ULTIMATE Sub-zero Phase Change Cooling PC Build Guide
Linus Tech Tips
·Linus Tech Tips
·2015-05-07
·
2,868 words · ~14 min read
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Flames fill the
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sky it's just your frame of
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mind strike the match your
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life spre your wings in the
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night I could do PC build guides forever
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I really could with the millions of combinations of computer parts I could
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make millions of these videos and none of them would be the same as each other
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other today not the same is not good
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enough and instead we'll be doing something really different from anything
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I've ever done before today's build guide is not about the expectation that
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you're going to watch it buy these parts and put one together at home just like
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it but rather about the sheer spectacle
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of a gaming PC made for one purpose Wicked CPU overclocking welcome to the
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ultimate Subzero PC build guide normally
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once we start out to to build at our safe uncluttered static free workstation
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the only thing we really need to build a PC is a multi-bit screwdriver but
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today's a little bit different you'll need some scissors I would recommend
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getting an iFixit kit so you got some pokers and prodders as well as a variety
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of more esoteric bits and then I pair of
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side Cutters a pair of pliers those kinds of things will also come in handy
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and the last one is you should probably grab a magnetic Parts tray to keep all
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the little screws from getting lost now as always before you begin assembling
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the computer I recommend plugging the components in together and powering the
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system up once outside of the case to ensure everything is working using the
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motherboard box as a handy dandy test bench for our CPU the choice was obvious
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the cor i74790k has a wicked 4 GHz clock speed
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out of the box without even factoring in turbo boost doesn't kick off a lot of
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heat which is great for keeping temps cool and is basically the top tier CPU
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of choice for gamers everywhere who don't have any use for extra cores that
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can be had on the premium LGA 20113 platform now normally I actually copy
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paste these CPU installation instructions you know not today forget
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about lift the retention ARM put down the retention ARM no really forget about
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the retention ARM we're going to remove it use a size 20 Torx and remove these
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three screws from the front place the CPU into the socket to keep the pin safe
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while you're working and then it's time to break out the kn needed or art eraser
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that we'll be using to insulate the CPU socket area it's very important that
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there is as little air as possible around here because where there's air
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there's moisture and where there's moisture there's condensation as soon as
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it starts to get chil and as soon as there's condensation there's water on
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motherboards which well I'm sure you see where this is going build up a thin
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layer of art eraser around the outside of the socket put the retention
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mechanism back on then install the the CPU again flip the board over and cover
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the back plate with art eraser then run
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the CPU Mount bolts through their steel back plate one of the included neoprene
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insulating back plates then through the
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motherboard on each bolt use a plastic washer then a steel one followed by a
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nut and tighten them up nice now it's time to build up the art eraser on the
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front until we're almost even with the top of the CPU heat spreader go slow
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focusing on eliminating pockets for air to get trapped in you can use a small
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poking tool to fill gaps once that's done apply a layer of armaflex neoprene
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adhesive insulation and you're pretty much good to go now there are a lot of
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different schools of thought when it comes to socket insulation and this
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technique is not actually the best one but should be fine for the temperatures
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we're aiming for if I was doing something more extreme like a two-stage
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or even three stage phase cooler or dry ice or liquid nitrogen I would add some
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shop towels between the Eraser and neoprene direct some air flow at the
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socket and even consider filling the socket pins with dialectric grease
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something that's gone out of fashion lately due to R concerns it's almost
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impossible to clean out but that undoubtedly improves safety at extremely
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cold temperatures memory was an easy choice for this build the theme is white
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like frost or something like that so I reached out to our friend at hyperx who
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hooked us up with a massive 32 gig kit of their fury White DDR3 1866 RAM for
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our system with that selection finished all that's required is to pull back the
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tabs on the memory slots align each module according to the notch in the
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bottom of the socket and press firmly on both sides until the latch closes fill
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the further sets of color coordinated slots before the closer two if you're
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using only two sticks of RAM now my original plan for this system was to
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just find some white Cas slap a system in it and call it a day then I found
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this the PC V10 phase change from LD
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cooling I mean what's more white than a white case a white case that makes it
