Building your own computer is one of the most rewarding things you can do as a tech enthusiast. Over time this turned into a much more serious custom build with hardline water cooling, upgraded storage, and a lot more planning.
Why I Built It
I wanted a workstation that could handle video editing, game servers, design work, VMs, and modern games without compromise. That meant choosing every part intentionally and building around expandability.
The old machine before the upgrade.
Main Components
- ◆ASUS - ROG STRIX Z790-E GAMING WIFI MOTHERBOARD
- ◆INTEL - CORE I9-14900K PROCESSOR
- ◆MSI - NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 TI SUPER 16GB VENTUS 3X OC GRAPHICS CARD
- ◆CORSAIR DOMINATOR TITANIUM RAM 196GB (4X48GB) DDR5 6600MHZ
- ◆CRUCIAL T700 2TB GEN5 NVME M.2 SSD
- ◆CORSAIR RM1000X POWER SUPPLY
- ◆LIAN LI DYNAMIC EVO XL FULL TOWER CASE
Waterblocks and Radiators
- ◆CORSAIR ICUE LINK XC7 CPU WATER BLOCK
- ◆ALPHACOOL EISBLOCK AURORA RTX 4070TI VENTUS W/ BACKPLATE
- ◆BYKSKI DISTRO PLATE W/ PUMP
- ◆THERMALTAKE 360MM X 27MM COPPER RADIATOR (X2)
Cooling Components
- ◆LIAN LI SL120 V2 BLACK FANS (X13)
- ◆CORSAIR HYDRO X SERIES SATIN BLACK 14MM HARDLINE TUBING
- ◆CORSAIR HYDRO X SERIES GOLD FITTINGS
- ◆CORSAIR HYDRO X SERIES XL8 PERFORMANCE COOLANT
- ◆EK-QUANTUM TORQUE DRAIN VALVE & COMPRESSION FITTINGS
- ◆CORSAIR HYDRO X SERIES XT SOFTLINE 10-13MM TUBING
Misc
- ◆CORSAIR PREMIUM INDIVIDUALLY SLEEVED TYPE-5 POWER SUPPLY CABLES PRO
- ◆LINKUP - EZ VERTICAL GPU MOUNT
Build Notes
This build was planned around airflow, clean cable routing, and future serviceability. The distro plate, dual 360mm radiators, and hardline tubing added a lot of time to the build, but they completely changed the final look and thermal headroom.
The finished build - clean routing, lots of cooling, and room to expand.