Liquid Cooled SkullTrail

Thought this might be of some interest.

Vadim Computers in the UK has a BlastFlow cooler for the SouthBridge that is a great improvement over stock. And EK makes a block the Maximus (X 38) that is perfect for the MCH once you fabricate some brackets. Thanks to FUGGER for that tip.:up:

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/6417/pict8993ax7.jpg
Pulled the rig apart last night

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/1690/pict8994wz9.jpg
This bastage is noisy...makes my ears ring...

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/627/pict8995io9.jpg
The three chips are not at the same exact level hence the use of thick tape by the factory.

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/5566/pict8996xw6.jpg
The MCH IHS is frigging HUGE. The XSPC X20 cooler I got from Vadim seems too small. I realize the IHS is always larger than the chip beneath but the XSPC X20 is round and only the diameter of the IHS...so a fair amount is uncovered...I decided to use the EK Asus X 38 cooler instead..

http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/3858/pict8998hu0.jpg
The waterblock is sweet: usual EK quality. But I needed to make up a pair of brackets to meet the SkullTrail MCH holes. I used the Springs from a FuZion kit and the screws and thumbnuts provided by EK to make it work.

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/4743/pict8999xd9.jpg
I used IC Diamond Diamond Dust TIM this time around. I could tell the IHS was crowned so I went heavy with the application. I also made up a backing plate using the BlastFLow X20 adapter for SkullTrail from Vadim by putting foam tape on it...although it is not as stiff as the steel Intel backing plate it was quick and easy and I needed to git r done.

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/9280/pict9001xs4.jpg
There it is: ready to remount inside the Soldam case.

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/5479/pict9002yh0.jpg
It's cleaner and easier for service in the future to run the tubing out of the case. I eliminated the bay reservoir this time so that pulling the CPU waterblocks would be simpler. The GFX are on a loop, the Chipset coolers are on a loop and the CPUs are on a loop: and there is enough length to remove them and set them outside the case if needed without parting the lines...

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/2744/pict9006vf4.jpg
I recabled the HDDs a little to make for maximum airflow.

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/4354/pict9008tj2.jpg
Bleeding is simple: I just open one loop at a time and run the Iwaki a few seconds to charge the line then refill the cylinder reservoir in the Monolith cooler.

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/2786/pict9009mn3.jpg
The lines are smaller in diameter and have less volume: this means increased flow. They are all connected to the Hydra which controls the flow for tuning and service via 8 ball valves (3/8)

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/4830/pict9010vp8.jpg
The cooler has been running for about 9 months non stop so I took some time to douche it out and refill it with fresh Dasani. Although far from silent...the sound is less annoying than an aircooled SKullTrail Quadfire set up.

No leaks and everything is running pretty cool.

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/4174/sttempxd2.jpg
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/2...ghefoldeu3.jpg
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/7853/r1022wp4.th.jpg

The GFX waterblocks are full coverage blocks from EK (nickle plated) for the HD 3870X2s. They work great. With a 22C intake temp on the external cooler the cards idle around 30C. Underload the four GPUs stay under 50C. None of the GPUs runs significantly hotter than any other.

As usual, flawless.. Love your threads and work!:up:

How much more can you honestly get in a rig? You've got four 3870 GPUs, and what 8 cores of power?
Damn Druid keep it going ;)

Maybe phase? :shrug:

lol


Thanks:)

nice work on w/ the ek block. looks really nice. why didnt you polish the mounts? i remember you polishing like everything in a few builds :p:

the double fuzion is very intimidating, also the swarm of tubing :yepp:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR55mYjurbM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gUQ6RoYKZo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAu6D_uXEcM

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by evil-98

nice work on w/ the ek block. looks really nice. why didnt you polish the mounts? i remember you polishing like everything in a few builds :p:

the double fuzion is very intimidating, also the swarm of tubing :yepp:

---

I never go that extra mile for myself...I save that :p:

Wow, Great work.

Wow :eek: ! That is insane man! Freaking amazing work. What kind of performance do you get with such set-up? Can you post some Benchmarks? :D

ditto any 3dmarks, aquamark etc

I get better 3-D marks from my QX9650 rig with a single card actually...but it's a great Folding Rig.

its a shame in 3dmark all that untapped power :confused: still an amazing bit of kit though

interesting loop on the graphics cards CyberDruid, are your temps even.?

