Project: Cosmos S WC; Quadfire - 56k Puke

Continued from here. This is long-overdue and after a *pile* of delays with work, family, etc., I'm on a marathon to get this beast assembled. One of the HD4870x2's is still out on RMA but, otherwise, I should have it all ready to go. 9PM here in Los Angeles and I want this done by tomorrow night. Not going to be a lot of 'modding', in the traditional sense but I will certainly be tweaking a few things, like reversing the flow for fans, moving a few things around and experimenting a little with the WC setup. Here's the gear and a few photos of some of what's been done.

Did a lot of research to put this together, thanks to all here and EXT who shared their input on this. Been quite a process.

Ok what's this?

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w..._puke/sexy.jpg

Anyway, onto the gear list:

Case:
COOLER MASTER cosmos S RC-1100-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

Panel:
COOLER MASTER RA-1100-KWN1-GP Transparent Acrylic Side Window Panel - Retail

Mobo:
ASUS Rampage Extreme LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Yorkfield 3.0GHz LGA 775 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569QX9650 - Retail

GPU: 2X
SAPPHIRE 100251SR Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail[/B]

RAM: 2x (8GB)
CORSAIR XMS3 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TW3X4G1600C9DHX - Retail

Display: 1X
DELL UltraSharp 2408WFP

PSU:
KINGWIN Mach 1 ABT-1000MA1S 1000W ATX / BTX Power Supply - Retail[/B]

SSD:
RiDATA NSSD-S25-32-C04MPN 2.5" 32GB SATA II 3.0Gb Internal Solid state disk (SSD) - Retail

HDD: 4X
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

HDD Cooling 4X:
MASSCOOL SYTRIN Kuformula SHF1 Ultra HDD Cooler – BK - Retail

Optical One:
LG Super Multi Blu-ray Disc Burner & HD DVD-ROM Drive Black SATA Model GGW-H20L - Retail

Optical Two:
SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q/BEBN - OEM

Water Cooling: 1x (I'm new to WC, this is a good, safe start.)
Swiftech H20-220-APEX-GT CPU Liquid Cooling Kits - Retail

OS:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD for System Builders - OEM

A few pictures...

The Gear - ($5k goes really fast)
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2842.jpg

The Extras - $300 @ Frys is easy. Some tools; cable stripper, solder, hot gun, soldering iron, lots of sleeving and heat shrink, spare 120's, UV cathodes, tape, xacto knife, a useless ram cooler (Patriot Vortex), loads of molex clips, cleaner, other odds and ends:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2955.jpg

My Workspace - It's going to be a long weekend.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2957.jpg

The Beast - Got a lot of grief over this choice for a PSU. More details on that in another thread where I will review it:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/P1010606.jpg

Here's some shots of work already done and I want to point out that I've never done any sleeving or modding of any kind before, it's all new. Good times.

So... Here's my FIRST sleeve/shrink!!! On the HD cage for the Cosmos:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2940.jpg

Some more work on fan cables...

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2946.jpg

The next thing will be do clean/prep the loop tonight. I have 4 gallons of distilled water, 1 gallon of 99% Isopropyl and a spare PSU to run it through the sink (or something). WC is totally new to me, it should be fun.

May try to use this for a res.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2913.jpg

Or not lol

Stay tuned, it's gonna be a long, busy weekend but I'll post updates.. ;)

That's going to be a monster rig...

cant wait to see it done man

gl

Minor Update: Molex pins suck. A lot.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2961.jpg

My fans..:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2965.jpg

Granny Approved!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2968.jpg

De-greasing the boards and adding the Arctic Silver and the WC loop is next!

I bet those stickers improve airflow by 10 fold :P

wow!! looney tunes' fans!! i wonder where i can get those locally. hehehe.

be monitoring this monster rig of yours

Update:

The board's been prep'd by removing stock heating, re-greasing w/Artic Cool, and adding an additional fan:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2976.jpg

Goo Gone:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2985.jpg

Some Sleeving:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2977.jpg

...and cufflinks!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2978.jpg

I also modded the backside of the board to include the nylon washers trick for a 10c-15c boost in temps:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2993.jpg

Close Up of nylon washer additions:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2992.jpg

Fusion; noun - the state or fact of being so united.

Uh, you call this united..? ASUS, what's with the screwy barbs on this thing..?

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2994.jpg

Also measured the loop runs and will begin installing/prepping the WC, ready to install the board and backplate for the block:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2986.jpg

Oh wait.. I need my Dremel to cut out the backplate. It's 5am, can't wake up the family with that right now...

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2991.jpg

Crap, I'm on a roll too. First thing will be to assemble the loop and get it running.

Back at it after some sleep. ;)

This going to be insane! :D *subscribed*

Looking forward to your progress. :up:

When you did the nylon washer trick did you just add the washers or did you completely remove the heatsink assembly reapply the thermal compound and reassemble? I ask b/c my NB temps are not bad at 1.48v. Temps top out at around 49-51c under load. I'm thinking about simply adding the washers to see if the additional pressure will provide better contact and temps without removing the whole assembly.

Oh...if you are in LA NewEgg shipping is just one day away. Have you thought about the Xigmatek backplate? It may be a simpler solution.

As a replacement for that godawful fuzion block, might I suggest this? It's really a lot better.

Suscribed!!! :) i wan to see this

Looks amazing so far :up:

Good suggestions on the replacement blocks, thanks. ;)

What size sleeving did you use on the fans? Also the size of the heatshrink.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SoNiC21

What size sleeving did you use on the fans? Also the size of the heatshrink.

---

1/4" for the sleeve, 9mm and 18mm cuffs for the heatshrink. Standard sizes really, and it's all UV-reactive.

u need to get this
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swmcnoco.html

dont run the fusion POS with its aluminum parts

your hands are small and soft. like a woman's.

Update: Major

Quite a day. Blew the tips off of 5 fingers, no joke and not fun. Really slowed me down. Hot tubing and no fingertips really blows.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3033.jpg

Eventually took a little break to hit some local pet stores, looking for a flow indicator, more on that later. Finding Nemo came to mind - you'll see. ;)

http://herokids.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/nemo.jpg

Ran into other obstacles that were minor but time consuming. Lost a crucial screw down into my central air unit, ran out of tubing on my loop (I think Swiftech short-changed me on the length) and other hassles. Not as productive as I would have like but a lot of progress on this, nonetheless.

Work on the dreaded backplate and the fat Fujistu chip on the backside of the board. What a pain. The Dremel would take ages to blast through the backplate and I'm not ready to sacrifice the plate I do have so on to something else until I figure out another solution.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3015.jpg

Dunno what to do next. Ok lunch! Baby makes a killer breakfast burrito. ;)

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3004.jpg

While I'm eating I'm still working! Going over the room-full of parts I have, I see this thing:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3021.jpg

The otherwise useless fan that came with the QX9650. Hey, what's this?

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3016.jpg

Hey, I have an idea!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3023.jpg

Finally I can put the Dremel to good use!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3026.jpg

I found the *perfect* backplate for my QX9650 and the Fujitsu chip. Intel makes a Crossbow and I bet they don't even know it!

http://www.scan.co.uk/Images/Products/824662-a.jpg

Installing the block as soon as the loop's ready...

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3027.jpg

Now onto wet goodness! Measured all the loops with some twine inside the case and used that to pair the tube runs, seems to have worked out well. I absolutely wanted to fill the system with the res hung as high as possible before actually installing it. Once in the case, it'll sit above the HD cage, roughly halfway up the case, not ideal, but at least the pump is on the bottom. More on that, coming up next...

Update Major:

Time to get loopy.

Ran into a problem with space - hard to imagine in the Cosmos S but I wanted the pump at the bottom and with the PSU and a full HD cage, my only option was to patch up one of the bottom blow holes and fan mounts - I didn't want to do that as that additional fan is needed to keep up with the CFM from the rads. So looking around for options - I came up with this:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3038.jpg

That cool little RadBox that came from the Swiftech kit will come in handy after all. Since I'm mounting the rad on the inside of the case (along the top) I didn't need it - until now! It's a perfect 120 housing and the ideal mount for my pump. ;)

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3037.jpg

So far so good!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3006.jpg

And now this miserable thing.. Grr ASUS, what the hell were you thinking?

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3007.jpg

Filling this with Distilled and a little Isopropyl aftershave...

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3005.jpg

Into the sink just to be safe...

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3029.jpg

Disaster. I knew it. The weakest point in the loop is this ridiculous barb setup on the Fusion block. What a nightmare. It's not actually torn at the seal but directly in the middle of the 'tubing' ASUS provides. It's flimsy and cheap, a real weak spot on an otherwise solid board.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3010.jpg

Water pouring out between the couplings!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3014.jpg

Next will be to come up with another solution for looping in the Fusion block, those barbs are a joke but I have a few ideas. I'm happy with the backplate solution and the loop will be (otherwise) flawless. Once that kink is worked out I'll install in into the case and start with the cable management and components.

