Striker II watercooling ordeal: CPU/chipset/GPU single/multiple loop - ideas anyone?

I have seen a few threads on this topic around the WC section, but as every setup is different, I decided to start a new thread.

I've had this mobo for a few weeks now and probably waited for it to arrive for a couple of months. The combination of 45nm support and (tri)-SLI seemed promising. Mind, I didnt own a 680i prior to this one.

So I feel this board has a lot going for it; a nice layout and features by Asus; but the biggest weakness IMO is the massive heat output of that pesky 780i chipset. Can't stand looking at that NB temp around 77C idle... surely it can't be good for stability. And thats with a modest 400FSB and 3x fans directly cooling the NB/mosfets - it's simply unbelievable how hot this chipset gets.

Also, 3-SLI can output some serious heat too, and as cool *looking* as the Zalman Reserator 1 Plus is, I would say it's currently doing a much better job as a weird, futuristic office decoration aka the Tower of Barad-Dûr than trying to keep my dogs (XFX 8800gtx ;) ) cool.

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/5150/baraddrky2.jpg
http://www.guru3d.com/article/gengoods/272/
Come to think of it, looks more like Isengard ;)

Then, the idea of this combination initially was silence rather than performance, what with the hottest/active GPU running at >80C idle.

Hence, I am on the verge of doing a serious mod to my existing WC setup(s) - first the striker will get redone then the maximus will get a serious overhaul (EK and DangerDen have both released waterblocks for the 3870X2... drool :cool: )

So, I have found some waterblocks custom-built for the striker ii at mips - both NB, SB / PCI-E 2.0 chip as well as mosfets.

In my Tt Armor case I can fit one 3x120mm rad inside and I am also planning to attach another 3x120mm rad to the exterior.

I already have one swiftech pump (sig). It's certified for 1200LPH and 3.5 bar. Now, I am not at all sure if this pump will be sufficient if i decide to go for one loop for all of the components i.e. CPU, NB, SB/PCI-E 2.0, 2x mosfet and GPUx3 with perhaps 2x triple 120mm rads. Any thoughts on this? Will I require a separate pump and loop? Or maybe a total of 3 loops (i.e. one 3x120mm rad for each loop)? I dont care about noise anymore, I just want the most xtreme cooling for all components! (thanx, xtremesystems.org ;) ) Space is a limiting factor though, as I dont think I will be able to fit more than 1 pump inside the case, and I have mixed feelings about keeping another pump at the desk outside the case.

Also, if i decide to go for multiple loops, I'm inclined to run the CPU as a separate loop, thus combining chipset+GPUs if running two loops total. It makes sense to me to do it this way to maximize the OC headroom for the CPU.

Looks like with the new setup I can safely retire the Reserator - or wait! Maybe instead of putting it away I might let it cool one of the mosfets :D just to keep it employed sort of... considering it's good looks after all. It will be much harder to retire the Reserator XT however as I've been very happy with this unit so far, but hey! That's what you get for hanging around these forums ;)

Finally some pics of my current setup (before the planned changes):

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/6506/005sq0.jpg
Tower of Barad-Dûr looming in the background.

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9734/010bg2.jpg
2x120mm radiator in front of case can't be seen in this picture. Also the Swiftech MCRES-MICRO reservoir is partially hidden behind the tubing. What's good about this case is that it's so spacious that the pump and reservoir can be fitted between the mobo and the IDE rack - this despite running 3x8800GTX! Also, the HDD cage can be removed to make space for a 3x120mm radiator in the front.

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/5097/004ft0.jpg
CPU area with Swiftech Apogee GTX as well as custom 90mm Akasa fan desperately trying to keep the NB cool. Asus chipset fans can also be seen.

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/6206/002wu9.jpg
My three dogs cooled by Zalman ZM-GWB8800 Ultra/GTX :D One sadly died during intial setup due to water damage... luckily it was replaced at no cost after I RMAed it. Green UV coolant and green case fans is in keeping with the nvidia mobo / SLI theme. Hence, my Zalman GT1000 housing my X38/ATI crossfire system features a red theme. Crazy or what?

