Worklog: CM690 PA120.2 topmount

Hi all,

This is my first WC rig which means I'm still a newbie to watercooling. Since I'm planning to buy new hardware somewhere this spring/summer I started focusing on watercooling this new hardware. Because I'm still an apprentice I thought it would be smart to first practice with my old hardware in case something would go wrong. So I started to look for a new case and came across the Coolermaster CM690. I immediately got the idea of topmounting a rad in this case. I only had no idea how to do this or what watercooling hardware would be best to buy. Therefore, I started googling and found this forum, subscribed to it and here I am with my first worklog.

I think this site together with its members is a great place for finding detailed information on overclocking and everything related to it. Moreover, I want to especially thank Xilikon for helping me out in selecting WC hardware and giving advise in things that possibly are very obvious for experienced watercoolers. I settled with the following watercooling hardware which I received last week.

- D-Tek FuZion
- D-Tek Nozzle Kit
- Thermalright K8 - bolt-thru kit
- Laing D5 Vario
- Swiftech MCRES-MICRO
- ThermoChill PA120.2
- ThermoChill Shroud PA120.2
- Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F - 120 x 120 x 25 mm
- Papst 8412N/2GML - 80 x 80 x 25 mm
- Wormclamps - 12 / 20 mm. (steel)
- Tygon R-3603 7/16" ID with 10/16" OD

At this moment I will start with creating a single CPU loop and maybe expand this in the near future when I'm buying my new hardware. By then I think I will also watercool the NB (and maybe SB). When I want to watercool my vidcard I think I will mount another PA120.1 at the bottom.

Today me and my friend started to modify my CM690 case to make it possible to top mount the PA120.2. As you case see we did not remove the steel hyves between the shroud and the fans and used the removed mesh for covering the rad. I was wondering if this would not be to restrictive for air to flow through? Ofcourse if the mesh is to restrictive it can easily be removed and replaced by fanguards. However the steel hyves of the case itself is somewhat different and we didn't removed it to assure that the case as a whole is still strong enough when carried along to lan-parties. Although I think we did a pretty good job at modifying the case and mounting, I'm still interested in your advise and judgement about our piece of work. Sorry, for the bad picture quality.

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0007.jpg

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0008.jpg

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0013.jpg

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0010.jpg

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0011.jpg

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0012.jpg

UPDATE 7-18-2008

Last week I bought some new hardware which consisted of:

- Intel E8400
- Asus P5E3-Premium WiFi-AP@n
- 2Gb DDR3 OCZ Platinum XTC 1600Mhz (CL7)
- Sapphire HD4870 512Mb

Because I bought a Ati vidcard I planned on going a black and red colorscheme. Therefore I painted my case black and used red Fesser coolant. I also replaced the front standard blue led fan to a red one. As you can see in my new hardware list I still have a single loop setup with only cooling my CPU. I have temporarily decided not to expand this loop due to the extra costs and I thought it would not be necessary yet.

After 3 days of hard work this is my new rig. I hope you all like it. :)

http://i35.tinypic.com/9qydqp.jpg

http://i34.tinypic.com/5pk7iu.jpg

http://i36.tinypic.com/29oonc5.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/33wsil3.jpg

http://i37.tinypic.com/1zvqucx.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/vik503.jpg

http://i33.tinypic.com/2mgwb52.jpg

http://i34.tinypic.com/jf9lxv.jpg

UPDATE 4-2-2009

I have an update on my rig. Changed some hardware to i7 and installed new reservoir in loop. Sorry, for bad pictures because it's hard to capture the red lightning with this :banana::banana::banana::banana:ty camera. In real life it seems much more like the redlight district in my country except with one major difference that there isn't a girl waiting behind the glass. :rofl: :ROTF: :D

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/452...0474al4.th.jpg

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/1...0477jx4.th.jpg

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/3...0479wg9.th.jpg

Looking good!

Is there something on top of the PA120.2 ?

Yep, its the piece of mesh which I had to remove from the case and used it as cover for the rad. Did some recycling so to speak which gives me an environmental save computer!!!! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pisklink

Yep, its the piece of mesh which I had to remove from the case and used it as cover for the rad. Did some recycling so to speak which gives me an environmental save computer!!!! :D

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Cool!

Put a piece of nylon cloth on the mesh - then you a dust filter!

Thanks for the compliment and I will take your "nylon cloth" suggestion in consideration.

Yesterday I continued building and finished my rig. I don't have pictures of the final result yet but I think you can get a good impression of the pics below. I will add pics of the final result later because at this moment I'm searching for the highest possible overclock with my current hardware. This hardware will be exchanged for some new gear somewhere around May.

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0021.jpg

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0022.jpg

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0026.jpg

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0029.jpg

UPDATE FINAL RESULT

This is the final result of my WC rig with the current hardware installed. I know it's a simple setup but it could still be a pain in the ass sometimes since it is my first WC build. It was my intention to have a simple setup because I don't really like my comp. to be such a "showcase" with flickering lights etc. This would be to distractive for me when playing games which would be reflected in my fragrate. Nonetheless I like to see how others did some tweaking and modding, and still managed to put it in a small case.

