AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (now a 5800X3D) and Asus ROG Strix RX VEGA56 flashed with a 64 BIOS.
AM4 block from Barrow, Strix block from Byski.
Barrowch 18W PWM Pump
Barrow Fan/RGB Controller
16mm PETG tubing and fittings from Barrow
Ready for leak testing
White fluid from XSPC
First stress test of the loop after everything had settled
Temps under typical gaming load; CPU load is usually a little higher than what is displayed (around 40%), just bad timing with the screenshot
White looks so great!
The shades of white do not match perfectly unfortunately, so tend to use other colours these days.
Red is my current daily driver
Slight Star Wars theme in the 'Man Cave'
Lord Vader is constantly judging me
Overall, very happy with my build and gaming/office area
My Man Cave is actually an understairs closet!
Retired my Vega 56 with this monumental upgrade!
Came with a nice RGB support bracket; whilst I don't need it, I may try to incorporate it into my build at some point.
Can't beat that 'fresh part' smell.
This is one looooooong card.
A thicc boi as well.
Decent passthrough design for the 3rd fan, as well as an integrated clip system for the additional fan (for 4 in total) to slot in.
Currently running on air until my block/backplate arrive, haven't seen it get above 70C during Cyberpunk 2077 with the stock fan curve.
Ahh, order restored.
Back to near-silent operation.
Noticed (like many other people) that the backplate gets toasty, so slapped some M.2 heat sinks on there...
...as well as a pair of 92mm fans. Keeps those rear VRAM modules nice and cool. Will likely snag an MP5Works plate later down the line!
Snagged one sooner than planned, as they were going out of stock so fast!
It’ll be a few weeks until I get it installed though, schedule is jam-packed.
MP5Works BPC installed!
Whilst they can’t be seen, had to use white 90s here as that was all I had.
Trying some of this new fluid from EKWB.
Very happy with the VRAM temps after some stress-testing...
...and the new Mystic Fog fluid is fantastic, pics do not do the effect any justice.
Been trying to snag one of these since 2018!
The TG kit has just a slight tint to it.
I’ll monitor thermals over the next few days, I imagine a few degrees difference.
That’ll do nicely 😀
Had the thicc-boi laying around, so figured I’d slap it in!
Cheeky little upgrade: 5800X3D
ArcticFlow
Whilst I have always built my own PCs for the last two decades, it was only recently that I finally tried my hand at custom watercooling.
I was on a tight budget, or rather did not have much disposable income, so had to spread out my purchases over several months.
The PC does everything I need it to, as it is a multi-use system: Gaming, Virtualisation for academic work, Video Editing. Whilst also staying nice and cool and quiet.
Upgraded from a Ryzen 5 2600 to a Ryzen 7 3700X in mid 2020, which gave the build an excellent boost. Then at the end of 2020, I was able to snag an RTX 3090; needless to say, Arctic Flow performs very differently now.
Updated in 2022 with a 5800X3D CPU, which gave the ‘old girl’ a nice boost!
2025 - Changed Mobo/GPU/PSU/RAM
I was on a tight budget, or rather did not have much disposable income, so had to spread out my purchases over several months.
The PC does everything I need it to, as it is a multi-use system: Gaming, Virtualisation for academic work, Video Editing. Whilst also staying nice and cool and quiet.
Upgraded from a Ryzen 5 2600 to a Ryzen 7 3700X in mid 2020, which gave the build an excellent boost. Then at the end of 2020, I was able to snag an RTX 3090; needless to say, Arctic Flow performs very differently now.
Updated in 2022 with a 5800X3D CPU, which gave the ‘old girl’ a nice boost!
2025 - Changed Mobo/GPU/PSU/RAM
Color(s): Black White
RGB Lighting? Yes
Theme: none
Cooling: Custom Liquid Cooling
Size: ATX
Type: General Build
Contests
This build participated in 9 contests.
| Rank | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| #65 | Build of the Month - November 2021 | ended |
| #66 | Build of the Month - September 2021 | ended |
| #84 | Build of the Month - May 2021 | ended |
| #181 | Build of the Month - April 2021 | ended |
| #390 | Build of the Month - March 2021 | ended |
| #543 | EK 10K Challenge | ended |
| #67 | Build of the Month - February 2021 | ended |
| #73 | Build of the Month - January 2021 | ended |
| #92 | Build of the Month - October 2020 | ended |
Hardware
CPU
$ 694.87
Motherboard
$ 292.51
Memory
$ 1,514.56
Graphics
$ 1,199.99
XFX - Speedster MERC 310 Radeon XTX Black Edition
Chip Manufacturer: AMD
Chip: RX 7900 XT
Interface: PCIe x16
Storage
$ 161.23
Storage
$ 364.95
PSU
$ 216.57
Case
$ 200.00
Cooling
$ 9.49
Cooling
$ 28.79
Cooling
$ 100.00
Cooling
$ 129.10
Cooling
$ 84.99
Accessories
$ 78.03
Accessories
$ 58.99
Accessories
$ 364.00
Accessories
$ 150.00
Keyboard
$ 49.99
Mouse
$ 182.49
Chair
$ 599.00
Estimated total value of this build:
$ 5,577.75
Approved by: