Jimbo

I think he plans to mount a piece to the heatsinks that the waterblock will screw onto? That's what I managed to extract. Personally I would just buy something better than go to all the trouble, I guess that's how great mods are made though. I will be interested to see how (if?) this works.

That's unlikely to make much difference, modern metals are damned good in machined form. It might be slightly stronger (assuming it's not drop forged or something, that would be shit), but it won't cool any better.

I know in Australia there are companies that put together their own kits, I'm sure similar things abound in the US. Brand of block is not all that significant, I've had personal experience with XSPC, Heatkiller, Koolance and EK, heatkiller are probably my favorites. The XSPC kit is how I got into watercooling, but the tubing is average, it only comes with plumbing style hose clamps and the pump died on me after ~ 1 year causing a thermal shutdown. Their new Raystorm kit is the dogs bollocks, if you can afford it and the block will fit it's solved all the old issues. (Aussie) http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_160_45&products_id=20462

Are they beefier than the upgraded heatsink for the XM CPUs in the M18X R1? The more I read the better the R2 sounds.

Great minds etc, I literally just linked that in the chat.

Definitely R2 as I said in chat, I will keep answering there as long as my knowledge holds out.

+1 million internets. Even the M18X size is no bother, it's the weight (especially including the brick) that kills me.

*Bows Down* Respect, nice scores too BTW.

Pushing the core clock on a mobile card past 1ghz! Is that being reported right???

So.... For guys that have done this sort of swap before, could anyone estimate how much it would cost to swap the 6990s in my M18X to a pair of these babies? Including selling the 6990s. Can't get away from the idea of smashing P10k 3dm11 with a laptop. Edit: Eurocom are charging $991 for a pair, so I suppose I need to know how much the 6990s are worth and if there's anywhere better to look for the 7970s.

I think your only option would be to opt for a custom design like @svl7 is doing on his beast. I doubt there is an aftermarket drop in solution. Though given the seriousness of the problem I would think fairly large numbers could be sold.

+1 to all above. That Lepa G1600 is an Enermax 1500w MaxRevo, I have one in my system, great PSU.

Doesn't really sound like it's worth the risk IMO, if someone did kick up a fuss I'm not sure "Nobody told me I couldn't" would cut it.

It should be fine, just clean it off with isopropyl alcohol (99%).

IMO planning for 4 x GPUs is silly, unless you're planning 3 x 30" with 7680x1600 or some other uber power hungry config. Also, the lanes may be there but even a 3960X will bottleneck 4 GPUs, and the scaling drops off fairly dramatically after dual config (4xGPUs is nowhere near double 2xGPUs). PCI-E lane speed is thus... Each generation gets twice as fast... so X16 1.0 = X8 2.0 = X4 3.0 2.0 X16 is plenty of bandwidth for any modern GPU, therefore so is 3.0 X8. To properly do a quad GPU setup you're looking at $5k minimum, IMO it's a total waste of money unless you NEED it. Far better to do a $2.5K build now, and another 2.5K build in ~ 2 years. To summarise: Plan for a beastly dual GPU build, don't pay more than $250 for a board unless you have spare money and don't get hung up TOO much on lane bandwidth. That's basically the philosophy behind my build which pulls nearly 15k 3dm11P. If I was building it now that would be closer to 20K+, I think this is enough!

You get props for pushing a laptop CPU to the point it almost beats a watercooled desktop! Nutter.

^This. You beat me, you get props - end of story.

It will always be one thing or the other holding you back, I would say however that the CPU is definitely the weak link. In terms of CPUs, see how high you can get the 5603, then decide whether to get another one or sell it and aim for a pair of better chips. RAID is exceedingly easy to set up, just have a look on youtube. I would wait for the thermal pads. Thanks for the compliment but I'm no OC pro, get another CPU in there with them both running 3ghz+ and you'll see your scores skyrocket. Then another 6990, and sitting around hoping the 5690s drop in price.

For SSDs go the Vertex 4, it has amazing incompressible data performance and the new firmware puts it firmly in the performance bracket with the fastest of the sandforce drives. Also it won't have the BSOD issues drives with the sandforce controller are notorious for. You could RAID a pair if you're keen, that will give you spectacular performance, however beyond that the price paid for extra performance rises steeply for not much gain IMO. The Dynix paste should be fine for now, put the MX-4 in when you get it, you should see a drop in temps. Sucks on shipping for the elyssium. Can't really help you there I don't think... Pics look great and you're already doing nicely in benchies. Those SR-2s are beast, just wait till you get a second CPU in there (I would make that a priority BTW)....

So sorry mate, I completely forgot this thread. The PSU - never heard of the brand but the reviews seem positive. Also check out Enermax/Corsair/Seasonic. You also don't need 1300w unless you are doing triple SLI/crossfire, a good 850w would run your proposed setup with a couple of GTX680/7970 no problems. H100 will take a 2600k well past 5ghz, can't swear to Ivy CPUs as they seem to produce more heat. Note however that it is only marginally more effective than a Noctua NH-D14, though it pulls away a little in higher ambient temps. Unless you are set on cooling GPUs also or totally obsessed with hitting maximum OC the H100 will do fine. As for motherboards, the choice is pretty infinite! Of the ones you listed I would buy the ASrock (they were an ASUS subsidiary who went big time, now 3rd biggest DIY motherboard maker). Personally I'm not a big fan of the sabertooth, that "Thermal Armour" just seems like a way to trap heat and any stray bits of crap that fall into your case. Any of the three boards you listed will be capable of 5ghz+ overclocks. If there's anything else I can help with just ask, if I don't respond in a day or two just tag me like @mw86 did (thanks mate).

Revodrives don't work in SR-2s, it's a known issue.

Yeah well, I just got back from my grandfathers funeral. I am still interested and will reply when I can. Deal with it.

So all of a sudden I'm riding horses and fighting robots? WTF?

Holy shit! That stock 3dm11 run is just crazy, that should translate to at least P12,000 in an M18X with a 4.5ghz sandy bridge! Soooo...... any takers for two NEVER OCd (I swear! ) 6990s?

The Xigmatek has...... Internal fan power headers. Better HDD/ODD support. A 2.5/3.5 hot swap dock. MUCH better support for watercooling. International shipping is a real b*tch, I suggest the Xigmatek, maybe see what else you need from this store to minimise shipping. I'm sure you know hardware suppliers in Sri Lanka better than me, but look for somewhere with cheaper shipping, I'm sure it exists.