Red vs Blue build log

[Fluxmaven]

Howdy.

Sadly, ExtremeHW hasn't found a new owner so the forums will likely be shutting down soon. Decided to relocate this build log I had just started over there.

I thought it would be cool to do a couple of "throwback" builds with Intel + Nvidia vs. All AMD. I'm using the term throwback loosely since the hardware isn't all from the same era but the core components are mostly from around a decade ago. I'm sure the scope will continue to creep and the Intel system will end up way faster. I've already picked up a 2nd Titan Black and PPCS still has some old 780ti/Titan blocks in stock.

Parts Lists:

Red​

CPU: AMD FX-9590
Motherboard: Asus Crosshair V Formula-Z
GPU: Radeon HD 7990
RAM: Either some black and red Adata XPG 2133 Cl10 or some EVGA 1866 CL9 that I know works
Storage: A pair of m.sata Samsung drives on a Vantec RAID card , an Intel 750 series PCIe drive, and a WD Black spinning rust drive.
Case: Maingear Vybe Nero red
PSU: EVGA 850 P2
Cooling

• Maingear Apex distro
• EKWB Supremacy Edge Red/plexi (1/100 so fairly rare)
• EKWB FC7990 SE I'm actually not an EK fanboy, just hard to find 7990 blocks these days
• Bitspower Leviathan XF 240
• Barrowch Chameleon fish 240 Red/Acrylic
• Scythe Gentle Typhoons

Blue​

CPU: Intel i7 2700K
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD5
GPU: GTX Titan Black... I also have a GTX 690 that would keep it a bit more era appropriate and dual GPU for both systems. However I can't find a waterblock for the 690.
RAM: Blue G.Skill Ares 2133CL10
Storage: A pair of Samsung 850 Pro, pair of 860 Pro, and an Intel DC P4510 U.2 on PCIe adapter
Case: Lian Li V3000 Plus... Was going to use a Blue/White Maingear Shift I've had for a long time, but Microcenter dropped the price on V3000's and I had to have one lol. Also the Shift isn't really great for custom
PSU: EVGA 1000 G2
Cooling

• EK distro that was designed for an O11D that I got cheap open box
• Thermochill PA 120.4 that's coming out of retirement
• I've got a dirty old 420mm in the front for mock up but might just get another 480 to put up top and leave the front as intake.
• Currently have a Swiftech Apogee Drive II mounted on the board because I thought I was trying to stuff a loop in the Maingear Shift... May switch to a Heatkiller IV.
• Titan Black has a Heatkiller block already on it
• Lian Li uni fans... Acquired a ton of these for cheap and have been looking for a way to use them up
• Phanteks PH-F140HP II - Again, been wanting to use these up for a while.

As for fittings and tubing... I haven't decided which system is getting what. They may both end up with a mixture of hard and soft tubing. I have a decent amount of frosted 14mm hard tube and some nice brass 16mm. I also have soft tubing in most common sizes. Mostly EPDM or clear. I'll likely use up some QD3's in the Intel system since there's so much room in that case.

 

[Fluxmaven]

Progress has been a bit slow because I'm constantly out of town for work, but things should be slowing down at work soon.

Had to use a work van to get the huge case home since it wasn't going to fit in my Mustang or Miata lol.

Was originally going to do a vertical mount, but the 7990 Is a little too long

 

[Sir Beregond]

Glad to see the build log have a place to continue.

 

[cdabc123]

Interesting, I ran varients of the 7990 for abit just for fun (firepro s10000 12gb) they were cool but utterly impractical in games as nothing could effectively use the dual chips.

2700k is cool, but lga 1366 cpus are where it's at! I've had so much fun over the years with the 6core chips, overlooking, and dual cpu configs.

9590 is hot. I just never felt much allure from the am3 socket.

Still run a 980ti, had a watercooled 290x for a long time. All fun chips. I vote for the titan black. Would make the rig far more usable for many games and applicatilns then a dual gpu card.

 

[Fluxmaven]

None of this is about being practical. I just have all this stuff laying around and thought it would be cool to toss together a couple rigs.

I already bought a 2nd Titan black so it will still be SLI and the AMD rig is keeping the 7990. I have a blocked Fury X that would be a more useful card but it's the less interesting option.

I'll hopefully work on these a bit this weekend.

 

[Fluxmaven]

So ExtremeHW ended up getting bought so I had been updating the build log over there. Decided to get caught up over here in case anyone enjoys this sort of thing.

The Team Red build is done and works. I played a bit of Bioshock Infinite on it and Crossfire was working and it seems to run pretty well. Tossed it on the kill-a-watt and it was pulling up to 675w stock. Will have to wait for next winter to try overclocking it lol.

This build is much tighter to work in. Ended up having to swap out one of the gentle typhoons to clear the pump and GPU. I did push/pull on that location with Noctua NF-A12x15's.

Connecting the radiators together was also very tight. The top rad ports are lower than the front so I ended up using a couple 90 degree fittings and running a loop of tubing around through the front panel of the case to tie the two together. Looks stupid, but it works.

connected the rads together with a filter for a day to catch any crap that might be lingering since they were new rads. (hence the moisture in the distro). After the final tubing runs went in, did a pressure test before filling with coolant.

Up and running with Aquacomputer DP Ultra. The loop is designed so I have just enough room to slip a hand between the hardline runs to swap RAM. The soft tubing on the CPU allows swapping CPUs without draining and disassembling the loop.

 

[Fluxmaven]

Still not done with the Team Blue build, but I was making a bit of progress yesterday.

I did end up getting a 2nd Titan Black. PPCS didn't have the exact same Titan block as my original, but was able to pick up this block NOS for around $30.

The silly click together Lian Li fans were supposed to make life easier... I didn't want to flip them around and have the wire coming out the front side so I had to shave down the connector housing quite a bit to be able to not block the port on the radiator.

Slimmest extension I could find

Once I got it to this point, it stayed in this state as living room art for several months

Yesterday I pulled the old 420 off the front rad bracket and flipped the fans to the other side. Also plumbed up the Aquastream and bottom rad.

Was running some distilled through the rads with a filter and stupidly forgot to put the plug in the fill port. Kicked on the Eheim and it started overflowing right as I went to take a picture. Nothing was harmed besides my ego.