Been thinking of a Mach1, practical for daily use?

[J-Pak]

Well I was thinking of spending a lot for a high end water cooling system, but after calculating the costs for a Iwaki pump, Whitewater block, etc. it almost seems more sensible for me to live out my dream and order a Mach1 for about $150-200 more.

It would be used for the computer in my sig with maybe a change over to a DFI mobo depending on how high I can take this Epox after vdd mods. What I would like to know for all you phase change users is that is it practical to be used in a primary PC? Mostly all I do is game and encode video and I usually leave it on at night for downloads (but I would probably just use the fileserver fort that controlled by VNC).

So just curious for some opinions thanks :)

[NWEng]

I use mine as my primary, both home stuff and remote work support, without any issues. I tend to leave it running when I'm at home (overnight, weekends, etc.,) but shut it down when I'm away. As long as you've done the proper condensation proofing, seal string, dialectric grease, et al, you should be OK.


:cool:

[craig588]

I remember one guy went on vacation and left his system folding and running a phase change system for a month straight and nothing happened to it.

[HawainPanda]

i thought chilly1 said something about oil clogging in the evap?...maybe only applies to cascade where temps are very low...

[mdzcpa]

I've had three prommies which all ran 24/7 for exteneded periods. Never an issue.

[rhino56]

the only issues ive ever had with the mach 1 and running 24/7 folding for team 32 though :(


i run the power to the mach one seperately as do most people. except my fans run off of a fan controller and that is powered off my comps psu.
well one day i left for about 2 hours and returned to find a steady beeeeeep

the power went out and came back on, well my promey just sat and ran with no fans and got too hot. i shut it down and did emergency resuscitation
and all that to cool it off.

i should have had it set to restart on power outtage in the bios. and also to have Thermal Throttling enabled incase the power is out for a while and it needs time to cool off the mach one again.

however the way i am setting it up now is first im sending it to chilly one for regassing. oh yeah im excited about that!! :slobber:
i am going to put the psu that powers the fans within the mach one power loop so if the mach 1 is on so are the fans.

condensation will be your worst enemy. learn all you can about how to properly insulate the cell and it should do fine.

i ran my 3.2 at 4.2 24/7 for a long time, months, until i sold that chip.

good luck with a great unit. as soon as you drop below -0 celcius a whole new world of overclocking is opened up.
the next big step would be -178C :eek:


we need a smily like this but better here
http://www.ls2.com/forums/images/smilies/cold.gif

[gkiing]

I remember one guy went on vacation and left his system folding and running a phase change system for a month straight and nothing happened to it.

:banana4:

well fridges run 24/7 dont they? Im just finishing up my home made prommy and I hope to have it running 24/7. It will look very similar to the machII but it will have a bit higher capacity.

[tricknasty]

watch for condensation. its the only problems ive been having. SEAL IT UP GOOD

[rhino56]

:banana4:

well fridges run 24/7 dont they? Im just finishing up my home made prommy and I hope to have it running 24/7. It will look very similar to the machII but it will have a bit higher capacity.
no :p:

[tricknasty]

fridges turn on and off they dont need to run all the time, just keepin cold food cold

[masterofpuppets]

For condensation proofing. I would recommend lots of good quality dielectric grease, neoprene around the evaporator and back plate then a few rounds of sealent string to form a seal. Never had any problems like that. I once had my Mach II running for a week no problems, and it is probably safe to run it longer.

[rhino56]

what has also happened to me before was that the dielectric grease will work its way under the seal of the seal string.

so here are just a few tips ive learned the hard way when sealing the cell.
i seal everything with the grease, the cpu socket, back of mobo, around the cpu. a very thin layer when you get near the seal string about a 1/8 inch path of super thin layer so there is no build up to seep under the string.

put the string in all the places it says to but also-
cover the backplate screws with 2 layers of electrical tape.
run another layer of seal string around the cell on front and back.
seal the tube to the head where the heatshrink is.
and put plenty on the 2 allen bolts.

now test it.
get it fired up and even under clock and under load the cpu so its at its very coldest it will ever be seeing.
get it as hot and humid as you can in your room.
the shower works great to steam up a place.

now watch carefully for an hour to see if any drips of water form. main area is usually the tube to the head.
it will drip right out of the heatshrink and fry your brand new 9800 pro :upset: if thats what you have.

[gkiing]

no :p:

What I meant is that they are constantly "on" although the compressor cycles on and off in a refrigerator. It is not possible to do this in a direct die system, but it is possible in a waterchiller.

