[worklog] Lian Li A70 - 480 rad & my 1st LC build

[tjelaw]

:welcome:

This is going to be my first LC build, I would appriciate any input and advice :) my goal is to have good cooling, but I dont like too much bling outside of the case, no windows & too much lights etc. So its not exactly going to be "Extreme" sorry :( Most importantly for me it has to be practical, I dont want to have any trouble moving the case around, so anything mounted externally is a no-no.

I think this thread can still be usefull as I havent seen many builds on XS yet with an A70 and/or a 480rad. Maybe once my build is complete others can pickup some idea's or w/e.

ok, less talk more pics:

the postman delivers
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/01.jpg

opening up the box of goodies
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/02.jpg

they send me free candy!! lol wtf(seriously)
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/03.jpg

overview
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/04.jpg

where the rad will be mounted, in the ceiling of the case
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/05.jpg

Everyone is just using a radgrill or making custom radgrills. Why not just... make a grill in the top panel? I've send my top panel off to be CNC'd with proper holes and actually making a grill out of it. I've never seen anyone else do it, dont know what the result is going to be like... or if its even possible, I guess we'll find out.

Its a close fit :)
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/06.jpg

the battleplan, yes thats a delta 190CFM beast, rheostat incoming from Sidewinder
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/setup.jpg

omg why only a single cpu loop?
multiple reasons; my funds are not unlimited. my current hardware (see sig) is a bit outdated. Dont want to spend too much money on waterblocks for my MB and 8800GT when im likely to upgrade in a couple of months. I'd rather invest in a good rad and pump that will serve me still when nehalem/bloomfield gets around (I hope :D)

and this is still my first build, dont want to get too complicated straight away.

anyways, again: I appreciate any input and plz tell me if im doing something wrong or overlooking anything :up:


The parts im using;
TFC Xchanger 480 quad
MCP-355 + XSPC reservoir top
EK Supreme plexi
1/2" Feser compression fittings

still waiting to be delivered
1/2" OD Tygon R3400
1/2" OD Tygon B-44-4X

dont know yet which tubing ill use


next step:
- waiting to receive tubing


update posts:
august 5 - some parts (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3193393&postcount=11)
august 9 - top panel milling (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3203446&postcount=20)
august 9 - finished panel (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3203572&postcount=21)
august 12 - installing the rad (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3212083&postcount=29)
august 13 - filling & leak testing (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3213800&postcount=36)
august 14 - finished! (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3216753&postcount=42)

[rafwlkp]

Ohh, another great project incoming :) Sub'd

[MadHacker]

nice start...
bonus on the rolo;)

[Pellepel]

Good start, but they send you empty tape rolls...

[tjelaw]

Good start, but they send you empty tape rolls...

they used it as packaging material, there were a lot stranger things in there as well.

[BNDMOD]

I want yto see this.. i like too clean project :D... go on

[robbicfc]

I will be doing the same kind of build. TFC480 in the top and a TFC240 somewhere else (thinking in front of the drive bays). Are you going to lose the Top Panel ports?
I was thinking with maybe a slanted install you might be able to keep these.
Where did you send the top off to get modified?

[Pellepel]

they used it as packaging material, there were a lot stranger things in there as well.

:ROTF: just beeing sarcastic, I thought it was kinda funny :up:

[tjelaw]

I will be doing the same kind of build. TFC480 in the top and a TFC240 somewhere else (thinking in front of the drive bays). Are you going to lose the Top Panel ports?
I was thinking with maybe a slanted install you might be able to keep these.
Where did you send the top off to get modified?

Yes I will lose the top panel ports. You could ofcourse mount your radiator diagonally but that will be a lot more complicated to do it properly, and less efficient I think. How will you direct airflow through the rad and in or out of the case?

A dual rad in the front should be very much doable, since you just unscrew the hard drive brackets, but remember that when u mount a triple or quad radiator on top you will also lose the hard drive cage that is in the upper back of the case.

I send my top to a friend, his family has a metalworking business so they have machines to do it. As far as I know its still going to be a little challenge to mount the top into the machines properly so it doesnt vibrate etc. You wouldnt have that problem if you'd lasercut it, but you cant have it all I guess. We'll see the result of that by the end of this week.

[lyl]

Good to know people in the metalworking business! Cant wait to see the top. :up:

[tjelaw]

some more pics:

Supreme top looking at me funny :mad:
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/07.jpg

Supreme nozzle plate looks very ghetto, is it supposed to be like this? This is 100% how I got it, didnt do anything with it.
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/08.jpg

My first issue, the compression fitting is overlapping the filling port. How will I fill and close the system?
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/09.jpg

Feser compression fittings; altough I dont make a real big deal out of it, there are a lot of imperfections/marks/dents on these fittings. Is this the same with bitspower ones, or is bitspower definately higher quality?
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/10.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/11.jpg

Sorry for the focus on the last 2 pics, only have a simple camera here which cant manual focus :P

[Pellepel]

WTH…compression fitting and plate looks like they’ve been used!

