New P180 setup - pics!

[Skyguy]

The P180 case is not the most water-friendly, but I was determined to do a job I could be proud of for my very first crack at water cooling. So after a lot of help from the experts here (THANKS!!!), I finally got my new WC setup bought and installed in my P180 case. I'm a WC virgin, so go easy on the critiques ;)

First and foremost my build had to QUIET. And affordable. And completely internal, as my 1 year old kid loves to grab and chew on things.....and an external rad/hoses/fans would be irresistable to him :eek: I'm also anal about cable management and aesthetics, so the setup had to be sleek and clean. And lastly, the new setup had keep things cool. I have a C2D 6300 OC'd to 3.2ghz, an 8800GTS, 4 hard drives, 2 opticals.....all sorts of goodies. Noctua fans all around to keep the airflow moving in silence. And I didn't want to hack up my case either, so a 240mm rad wasn't gonna work internally. Anyways, onto the good stuff:

Setup:
-Swiftech 350 (I know, I know.....3/8" will do me just fine, not to worry)
-Apogee GT
-2 x MCR120's
-Micro Reservoir
-distilled water with HydrX
-3/8" Clearflex, Smartcoils

Loop:
Res > Pump > Rad1 > CPU > Rad2 > Res

Pics:
Overall. Added a bunch of additional noise dampening foam to the interior and exterior of the P180:
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/2987/h2ooverallpf2.jpg

Side. The "extra" smart coils you may notice if you look carefully.....are not part of the loop.....they're used to disguise the USB cables and maintain a consistent aesthetic LOL. And no, the CPU > Rad hose is not kinked....it's just the angle of the pic. Next pic shows a smooth bend.
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/2252/h2osidemh3.jpg

Upper chamber. Noctuas, more noise dampening, cable management.
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8760/h2ouppertr7.jpg

Lower chamber. Tight fit but works alright I think. High output fan is connected to fan controller.
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/124/h2olowerco0.jpg

Front. Added 2 intake fans, 1 each for upper and lower chamber to increase airflow to the rads. Very minor modification.....some rubber grommet for clearances, some noise matting for separation.
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/2156/h2ofrontug1.jpg


My upper rad is an exhaust configuration right now. Temps seems pretty good considering it's venting the case air. I'm gonna try flipping the fan to make it an intake and compare temps. Then for whichever is better, I may do a push-pull on the rad with 2 fans instead of just one.


TEMPS:
When the case was running on air, I used a Scythe Ninja, and then tried a Zalman 9500. My case is near the furnace vent, so my ambient temps are kinda high (29C/80F). Temps on air for each HSF were virtually identical.....53C idle / 65C load in TAT :eek:

Now, I am VERY PLEASED to say that my idle temps are 9C cooler at idle, and 18C cooler at load, HELLYA! :toast:

Also runs VERY quiet at low fan rpm's, highest isn't too bad.....I only use that setting when I'm gaming for a long time and have the headphones on anyways.

So, overall I think I did pretty good for a WC virgin. Clean setup, all internal, temps have dropped HUGE, didn't have any major problems, and managed to do it all in a cramped P180 case :)

Thanks to everyone that helped out, I really appreciate your time and expertise in helping in my quest for cool and quiet.

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

SUPER clean, truely great wiring !

looks well done, althoutgh i would suggest you get yourself an MCP 355 if your going to be using 2 rads like that, you kinda need the power

[Grinch]

awesome job man!

[virtualrain]

Amazing job... this is one of the best watercooling setups I've seen in such a small case. Outstanding!

[p8ntslinger676]

wow looks really clean, great job:D

[septim]

looks good, nice outcome with those extra smartcoils and usb cabling, hehehe.

[lasse.j5]

Looks very good mate.

I will soon be uploading a worklog of my upcomming waterbuild which also is in a P180B case.

[Frank M]

Turned out nice (though the cabling/wiring looks a bit too colorful to me...)
Good job!

Expect my P180 build next month (waiting for 256bit/dx10 cards :rolleyes: )

[AndyM]

Wow! That turned out very nice. Congrats!

[L'enFer]

Skyguy, pretty tubing.

[Skyguy]

Thanks for the kind words.....it was quite a learning experience. But I'm happy with the results.

As for the tubing LOL, yes it is a bit colorful......it was supposed to be all blue, but they shipped 1 blue and 1 red package of coils. There was no way I was gonna wait to get some new stuff. Besides, my 3 year old daughter said the "pink" is for her and the blue is for her baby brother. LOL, kids. :)

Andy, thanks for the comment......I was inspired by your new setup with the rad in the bottom ;)

[nealh]

Absolutely beautiful work and I own a P180 and know how much of a pain it is to work with

DAmn...your temps are much better than mine

Ambient of 23-25c...idle at 39/40C....load 56C(typically with blend Prime, saw one 59C reading)

[Skyguy]

Yeah, but let's compare apples to apples here. You have a 6600 @ 3.5ghz and an x1900XT....I used to own one of those.....that is probably THE hottest GPU out there. So you've got more blocks and more heat to cool. So I'd say overall your temps are better.

I've just got the CPU in the loop right now, no biggie. I'm gonna try reversing the rear fan to become an intake and see what the temps do. Then I might put in a GPU block later when I convince Bosslady at home that is the "last" upgrade for awhile...... ;)

[jabski]

nice setup. got any night/Dark shots to show off the loop ?

[masaville]

Nice clean install!

[Patriote]

Nice little set-up you got there Skyguy! :D

[Skyguy]

E6300 @ 3.2ghz, Gigabyte DS3

vCore 1.350v
vDimm +0.1v (1.9v)
MCH +0.1v
All else stock volts.


Night pics......ya I'll try to get a few shots......

[MiCust]

Very nice, never been a fan of the P180, but you pull it off.:cool:

[mcoffey]

really well done,

and with great performance to boot. that's how you do it.

congrats on a great build,

andyc

[CedricFP]

Amazing job... this is one of the best watercooling setups I've seen in such a small case. Outstanding!
I'll be putting a D5/MCR220/Ek150/ApogeeGT/MCW60 in a Lian Li PC-7B... it's the same size as a PC-60 ;)

I'm going to have a lot of trouble with that hehe. Everything internal. Holes cut and drilled etc just waiting on my GFX card.

OP: Great setup! I love the P180 case.

[BigRollTide1]

What is this "box" on the RAM? Link?

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/2252/h2osidemh3.jpg

[BigRollTide1]

It is the OCZ Memory Fan. Just like the Corsair one for Dominator memory, just not as cool...

Any "fan box" for Ballistix memory? Will the dominator fan box fit on the ballistix?

[Skyguy]

That "box" is a RAM cooler, it's this one, I love it:
http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/cooling_products/ocz_xtc_cooler

I have it connected to my fan controller, so it stays pretty quiet actually. The OCZ will fit on any RAM, since it connects to the DIMM slot latches, not the RAM itself. My guess is it won't work with OCZ Reaper though, ironically, since they have their own heatpipes above and won't give enough clearance.

[BeeN]

Your Rig looks sweet and the Cablemanagement looks good too. But i get wired with the different colours on the tubing.