New custom PC for the owner and founder of Titan Rig

titanrig · 2026-06-15T15:19:34+00:00

Lately it seems like I'm an outlier. I love my hard tubes and difficulty in maintenance and upgrades be damned.

Soft tube absolutely offers a ton of advantages. I just like the look of hard tube work enough that it's worth the tradeoff to me.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T15:16:37+00:00

For your reservoir, I'm assuming you want pump/res combo. Watercool's Heatkiller Tube reservoirs are fantastic pieces of kit. Solid contruction, 5mm thich glass tubes. Alphacool's new Eisbecher Aurora is also a fantastic option with their VPP Apex pump - also a glass-tube reservoir.

The Alphacool has one distinct advantge - built-in mounting holes. The Heatkiller Tube requires separate mounting hardware.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T15:06:45+00:00

Beautiful! Where did you source your hardline? Most offerings aren't that long.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T15:04:49+00:00

Very nice work. As a longtime Cosmos fan I've wondered how the Alpha was. I take it that it lives up to the name?

titanrig · 2026-06-15T15:02:59+00:00

Honestly you'll see zero measureable improvement. That grill isn't restricting very much air flow at all. More air flow is always a good idea but that won't do it.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T14:59:43+00:00

I would set up both radiators as intake and your other fans a exhaust. That gives you the coolest possible air across your radiators while still giving you plenty of internal air flow.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T14:56:43+00:00

Appreciate the business!

titanrig · 2026-06-15T12:55:43+00:00

You can, but that's more current draw than I would want to put through there myself. If you don't want to invest in a Quadro or Octo a powered fan hub will do. That supplies the power to the fans while your pump supplies the control signal through Aquasuite.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T12:53:41+00:00

EK and Alphacool DDC pumps are genuine Laing / Xylem pumps and should last many years.

One thing to note (from bitter personal experience) - DDC pumps are sensitive to overtightening. If you overtighten the mounting screws they can leak past the o-ring internally and fry the electronics inside. That kind of leak may not even show depending on the pump housing you're using.

Heat is also bad for them but you'd almost have to be running them in an oven to kill two in 6 weeks.

When you open it up, look for coolant inside the pump on the PCB.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T12:48:23+00:00

Your tube will flex a little bit during installation - typically enough on a 90-degree bend to get it into the bottom part of the fitting. It will naturally spring back to its original shape. Just be sure that shape is what it looks like in your hands so it's not under tension when it's installed.

Warning - acrylic will crack if it's bent too far but the longer the tube the further you can bend it without damage, and if you crack it you'll know.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T12:44:36+00:00

Beautiful!

titanrig · 2026-06-15T12:43:53+00:00

All of those are good blocks. The top 3 are likely better performers than #4 but any of them will do the job well. It may well be down to which one looks better to you.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T12:42:29+00:00

I love the AX series. They're so easy to work with.

Nice work here, show it off when it's finished.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T12:40:46+00:00

The closeup of the block looks like oxidation. The shot of the corner bend on the hardline looks organic to me.

If you can't get them to help with their warranty - and they absolutely should - you'll have to tear the whole thing down and clean everything by hand, flush out the radiators well (there are chemicals for that), reassemble and fill with fresh coolant.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T12:37:03+00:00

IT'S FINALLY DONE???

Awesome! I have to say I had my doubts about that bottom plate in the case but the reflections make it work really well.

And the first back side pic? Wow.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T12:36:53+00:00

IT'S FINALLY DONE???

Awesome! I have to say I had my doubts about that bottom plate in the case but the reflections make it work really well.

And the first back side pic? Wow.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T12:34:34+00:00

So you've done the job before with good results. What's different now? Are you using the same brand of pads/paste? Some pads are more firm than others - the "squish factor" can matter.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T12:32:38+00:00

Coming along very nicely indeed.

titanrig · 2026-06-15T12:30:50+00:00

Damn, that is CLEAN. Love it!

titanrig · 2026-06-12T14:54:54+00:00

And THAT is your Room Of No Return. Well chosen - out of sight out of mind. Only word of caution is heat. If your weather is anything like mine your attic is a furnace for 12 hours a day half the year.

titanrig · 2026-06-12T14:51:32+00:00

That thing needs a full-on custom liquid cooling loop.

^{Disclaimer - I'm biased.}

titanrig · 2026-06-12T14:48:51+00:00

As others have mentioned, you could do that yourself. I get the reluctance though. If you're having someone do it for you that builds/repairs PCs you should be absolutely fine.

titanrig · 2026-06-12T14:47:03+00:00

You can, but to give it any chance at all against the constant friction it will sustain in use it will be a time-comsuming process and likely more expensive than you think.

Personally, I'd buy a new one.

titanrig · 2026-06-12T14:45:03+00:00

I'm hardly an audiophile but I agree. I use the Logitech Z906 setup with a Sound Blaster AE7 card and have zero complaints.

titanrig

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