I more or less went the route of the "reference build guide" for the 680X. You can see the photos below, I didn't have room for the XD5 pump in the main chamber mainly because of the front XR5 360mm radiator. I ended up putting the XD5 in the "ugly" side of the case (realized I should have maybe used a 45° fitting on the outlet after I filled the loop, also cable management wasn't done at the time of the photo). Thanks for the response and the input. I appreciate your insight and you showing your loop off, it looks great! :biggrin: Outstanding High Airflow Cooling: Four cooling fans and Direct Airflow Path layout delivers cool air to your PC’s hottest components. The Crystal 680X is designed for high airflow while retaining the iconic Crystal Series aesthetic. To achieve this, we have mounted the panels 7mm further from the chassis than in previous Crystal Series cases. For those who prefer the style of Crystal Series, CORSAIR has included an extra pair of top panel shorter rubber spacers Equip your PC with outstanding high airflow cooling, with four fans and a Direct Airflow Path layout delivering massive airflow to your PC’s hottest components. Building on the legacy of CORSAIR’s multi-award winning Carbide Series Air 540, the 680X RGB uses a dual-chamber layout. By separating your headline hardware from drives and cables, it is easier than ever to create an immaculate build. The dual-chamber design ensures a Direct Airflow Path between the included cooling fans and your PC’s hottest components, efficiently directing cool air to where it’s needed most. In addition to the four included fans, the 680X RGB boasts room for up to eight 120mm fans and four simultaneous radiators (up to 360mm in front, up to 280mm in the roof and floor, and up to 140mm in the rear), providing a huge range of options for custom cooling systems. Finally, a vertical graphics card mount lets you put your graphics card center stage – perfect for the 680X RGB’s three crystal-clear tempered glass panels in the front, roof and side that show off your components.

Three crystal-clear tempered glass panels, fitted in the front, roof and a hinged easy-access side panel door, provide a stunning view of your PC’s high-profile components. Top 240/280mm fan mounts: The top cover can house 2 x 120mm or 2 x 140mm fans, with room for a 240mm/280mm radiator. High-speed USB 3.1 Gen-2 Type-C front panel connector puts future-proof connectivity within easy reach. For my below configuration I have a top and bottom mounted 240mm rad. I intend to change the air flow soon to find the optimum. The LL120 RGB fans can be individually controlled with a wide range of animations and colors, static as well as off.Removable top, front, floor and PSU dust filters: Keep your system looking great long after your build is finished. I see that on the reference build guide (attached) this is very different from what is recommended, my main questions boil down to:

Founded in 1994, CORSAIR has grown from pioneering the high-performance DRAM market into one of the world’s leading providers of high-performance PC peripherals and components. CORSAIR offers a complete range of products to equip gamers, enthusiasts and e-sports athletes, including mechanical keyboards, precision gaming mice, wireless headsets, high-performance components that gamers use to build gaming PCs, and the CORSAIR ONE fully-integrated gaming PC. With a company-wide commitment to quality, innovative design, advanced features and high performance, CORSAIR products have won thousands of media and industry awards, earning their place in gamers’ hands and PCs following years of development and engineering by a team dedicated to building great products they themselves would want to use.

A Closer Look: Exterior

There is more than enough pure cooling power available due to the built-in radiators and the fans should also be more than suitable for this. Even if the components generate a lot of waste heat, we should get this under control with this and with almost inaudible fans. I recently did my first ever custom loop in my 680X, I came across a few fitting issues during my first attempt, but you can see my final result below. The Carbide Series 678C is a low noise case defined by its clean lines and smooth steel construction, styled for sophistication with a single tempered glass side panel offering a window into your system. Equipped with three CORSAIR SP140 PWM fans, a six-fan PWM repeater and high-density sound dampening material on the side, front, and roof panels to deaden the noise from your components, the 678C is easy on the ears as well as the eyes. Acrylic tubing (Corsairs Hardline options) are not ideal to start. Find and use the same dimension PETG tubing and use that. Acrylic is entirely plausible as you can see from my build, but its a lot more messing around for nearly that exact same result. High-resolution images of the CORSAIR Crystal Series 680X RGB and the CORSAIR Carbide Series 678C can be found at the links below: