Watercooling my PS3 - advice needed please!

[Sumanji]

Hey,

I'm looking for a small all in one external watercooling solution - something along the lines of Corsair Hydrocool, Innovatek Aquamatic or Koolance Exos. Will hopefully pair this up with Koolance (http://www.koolance.com/water-cooling/product_info.php?product_id=557) or Innovatek PS-matic (http://www.intomod.com/ReadNews.asp?NewsID=4963) waterblocks.

Main criteria are a) Low noise, b) ability to be powered automatically without any internal connections and c) relatively easy to setup and maintain.

[edit] also d) has to look nice in a home theatre setting!

And before you say, I don't want any lectures on this being a waste, or pointless - I'm doing this just for the fun and the challenge, and I have one of the "noisy" (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=502980) original consoles. My PS3 is out of warranty, so I figure what the hell :D

Any advice appreciated!

Cheers,

Suman

[XS_RoB]

I like the Exos 2.5 foot print. Should be fine if your going with the Aluminum Innovatek Block.

I would shy away from the Corsair Nautilus 500 with a PS3 - I wouldn't trust it to cool it efficiently enough.

My 2 cents!

Good Luck and Make a worklog! I would love to see it!
Thanks

[roofsniper]

i would love to see this as well. i have a ps3 and watercooling it would be fun but i doubt ill ever do it.

[Sumanji]

Exos 2.5 would be ace but unfortunately it is very expensive over here - £300+ (like $600). It's also very big (Exos 2 is a nicer size). I've looked at the Exos-LT which came with the old Koolance PS3 complete kit (now discontinued it seems), but I'm just wondering if the dual 80mm fans will be a bit too noisy.

My main problem is power - how do I get the external cooler to power on at the same time as the PS3? Is there a kettle-lead adapter I can get which will trigger the WC to switch on when the console gets power?

Cheers,

Suman

[NaeKuh]

I like the Exos 2.5 foot print. Should be fine if your going with the Aluminum Innovatek Block.

I would shy away from the Corsair Nautilus 500 with a PS3 - I wouldn't trust it to cool it efficiently enough.

My 2 cents!

Good Luck and Make a worklog! I would love to see it!
Thanks

nautilus 500 is actually a better unit then the koolance exos thanks to the DDC thats in the nautilus.

Also the nautilus is alu radiator, so it should go well with either or.


The koolance exos lt tho has a sexier look to it.


I dont remember the PS3 getting loud. Why do you want to watercool it? If its an old xbox360 i would totally understand but a ps3?

[Sumanji]

Hey,

I can't find anywhere in Europe that sells Nautilus 500 (is it discontinued?). Also, I'm not sure how easy it would be to externally power it. I just found this (http://www.thecoolingshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=2636) for the Exos 2 which would be perfect.

Most PS3's are pretty damn quiet, but a lot of them (especially older consoles) suffer from a high fan noise problem as I linked to in my first post. I've tried simple things like reseating the heatsinks with AS5 etc. but it is still a noisy bastard! I have recently bought a newer 40GB PS3 which is very quiet, but I want to have a play with my old console :D

Cheers,

Suman

[roofsniper]

ps3 is defiantly quieter than a 360 and i have no issue with the sound at all but it would be a fun project anyway. besides have 8 spes produce a large ammount of heat.

[NaeKuh]

Hey,

I can't find anywhere in Europe that sells Nautilus 500 (is it discontinued?). Also, I'm not sure how easy it would be to externally power it. I just found this (http://www.thecoolingshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=2636) for the Exos 2 which would be perfect.

Most PS3's are pretty damn quiet, but a lot of them (especially older consoles) suffer from a high fan noise problem as I linked to in my first post. I've tried simple things like reseating the heatsinks with AS5 etc. but it is still a noisy bastard! I have recently bought a newer 40GB PS3 which is very quiet, but I want to have a play with my old console :D

Cheers,

Suman


But do you really want something to sit next to it? The Xbox360 was small compared to the PS3. So the Exos LT unit looked good ontop of it.

The PS3... Man, i need to get my ps3 back from my cousins. I totally forgot about mine.

[roofsniper]

But do you really want something to sit next to it? The Xbox360 was small compared to the PS3. So the Exos LT unit looked good ontop of it.

The PS3... Man, i need to get my ps3 back from my cousins. I totally forgot about mine.

actualy the ps3 is the same size as the 360. the curved edge adds a little bit more but they are very similar in size. but the cooling system would most likely have to sit next to it unless you did something like hobo: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=188737&highlight=[worklog].

[Sumanji]

Don't really mind having an additional box on my AV stack... as long as it looks good! And yeah PS3 and 360 are roughly the same volume... once you take into account the giant Xbox power supply!

So can you guys offer me any practical advice?

