I have been through various setups with my system, it was originally an air cooled Phenom 965BE, but is now a watercooled 1090T.

Previous post with Resorator: viewtopic.php?p=510106

Here is the spec:
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T @ 3.8GHz (4.3GHz Turbo)
Asus Crosshair IV Forumula (240MHz)
8GB Corsair Dominator 1600MHz 8/8/8/24
MSI nVidia GTX 460 1GB @ 915MHz Core / 1830 MHz Shader / 1950MHz RAM
Asus Essence STX (replaced Op-Amps)
Crucial C300 SSD 128GB (System Disk)
WD 800GB AARS Drive (Storage)
Samsung Blu-Ray Combo
Coolermaster CM690-II - (Coolermaster modded tint side panel (replaced with light tint perspex))
Corsair HX650 with Nzxt black individual braided cable extensions for motherboard and GPU.
EK-DCP 2.2 - 12V DC Pump and EK-Reservoir Combo DCP 2.2
EK-Supreme HF CPU Block - Full Nickel
EK-FC460 GTX - Nickel with Backplate
EK Nickel Motherboard Block
XSPC RX240 with 4x Scyte S-Flex mounted to Bottom Radiator in Push/Pull config
XSPC RS240 with 2 x Scythe S-Flex mounted in Pull config
Mayhems Ultra Pure H20 Water & Silver Coil
Masterkleer 3/8" ID - 1/2" OD Tubing - Silver / UV Blue, Compression Fittings.
1 x S-Flex as case exhaust

Now for some pics...
The dinky EK Pump:


Ek Chipset Block:


EK HF Supreme CPU Block (and XSPC RS240 radiator):


Overall View:


Overall View lit up with UV Cathodes:


View of PC with side panel on:


And lit up:


Comments are welcome!

Looks like a nice build. How silent is this setup with minimal safe flow? Does the pump or fluid make any noise?

By the way, I love the brutalist speaker stand.

Nice ! I really like the color theme

Thanks for the comments.

I have the pump running from the motherboard case fan header. Both the CPU (4 fans on bottom rad) and Case (2 fans on top rad, case exhaust fan and pump) are set on the silent profile.

When sat within a metre of the case (as in the position in the pic) and using standard apps - Outlook / Chrome / Access / CS5 etc, you can only just hear the system. The pump is about the same noise as the fans so it increases with them.

Even when folding, the system is only just audible.

Probably the loudest components are the chokes on the GTX460 when folding, or the spin speed on the HDD (although this spins down when not in use).

Very nice!

Is that the CM690 II Advanced or Basic case. I'm looking at purchasing either a 690 II or a Fractal Design Define R3 for my next rig, and I really wasn't sure how quiet or sturdy the Coolermaster would be. Do the 5.25 bays have covers for the front or is it just mesh?

Regardless of which I choose I'm planning on doing some modding, but I'm not sure whether the 690 II would require more modding than the Fractal Design to make it quiet.

This is the advanced case.

The front bays have just mesh panels, not blanking plates. The case is very sturdy though. And weigh's a ton with all the kit and water in there...

The only mods I have had to do to the case is the side panel, and cut out the rear fan mesh cover.

It really is a good case, although I also have my eye on the R3 for my next build...

It's a nice case and very good value for the features it has. I was particularly impressed with the X-Dock on the top of the case, which would make backing up my system less of a pain. But Coolermaster cases aren't reknowned for their silent qualities. Though that makes it impressive to see what you've done with the case and still managed to keep things quiet


I'd feared as much regarding the panels. It seems kind of cheap on Coolermaster's part to not supply something like blanking plates. It would probably cost them peanuts to throw two or three in there, yet it would cost the consumer both time and money to create their own solution. No matter though. I guess that's what we buy tools for.


Was it just the perspex that you replaced or did you mod the shape of the hole. I've seen the side panel with window that CM sell for the 690 II, but I don't remember it being the rectangular shape you have. Maybe I'm confusing it with the Antec 900, which is a pretty fugly case to me.


The R3 is another good value case. But as has been pointed out in reviews, it still has flaws. Though they'd be easy enough to sort out IMHO. The only thing I'm presently bothered about is the size of GPU it can accomodate (290mm according to the info). I'd like to get a 6950 for the next build , but I'm not sure at the moment what the size is for some of them. I'd wanted to go with a XFX for the warranty as much as anything, but they're 11.3" long, so it's a bit of a gamble if it will fit or not. I may just go with a 6870 instead.

Hi Haych,

Did you every try to mod the 690 II advanced to make it silent? I'm also trying to decide between the R3 and the 690 ii advanced. For looks and features I prefer the later (though for pure looks the Fractal Design Arc Midi which is not available seems nicer than both) but I've been warned that its not going to be silent, in particular if running 7200k HDs. Do you think/know if its possible to add padding to the inside of the front panel to dampen the noise sufficiently? I'd be very interested to hear if anyone has experience with making this case (semi-)silent.

Thanks

I currently have a different setup - but the same case.

My system is now made up of:
Intel Core i7 2600K @ 4.5GHz
Gigabyte P67A-UD4
8GB Corsair Dominator 1600MHz 8/8/8/24
Gainward Phantom GTX570 with stock cooler (very quiet) - 2 screens connected
Coolermaster V10 with fans replaced with Scythe S-Flex E
Case fans, all S-Flex Es - 1 in the front, 2 in the bottom, 2 in the top, 1 at the back
Corsair HX650 PSU
Crucial 128GB C300 SSD
Western Digital 800GB AARS drive
Asus Essence STX sound card

With the system working for day to day use, it is as silent as I would hope for - you have to check it is on!
There was a slight increase in fan noise when the second screen was added as the GPU was working harder.

When gaming however, the PC is definitely noticeable, but not very noisy.

Overall, I am very happy - and the case is good. I have considered trying something else - but not for making it quieter, just for looks/build quality. It would probably be a Silverstone of some sort - but need to justify spending double the price of this case.

Thanks a lot for the info. Having to check that it is on is exactly what I'm looking for!

I'm thinking of a very similar build but with a GTX 560 instead so hopefully that should run a little cooler. I see you're running a 5400k HD though which is also probably quieter than the WD black or blue that i want to run (I'm going to be pretty IO bound for photo editing). I've posted the specs in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=62152

I'm leaning heavily towards just getting the 690 now and adding foam/damping if sound is really a problem. If you don't mind my asking which Silverstones are you considering and why?

How do you find those s flexs. I am thinking of buying some 800rpm 135mm kama flexs for a similarish build. Hard to find reviews so assuming the s flexs perform similarly to the kama flexs (just an increase in size) how do you find them noise wise?

gcwebbyuk

Looking at your picture, it appears that your radiator air stream exists into the interior of your case. Is that so? Is that common among water cooled setups?

Ahhhh such old pictures...

I ditched the watercooling effort a while ago now and went for a Coolermaster V10 with Scythe S-Flex E fans. Also swapped my GPU to a Gainward Phantom GTX570.

The system is now quite (pretty much silent) for day to day work, and only gets audible when gaming (at which point it isn't noticed).