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/3799/009uj1.jpg
My two babies! :p:


I haven't ordered anything yet (waiting for next salary :rolleyes: ) so obviously it will take awhile before I get the new system up and running. Comments welcome everyone -might as well give me some input before I go ahead and splurge away all of my savings on this Über-watercooled rig :D .

This is going to get expensive!

The more I think about it, 3-loop seems the way to go, as I dont want to run my dogs in combination with either the CPU or chipset, considering the amount of heat they churn out. Running CPU+chipset also seems counter-intuitive as I dont want the 780i suffering from my CPU overclocking. Ideally I would like to bring the NB temps down by say 20-30 degrees.

So... seems I will have to order from overseas, and probably from 3 different stores as well (4 including the "local" one in my country).

http://www.mips-computer.de/
Here I will pick up the custom-built waterblocks for the striker ii chipset, as I have not found another manufacturer that has these in store, at least for the NB/PCI-E 2.0 combo chip.

http://www.mips-computer.de/images/mch038.jpg
ASUS Striker 2 Northbridge Freezer
http://www.mips-computer.de/images/mch039.jpg
ASUS Striker 2 Southbridge Freezer
http://www.mips-computer.de/images/MCH150_mounted.jpg
ASUS Maximus / Striker II Mosfet Freezer

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/
Here I will get the ThermoChill PA120.x. Definitely for the CPU only loop I'm going all the way with PA120.3. With the other two loops however, a PA120.2 per loop is probably sufficient - keeps my sanity intact anyway :D I'm planning to attach the PA120.2 to the back of the case using one of these: Swiftech MCB-120™ "Radbox" radiator/fan housing. The other one I will have to put on top of the case after some modding.

http://www.swiftnets.com/assets/imag...on-mockup-.gif

http://ekwaterblocks.com
Although unrelated to this thread, here I'm getting the 3870 X2 blocks for my upcoming Maximus Extreme CrossFireX slugfeast!

http://www.aqua-pcs.co.uk/ekmps/shop...0[ekm].jpg

As for the pumps, I will use the Swiftech MCP655 for the CPU circuit.

http://www.microplex.no/productimage...mcp655_380.jpg

Probably I will go for an Eheim/Aquacomputer aquastream XT 0,42 bar for the other 2 loops; 1 for each loop. It's like a revamped Eheim 1046 that can supply up to 4.2m H2O. Also, it is relatively quiet running (5W) and it has a number of neat features like supplying the BIOS with a rpm signal that enables emergency system shut-down in case of pump failure.

http://www.aquacomputer.de/images/pr..._front_500.jpg

Alternatively, I could go for a Laing pump as these seems to be popular around here - like Laing DDC 3.2 - 18w (3/8") or Laing 12V DDC-1 Plus+ 18w (3/8") - although I am not really very familiar with these. Ahh decisions, decisions... :rolleyes:

As for tube size - I'm going with 1/2" for CPU and 3/8" for GPU/chipset. The reason for this being 1) that the radiators for these circuits will have to be mounted externally on the Armor case, hence I cannot bring the tubes inside the case using 1/2" ID and 2) both MIPS blocks as well as my Zalman GTX blocks come with 3/8" fittings.

http://www.zalman.co.kr/DataFile/pro...00GTX_01_b.jpg
ZM-GWB8800 Ultra/GTX waterblock

Now I am running the GPU waterblocks in series, but this picture over at swiftnets.com gave me an idea:

http://www.swiftnets.com/assets/imag...i-parallel.jpg

It certainly seems like the tube management is better in this case (compared to mine at least) as I find it really difficult to avoid tube kinking when the blocks are so close together. I try to compensate by making the runs between the cards longer, but I find that's not really ideal either. Is it practical to run the GPU waterblocks in paralell? Also I have read that sharp bends like T-pieces should be avoided at all costs due to flow restriction...



Any comments on the setup so far? Are thermochill radiators so good its worth paying a price premium for importing them when I can get e.g. HW Labs BlackIce Extreme locally? Is a triple loop setup really going to be worth the cost? Should I stop hanging around these forums and say find a cheaper hobby before I use all of my savings on watercooling equipment and jeopardize my marriage in the process? Any inputs welcome! :)

Congratulations on build!

