hi xs. i've been a silent admirer and pupil of the great builds from this forum. i registered for quite sometime but only got activated yesterday. :) so finally, i can post and share with you my first attempt at water cooling. most of the techniques i learned from the other worklogs here, so please pardon me if it seems that i have copied them off you, i will give credit to whom credit is due. :)
all comments/advice are welcome. looking forward to your expertise in my rookie attempt.
just a short intro...
i assembled my 'new generation' pc several months ago but it was such a rushed and sloppy job, that i never really got to document it and have a proper worklog. it was mainly to have my own pc and not abuse the laptop that i got from work. hehe. the rig evolved to what it is currently after being poisoned continuously (haha)... but kidding aside, i wanted a workhorse of a computer for internet, video, gaming, music and folding.
why name the rig, raistlin? naming the rig i guess is as important as the project itself. so i had to have some awesome name... when i was younger, i used to read dragonlance novels. raistlin, is a character in those series. he is a wizard that started out sickly and weak but eventually became powerful. not that i aim to have the most powerful rig, but rather because he used to belong to the red and black orders of magi, which are the basic colors that i want to use for rig. hopefully, the system would be fitting to the antihero that it derives its name.
what's up with those hardware? i have to admit, i'm not an overclocker nor a hardcore hardware nut. when i initially thought about assembling my own pc, i only wanted to use it for basic purposes as mentioned earlier. however, when i found out about folding@home, i became more interested in upgrading and making the pc better for that purpose. and since folding seemed more efficient using the gpu client, i thought it was better to have multiple gpus rather than multiple cpus (which was either having a skulltrail or multiple pcs running at the same time); that should explain the numerous gtxs in my system.
why go watercooling? having a minimally overclocked cpu and 3 gpus running can turn my case into a mini oven in a few minutes. haha. with fans blowing at my right, i think i am slowly losing my hearing. my main aim is to keep my hearing and the right side of my body from being cooked.
wtf folding!? i found out about folding@home when i was reading magazines regarding pcs when i was researching on building my pc and eventually caught on when i joined vrzone, since i am based in singapore this was the local forum with the best information about getting pc stuff locally. i guess folding eases the guilt on buying so much hardware and using up electricity (haha)... in exchange for contributing to the research on protein folding which i hope would help in finding cure for diseases. after my dad lost a brave battle against cancer last july 2008, i am more determined to do what i can to help fight this dreaded disease.
so what's up with all this blah blah? haha. nothing, just me mumbling. it's my first worklog! cut me some slack why don't ya... haha. let's get on with the project...
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...esIMG_2802.jpg
what a mess! i want to speak to your cable manager, now!
system specifications:
- processor: intel core2quad extreme q9770
- motherboard: asus striker ii extreme
- memory: corsair xms3 ddr3-1333 4gb kit (2x 2gb sticks)
- graphics: xfx gtx280 tri-sli (2x vanilla version, 1x extreme version)
- os hdd: western digital velociraptor (1x 300gb)
- storage: seagate barracuda 7200.11 (1x 500gb, 1x 1000gb)
- optical: pioneer (1x bdc-502-bk, 1x dvr-213-ls)
- power: corsair hx1000
- sound: asus xonar d2x
- speakers: razer mako
- input devices: razer tarantula and razer lachesis
- display: samsung syncmaster 2253bw
- os: microsoft vista home premium sp1 (64bit)
- case: coolermaster cosmos-s
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...esIMG_2786.jpg
served me well as the best aircooling available... sadly must retire
air cooling specifications:
- cpu heatsink: thermalright ultra 120 extreme black edition
- heatsink fans: zalman zm-f3-rl (2x)
- gpu cooling: stock fans
- case fans: noctua nf-p12 (4x), scythe minebea (1x), coolermaster (1x)
- temps (from everest):
- cpu@3.60ghz: 48degC (idle), 70degC (load)
- cpu@4.20ghz: 52degC (idle), 90degC (load)... could be hotter, prime would cause system to restart
- gpu1@stock: 58degC (extreme edition)
- gpu2@oc to match extreme ed: 60degC
- gpu3@oc to match extreme ed: 68degC
water cooling specifications:
- pump: swiftech 655 vario with ek d5 x-top
- radiator: feser x-changer
- cpu block: ek supreme
- gpu block: ek fc280
- reservoir: ek multioption res150 rev2
- tubings: tygon r3603 (1/2"ID, 3/4"OD)
- fittings: bitspower compression fittings (if possible... they're huge!)
- coolant: feser one cooling fluid
- fans: noctua nf-p12s
big appreciation goes to the online shops that provided most of the things for the watercooling. especially those that i have bugged forever about compatibility and measurements! haha.
hopefully, this would be a successful project.
thanks for tuning in.
:)