Cheers,

Suman

P.S. Omfg Hobo rules!!

[Sumanji]

So can anyone offer me any practical advice please?

Cheers,

Suman

[roofsniper]

So can anyone offer me any practical advice please?

Cheers,

Suman

what do you need help with? everything?

[joecop120]

I would go with the Innovatek for ease of installation and use. I have the block for 360 and it works fantastic!

[Sumanji]

what do you need help with? everything?

Hey,

Well I have a preliminary kit selection:

Innovatek PS-Matic waterblock (ordered this already)
Koolance Exos 2 LX Black (need to find this for cheap - best price in UK is £295 (~$590!!))
Koolance Exos 2 Power Adapter (to power unit from mains)

I need help with a few practical points and general advice I guess, seen as this is quite a speciality thing.

1) How do I get the PS3 and the Exos to power on at the same time? I ideally some sort of adapter than can sit in the power socket and I can plug both into. Does that kinda thing exist?

2) I guess I will need a small quiet fan to shift some air through the PS3. A nice slim line 40mm (might need 2) or a long axial blower fan would be cool - any suggestions?

3) Quick release hoses - are these a good idea? If so, which ones do you suggest?

4) Where can I get Koolance stuff for cheap in Europe?? UK prices are crazy, and if I import from USA I will get stung with both postage and import duty :(

Cheers :up:

Suman

[sheriff_deadeye]

How about a slightly different approach?

Instead of the koolance exos pre-built kit, build your own and select the parts based on the info from this site.

If you're not into building your enclosure (which i wouldn't be), start with say the shell of a small form factor pc case (like this one (http://cgi.ebay.com/SHUTTLE-PC-AMD-1700MHz-PARTS-OR-REPAIR_W0QQitemZ360065436341QQihZ023QQcategoryZ179 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)) )

Rip everything out of the case.

Install the cooling components into the case and run the tubing over to the PS3.

Would give several more expansion options (such as adding fan controlers or temp read-outs to the empty drive bays) and would probably result in better cooling.

just a thought.

[roofsniper]

How about a slightly different approach?

Instead of the koolance exos pre-built kit, build your own and select the parts based on the info from this site.

If you're not into building your enclosure (which i wouldn't be), start with say the shell of a small form factor pc case (like this one (http://cgi.ebay.com/SHUTTLE-PC-AMD-1700MHz-PARTS-OR-REPAIR_W0QQitemZ360065436341QQihZ023QQcategoryZ179 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)) )

Rip everything out of the case.

Install the cooling components into the case and run the tubing over to the PS3.

Would give several more expansion options (such as adding fan controlers or temp read-outs to the empty drive bays) and would probably result in better cooling.

just a thought.

sounds like a good idea to me. would be nice to have a fan controller/temp readout. my kaze master does well at that.

[Sumanji]

It's something I did consider, but a pre-built solution would be less "messy" and just more straightforward I think... most external systems already have fan/temp readouts etc. etc. (the Koolance certainly does).

[sheriff_deadeye]

i'm in the middle of my first w/c build and started out considering an exos solution. but, after reading everything on this site i went down the custom path and it's been a much better experience.

if your taking this on as a challenge, "just because," i think you'll enjoy the process and be much more satisfied with what you've accomplished if you put it all together yourself.

[roofsniper]

i'm in the middle of my first w/c build and started out considering an exos solution. but, after reading everything on this site i went down the custom path and it's been a much better experience.

if your taking this on as a challenge, "just because," i think you'll enjoy the process and be much more satisfied with what you've accomplished if you put it all together yourself.

well said deadeye

sure a pre built solution would work but if you make a custom system you could get a system for the same price but much better. or a system with the same performance for much cheaper. and like deadeye said you have more bragging rights if you built it. lets say some friends come over to play ps3 and see ur ps3 is watercooled. you could say ya i bought that or ya i built that. something to consider before you make a decision.

[Sumanji]

Ok I've had a re-think and I'm now gonna go with the Zalman Reserator - two main reasons; 1) it's totally silent versus any Koolance, and 2) both the Innovatek block and Zalman WC kit uses 8mm tubing so I wouldn't need to swap out any barbs etc. I really want a Reserator 2, but can't find one in stock anywhere in the UK... may have to get a Reserator 1 v2.

One thing I do want though is a small quiet cooling fan which I can strap onto the back of the PS3 just to get a small amount of air flow for the rest of the components. Don't care if it moves like 2cfm, but it has to be practically inaudible! My main idea here is to just get one of those cheesy aftermarket PS3 coolers and just mod them a bit to allow the WC tubes out of the back... this (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220244724372) kind of models seems awesome as it won't waste a USB connector. Dunno how noisy it will be though!

Cheers,

Suman

[Sumanji]

Started a project log here (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=193836) :)