P180 Revamp Project

[Crazykooter]

I Just got in my new rad and pump and now its time to start cutting into this case. I am going to mount the rad on upper side of case and pump is going to go in 5.25 bays above my Blu-ray burner. That scares me a little but I will just have to be dang sure its not gonna leak. As you can see in pics my hose out of EK block is kinked pretty good and its only been on a few days. Anyhow here is some before pics and I will post some after pics soon. Dang my desk is dirty!!!

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9581/wcpics2hl6.th.jpg (http://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wcpics2hl6.jpg)

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9392/wcpics4lt8.th.jpg (http://img505.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wcpics4lt8.jpg)

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9602/wcpics8lm3.th.jpg (http://img505.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wcpics8lm3.jpg)

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/5262/wcpics10ey5.th.jpg (http://img505.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wcpics10ey5.jpg)

[Crazykooter]

Ok I took everything out of the case and now its time to start cutting. I marked the holes where the fan/rad will fit. I am not sure if I am going to put the fans on the outside or inside yet. I did find a neat little flow tube at my work which I plan on using as res of sorts. It may be a little hard to work but I think its diff then anything else so I will give it a try. Hoping I can get this thing together tonight so I can go play some css. Sucks not having a second comp I can game on.

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/4226/picture058vy3.jpg

[Frank M]

I marked the holes where the fan/rad will fit.

I can't see them.
The top is a piece of black plastic with both patents going into holes of the
steel top and also some adhesive underneath. Then there's the steel top
underneath. I recommended that you remove the plastic and cut them
separately for a cleaner cut - but even if you mess up, it will be hidden by
the rad (unless you mess it up big time).

[taylormsj]

Out of interest, why was your back fan an intake? What fan set up did you have?

[Crazykooter]

Out of interest, why was your back fan an intake? What fan set up did you have?

All I wanted was some air getting to the nb. I wasnt interested in cooling anything else in case.

I have the rad mounted and hoses cut and mounted just not clamped yet. I need to figure out where to put my bleeder tube. Its really tight inside this case now. I may just close the loop off completely like it was before. That way I dont have to bother to bleed it. I never liked bleeder tubes or reses. I think they restrict flow and create problems but thats me.
I did screw up the cut on the top of the case. All I had to use was a 4 1/2 grinder with a slim cutting wheel. I will post pics of top once I finish the top.
Here is some pics of my loop so far.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/498/picture070fj6.jpg
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/401/picture069tn0.jpg
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/3864/picture067jt1.jpg

[WoZZeR999]

Lookin' nice. I have a P182 and I was planning on doing a mod similar to this (http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2149&sid=03c30c2d75bdd4ccb98f992be6fec682) to allow for slightly better air flow, except I would put the fans on the out-side of the case with the rad inside for a little more clearance.

Looking at your tube layout, you may want to try to shorten some of that tubing to get a better flow. I also recommend using a t-line or res because air in the system is never recommended, and it would probably be pretty hard without a valve of some sort to get all of the air out. The air to me just makes too much noise and reduces the performance of the loop.

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/3307/picture070fj61cf0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I would either put the t-line at the high point before the inlet, or reroute the tubing so that you don't have that stressful bend on the barb.

[Crazykooter]

I have no choice but to put in T due to the routing of my hoses. It is very easy to get all the air out without a res or a T as long as you connect it under water. I have been doing it that way for 6 yrs now. I was going to put fans on the outside but I want it to be quieter so if they are inside I wont have to listen to them. Also the length of my hoses are fine as this pump puts out sooo much gph I would rather have them longer.
The pic you showed for routing the line wouldn't work without another elbow off the bottom of the ek block. If I didn't use an elbow it would kink the hoses like in my 1st pictures.
I have a T hooked up now and I am getting ready to fill it. I sure hope I have no drips as this wasn't easy to install. I guess we will see here in a few mins.
I do appreciate the input tho. Its always good to have someone else look at it. Bad part is I am pretty stubborn :) Ill post some more pics once I get it filled. No funnel tho so its gonna be interesting.

EDIT: I do need to order a fill port from DD so I can mount it.

[WoZZeR999]

I never thought about filling it under water... I personally just like the thought of air getting out while I use the computer, and if anything does evap., it's a simple process to add water again.

Are you going to put anything over the rad fins? I could see something falling on it and denting the fins.

[Crazykooter]

I never thought about filling it under water... I personally just like the thought of air getting out while I use the computer, and if anything does evap., it's a simple process to add water again.

Are you going to put anything over the rad fins? I could see something falling on it and denting the fins.

Ya I am getting some steel mesh and covering the whole top of the case. atleast thats one idea. I will figure it out today or tomorrow. At this point I am just tryin to get the air out of my system which is going to take a while. This is why I hate using T lines or reses. It takes a while just to get air outif you can get it all 100% out.
Ill post a pic of it filled here in a few.

[WoZZeR999]

Waiting to get a new Motherboard, still saving money and trying to decide what to get, but I'll post a work log of the P182, and hopefully it will come out how I see it in my mind (probably won't though). Right now my wire management is very bad, and I just have tubing all over the place. I'll post a pic when I get home for a good laugh.

[Crazykooter]

Well this is as good as I am gonna get it for now. I am rather bummed about the T line being where it is but since case is so small I didnt have many choices. Fans on rad are all on low and I am running prime95 2-1 and getting ok temps. Ill show a screen shot. Its not any better then old setup but the ac5 hasnt settled yet. Hope temps dont go any higher. Heres a pic a decent pic of my lapped cpu. I got my camera back and its working great again.

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7642/finished1nz6.th.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=finished1nz6.jpg)
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1029/lappedcpufj7.th.jpg (http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lappedcpufj7.jpg)
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4826/loadtempswnewwcingvw6.th.jpg (http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=loadtempswnewwcingvw6.jpg)

[Crazykooter]

After letting this thing settle down a little my temps are about 5c lower then my old water cooling setup. Bad part is I dont like the layout at all. I think its time to get a different case. I really want one of those new Lian Li reverse cases. The ones where its open on the right side instead of left. Plus it has tons of room on the bottom for all the water cooling I need. Heck I could run a second loop without problems. I just cant afford a 300 dollar + case right now.