[Kibbler]

Yeah dude...it could be the batch you got. My BP compression fittings are flawless.

[twwen2]

Nice start, pics are great! I'll be following this one for sure :up:

[eXa]

The supreme nozzle does look like that. It is laser cut.

[Big_Daddy]

You shouldn't have any problems getting the fillport open and off with that comp fitting. It only unscrews like 1 turn, then easily comes off. Also, those comp fittings do look used. Send them back.

I've heard of some of the EU companies adding candy to their orders, Last time it was a Snickers bar (heh, it had Mr. T on it)

[mpower1001]

I didn't even know feser made compression fittings...:shrug:

[alejo]

Tjelaw, your idea of using building the grill into the top will work great. See the results here:

http://www.lianlimodding.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3042&postcount=11

Usually they attach the radiator to the inside frame, I take it to relieve any strain on the top panel.

I can't wait to see your results! :up:

[HaCKs]

I can tell you are a serious gamer...

Large mousepad
Nice keyboard
nice headphones on a hook
BIG flat desk
big LCD


Yup!

[tjelaw]

Tjelaw, your idea of using building the grill into the top will work great. See the results here:

http://www.lianlimodding.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3042&postcount=11

Usually they attach the radiator to the inside frame, I take it to relieve any strain on the top panel.

I can't wait to see your results! :up:

Thnx for the link, mmm I considered it, but it would be really hard for me to attach the rad to the frame. I will attach the rad to the top panel oldschool, I just came from working on the panel and its all finished, I think it will work out fine.



I can tell you are a serious gamer...

Large mousepad
Nice keyboard
nice headphones on a hook
BIG flat desk
big LCD


Yup!

Yup! ur right :)

News pics btw, taken with my phone, forgot to bring my camera. Today I did the top panel thnx to a very helpful friend :)

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/phone_1.jpg
mounting the panel properly was the biggest challenge, because its made of reletively thin aluminium. Vibration is the enemy of a clean result.


http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/phone_2.jpg
We did the first few cutouts very very carefully :) We drilled lots of holes to secure and press the panel down on to the wood.

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/phone_3.jpg
Here u can see how it was done :)

More and better pics of the panel tomorrow, when there's better lighting and a better camera :) I tried fitting the TFC 480 radiator, and its a 100% fit. :up:

[tjelaw]

I couldnt help myself to make some better pics :yepp: Didnt clean the panel 100% yet from little dust and stuff. But these pics give a nice impression :cool:

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/12.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/13.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/14.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/15.jpg

[Jiangxue]

Omg thumbs up..... very very neatly done top panel indeed! :up:

Keep going mate! I love this worklog already! :yepp:

[Arni]

omg :shocked::shocked::shocked:

[lyl]

looks good! :up:

[Razor_Blade]

That is an awesome idea. I should have thought of that ages ago....

[disruptfam]

very nice idea something different from the norm which is good :)

[leo_bsb]

wow, thumbs up for you!
I always wanted to do the same thing on my G70 top.
I even designed some milling patterns but my friend that owns the milling machine said it couldn't be done without damaging the top.
He told me once the dificult part on milling is to fix the piece on place. I''l send these pictures to him just to him sad about his skills :D

[tjelaw]

thanks for the comments :)

leo ur friend is right :p: fixing/mounting the plate is the hardest part, we just happened to stumble upon a massive chunk of wood laying around that fitted the top panel pretty acurately. If u can find a block of that size, its a good method hehe


About the worklog progress:

I positioned the mountings in the top panels as much to the front as possible. This way I can mount a 2nd exhaust fan at the top rear. Im thinking of pulling fresh air in from the top, and not exhaust air out through the radiator.

I tried to prevent it. but it looks like I still have to cut & mod some stuff from my case. So tuesday i'll be picking up a dremel and I'll get cutting and post more pics. I'll even be able to mount the radiator in both ways if I ever need to do that.

Hopefully my tubing gets here soon, so we can actually see some loops ;) its been at the customs for 3 days already :shrug:

[tjelaw]

Did some more work today. Temporary hosting @ imageshack untill I can work on my own pc again :ROTF:

Picked up a dremel, had to cut out a piece of the frame in order for the rad to fit. You'll see why as you go along the pics :yepp:

before
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/16.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/17.jpg

after
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/18.jpg

Now it fits like a glove :)
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/19.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/20jpg


By moving the rad to the max front, I could squeeze another exhaust fan in the rear :up:
http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/152/img0032ti4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

no cable management yet :D just testing the mounts
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/2509/img0033we1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

not sure if I can install the pump here... theres still a fancontroller thats needs a 5,25" bay:shrug:
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/2599/img0036aw6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

the moneyshot :rofl:
http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/21.jpg



look what EK put in the box :clap: but np highflow is fixing it for me, thanks :) meanwhile... Tuniq mount FTW!! :p:
for unknown reasons this image sometimes wont load
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/5707/img0022bi4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

yes, I know, upside down
http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/1078/img0024vu2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


more pics with tubing, coolant and hopefully a running loop tomorrow :D:D!!!