I've been waiting for the Striker II Extreme 790i, but I may get a Formula if I run out of patience. Unfortunately, Mips refuses to ship to the U.S. None of the US retailers stock Mips blocks. So far, no production company in America has released 780i blocks yet, and they'll mostly be focused on EVGA/XFX reference mobos thus leaving Asus mobo users in the cold.

woah woah woah. well, ok, not that bad, but i have a few suggestions.

ur probably gona need a 120.3 for ur 3 GTX's and a PA say 160 or 120.2 would do just fine to cool the chipset. The Thermochill's are worth it especially if noise matters to u at all, which with a wife i'm assuming it would.

If you already have those VGA blocks then stick with them and try not to mix metals. the zalmans are aluminum if i remember correctly. 3 MCW 60's will give you better temps with less flow restriction as well.

Pumps, all 3 are great choices. the D5 is the fav. around here for its reliability and good pump specs. the DDC's tend to have a bit more head presure than the D5 but there was a slew of failures in the DDC line. They seem to have been fixed though.

**EDIT** Tubing runs for GPU blocks could be much much shorter.

All opinions, take all of them worth a grain of salt

1 more question, y that EK block for a quad SLI rig? thats for an ATI HD3870 x2 card. maybe i just read it wrong.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pedalmonkey

woah woah woah. well, ok, not that bad, but i have a few suggestions..

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Appreciate your input!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pedalmonkey

ur probably gona need a 120.3 for ur 3 GTX's and a PA say 160 or 120.2 would do just fine to cool the chipset. The Thermochill's are worth it especially if noise matters to u at all, which with a wife i'm assuming it would.

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Granted, I may take the plunge for the thermochills - why be skimpy on those when I'm going all the way with everything else? ;) Although I guess it all also depends on which fans I choose. So far I've been using these for my 2x120mm rad - they're supposed to move 100 m³/hr running at 1700 rpm/28 dB.

http://www.microplex.no/productimage...212ngl_380.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pedalmonkey

If you already have those VGA blocks then stick with them and try not to mix metals. the zalmans are aluminum if i remember correctly. 3 MCW 60's will give you better temps with less flow restriction as well.

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Allright, well I think I'd be very hestitant to replace the GPU blocks now; after all I just got them up and running.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pedalmonkey

Pumps, all 3 are great choices. the D5 is the fav. around here for its reliability and good pump specs. the DDC's tend to have a bit more head presure than the D5 but there was a slew of failures in the DDC line. They seem to have been fixed though.

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Well, I will be running the D5 in the CPU 1/2" ID circuit, but for the other two loops I'm looking for 3/8 pumps as I dont want to use any hose adapters. Any info on the eheim/aquacomputer? The flow rate is like the E1046; 300LPH but it has been modified to push 0,42 bar / 4.2m H2O.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pedalmonkey

**EDIT** Tubing runs for GPU blocks could be much much shorter.

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Ahem yes it was a bit of a nightmare setting this up as I got into all sorts of problems running 3/8" tubing with kinking no matter how hard I tried to avoid it, so I had to extend the tubing until the kinks disappeared... although for the revised setup I was considering something like this:

http://www.swiftnets.com/assets/imag...i-parallel.jpg

Alternatively, I see that this solves this without T-pieces as the tubes can run straight into the fittings with no need for bending:

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/2899/ekfc8800wf1.jpg
EK-FC8800 GTX/Ultra

As I said I'd probably try not to replace the current Zalman blocks as they were quite expensive so I will try to modify the tubing a bit instead.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pedalmonkey

All opinions, take all of them worth a grain of salt

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Well, as I said any advice is good as obviously I'm going to cash out lots on this rig.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pedalmonkey

1 more question, y that EK block for a quad SLI rig? thats for an ATI HD3870 x2 card. maybe i just read it wrong.

