Zarathustra[H]
Extremely [H]
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2000
- Messages
- 40,570
Hey all,
So I am embarking on a fresh build.
Back in July of 2016 I embarked on my first water cooled build, which I documented here.

It has served me well ever since, but end of last year it was time to retire the i7-3930k and motherboard I bought back in 2011 and upgrade. I went with a Threadripper 3960x.
My plan was to make it a drop-in upgrade, but I was never quite thrilled with the layout that resulted in.

It turns out that the Threadripper socket is just so damned large that the PCIe slots all move down one slot. The first opening in the case is no longer used. Additionally, the Heatkiller IV pro I decided to go with for my CPU block has specified inlet and outlet ports, and they are the reverse of what made sense for a drop in replacement in my loop, resulting in a crowded, criss-crossed layout
Then, last month, my new motherboard died out of nowhere. (Damn you bathtub curve!)
In troubleshooting what was wrong, I did damage to my trusty old Corsair 750D Airflow case. I decided to turn misfortune into opportunity and decided to take this as a sign that it was time for a new build, in a new case, with a better layout for my new hardware, and a cooling upgrade while I am at it.
I am taking the time to plan and start working on the loop while I am waiting for Gigabyte to return my RMA'd motherboard.
More to follow in the next post.
So I am embarking on a fresh build.
Back in July of 2016 I embarked on my first water cooled build, which I documented here.

It has served me well ever since, but end of last year it was time to retire the i7-3930k and motherboard I bought back in 2011 and upgrade. I went with a Threadripper 3960x.
My plan was to make it a drop-in upgrade, but I was never quite thrilled with the layout that resulted in.

It turns out that the Threadripper socket is just so damned large that the PCIe slots all move down one slot. The first opening in the case is no longer used. Additionally, the Heatkiller IV pro I decided to go with for my CPU block has specified inlet and outlet ports, and they are the reverse of what made sense for a drop in replacement in my loop, resulting in a crowded, criss-crossed layout
Then, last month, my new motherboard died out of nowhere. (Damn you bathtub curve!)
In troubleshooting what was wrong, I did damage to my trusty old Corsair 750D Airflow case. I decided to turn misfortune into opportunity and decided to take this as a sign that it was time for a new build, in a new case, with a better layout for my new hardware, and a cooling upgrade while I am at it.
I am taking the time to plan and start working on the loop while I am waiting for Gigabyte to return my RMA'd motherboard.
More to follow in the next post.