Ofcourse in time some small things will change like yesterday I sleeved teh cables of my fans for example. Beside that I'm planning to buy new hardware somewhere around May but I'm still not sure what to buy by then. I was thinking of buying a X48 mobo with some DDR3 modules and together with a E8400 or a Q9450 CPU. By that time I was hoping I could stick one 9800GT(X)in it or else I would buy a 3870X2 (and in the future maybe another one). Though the new 790i chipset also is a great gaming platforms except from the higher temps. If someone has some suggestion this would be appreciated.

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0043.jpg

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0044.jpg

Btw I noticed that there seems to be some condensation in the Swiftech Res. Is this normal or should I be worried?

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0046.jpg

That's normal... To avoid them, just top it off just under the filling cap ;)

Is it just me or is your fuzion cracked?

Looks good so far though!

I don't know where you see that my fuzion is cracked?!? I used wormclamps so maybe you see the end of that wormclamp strip sticking out (hanging over the fuzion) which seems like a crack. My comp is on all evening already so I guess it will be fine. But to be sure I will check it tomorrow.

ahh at first i thought it was cracked but now that you mention that it is a worm drive i can see it haha.. didnt notice at first!

Ahhhhh, I see it too. It looked like it was cracked but with a closer look it's just the zipties and worm clamps. :up:

Good job on this!! Looks awesome! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pisklink

I don't know where you see that my fuzion is cracked?!? I used wormclamps so maybe you see the end of that wormclamp strip sticking out (hanging over the fuzion) which seems like a crack. My comp is on all evening already so I guess it will be fine. But to be sure I will check it tomorrow.

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I'm glad to hear that. From the pics it really looked like the Fuzion was cracked. What temps are you getting at full load?

First of all thanks for the compliments. Secondly I have to admit that I was amazed you could see a crack on these small pics. :shocked: I had to look on the original picture to see what you could even mean by a crack. So nothing wrong with your eyes I guess. :D

I forgot the mention that I also added an extra front case fan in the 5,25" bay. This is because I want enough fresh air blowing into my case and I'm a bit disappointend in the standard Coolermaster front fan. Although the coolermaster fan is still there I added an extra one.

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0024.jpg

As you can see I ripped out all the drivebay elements and kind of tie-wrapped the fan to the case that it looks like its floating and primarily to reduce vibration. I still reserved one drivebay slot to mount a fancontroller in the future.

I also reversed the back casefan to prevent turbulence in the case and to blow some cool air over my mosfet heatpipes. Because both top fans are in push configuration I thought it would be best to get some airflow from both back and front of the case to the top fans.

FUTURE PLANS
- Get new hardware;
- Get a fancontroller;
- Get the orignal CM sidepanel with window;
- Paint the inside of the case;
- Watercool the NB of the new mobo.

SMALL UPDATE

Here are some pictures from behind my mobo tray to show the cable management hassle.

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0047.jpg

http://members.home.nl/hvandeplas/Cl...s/IMAG0048.jpg

Heya bro, but aint that fuzion upside down?

the outlet should be higher than the inlet...

no pics? I get the little red x's :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kinghong1970

Heya bro, but aint that fuzion upside down?

the outlet should be higher than the inlet...

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If that's true it should be turned 180 degrees. That's why I had a hard time bleeding. Ah well, I'm thinking of buying new hardware around June and my temps are alright (see sig). So I think I will stick to this setup for a few weeks. But thanks for reminding me!!!!

Quote:

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no pics? I get the little red x's

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ISP problems I guess.

@ All

If I bought new hardware I'm thinking of cooling an extra component but I'm not sure which one. What would you suggest with a PA120.2 rad? Should I add a GPU or NB?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pisklink

@ All

If I bought new hardware I'm thinking of cooling an extra component but I'm not sure which one. What would you suggest with a PA120.2 rad? Should I add a GPU or NB?

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What hardware are you thinking of?

You see that's a bit of a problem since I expect ATI to release its new vidcard somewhere around june. I'm willing to wait for that release in the hope it will perform (much) better then their current cards.

At this moment I was thinking of:
- Q9450 (don't know which stepping for good overclock?);
- Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6
- OCZ 2 x 2Gb DDR3
- ATI HD4xxx vidcard

Well, maybe you have some new input or advise? But regarding cooling another component I was thinking of the vidcard or NB.

UPDATE 7-18-2008

See first post for updated pictures. As you can see on the last two pictures, I think the effect of the cold cathose is a bit dissapointing. I used a cold cathode from Akasa that was advertised as being red. Except I think the light itself looks a bit pink and projected in my case it comes out orange / brown (almost sounds like reservoir dogs :D). I was hoping it would bring up the red UV extract in the Fesser coolant a bit more. Does anyone has a suggestion for reflecting the red UV a bit more or what cold cathode to use?

I used the cold cathode on the last picture but is it normal that there is so much stuff attached to the cable (like the black box en on / off switch)? I just want a cold catholde that I can connect to a fan controller or molex connector without all these extra's.

Excellent! Thanks for the link Pisklink.

JM