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Allright, so what I meant here is that I am planning to upgrade my Maximus Extreme rig at the same time with 2x 3870X2s running watercooled in CrossfireX, although the ATI drivers are not ready... yet.

bad ass rigs polar bear. i'm also waiting for nb blocks for the striker II

personaly on the pumps id go with the DDC. quiet, tested, and has 3/8" native. plus im pretty sure its less expensive which is always nice. You can also buy tops for it later if you want to go to 1/2" tubing.

I personaly am aiming to do the same with the x2's. :p. should be sick.

Those Pabst fans ive heard are excelent and last forever. Vapor has a sticky up on fans at the top of the forum. its great to help pick the best ones for your application. Yate Loons are nice cause they blow a good amount of air and are super cheap, may not be the best bet for the horizontal rad on top though cause the fan has sleeve bearings and will start grinding.

hope this all helps

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IanY

Unfortunately, Mips refuses to ship to the U.S. None of the US retailers stock Mips blocks. .

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I emailed them and they said they could ship to the US. This was months ago, but did you actually email them?

uhhh.. you guys.. it was tested, and clearly shown tht you'll have as much as 20C variance between card 1 and 2 if you do it that way.

Remember how paralell works in fluids. The path with the least restriction is going to take more flow, and starve the other.

I HIGHLY DO NOT RECOMEND you loop up your cards like that. Unless you can equalibriate flows to both cards so they get water = or almost =.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pedalmonkey

personaly on the pumps id go with the DDC. quiet, tested, and has 3/8" native. plus im pretty sure its less expensive which is always nice. You can also buy tops for it later if you want to go to 1/2" tubing.

I personaly am aiming to do the same with the x2's. :p. should be sick.

Those Pabst fans ive heard are excelent and last forever. Vapor has a sticky up on fans at the top of the forum. its great to help pick the best ones for your application. Yate Loons are nice cause they blow a good amount of air and are super cheap, may not be the best bet for the horizontal rad on top though cause the fan has sleeve bearings and will start grinding.

hope this all helps

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lol seems like a MASSIVE overkill, I know, running 2 multi-GPU systems side-by-side; that's 7 GPUs in the same room! Well, on an enthusiast level it's quite exciting what 3-sli and crossfireX can bring performance-wise. Seems multi is the trend regarding both CPUs and GPUs nowadays.

I have been doing some research re: fans. I can get Yate Loons from http://www.over-clock.co.uk/ although I can get Papst locally. Seems like I would need a total of 14x 120mm fans for my 2 systems combined!! Well, for the striker ii i would need 8 as i will probably go for cpu=120.3, gpu=120.3 and chipset=120.2. Of course this thread is meant to be for the striker only but I am considering upgrading the maximus at the same time to save on overseas shipping.

As for the pumps I might have to read up a little more as so far I am unfamiliar with the DDCs and there seems to be several versions for sale on different etailers.

And btw I live in Europe so I guess there shouldnt be any problem ordering from MIPS. Or so I hope at least as I simply NEED one of those SB combo chips to complete the mobo watercool redux. I know that e.g. EK has NB/mosfets for striker II but I recon that combo chip from MIPS is simply brilliant!

ek make waterblocks for your nb,mosfets and will have a sb/ pcie2 waterblock as well in about two weeks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by otisthecat

ek make waterblocks for your nb,mosfets and will have a sb/ pcie2 waterblock as well in about two weeks

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OK I have looked at their site but find it a bit confusing as they dont state explicitly which mobos are compatible. Could you please let me know which of the EK blocks are compatible with the striker ii?

EDIT: seeing as you live in SA how did you even cope with running the striker ii without watercooling lol! Seems you would need phase change under those circumstances to keep the NB cool enough...

