Update 2020: Mid last year I updated this system to change the Motherboard and processor to a Z370 Maximus Formula X and 9900K. As well as this I changed to 32GB of Trident Z RGB. I chose the formula to take advantage of the VRM water cooling, as I had always wanted a gaming level board and really wanted to integrate the board into the loop. This required several new fittings, and I had got tired of the white EK fittings, so I stripped the paint back, Alu primer-ed them and then sprayed them graphite grey. Really pleased with how the fittings came out, the contrast to the coolant and match to other components is spot on. Also ordered a larger 1TB 970 Evo.

I started to strip down the PC in order to fit the new parts, and in doing so and planning the loop, managed to further hide the pump/res inlet/outlet ports to the rear of the pump, which greatly improved the aesthetic, also optimised the CPU block tubing so that it was the block was in the correct orientation (this had always annoyed me, but not impacted performance). I also ordered a coolant temperature sensor and integrated it in the loop, this allows fan profiling from coolant temperature and avoids any ramp up or down of fans which makes it feel a lot more premium. The build was largely uneventful, but took some different iterations before I was happy with tubing layouts and airflow. I also at this time made an adapter to convert the phanteks Evolv RGB connector to the ASUS motherboard, as my old motherboard didn't have RGB.



9900K is OC'd to 5GHz all core, with a -2 AVX offset to take it to 4.8GHz all core in AVX apps. This is done at 1.260v which with LLC gives around 1.236v and temps around 85 deg C. RAM is currently at 3200 stable, 3600 is possible but not all benches/tests complete satisfactorily.

Later in the year I got another SSD (860QVO) to replace the old WD 1TB Blue which went into a NAS. This has made the computer all but silent when booting, a real improvement to the perceived quality of the build, and one I wish I had done earlier to be honest.

The only issue I've had was with some sleeved extension cables from (I think) bitfenix - I was having an issue where in stress testing/benchmarking the 8 pin CPU power was getting far too warm, due to (I expect) the Maximus only having one CPU power connector. reverting to the standard corsair cable only remedied this and as it was hidden behind the top radiator I didn't mind. Then much later I started getting random shutdowns due to low +5v (BIOS reported ~+4.3v) - I checked the ATX extension with a multimeter for continuity and resistance and all appeared good, but the issue dissapeared when connecting with the original corsair cable so have reverted to that for now.

That is about where the build stands, in the interim I have built a rig out of aluminium extrusion for Sim Racing (Pcars 2, Dirt 2.0 and Assetto Corsa Competizione mainly) so that's what I'm using her for. Also got a 3d Printer so am doing quite a bit of solidworks and STL work.