The "Forge" Lian-Li A77F Custom Watercooled PC

That is a beautiful rig. I like the fact it's lit up with white/neutral colors, not something like Green/Red/Blue/Etc, inside the case I mean


Wish I had the money/time to do something like that
 
mecra said:
Hey there. First off, love the whole setup. It's clean, stylish, and well done. Secondly, may I ask how much the water cooling alone cost you? I'm considering water cooling as I'm running 470s SLI and I would want to do it right the first time instead of piecing it together. :) If you want to PM the total cost, that would be fine too. I'm just curious. :)

Any recommendations you would have I wouldn't mind either. :) Thanks again.
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Hey man, thanks for the compliments :)

The main water cooling components here and approximate cost are as follows:

-Intel Core i7 930 w/ EK Supreme High-Flow All-Copper Nickel plated WB [$89.95]

-Asus Rampage III Extreme w/ EK RIIIE WB [$139.95]

-2X EVGA GTX480 in SLI w/ EK FC480 Nickel WB in Parallel water paths. GPU WB[$114.95 /pc] Backplate[$29.95 /pc]

-Top-Mounted HwLab 280SR-1 Radiator [$110.95] with 2x 140mm NoiseBlocker PK2 1200RPM fans in Pull

-Front-Mounted Thermochill 120.3 Radiator [$104.95] with 6x Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP14 1450RPM in Push/Pull

-Laing DDC 3.25 pump [$82.95] w/ EK X-Top V.2 clear acrylic top [$19.95].
-EK MultiOption Res-X2 250mm Reservoir [$54.95]

-1/2ID, 3/4OD PrimoChill PRO LRT clear tubing [$1.95 /ft] (probably need about 10ft. to be safe, I got 15ft since it's my first time, ended up having a lot left over though)

-Various Bitspower Fittings. [$5.95 /pc] (This is the most troublesome part for me personally for sure, ended up ordering 4-5 times for different fittings and ended up with a bunch of unused fittings since I didn't have a perfect plan for routing the tubes, definitely plan out and order extras if money allows... depending on the case and components... there are too many variables here)

-Various mounting hardware. (screws etc, since there is no standardized mounting for rads/res/pump, this is another big headache for planning out the build, of course it'll be based on what case you use. It's also the most fun/satisfying when the build is finished :cool:​

Hope this helps, of course, I'm no expert, but I'll be more than willing to share my experiences on first time WC noob mistakes etc .if you're interested. Let me know!
 
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. said:
That is a beautiful rig. I like the fact it's lit up with white/neutral colors, not something like Green/Red/Blue/Etc, inside the case I mean


Wish I had the money/time to do something like that
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:) THANKS! I really appreciate it.

I think the natural coloring in the waterblocks and white led lights really comes out well, definitely a lot better than I expected.
 
Hey, can you explain to me what you used to mount your rads? I just got this case and I know I could just find a 140x2 rad for the top with 20 mm spacing but I'm not sure exactly how you mounted your front 120x3 rad. Please elaborate :D (nice work btw.)
 
Didn't see this thread originally but am dropping in to say great job. You never realize just how much work goes into every little detail until you build something like it on your own. It must have been an exciting and enjoyable process.
 
Myrtana said:
Hey, can you explain to me what you used to mount your rads? I just got this case and I know I could just find a 140x2 rad for the top with 20 mm spacing but I'm not sure exactly how you mounted your front 120x3 rad. Please elaborate :D (nice work btw.)
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The front 120x3 I used a set of (UN)Design Rad Bracket they're available here for $15.50 before tax/ship.

The screws sizes and lengths are the real troublesome part, I ended up repurchasing a bunch of extra sizes and lengths of screws simply because the ones i got before didn't fit :(. It takes a lot of planning + trial and errors for sure. This applies to the top rad as well. Top rad required no extra brackets with the HwLab 140x2 rads.

If I remember correctly, the 120x3 Thermochill uses self-tappering screws, M3? 1 1/2 inch I think, taking into account the Scythe GentleTyphoon-15 fans depth and the supplied gaskets for the rad.

The top uses M4 machine screws 1 1/4 inch mounting with the 140mm PK2 fans I think.

Of course, I'm citing those from memory, don't kill me if you got those screws and it didn't work for your rad/fan combination. :rolleyes:

It all depends on the rad specs, it's a lot of guess work, there is no universal mounting method for watercooling equipments.
 
Beautiful job man. I've always wanted to water cool a system, just don't have the cash to do so. This rig makes me want to even more :)
 
Very spectacular, the attention to detail and lack of cutting corners really paid off! looks great. Picture quality was also good and great angles. Great work.
 
Welcome to the [H] front page. :) Awesome work man.
 
That white interior is beautiful! Never seen a case quite like it. Awesome rig, best I've seen in a while.
 
Wonderful setup. But more importantly: what kind of camera, lenses, and lighting did you use to take those pictures? :)
 
There are only so many ways to say it since everyone else already has, but nice machine, and nice pics too.
 
I like the white lights inside, makes it different from all the reds, blues and other colors that you usually see around.
 