Also, I got my salary today, so getting ready to order soon :D Still have to decide on the pump though as well as whether to go EK or MIPS and also thermochill vs BlackIce

the blocks are as follows -ek asus 3a mosfetts and the nb s-max
the sb is still being made and this is straight from eddy at ek.
Have you throught about Alphacool Laing DDC Ultra .have one works great
Use aircon to keep room at 26 degrees

Ok I will check those out - thanx!

also thinking about using modifed ice probes in reservoir heres a link http://www.thereefshop.com.au/index....7cecd97c4b8ee8 .
changing the tec to a higher wattage. what do you think?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by polar bear

Ahem yes it was a bit of a nightmare setting this up as I got into all sorts of problems running 3/8" tubing with kinking no matter how hard I tried to avoid it, so I had to extend the tubing until the kinks disappeared... although for the revised setup I was considering something like this:

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I have tried few kind of tube included the famous Tygon 3603, ClearFlex, Primoflex. Primoflex was the worst, it soft like jelly and cloud. They all gone to gabbage. I know very well w/ your situation. Use the Tygon B-44-3 from sharkacomputers, it is very strong and crystal clear. No springs need.

Well, looks like they have Tygon and ClearFlex over at www.over-clock.co.uk. They also have this tube

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/acatalog/steelhose.jpg

i.e. with steel rings reinforcing the wall. Of course the alternative is

http://www.microplex.no/productimage...ssiggr_380.jpg

Dunno yet. Might get the tygon or clearflex.

i took the EK mosfet and nb blocks off my Maximus Formula and they mounted right on the striker2...

i just had to use 2 holes to mount the nb instead of 4... i put a small aircooler on the sb and a small heatsink on the pci xpress chip..

worked great

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Snyxxx

I emailed them and they said they could ship to the US. This was months ago, but did you actually email them?

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I asked them specifically about the 780i blocks. They ain't sending to America. I guess we have to wait for GWB to leave office first... just kididng... I don't know understand their business rationale... on the other hand, they don't have a single distributor/retailer in America as well. Germans not interested in serving the American market ?

That is disappointing. Hopefully EK will come through soon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mcoffey

Yeah,

No English translation on the web site. I'd say they've pretty much made up their minds with not shipping to the US.

andyc

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The strange thing is that they write perfect English lol They'll ship to the UK though..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CCC

i took the EK mosfet and nb blocks off my Maximus Formula and they mounted right on the striker2...

i just had to use 2 holes to mount the nb instead of 4... i put a small aircooler on the sb and a small heatsink on the pci xpress chip..

worked great

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So what sort of NB temps are you getting with the EK block, idle/load?

I think I've found a solution to the 3-SLI 3/8" tube kink problem:

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/3...snippelws4.jpg

No tube kinking! Heck, not even tubes are necessary! Just two of these adapters for a 3-sli setup.

Some info from the german website (via google translate):

"The variable SLI Verbindunsnippel combines two graphics card cooler, in a system in SLI mode. The special at this point is that it is variable by about 12mm in length is adjustable. Therefore, this nipple with graphics cards from different manufacturers can be used. The SLI connection nipples are available in 3 lengths: Art for 64033 slot 1, Article 2 slot for 64034 and 64035 for Article 3 slot motherboards.

Technical data:
A direct connector between 2 graphics cards.
Threads: G1 / 4 inch material: nickel-plated brass
Distance between the coolers: 18.9 to 30.3 mm
Suitable for motherboards with 1 slot gap between the two graphics cards.
Fits crossfire graphics card cooler by example Ek Water Blocks, Koolance, DangerDen"

Verbindunsnippel... don't you just love german?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by polar bear

So what sort of NB temps are you getting with the EK block, idle/load?

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idle and load were almost the same.. 38C idle and i think 40C was the max that i saw.. I had it with my cpu loop

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CCC

idle and load were almost the same.. 38C idle and i think 40C was the max that i saw.. I had it with my cpu loop

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Thats not bad at all... My NB is struggling along at 75-80 degrees stock cooled (FSB 400 V_NB 1.32). Perhaps its feasible combining NB and CPU in the same loop after all. I guess you are using a PA120.3 for this setup then?

I was planning for a separate PA120.2 and Laing DDC Ultra for the chipset. Might have to reconsider this though, maybe it's overkill to do things this way.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by polar bear

Thats not bad at all... My NB is struggling along at 75-80 degrees stock cooled (FSB 400 V_NB 1.32). Perhaps its feasible combining NB and CPU in the same loop after all. I guess you are using a PA120.3 for this setup then?

