Labs-winning model. For those with more modest power requirements (and more modest bankaccounts), FSP's AX500-A will do the trick nicely.

The power of Grayskull!

650W Seasonic S12-650+, £110.86. www.vadim.co.uk

Power Rangers

500W FSP Sparkle Blue Storm AX500-A, £58.27. www.scan.co.uk

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