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snow on your CPU this bad boy features
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quad 120 mm radiator support on the top
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a single 120 support in the back motherboard support for xlx eatx ATX
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pretty much any ATX you could want and is made of Pure White powdercoated
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Aluminum with the exception of the steel base to support the integrated single
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stage phase change cooler in the front down there is the condenser which cools
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the gas that then gets sent through the insulated line up to the evaporator head
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where the rapid evaporation of the liquid inside an endothermic process
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cools the CPU and the resulting vapor is recycled back to the large black danfos
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compressor that compresses it and then pumps it to the condenser where it all
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starts again this is the same principle that's used in your refrigerator at home
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with the key difference being the strength and rated duty cycle of the
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compressor please don't try to cool your computer with a fridge you're not the
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first person to think of that it's not designed to handle a constant heat load
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and it will die there's some other Secret Sauce in here as well LD cooling
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has included their own USB controller board that uses a typ k thermal probe in
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the VAP head to display temps on the built-in display in the front delay
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systems start up until the phase system is up and running and to automatically
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shut down your cooler once the system is powered down they've got some more stuff
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planned too like fan control for example they've put a lot of work into
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developing this puppy all right so start by removing the two top side panels and
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the left side bottom one with a hex head
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screwdriver and stash them somewhere safe use four screws or anti vibration
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mounts to install a rear 20 mm cooling fan and install your nine motherboard
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standoffs here here here here here here here here and here our motherboard
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Choice was another no-brainer ASUS's Sabertooth z97 Mark s sa Bronco board
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looks sick features all the latest and greatest tough series Tech so lots of
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controllable fan headers and temp sensors slot covers a reinforcing back
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plate a 5-year warranty and of course ASUS's legendary build quality and BIOS
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layout press firmly on all four corners of the io Shield at the back of the case
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until they snap into place hold the board in place laying fridges on their
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sides isn't recommended so I'm not tipping this guy over as a precaution
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while you screw in the middle standoff then do the other eight in these
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locations while we have easy access to the board plug these two included cables
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into the power switch and the check
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12volt spots on the USB controller then run the other ends to your power switch
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header and a fan header on your mother motherboard like so you'll also need to
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plug in the reset switch and your LEDs at this time this case has no front USB
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audio or anything else like that though so that's it so I was going to choose a
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power supply that comes in white by default and then I was like nah we have
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the Corsair axi version of those like awesome individually sleeved cable mod
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cables so I gave Corsair a call and got their excellent 80 plus Platinum ax 60i
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power supply put in the mail for me it arrived I took that sucker apart
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immediately painted her white and put her back together now with all of that
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said for most users I would strongly recommend just buying a white power
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supply since the internals of computer power supplies can be extremely
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dangerous and even kill you but man you
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cannot deny how nice the results look
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put the power supply in on the little pedestal in the basement fan side up and
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install four screws like this into the back of it plug the eight pin connector
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into the top of the motherboard and run it down the back side of the motherboard
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tray to the power supply then do the same for the 24 pin connector you can
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also plug in a two connector SATA cable at this time and two PCI E cables for
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the graphics card our Drive selection for this system is two Intel 730 series
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ssds running in raid zero SSD raid
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continues to be the weapon of choice for enthusiasts who want more than a single
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SSD can offer offer but aren't willing to pay the premium for PCI Express or
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m.2 based Solutions and 730s are
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excellent for raid operation thanks to their exceptional performance
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consistency now this case's native 2 and 1/2 in drive support is mostly done by
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screwing in through the front of the motherboard a solution that isn't that
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elegant but fortunately it also includes a dual Drive 3 and A2 in adapter so
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we're going to use two of these screws per side per drive to secure them to the
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adapter then use these rubber grommets to slide our adapter into the bottommost
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3 and 1/2 in Bay at the front now we can run SATA data cables as well as SATA
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power cables and that's pretty much it now I realized
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this is becoming a bit of a pattern here but the video card was yet another super
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duper obvious choice I mean hm what
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video card is white enough to go with our white themed build I guess maybe the