I LOVE the white lighting. Makes the build look even cleaner than it is. Amazing job.
 
Hi! Looking for some Lian Li case for WC. Your setup is awesome not only from an aesthetic point of view :) For the moment I am considering those narrow LL towers, but not only expensive they can't take so big rads internally. Would you mind showing us the front rad and pump assembly?

thanks!
 
OMG I can't believe this, I missed myself being on the front page ?!?!? Thanks guys for all the praises! If there are any questions about the build I'll try my best to answer them! Thanks again!

P.S. And of course, huge thanks to Steve for posting the rig on the front page!

P.P.S. Btw, I'm a total noob of photography, it's my first time using a DSLR borrowed from my dad... I only know some simple setting adjustments, no professional lighting or anything of the sort.
 
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Suppersonic said:
Hi! Looking for some Lian Li case for WC. Your setup is awesome not only from an aesthetic point of view :) For the moment I am considering those narrow LL towers, but not only expensive they can't take so big rads internally. Would you mind showing us the front rad and pump assembly?

thanks!
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ixaJsDQ.jpg


The mounting was definitely a challenge, but I figured out a way to fit the triple rad in front without drilling or modifying the case in any way. There are 6x Scythe GT fans in push/pull on the triple rad.
 
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GTOViper said:
The mounting was definitely a challenge, but I figured out a way to fit the triple rad in front without drilling or modifying the case in any way. There are 6x Scythe GT fans in push/pull on the triple rad.
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Thanks GTOV! Good job fitting the rad there!
 
Hi, I like the build :D

I was gonna get this case aswell but I wasn't planning on water cooling. I was wondering if it's possible to mount fans at the front without using the hard drive cages.

Thanks
 
Like most other people said. Badass rig, totaly jealous. I really like your attention to detail, fine detail at that. And you said this was your "first" watercooling experience? If so, it's a very nice job done.
 
stupidmeforasking said:
Hi, I like the build :D

I was gonna get this case aswell but I wasn't planning on water cooling. I was wondering if it's possible to mount fans at the front without using the hard drive cages.

Thanks
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As far as I know, there is no direct way to mount the fans in front without either the hard-drive cages or some sort of 3rd party bracket specialized for mounting fans on the 5.25 brackets.
 
Curlack said:
Like most other people said. Badass rig, totaly jealous. I really like your attention to detail, fine detail at that. And you said this was your "first" watercooling experience? If so, it's a very nice job done.
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Yes, 1st watercooling rig, obviously a lot of research was done before pulling the trigger, and also LOTS of trials and errors along the building process as well.

The absolute worst part is trying to install the parts that you thought would fit or work for sure, but ended up doesn't, and then you have to do the additional research and wait for the new parts to arrive..., IT SUCKS!

But it's also feels good when everything comes together ;)
 
So awesome.... That's the way it should be done! Awesome job!!!!! :D

Thank you for sharing!!
 
Hi GTOViper !

The pictures of your Lian Li PC-A77FA is splendid !!! Congratulation !!!

Personaly, I have also the A77FA with a motherboard ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme and CPU AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition.
I bought the CPU Waterblock Corsair H100 and I have a problem to install the radiator 240mm. I would like to install at the top of my A77FA, but at the top they are two fans 140mm. The size of the radiator of the Corsair H100 is 240mm (2x 120mm).
How can i install my radiator at the top ? (the screw holes are in the wrong place).
How do you install your radiator at the top of the A77FA ?

Is your radiator screwed ? Can you tell me how I could fix my radiator at the top of my Lian Li PC-A77FA ? Please can you help me ?

Thank you in advance for your help.
Best Regards.
 
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Wow -- it is so over the top without looking that way at all. Very classy and thorough build. This may have been mentioned earlier, but what solution are you running in the loop?
 
HDMax22 said:
Hi GTOViper !

The pictures of your Lian Li PC-A77FA is splendid !!! Congratulation !!!

Personaly, I have also the A77FA with a motherboard ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme and CPU AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition.
I bought the CPU Waterblock Corsair H100 and I have a problem to install the radiator 240mm. I would like to install at the top of my A77FA, but at the top they are two fans 140mm. The size of the radiator of the Corsair H100 is 240mm (2x 120mm).
How can i install my radiator at the top ? (the screw holes are in the wrong place).
How do you install your radiator at the top of the A77FA ?

Is your radiator screwed ? Can you tell me how I could fix my radiator at the top of my Lian Li PC-A77FA ? Please can you help me ?

Thank you in advance for your help.
Best Regards.
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The radiator I installed on top is 140x2 so it fits fine, in your case, you can either search for an adapter or Lian-li sells an extra top that's 120x3 I believe, but then you'll be able to fit the 120x2 on there. Hope that helps.
 
dopefish lives said:
Wow -- it is so over the top without looking that way at all. Very classy and thorough build. This may have been mentioned earlier, but what solution are you running in the loop?
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Plain distilled water + biocide. I also got some silver coils, maybe next time when i change water i'll try the silver.
 
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