Project: P-X4

[D-Cyph3r]

P-X4, Prototype X4. Why? Well this'll be my first rig with 4 cores, 4GB ram and (eventually) 4 GPU's. :D

In a sentence it'll be a dual loop Phenom/Spider watercooled platform housed in a slightly custom Lian Li A71. Specs will look a little like this:

AMD Phenom 9850 BE
1TB Samsung F1+500GB Spinpoint*
2x 4870X2's
X-Fi Titanium
4GB Patriot Extreme PC-6400*
Corsair TX750*
Hyundai 24" monitor*
Green Razer Copperhead+Saitek Cyborg Evo*

*Donates part already purchased

You'll notice theres no mobo in that list, thats because (like others) i'm waiting for those damn SB700 boards to show up (anyone got an ETA?).

Anywho, the cooling, as mentioned, will be a dual loop affair. CPU loop is already running as goes as follows:

EK Multioption (was going to be a Tribal Fusion SpinFX but Royal Mail lost it:mad:)->Laing DDC w/XSPC top->ThermoChill PA120.3->XSPC Edge

Loop 2 will be cooling the X2's and will go like this:

Laing DCC w/XSPC Res top->ThermoChill PA120.2->XSPC full cover blocks

Pics of the build so far:

Case ready to go. Removed the HDD cage as i'll only be using 2 HDD's and will need the space for the 2nd rad and pump:

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/3449/caseprimedro5.jpg

The box of treats that I needed to get it started. Pump, barbs, acrylic, rad grill, 2 bottles of Feser and some other small but important bits.

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/2973/boxogoodiesob0.jpg

Stock DDC with my old XSPC top ready to be fitted:

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/7189/pumpbeforejc3.jpg

Much better :D

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/5673/pumpafterip6.jpg

XSPC Edge, EK Multioption and DDC w/XSPC Top.... acrylic :banana::banana::banana::banana:ography:

http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/6949/acrylicjoynj6.jpg

PA120.3 installed (top and bottom shot):

http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/465/radmounttopjt0.jpg
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/6397/radmountbottomcc7.jpg

First attempt at loop using primochill plastic hose clips, quickly found out they really dont cut it compared to the trusty wormdrive...

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/6568/1stattemptlightseg9.jpg

As I said, sharply reminded myself why most people use wormdrives. Leaks in 3-4 points where the tubing was at an angle where the hose clips just couldn't apply enough pressure to keep the seal. By time I got everything back on with wormdrives I had tested Feser, had it in my eye, ruined one of my favorite t-shirts, absolutely destroyed the carpet (thats thankfully gonna be ripped out anyways) and even gave my dog some more black spots.... pretty horrendous really:

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/7854/thatsbadwz5.jpg
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/1483/ohdearkv1.jpg

(I was gonna take a picture of my face covered in black feser, but it was stinging pretty bad so I just went straight to the sink to wash it out)

Anywho, everything secured with wormdrives+muchos better. Really lucky I had the exact amount laying around really. Starting to get an idea of what it's gonna look like now aswell. With a PA120.2 in the front, another DDC in the base and a couple of watercooled 4870's it's gonna be a nice system to play with. :D

(And no, that isn't the mobo that'll be part of the rig, it's my tortured test fit mobo)

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/7325/biggerpicturekc4.jpg
http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/7797/gettingtherecq0.jpg

After putting the coils on

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/9172/coilsarrghnk3.jpg

After fixing the smoked acrylic in the main window and replacing stock feet with casters

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/1969/newcasebacksideqs6.jpg
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/9661/newcasefrontsidept0.jpg


Now I just need to wait for those SB700 boards show up before I can actually play with any hardware....

[eXa]

What tubing are u using? Plain masterkleer 7\16 can be held on without any help in my loop (yes i have ddc with top). I am using zip ties to be shure tho.

[MomijiTMO]

That was one mighty save there. Never seen a leak like that before :D

Everything looks pretty good but that case just dwarfs your mobo lol.

[Pellepel]

acrylic :banana::banana::banana::banana:ography:
:ROTF: looking good.

[Anemone]

If people want to change the "look" of the classic wormdrives they could just be lightly painted. A see through colored thin layer would give a metallic color and it wouldn't stay on perfectly due to the worming of the clip but it would look ok enough.

Have read a few horror stories now about those plastic clips.

[evil-98]

wow that sucks, im glad ive never had an incident where water was everywhere.
glad all is safe though, sorry about your tshirt, carpet, eyes... lol

i like the side panel, as crud as this may sound, use some black marker to blacken
the edges, will definitely tone it down as right now it pops too much IMO.
well then again it accents nicely with the exposed aluminum on the front fascia
but definitely an option.

good luck with the rest of the build :up:

[D-Cyph3r]

Thanks lads.:D


As I said i'm waiting for the appropriate motherboards to show up before I can get the machine up and running, so in the meantime I ordered all the peripherals:


24" Hyundai N240Wd Widescreen TFT Monitor
Razer DiamondBack 3G Green Mouse
Saitek Cyborg Gaming Keyboard
Logitech X-530 5.1 Speaker System

Gonna get the Blu-Ray drive and X-Fi next week, mount the green acrylic behind the WCUK cutout and cover the insides with Akasa soundproofing stuff this week then just play the waiting game.

[septim]

nasty leaks... stainless worm drive clamps is a must, and grab some Bitspower/DD Fatboys hose barbs...

[Chewbenator]

What size tubing and barbs are you using? I've got 1/2" barbs and 7/16" tubing and haven't had anything on the barbs for a good 4 months with no leaks. (Well except for the plastic barbs on the Swiftech rad being loose)

[D-Cyph3r]

1/2" ID XSPC tubing over D-Tek barbs. The leaks were only to and from the res where the plastic clips couldn't supply enough pressure on the barbs where the tubing was at a tight angle (if ya get me). I've always used wormdrives previously so I was experimenting with the reusable plastic clips.... never again though.

Loops now been running for 3 days 24/7 with no leaks.... just gotta get rid of the pocket of air up in the rad (upside down case time methinks).

[D-Cyph3r]

Gah! Completely forgot to update over here. >.<


Anywho, she's up and running (first time i've built a machine that booted first time hooray!). Quick run-down of whats been done:


-Internal DVD drive has been replaced with an external so i dont have to faff about with the door when I change discs and to reduce cable clutter inside the case.
-Lian-Li HDD caddy thing has been removed as it sat too far back and clashed with the reservoir. HDD mounted into 5.25" bay with a Scythe Stabilization kit.
-Zalman Fan Controller has been installed, system is now whisper quiet. :D
-Side panel has been completed with the green acrylic.
-Cables tidied slightly (wont bother doing a proper job till the final hardware is installed)

The best news though is that the rare TribalFusion SpinFX has been found! Was AWOL for near on 2 months but has returned to sellers house, so that'll be in the final build.:D

Other than that it's just a matter of ever waiting for those SB750 mobos and 4870X2's to show up.

(oh, and i've not done any real overclocking or benching because I dont want to spoil the buzz of a new build by finding out this SB600 board is a :banana::banana::banana::banana: overclocker :p)

Some pics:


http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/8195/24072008488ng3.jpg
http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/6031/24072008489yi0.jpg
http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/7677/24072008492nr2.jpg
http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/3750/24072008495ig9.jpg
http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/2184/24072008497hi2.jpg
http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/8950/24072008498kh3.jpg

[Riggs]

Nice, even though I already saw it. :p

[taylormsj]

I like the colour scheme, cable management could be a bit better though :\