[mdzcpa]

There really isn't that much too it. Just take your time and make sure you have sealed everything up tight with seal string. Just a bit of dielectric grease in the pin holes is all you need. To much grease is bad as it ruins the seal string effectiveness on the surfaces it needs to seal. Use the back plate warmer and don't disconnect the evap hose heater if you plan on running 24/7.

Bottom line, anything that doesn't condensate after 12 hours of run time (at idel) isn't going to suddenly start condensating. In addition, its much more likely that if you have a bad seal you will have your problems arise in day to day "on and off" use more than if you just left it on. Icy build up in the cell isn't the issue, its when it melts that you have trouble. Outside the cell condensation is easy to prevent if you use the heaters and seal string properly.

[rhino56]

What I meant is that they are constantly "on" although the compressor cycles on and off in a refrigerator. It is not possible to do this in a direct die system, but it is possible in a waterchiller.
yeah that would really be ideal to have in a water chiller so it doesnt sit and run if your comp is off.

[gkiing]

Well it wouldnt really depend whether the computer is on or off, the compressor would be on a thermostat and turn on when the temperature rises above a certain point (-20c for example), and off when it goes below.

[rhino56]

Well it wouldnt really depend whether the computer is on or off, the compressor would be on a thermostat and turn on when the temperature rises above a certain point (-20c for example), and off when it goes below.
most water chillers they remove the humidity sensor so they just run constant, if its an ac unit you could use the temp probe. i understand what your saying though.

[gkiing]

Humidy sensor? This would be a custom waterchiller not something made from a dehumidifier. Im saying if one were to incorporate a thermostat thats how it would work.

[rhino56]

Humidy sensor? This would be a custom waterchiller not something made from a dehumidifier. Im saying if one were to incorporate a thermostat thats how it would work.
yeah that would be awesome really, id like to be able to chill a very well insulated 200 gallon tank outdoors and just pump the water in. completely silent cooling.
and like you say it would just run like a fridge, only come on when it needs to.

[DracZ]

I keep mine running for weeks at a time with no problem, so long as measures are taken with the condensation it shouldn't be an issue at all :)

[J-Pak]

Thanks, I've definetly decided to get one now. Just going to do some research as to what the best for the money is right now. I'm a bit out of the loop and last I checked the Mach II was the best performer but the Mach I ran maybe only 6-8 C warmer

[rhino56]

best deal is a mach 1 on ebay or forums, best performance is mach 2 for sure.
but you really pay for that extra few degrees.

[rick_fx]

buy a mach1 and get it modded (costs less than Mach2 w/ better perf.)

[Nohto]

Bottom line, anything that doesn't condensate after 12 hours of run time (at idel) isn't going to suddenly start condensating.

That isn't necessarily true. If your humidity level changes like it did here a month ago, you could get condensation where you never did before.

[rhino56]

That isn't necessarily true. If your humidity level changes like it did here a month ago, you could get condensation where you never did before.
thats why i say to test it under extreme conditions like a steam room.
especially if you are anywhere near arkansas. when i was in detroit it was running forever non stop just fine. i came here and lost 9800 pro because of the heat and humidity.

[gkiing]

If you use insulate properly as in covering the mobo in seal string and 3m mastic pads, using dielectric grease in the cpu socket etc, you shouldn't have a big problem even around -50c. If you're really paranoid about condensation you can build and airtight box, suck it into a partial or near complete vacuum, and still insulate.

You should check out bowman's excellent insulation guide on phase-change.com, or look for the liquidfrostbyte thread in the liquid chilling section of the forums, it goes pretty in depth into insulation as well.

[mdzcpa]

That isn't necessarily true. If your humidity level changes like it did here a month ago, you could get condensation where you never did before.

Possible....yes. But very rare. Higher humidity levels that "start" condensation where there previously was none is only exposing a poor set up job to begin with.


thats why i say to test it under extreme conditions like a steam room.
especially if you are anywhere near arkansas. when i was in detroit it was running forever non stop just fine. i came here and lost 9800 pro because of the heat and humidity.

LOL....Summer in Detroit gets about as humid as anywhere in the word. We're talking 99% stuff. It may be drier than a popcorn fart in the winter due to the heating needs, but in the summer its damn soupy.



As I said before, a properly set up Mach following only the basic instructions wouldn't condensate in the Amazon rain forest. The paranoia comes from the results of improper set up. LOL...compared to the chiller and TECs I've used for years, this OEM phase change stuff is a breeze.