Wow, all that hardware and you get outperformed
by a QX9650 rig with a single card. That is a very interesting statement.

But I have to say the engineering, style and functionality that you have put in that box is second to none,
that is fantastic.
You have earned my respect and my admiration for your Extreme abilities. I will defiantly look forward to seeing more of your work in the future,

Top Notch!

:up: Looks like you solved the 1/8" gap between the video cards issue, that is a sweet rig Warren.:worship: what is the drive set-up like ? raid 5? that looks like alot of drives for a cruncher.

I have a HDD fetish...sad but true.

Another prob: my Areca 1210 does not work on the Skulltrail...cannot get it to load an OS nor boot. So I had to use the onboard controller...RAID0 and again not very impressive compared to the Areca.

The highest I can push the Xeons is 3 ghz at the moment. My QX9650 will touch 4.5 and bench at 4.2 easily. TBH I was expecting some really amazing marks from the rig but the reality is that without much faster (and more espensive) CPUs it aint happening. The CAS 6 6 6 18 RAM doen't help either...

To put to rest the question of GFX cooling

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/7649/gpu1kb7.jpg
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/7655/gpu2dr9.jpg
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/3116/gpu3uh5.jpg
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/9043/gpu4kx4.jpg

E5420s? So you did the BSEL mod to FSB1600, correct?

Nope I just used the settings in BIOS to push them on up there :D

OCing the D5400XS is a little different. At first I thought it was locking up but FUGGER was kind enough to point out that I should power down from the PSU after changing settings. First Boot after a setting change you get three beeps and nothing no POST. Power down again wait ten seconds power up and Viola you are up again...

Rinse and Repeat

After discovering that the RAM would not run at DDR2 800 CAS5 I was able to run a 1600 FSB. RAM runs 1:1 and apparently runs at 667 when at a 1333 FSB...and handles 5 5 5 15...but to run 800 I need CAS6 or a LOT of volts.

SO part of the trouble OCing is RAM...and no handy Dividers...

But the Xeons are dead stable at 3 ghz

nice!

beast right there

Wow Cyber Druid, this rig is amazing. I love that SB waterblock! What is your daily average points for F@H on this thing?

Looks fantastic. Do you put your radiator outside still?

wow that looks amazing :o

Did this just get moved to TEC section?

God knows...

No TEC here....

I get between 3k-5k a day

it's a sign
got room for a peltier on that big MCH IHS :hrhr:

cooling the 5000x/5400 chipset to ~0c or colder helps FSB a lot ;)

Hey cybi how fast is those harpentowns @ 3Ghz?
Wprime times for exsample :p

Wants mi own ST board + 2 x 54x0 chips

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by STEvil

cooling the 5000x/5400 chipset to ~0c or colder helps FSB a lot ;)

---

I'll take the Forum move as a sign then :D

I was thinking about a chilled loop. But I am not sure the phaser would hang with that.

In the past two days my overal temps have crept up another 3C...I think three seperate loops would be the way to go.

Any thoughts on using a Phase Change unit to chill one of the loops? Possible set uip being Pump/Rad/WB connected to phase/CPU WBs/res

I've often wondered how a phase would work if you just added a waterblock to the loop and clamped that to the phase head...you'd think it would make a dramatic drop in temps right before the CPU or whatever you are cooling...

I'll run some benchies in a bit.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CyberDruid

I'll take the Forum move as a sign then :D

I was thinking about a chilled loop. But I am not sure the phaser would hang with that.

In the past two days my overal temps have crept up another 3C...I think three seperate loops would be the way to go.

Any thoughts on using a Phase Change unit to chill one of the loops? Possible set uip being Pump/Rad/WB connected to phase/CPU WBs/res

I've often wondered how a phase would work if you just added a waterblock to the loop and clamped that to the phase head...you'd think it would make a dramatic drop in temps right before the CPU or whatever you are cooling...

I'll run some benchies in a bit.

---

Id certainly love to see someone try a phase change in the loop.. but wouldnt you have to run like 30% antifreeze to stop freezing?

awesome setup tho :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CyberDruid

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/9280/pict9001xs4.jpg
There it is: ready to remount inside the Soldam case.