[Zeus]

Really like that top!! You could have gone to the local hardwarestore (Gamma) for that screw, i reckon the thread is just metric. (M4)

QC isn't always that good at EK, i've had missing parts for my waterblocks on twice but both ocassions Eddy solved it very good and quick, excellent service.

Gonna keep an eye on your build.

[aspire.comptech]

As Paris Hilton would say, "Thats hot!"

[MomijiTMO]

Wow it's really coming together quite nicely. Good stuff.

[just a noob]

i like that top, no rad grill involved

[disruptfam]

yeah that top is definetly a winner! :)

[twwen2]

yeah that top is definetly a winner! :)

+1 It looks fantastic. I'm liking the case in general actually. Looking forward to seeing the loop up and running! :)

[tjelaw]

tubes are in, leak testing now! :) theres a lot of foam in my reservoir and a lot of tiny airbubbles in the tube coming out of the radiator and going to the EK Supreme. But... time should fix that right?, I can see its already becoming less :P Is there a way to tell if the rad is completely properly bled/free of air?

took some crappy pics fast :)

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/23.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/25.jpg

http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/2741/img0045zz2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


more pics later

[twwen2]

Looks great! The air should collect in the res after a while, you can tilt the case to speed the process up if you like.

[tjelaw]

I notice the pump is getting quite hot, when I put my temp sensor against it, it says 41-42C. Is it usefull to put heatsinks on this thing ? :P

[disruptfam]

+1 It looks fantastic. I'm liking the case in general actually. Looking forward to seeing the loop up and running! :)

yeah its great i just got a a7010.. :D

getting it powdercoated

[tjelaw]

started the machine for temperatue checks :)
my E6700 runs at 3500mhz on 1,4875 vcore... he's a hothead :mad:


before: Tuniq Tower
idle: core#0 - 51C | core#1 - 52C
load: core#0 - 61C | core#1 - 62C

after
idle: core#0 - 39C | core#1 - 41C
load: core#0 - 48C | core#1 - 51C

Scythe Kaze Master shows:
ambient @ 22.1C
air coming out of the rad @ 23C
pump/MCP355 @ 42.3C

I notice the diffirence between the cores has become a little bigger, could this be mounting? Overall im happy with the results so far, its a good 10C improvement.

[twwen2]

Yeah these DDCs warm up nicely. I had mine mounted on a matt on my desk with a sensor squashed in between, it got up around 49 degC before i decided to do anything about it. I ended up up raising it off the matt with an old VGA heatsink ( lots of vertical fins), now it never reaches 30 deg C.

It just needs a little airflow that's all.

[tjelaw]

Finished! sort of...

The rig is up and running, its working without any leaks for 24 hours now. As I go along changing little things i'll update here, but my main mission is complete :up:

Took some last pics, enjoy my humble setup :clap:

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/24.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/26.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/27.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/28.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/29.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/30.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/31.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/32.jpg

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/33.jpg


twwen2 > I removed that part of the case that supports the PCB of the graphics card, my pump was right next to it. Now the pump runs 10C cooler :shocked:

[lyl]

nice build in a sweet case... enjoy your new LC!

i envy the 480 space

[leo_bsb]

don't let your pump seat flush on the bottom of the case. It needs some airflow to keep it cool.

[Dangals]

That looks so good - love the top grill idea!!

I agree with the others - gotta get something to prop up that pump - even if it is just a little to allow for some air to flow under/around the pump to reduce the risk of it overheating and killing your hardware.

But other than that it looks nice and clean!

[tjelaw]

Thanks, makes me proud you guys like it :)

I raised the pump with 2 strips from the foam pad to attach the pump. So now air can pass under it a bit. I had this idea to take a classical cpu heatsink, turn it upside down, stick it to the pump with thermal adhesive tape.

edit:

just opened my junk drawer from my desk and found these polished little heatsinks, might stick these on the pump.... not sure how... dont want it to become a ghetto pump

http://www.aion-genesis.net/law/34.jpg

[twwen2]

Very nice. Good work with the pump.

Nice and clean too! :up:

[evian_26]

nice work:up:

[tjelaw]

thanks, did u even see all the pics?

webserver has been down for half a day :( hope it comes back up soon.

[generics_user]

thanks, did u even see all the pics?

webserver has been down for half a day :( hope it comes back up soon.

i can't see the finished ones :(

can you take some pics of the max bending radius, and where did you buy it?

only source of tygon tubings i found so far carries 3603 for 11€/meter :eek:

maybe your source is cheaper :confused:

[tjelaw]

Sorry for the late reply, I fixed all the pics they are back online :)

I used the Tygon B-44-4X, I've never used any other tubing so I cant give u a comparison on bending. Cant tell u if its better then 3603. I ordered mine from Sidewinder Computers in USA, however dutch customs nailed me. so still had to pay extra. I think €11/m is a bit expensive, but its not like ur gonna buy new tubing every month :P

[alacheesu]

I love that top. Very nice work.