I was planning for a separate PA120.2 and Laing DDC Ultra for the chipset. Might have to reconsider this though, maybe it's overkill to do things this way.

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yes i was using a 120.3 for the cpu/nb

putting them in the same loop is fine for a very nice 24/7 overclock..

having said that when i tried to run some benchies, using like 1.55vcore i could notice the cpu load temps were definately higher than without the nb in the loop..

but considering for me 99% of my pc gets used for gaming and not benching it was no big deal

Just ordered! Decided to get the striker II chipset blocks directly from MIPS. Here's the rest of the setup, it WILL be a TRIPLE-loop, 120.2+120.3+120.3 setup! Can't wait to connect it all up!

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/9...ngorderpd5.jpg

Update: still no reply from MIPS re order of waterblocks... Everything else is on the way. Aquatuning doesnt have the MIPS striker II blocks in stock; EK waterblocks currently does not have a block for SB/PCIe2.0... only NB and mosfets... what to do :(

Shame that no one else does a combo block for the southbridge/sli other than mips. I just used a danger den for the southbridge and an OCZ ram cooler with active cooling running on the sli chip.
The biggest difference I found was to use 2 x 3 core radiators in series with push/pull fans (12 of the suckers) running 4 separate circuits (1 for CPU, 1 for north/southbridges, 1 for video_not hooked up in this photo and 1 for voltage regulators). I can run all this using a QX9650 at 4.4GHZ all day long no problems.
Next on the agenda is to put a Coolit Boreas into the loop as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IanY

The strange thing is that they write perfect English lol They'll ship to the UK though..

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I wonder if MIPS is the only one who sells the 'Six Design' blocks?

Mabey we can find another site who sells them, and shipps to the US?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by markost

Shame that no one else does a combo block for the southbridge/sli other than mips. I just used a danger den for the southbridge and an OCZ ram cooler with active cooling running on the sli chip.
The biggest difference I found was to use 2 x 3 core radiators in series with push/pull fans (12 of the suckers) running 4 separate circuits (1 for CPU, 1 for north/southbridges, 1 for video_not hooked up in this photo and 1 for voltage regulators). I can run all this using a QX9650 at 4.4GHZ all day long no problems.
Next on the agenda is to put a Coolit Boreas into the loop as well.

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That's a sick setup you've got there :p: Well I guess I'm lucky living in Europe and all; if MIPS could only have an efficient online payment system like other etailers do, my order would have been sent already. In fact, I got so impatient waiting for MIPS to reply to my email that I decided to upgrade my watercooling on my X38 rig in the meantime. Ie just burned away more than 2000 euro on pumps, radiators, waterblocks, hoses etc etc etc...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Talonman

I wonder if MIPS is the only one who sells the 'Six Design' blocks?

Mabey we can find another site who sells them, and shipps to the US?

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The only time i ordered MIPS block from HeRanke.com (Germany site). It took 50 days to get here. When they finally arrived, i already got a new board.

Now i wanna get the MIPS Striker II board sets, i have to wait 1-2 months again? Na.. May be EK will make it here earlier..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by markost

Shame that no one else does a combo block for the southbridge/sli other than mips. I just used a danger den for the southbridge and an OCZ ram cooler with active cooling running on the sli chip.
The biggest difference I found was to use 2 x 3 core radiators in series with push/pull fans (12 of the suckers) running 4 separate circuits (1 for CPU, 1 for north/southbridges, 1 for video_not hooked up in this photo and 1 for voltage regulators). I can run all this using a QX9650 at 4.4GHZ all day long no problems.
Next on the agenda is to put a Coolit Boreas into the loop as well.

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OMG! 12 fans! That's really something. You have a build log of that, 'cause I'd very much like to see how you did it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Talonman

Mabey we can find another site who sells them, and shipps to the US?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by QuadSLI

The only time i ordered MIPS block from HeRanke.com (Germany site). It took 50 days to get here. When they finally arrived, i already got a new board.