---

Where can I get one of those BlastFLow X20 adapters

I have since upgraded this to a Swiftech 220 custom kit.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...Skulltrail.jpg
http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=337462

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CyberDruid

I'll take the Forum move as a sign then :D

I was thinking about a chilled loop. But I am not sure the phaser would hang with that.

In the past two days my overal temps have crept up another 3C...I think three seperate loops would be the way to go.

Any thoughts on using a Phase Change unit to chill one of the loops? Possible set uip being Pump/Rad/WB connected to phase/CPU WBs/res

I've often wondered how a phase would work if you just added a waterblock to the loop and clamped that to the phase head...you'd think it would make a dramatic drop in temps right before the CPU or whatever you are cooling...

I'll run some benchies in a bit.

---

It's going to depend a lot on the evaporator style of the phase unit. Do you have a maze evap or a stepped evap with center cap?

You seem to have plenty of spare parts so I might suggest a slightly different route but, again, this is going to depend on the phase unit and what load it's charged for. you could pretty easily make a HX for your cpu and chipset loops by dropping your radiators into an antifreeze/distilled bath in a cooler and put a high flow waterblock against the evap and loop the antifreeze/distilled through the block on the evap and into the cooler to chill the radiator bath. Depending on the charge on the phase you may or may not need to mix antifreeze into your current loops.

IMHO, you'll either need a custom chiller with big(24+plate) HX evap or a triple head phase to really pull the most from any skulltrail rig.

Thanks for the input. Chilled liquid seems like the way to go.

I got the adpater for the X20 from Vadim Computers in the UK.

Cyber,
That stupid SB fan annoy's the heck outta me. Do you know of a replacment air-cooler?

BTW, The Blastflow block can be had at NCIX for $119 USD.

Why are your temps so high for watercooling

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WesM63

Cyber,
That stupid SB fan annoy's the heck outta me. Do you know of a replacment air-cooler?

BTW, The Blastflow block can be had at NCIX for $119 USD.

---

I can't imagine how you would adapt a heatpipe cooler...there are three small chips

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jedson3614

Why are your temps so high for watercooling

---

The Xeons have been running a lot hotter than I expected. I even RMAed one of them because the Core temp difference was so radical...two of the four cores idled at 50C... The new one is more normal but they still run hot.

I'm building a larger cooler with three PA120.3 on three seperate loops so I think that will help.

I have reseated the waterblocks a number of times and used IC Diamond TIM this time instead of Shin Etsu but saw no real difference.

Just too much tubing and not enough rad or pump...the IwakiRD30 and the PA120.3 finally met their match :D

Coretemp doesnt read 45nm processor temps correctly. Realtemp does a better job.

Use a common res between the loops so you're not wasting radiator power ;)

wait CD why is this in the TEC section? :shrug:

Also, how does load temps look with the cards like that. It was tested and on the 8800GTX it was actually a double digit number @ load.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NaeKuh

wait CD why is this in the TEC section? :shrug:

Also, how does load temps look with the cards like that. It was tested and on the 8800GTX it was actually a double digit number @ load.

---

I think fugger was trying to send him a message, lol.

We could probably figure out a TEC set-up for this thing but, even cpu and chipset only would be terrifying. we're talking dual E5420's and a 5400 here so, 320W Qmax pelts on the cpus and an 80w qmax on the chipset. Should be able to run all three at 10v to improve thermal transfer efficiency since we're not trying to dive too far into sub-freezing. but, this is still going to need it's own ~950W 12v psu so something likes of a 1200W ATX psu or a meanwell se-1000-12. Problem then is going to be dissipating all the heat from the peltiers. 320W qmax pelts require about 500W to transfer that much. cranking them down 10v will drop transfer to about 270-280w and draw to about ~440 for each cpu and 90W draw and under 7w transfer. Should keep all three just sub-freezing at load. Then you're just going to need a pair of PA120.3s to dissipate all the heat coming off the hotside. Remember, most pelts you have to keep them below 50C on the hotside or their going to loose a lot of efficiency. I'm honestly not sure if your d-teks can move enough heat to keep the pelts cool.

A tripple head phase unit seems overly complicated for my tastes but, would be a good option. A simple maze evap on the 5400 and a pair of nice stepped evaps on your cpus would work but, it's going to be a monster to keep them below freezing at load given your current temps and the 120W stock TDP each.

