Water Cooled Hercules 8500

[morphling1]

Hi
This is my first post on this forum and to get things started, I'll show you what I'm about to make.
So, water cooling for my Hercules 8500. It will be all in on solution one block covering gpu and ddr on one side on the other block ddr on the other side. Blocks will be connected between them, so I will have only one inlet and outlet for complete cooling. That was the result of brainstorming with my friend Boris yesterday, and 3h of acad drawing and modifying details today.
Here's preview of things to come.
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/herc8500.JPG

[RichBa5tard]

Looks awesome m8! Have you got the propper tools to make it too? (CNC?)

[morphling1]

Block will be made on desktop non cnc lathe drill press combo, for harder Cu bottom part. And Plexy top with o-ring grove, will be made on small homemade desktop cnc mill.

[w1per]

It looks gr8 but how much can it weight?

[morphling1]

I'll try to keep weight under 1kg, and if the card would still bend, I'll support it

[BorgBob]

Kewl!

I would think you can create a little bracket that ties the water block to the card retention screw area if it seems too heavy.

Now if only this thing were set up for GeForce4, and it had an LED lit plexi cover where the water is flowing. The trouble with these fancy graphics card coolers is there isn't much to see but the back of card. Need to spruce them up a bit!

[Smizack]

It looks good man. BTW, what are your temps on that card? If you don't mind me asking.

[morphling1]

Hey BorgBob or any other, if someone can sponsor me with gf4, I will gladly do the same watercooling for free, but I get to keep it for further evaluation :D
Smizak this waterblock is in the making so I can only give you temps I took with default card, gpu temp. taken on back of the card 46°C and ddr temp 54°C while 3d marking ambient temp 24°C .

[BorgBob]

morphling, sorry, i don't own a g4 yet meself!

[morphling1]

No problem, I was just joking.
Anyway here's current progress, I just finished milling and cutting contour of one block, that means the harder part of the job is over.
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/block1.jpg
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/block2.jpg

[morphling1]

Todays work :
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/block3.jpg
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/block4.jpg
I finished the most boring part of the job, and that's taping all the M3 holes, 21 total. And if you think that, with hand tap, you have to do each hole three times, that's a lot of taping. Tomorrow I'll do little grinding to mate both blocks perfect, then it's just joy of working with plexy .

[KnightElite]

Like I told you on [H], well done! And I suppose that you still don't want to make me one for a GeFORCE 4 using my dead gf2 GTS as a template, do you ;)?

[Smizack]

Originally posted by morphling1

Smizak this waterblock is in the making so I can only give you temps I took with default card, gpu temp. taken on back of the card 46°C and ddr temp 54°C while 3d marking ambient temp 24°C .

Ahhh. Runs hotter that I thought it would. Well, your project is looking pretty good so far man.

Ya might have to sell me one some time!;)

[morphling1]

KnightElite, I would make it, but Gf2 wb just won't fit on Gf4 :)
Smizack, first I have to come up with cnc machined solution, cos' it's just too much work with hand machining , and I'm realy don't wanna go through that again :D

[Smizack]

I know what you mean. That's gotta suck doing it all by hand.
I've got a lot of friends that run cnc machines in Wichita, but I can't talk them into anything!;)

[morphling1]

I to got friend and he could do it but, I'm not gonna bother him any more because he's preparing to make my cpu water blocks.

Here's today work:
Both block are now grinded to be aligned
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/block5.jpg
Here's the top and bottom block from the other side
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/block6.jpg
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/block7.jpg
And here's both block on the card, everything was Ok all resistors and capacitators were cleared and the blocks are sitting on gpu and ddr, and the card is now running like that in my computer.
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/Hercules1.jpg
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/Hercules2.jpg
Next for me is to solder connection block to lower block and then milled it to the exact height if the gap between the block, and also solder caps for those two capacitors in one block, then just plexy top with chanells and o-ring grove and I'm done :D

[sysfailur]

Very nice setup you got goin on there... I love designing stuff outta copper for cooling. Such fun!

[morphling1]

Oh, yeah copper is so much fun, especialy when it grip your tool to brake it :D ... but I still love working with it.
Did I mentioned, that even without water, just fans blowing on both cu plates, I can oc. this card to 335/680 with volt mod of course, not to shaby with 4ns LE card.
If I was into peltiers like some of you guys, I could slap one 156W tec on each side and go for the kill :cool:
Btw. does anyone know how much is max. known oc. with LE or even retail 8500 card?

[morphling1]

This is what I was doing today, designing modified version to so there wouldn't be problems with dimm slots in the way, this will be (if I'm going to do it) also machined version, the only thing missing are two 1/2" fittings on the back block.


http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/New%20block/85002.JPG
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/New%20block/8500ex2.JPG
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/New%20block/8500ex3.JPG
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/New%20block/8500b.JPG

[Malecky]

Originally posted by Smizack
I know what you mean. That's gotta suck doing it all by hand.
I've got a lot of friends that run cnc machines in Wichita, but I can't talk them into anything!;)

LOL Smizack, his temps are 54°C becouse he is using air... The block aint finished yet.

[morphling1]

I'm almost finished, just connection block with o-ring groves, and I'm done, just one pic. for now, I'll post a lot tomorrow when I'm done.
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/almost%20fin.jpg

[morphling1]

Some, more pics. I'm finished, but I won't installed it yet, I need to make northbridge block too, (base of the wb on the left of the 3rd pic.) so I don't have to go through all procedure of waterblock mounting twice.
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/Picture%20002.jpg
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/Picture%20003.jpg
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/Picture%20004.jpg
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/Picture%20005.jpg
http://www2.arnes.si/~mlivak/Herc8500/Picture%20006.jpg
And keep your monitors clean :D

[UaZa]

amazing morphling1 !!!!

More pics! ;)
i

[Smizack]

Originally posted by Malecky


LOL Smizack, his temps are 54°C becouse he is using air... The block aint finished yet.

Yeah I know.

I was saying I have friends that work in machine shops but I cant get them to make me any water blocks.

Anyway, about the temp. That just seemed high for that card. I don't know why, but I thought they ran cooler than that.

[DisposableHero]

all that work for an 8500 :rolleyes: ;)

very sweet though!

[morphling1]

UaZa, my friend took the camera for holydays, so this is all I have for now.
DisposableHero, I started this project cos' I wanted to have full water cooled card, yeah I know it's 8500, but I can get very respectable scores at 340/340 and still I don't think it's the limit. And while I was working on this card I realized that this block could be fitted on many cards with small modifications to the base, so it's ready for R300 and Gf4 4200 .... , and now that I have a concept I can easily make similar block for every new card out. I'm realy thinking of starting making them, full time so I'm in the process of looking for milling machine that I'll convert to cnc.