Now i wanna get the MIPS Striker II board sets, i have to wait 1-2 months again? Na.. May be EK will make it here earlier..

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Well, looks like http://www.aquatuning.de will ship internationally; I have ordered most of my bits from them. They're the only MIPS european partner site that have the striker ii blocks up for order, although they've all been delayed until further notice... annoying.

Gonna do my X38 in the Zalman Z-Machine case and also the HTPC in the meantime. Not sure if I should do a separate build log on the X38, as there is currently one under progress here: Water Cooling Asus Maximus Extreme with Crosslinx. I have all parts on order though, would very much like to do my own log as it's fun but let's see.

I will move my trusted Reserator 1 to the HTPC as it would be IDEAL for that. Nothing fancy here, just an E6550 at stock or perhaps slightly OC'ed. I have ordered waterblocks for that system too... all will be LC'd, chipset too, using EK waterblocks, except for the 8600GTS, making it a near-silent system - just what a HTPC should be like! The Reserator XT i will keep for LC'ing the chipset in the X38 system. Should do fine for that purpose; I will reserve two DDC Ultra's for CPU and GPUs, respectively. Got some serious work to do when all the parts arrive, hopefully in 1-2 weeks time... :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by polar bear

Update: still no reply from MIPS re order of waterblocks... Everything else is on the way. Aquatuning doesnt have the MIPS striker II blocks in stock; EK waterblocks currently does not have a block for SB/PCIe2.0... only NB and mosfets... what to do :(

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According to Neo_rtr's post, he ordered from the MIPS site and recieved blocks in 3 days. Too bad im not in US or europe.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=176881

Neo_rtr Wrote:

To Order from MIPS
goto http://www.mips-computer.de/
goto watercolling
goto MIPS
goto MAINBOARD SETS
goto ASUS Maximus Freezer
goto to the bottom "Bestellen" click it brings you to the shopping card
click on Zur KAsse
Click on Worldwide shipping for USA, or EU Shipement DHL for EU
Click on Weiter

Enter your details
Anrede: title
Vorname (*): First name
Nachname (*): Lastname
Firma: Firm-Company
Straße (*): Street
PLZ (*): ZIP
Ort: City
Land: Country
you can figure out the rest
Telefon etc.
http://dict.tu-chemnitz.de/ is a dictionary site. give it a go

and click on Weiter

After than and once confirmed you will receive an email to pay via paypal.
Once done MIPS will let you know.
For me it was done same day, Monday and 3 days later i had the goods.
Any questions email the guys at MIPS, they have been very helpfull!!
hope this helps-

Svenka... Svenka.. Sweden ... Neo_rtr lives in Stockholm. Of course, he receives his blocks in three days.

Even still, 3 days is superfast within Europe considering the parcel has to go through custom checking and all.

I never received the email directing to paypal payment though. Never actually received any email at all... placed my order last friday.

Will try again now...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Talonman

I wonder if MIPS is the only one who sells the 'Six Design' blocks?

Mabey we can find another site who sells them, and shipps to the US?

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Fianly someone gets it right, the block are Six Design not Mips at all.

If Petra sold them would we call it a Petra or Alex block...no!

http://www.candccentral.co.uk/ - only one i know of in the UK and know of one gent from the USA here that ordered them whilest he was under orders from Bush in the desert!

http://www.sixdesign.de/ - Website to the blocks them self!

Oh and if you really want to thank me i have the mans direct e-mail addy!

sixtron@sixdesign.de - dont be a :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana: and spam him, hidden there for good reason

Pete

Try to contact http://www.aquatuning.de/ for overseas delivery. They have most of MIPS products on stock all the time. The online shop is in German but they answer emails in english very promptly. They also have a support forum, with a dedicated subforum for english speaking people, which they quickly answers if you have any questions. You pay with PayPal and they deliver with DHL (if you want) all over the world.

I purchased from AquaTuning a few times and I very much recommend this shop.

Yes they have an excellent watercooling section with a HUGE variety. Pumps, rads, tubes, barbs, blocks, in-line chillers, modding equipment, u name it. Excellent customer support too with fast replies; English can be used also. BUT... they currently do not have the MIPS Striker II blocks in stock, and they cannot at the moment give an estimate as to when they will arrive in store. However, I really recommend this site, especially for european customers of course.