I would build a chiller if it were going to be mine. Assuming 220W each cpu and 40W chipset to be on the safe side you're at 480W or 1638 BTUs. The smallest HX I know of are about 6000BTU rated but, keeping the charge down and doing a R22/R290 blend would be simple enough and good for ~-30C with a good 1/3-1/2hp rotary compressor and a rather large condensor. Fan throttling to match load is going to be the hard part IMHO. Most single stage units are only throttling for a load difference of a single processor, not two and a chipset. You may actually need about a 2L reservoir kept pulled down to keep from having a big ripple in temps when you load it. I might suggest a pair of 120mm Kaze ultra 3Ks set up to go full bore at pull down with one shutting off after the fluid is down to temp and the second canrun down to 1500 rpm when the system is idle and throttle up at load. A simple temperature controller to keep the air temp within on the outlet side of the condensor within 10C of the inlet side should work just fine.

come on, you know you wanna!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by STEvil

Coretemp doesnt read 45nm processor temps correctly. Realtemp does a better job.

Use a common res between the loops so you're not wasting radiator power ;)

---

There is. Good point though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ArtosDracon

I think fugger was trying to send him a message, lol.

We could probably figure out a TEC set-up for this thing but, even cpu and chipset only would be terrifying. we're talking dual E5420's and a 5400 here so, 320W Qmax pelts on the cpus and an 80w qmax on the chipset. Should be able to run all three at 10v to improve thermal transfer efficiency since we're not trying to dive too far into sub-freezing. but, this is still going to need it's own ~950W 12v psu so something likes of a 1200W ATX psu or a meanwell se-1000-12. Problem then is going to be dissipating all the heat from the peltiers. 320W qmax pelts require about 500W to transfer that much. cranking them down 10v will drop transfer to about 270-280w and draw to about ~440 for each cpu and 90W draw and under 7w transfer. Should keep all three just sub-freezing at load. Then you're just going to need a pair of PA120.3s to dissipate all the heat coming off the hotside. Remember, most pelts you have to keep them below 50C on the hotside or their going to loose a lot of efficiency. I'm honestly not sure if your d-teks can move enough heat to keep the pelts cool.

A tripple head phase unit seems overly complicated for my tastes but, would be a good option. A simple maze evap on the 5400 and a pair of nice stepped evaps on your cpus would work but, it's going to be a monster to keep them below freezing at load given your current temps and the 120W stock TDP each.

I would build a chiller if it were going to be mine. Assuming 220W each cpu and 40W chipset to be on the safe side you're at 480W or 1638 BTUs. The smallest HX I know of are about 6000BTU rated but, keeping the charge down and doing a R22/R290 blend would be simple enough and good for ~-30C with a good 1/3-1/2hp rotary compressor and a rather large condensor. Fan throttling to match load is going to be the hard part IMHO. Most single stage units are only throttling for a load difference of a single processor, not two and a chipset. You may actually need about a 2L reservoir kept pulled down to keep from having a big ripple in temps when you load it. I might suggest a pair of 120mm Kaze ultra 3Ks set up to go full bore at pull down with one shutting off after the fluid is down to temp and the second canrun down to 1500 rpm when the system is idle and throttle up at load. A simple temperature controller to keep the air temp within on the outlet side of the condensor within 10C of the inlet side should work just fine.

come on, you know you wanna!

---

MADNESS!:yepp:

That is way beyond my knowledge and ability...but yes I would love to do that..

I'm sure any of the prominent phase builders would be happy to build one for you for a chunk of coin. I happen to like nol's work personally.

I like his work too...but I am going to have to wait on that "phase" of the Skulltrail build.

I am involved in a number of expensive projects for the biz and just can't lavish the Black Knight with uber cooling yet.

Dunno how i missed this thread, Wait its in the Tec section lolol (someone hinting at something i wonder)

Love the build CyberDruid expected nothing less :up:

Why is everyone teasing me with ST build, Wes has one too now
Bloody exp her in u.k tho 420 for a mobo !!!!!

Thanks Cyber. I am going to order a SB/NVidia MCP cooler for my Skulltrail. I decided to swap out my X2s for GX2s tho.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ArtosDracon

I think fugger was trying to send him a message, lol.