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gtx980 Hall of Fame from GX the only
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real question was Liquid cool it or leave the stock air cooler on it and
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that question was answered for me when the only company that makes a block for
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it didn't have it ready in time for filming and didn't reply to my emails so
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there you go this case includes no PCI slot covers although they can be
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purchased separately if you don't have any lying around so this process is as
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simple as lining up the card over the top PCI e6x slot firmly pushing it into
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place and installing two of the included fine threaded screws finally plug in
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your two PCIe 8 Pin power connectors from before now normally I do the CPU
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Cooler much earlier in the building process but in this case well I kind of
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wanted to save the best for last just for fun I fired her up before actually
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putting her on the CPU to see the frost form on the EVAP and hear the boiling
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liquid inside and man this stuff Geeks me out so you're going to want to cut a
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length of the included insulation tubing and position it as a boot under the
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Universal hold down plate like so apply thermal paste to the CPU preferably
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Arctic cooling ceramic put a plastic washer followed by a metal one followed
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by a spring followed by another washer and the included thumb screws and
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tighten down the cooler use your common sense as far as tightness is concerned
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it needs to make good contact and you know compress the insulation that's
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around the CPU socket but you also shouldn't be trying to break your
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motherboard in half fingertight only no
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tools normally at this point in the video I try to do some cable management
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and finishing touches and try to do a recommendation for a monitor and
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peripherals that kind of go with the theme of the build but frankly there's
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nothing left to do Cable Management wise other than plug in this fan that I
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completely forgot to do earlier and then as far as peripherals go well white
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monitors are pretty hard to come by these days so there's not a whole lot to
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save there and as far as white peripherals go well if you eat as many
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Doritos as I do while you're gaming I wouldn't really recommend White peripherals so why don't you do yourself
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a favor buy some RGB stuff and set the LEDs to white or something if you're
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into color matching the lineus tech tips.com form would be a good place to
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go if you want specific recommendations in your price range at this point you
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can power on the system by pressing the you guessed it power button on the front
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and if the cooling system is already cold you'll need to wait a few minutes for it to warm up and once that's done
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the PC itself will then power on and you'll need to press delete to get into
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the UEFI BIOS load optimize defaults
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then switch to advanced mode in the BIOS by pressing F7 and make sure that the
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fan header your phase controller is connected to is not set up to run with
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any sort of a fan control curve at this time we've actually got a full
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overclocking guide for this particular CPU which you can watch here but the key
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difference in this case is that we have the ability to push More Voltage through
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the CPU without causing instability due to Thermal limits and the inherently
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better overclockability of processors that are running at cooler temperatures
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and I guess that's pretty much it That's all folks I hope you enjoyed our phase
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change cooled white out build guide because I sure did I was able to dial in
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a 5 GHz stable overclock at 1.4 volts
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with load temps in the single digits and low teens in a matter of seconds and I
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hope this Glam footage you guys are checking out of the system turns your
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nerd crank as much as it does mine because as much as a system like this is
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be Beyond impractical I mean we're talking a few per better performance in
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games and benchmarks in exchange for a lot of noise and extra heat being dumped
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into the room that the computer occupies
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boy was it fun for me to play with something extreme like this for the
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first time in almost 10 years the last time I went Subzero was with a chilled
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liquid setup that I built from a torn down window air conditioning unit so uh
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this is quite a lot more elegant we've come a long way since then I hope this
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was fun for you guys to watch watch thanks again for watching like it if you
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liked it dislike it if you thought it sucked leave a comment at the link in
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the video description on the line of tech tips Forum if you want to discuss
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this particular build or you have any questions about it that's a great place
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to ask also linked in the video description a place where you can buy a
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cool t-shirt like this one give us a monthly contribution or change your
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Amazon bookmarks one with our affiliate code so we get a small Kickback uh
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whenever you buy stuff on Amazon that kind of thing helps us out a lot thanks
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one more time to you guys for watching to uh well yeah you guys for watching oh
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yeah and the folks who worked really hard making this video happen editing it shooting it and all that good stuff see
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you again next
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time