Curious but what temps does the Zalman XT unit give your Quad overclocked @ 3600Mhz?

Idle
Load

??


And Koolance would give the cleanest look no doubts there

Hi there,

FSB450*8 @ Vcore=1.43125 gives temps as follows:

idle 61
load 89

For the hottest core (core1). Recorded by everest, which gives pretty much the same core temp values as, well core temp ;) This is using the stock block that comes with the XT.
Using the XT for chipset cooling as well via Asus fusion on the Maximus Extreme:

NB idle/load 45/49 @ 1.61V
SB idle/load 42/44 @ 1.07V

Ie not much more overclocking headroom here :down: At FSB480*8=3840 I can run super-pi 4M and 3DMark06, but system does not pass any stability tests (everest, orthos etc). Max temp here would be close to 100C.

I am happy with the unit though and would recommend it to anyone looking for a sleek, near silent, easy to setup unit. It is NOT however for high-performance cooling. And it's also a bit pricey. Would be excellent for HTPC cooling or an all-in-one unit for cooling all components of a non-overclock system, making it near-silent, which IMHO is what Zalman had in mind when they designed the unit.

However since I am hunting for more MHz :D I am on the verge of upgrading to EK Supreme+DDC Ultra. Will keep the XT though, for chipset cooling.

89c:eek: Isnt that a little high?

In general what do you guys think of the chipset waterblocks for the Stiker II ?

Yes it is :p: Upgrading to EK supreme / PA120.3 for Q6600; will keep the XT for chipset cooling (with EK blocks, not stock fusion block).

(this is with Maximus Extreme let that be clear. Only reason I'm posting this is that I had a q re: Q6600 temps with the reserator xt)

EDIT: also waiting for my E8400 - it has been delayed 3-4 times now i think. Current ETA is 17.03... It will replace the E6600 on the striker. Excited to see what sort of temps it will bring, and of course OC headroom. I have high hopes for this one, hoping to finally cross the magic 4.0 barrier - hopefully it will not disappoint much.

[QUOTE=polar bear;2813223]OMG! 12 fans! That's really something. You have a build log of that, 'cause I'd very much like to see how you did it.

Nearest thing I have to a build log. Originally used 1/4" tubing which worked pretty well but flow rate was a little on the low side. Looked a bit neater originally but running 4 separate loops in 3/8" was a bit more difficult to keep organised. I'm in the process now of making a new housing for the cooling which will also contain 2 x Boreas chillers to keep it nice and cool without huge fan noise. Good thing about using push/pull cooling is that you can keep the fans running at low RPM with good airflow.

Wow thats some serious cooling!

So you have a 1000w PSU running the Mb and 2 x 8800GT?
and a seperate 850w for the other electrics.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cognoscenti

Wow thats some serious cooling!

So you have a 1000w PSU running the Mb and 2 x 8800GT?
and a seperate 850w for the other electrics.

---

Running that many HDD's and fans, pumps and all the other bits, you really need to have a separate secondary PS. also it helps provide clean power to the MB & GPU's. Any motors, ie: fans, hard drive platters etc, introduce noise into the power grid. The less noise, the more chance of stable overclocks.

Polar I feel ur pain bro. tonight I totally stripped my Skulltrail rig down to nekkid and am rebuilding it (must be done for tomorrow for InfernaLAN at Intel). I have two 3870 X2s which will each run on one BI 240 rad in their own loops. Now the concern I had was the two QX9775s and NB which are all on one loop. I know I will be scolded here but I am gonna try it anyways. I made a manifold out of acrylic Ts with three lines so each cpu and the NB will all get cooled water from the BI 480 GTX rad. I hooked it up in a short loop to visually inspect the flow and it 'appears' ok . . .granted Martin would biatch slap me for eye-balling it. I also traded out my low (or medium -dont remember) Yates for high speed Yates.

I have two 900 watt tagans but am going to try running off one at least for the LAN.