We could probably figure out a TEC set-up for this thing but, even cpu and chipset only would be terrifying. we're talking dual E5420's and a 5400 here so, 320W Qmax pelts on the cpus and an 80w qmax on the chipset. Should be able to run all three at 10v to improve thermal transfer efficiency since we're not trying to dive too far into sub-freezing. but, this is still going to need it's own ~950W 12v psu so something likes of a 1200W ATX psu or a meanwell se-1000-12. Problem then is going to be dissipating all the heat from the peltiers. 320W qmax pelts require about 500W to transfer that much. cranking them down 10v will drop transfer to about 270-280w and draw to about ~440 for each cpu and 90W draw and under 7w transfer. Should keep all three just sub-freezing at load. Then you're just going to need a pair of PA120.3s to dissipate all the heat coming off the hotside. Remember, most pelts you have to keep them below 50C on the hotside or their going to loose a lot of efficiency. I'm honestly not sure if your d-teks can move enough heat to keep the pelts cool.

A tripple head phase unit seems overly complicated for my tastes but, would be a good option. A simple maze evap on the 5400 and a pair of nice stepped evaps on your cpus would work but, it's going to be a monster to keep them below freezing at load given your current temps and the 120W stock TDP each.

I would build a chiller if it were going to be mine. Assuming 220W each cpu and 40W chipset to be on the safe side you're at 480W or 1638 BTUs. The smallest HX I know of are about 6000BTU rated but, keeping the charge down and doing a R22/R290 blend would be simple enough and good for ~-30C with a good 1/3-1/2hp rotary compressor and a rather large condensor. Fan throttling to match load is going to be the hard part IMHO. Most single stage units are only throttling for a load difference of a single processor, not two and a chipset. You may actually need about a 2L reservoir kept pulled down to keep from having a big ripple in temps when you load it. I might suggest a pair of 120mm Kaze ultra 3Ks set up to go full bore at pull down with one shutting off after the fluid is down to temp and the second canrun down to 1500 rpm when the system is idle and throttle up at load. A simple temperature controller to keep the air temp within on the outlet side of the condensor within 10C of the inlet side should work just fine.

come on, you know you wanna!

---

Great ideas there :D
BUT, as I own two E5420 myself, I can tell you - they don't drain no power.
When running them at 3Ghz, my whole system pulls 220W from the wall while running prime SmallFFT, and that is with a rather inefficient cooltek 600W PSU.
These Harpertowns have an 80W TDP, but in reality, it's more like 60W each.
Getting them higher is rather a matter of high FSB (and therefore MCH, VTT and Vdimm) than it is of Vcore. Feeding those CPUs more than ~1,3V would be pointless even at 450 FSB.

Great build druid, now you just gotta get some new ram - I can recommend the ones I have, very cheap but seemingly very good Buffalo 800 FBDimms.
They cost me 60€ per 2GB stick, and if my mobo isn't somehow throttling them, I can pass memtest at 900Mhz 5-5-5-15 with 1,9V.

You can find the exact description of my build here - as of now, I have 430Mhz FSB stabilized. However, I still need a new bios, the Z7S still is VERY buggy.

Edit: Namely, this pic will be of interest to you, because it shows the rams' exact descriptions.

http://database.he-computer.de/Bilde...r/CIMG0968.jpg

I wonder why mine run so damn hot then.

Thanks for the info. I'll try lowering my Vcore and see if it will still Fold. The Transcend seems to be a weak link.

I don't have Vcore option in Bios, but that's not a problem up to 3,25Ghz, and even then I think my problem is the VTT.
I have two perfectly identical CPUs, both run at 1,16V Vcore loaded and 1,08V VTT...
The only 2 things running hot are the MCH and FBDimm, got to improve cooling soon.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CyberDruid

I wonder why mine run so damn hot then.

Thanks for the info. I'll try lowering my Vcore and see if it will still Fold. The Transcend seems to be a weak link.

---

My kingstons run really hot too.

Well I checked out Real Temp and basically it's just saying Tmax is 95C instead of 105C so Core temp is 10C high. Interesting premise.

But I found juicing the CPU(s) was working to make my rig stable for Folding.

Since I am under 100% load 24/7 I expected some heat..but not 63C. If RealTemp's premise is correct I have a much more acceptable 53C load temp.

hell i bet if you ran two 427watters off a 1000 watt meanwell you would be sitting nicely :P but thats if you have money to blow, plus think about the power bill and the fact that you'd have to have a wall of rads:(