Stay tuned. ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by xMrBunglex

your hands are small and soft. like a woman's.

---

:rofl: Man, that was kind of wrong, but I lol'd.

Anyway, all kidding aside, this is a nice project. That burrito looks awesome.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by xMrBunglex

your hands are small and soft. like a woman's.

---

Thank you. Did you want to hold one?

lookn' great man :D

do u not look at links, this is a direct replacement bloack for the stock asus one
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swmcnoco.html

its got no aluminum and has real barbs

ya, please dont use the stock block, it'll make an awful mess of that board :( (you should know you have already been messing with it, lol)

looking great man :D

This RIG is a dream!
I will follow this...

Nice pictures there m8 (especially in post #7)! :) Go on with yr work ^^

http://pic.ipicture.ru/uploads/08091...DLl6X21ByQ.jpg

Looking good as expected.

PSU still sucks. ;) :lol

love the pics. wow, this is your first attempt at sleeving? - nice job, downright inspirational!

:up:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TedShred

love the pics. wow, this is your first attempt at sleeving? - nice job, downright inspirational!

:up:

---

Thank you! The sleeving is actually really addictive, once you start, it's hard to stop. Now I can't stand a single exposed cable, it's getting out of hand but will be worth it. ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jas420221

Looking good as expected.

PSU still sucks. ;) :lol

---

Yeah yeah.. ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ShoNuff

Looking forward to your progress. :up:

When you did the nylon washer trick did you just add the washers or did you completely remove the heatsink assembly reapply the thermal compound and reassemble? I ask b/c my NB temps are not bad at 1.48v. Temps top out at around 49-51c under load. I'm thinking about simply adding the washers to see if the additional pressure will provide better contact and temps without removing the whole assembly.

---

I did all this when I had the stock heating completely disassembled, made the most sense, obviously. Once off, I de-goo'd all the copper and contacts and re-applied Arctic Silver and reset everything. When it came time to replace the screws, I added the nylon washers. I can't take credit for this mod idea. It's based off the Heat and Acoustical testing review. They clearly show the difference this little mod makes, and drop temps down to 32c in some cases, a big difference from your normal 49 - 51c temps, which are average.

They also suggest the Fusion block is a solid performer but I've had it with the 1/4" barbs. Too much compression and too many potential leak points. Which is why I went for the Swiftech replacement.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by allig4t0r

Nice pictures there m8 (especially in post #7)! :) Go on with yr work ^^

http://pic.ipicture.ru/uploads/08091...DLl6X21ByQ.jpg

---

Thank you! It takes a lot of time to stop and take pictures all the time, hard NOT to get carried away but I'm trying to include the kinds of pictures *I* have been looking for, the real detailed close-ups that I wished I had so many times before! Look forward to more!!!

So at this point, the split Fusion tubing has broken me down, I won't use it and have opted for the Swiftech replacement. I could easily replace the tubing from supplies at a local Pet shop but too many potential leaks points and it's just not worth the risk. Aesthetics are horrible, as well. I don't want my rig to look like a hot babe with a great smile - wearing braces.

Ordered this and a few other toys I needed:

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swmcnoco.html

Currently out of stock but according to an email I have from SideWinder:

Quote:

---

I just wanted to give you an update on your order as you may have noticed one part was out of stock. The ETA on the new Swiftech MCW-NBMax northbridge cooler is this Thursday. We'll ship your order as soon as UPS shows up with our stock. The other items on your order are in stock.
Thank you again
Gary Stofer
Sidewinder Computer Systems

---

It will be here Friday - until then, doing some additional modding, sleeving and more prep work - especially on the custom backplate - anyone with a Rampage Extreme knows (by now) about the fat Fujitsu problem, I think my fix will be an awesome solution, even better than the Crossbow option.

I'll post a more detailed update tomorrow, lots more exciting stuff coming. Stay tuned and thanks for all the support and comments. ;)

WE WANT PICS! this thread is useless w/o pics.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pcaddict

WE WANT PICS! this thread is useless w/o pics.

---

Posts 1, 4, 7, 18, and 19 arent enough?

nope.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pcaddict

WE WANT PICS! this thread is useless w/o pics.

---

Useless? Well that hurts. I'm working on it, for now, it's somewhat on hold until the parts from Sidewinder arrive. As I said, I'm doing minor mods for now, but I can and will post updates - with pictures, when I'm damn good and ready. :)

This stuff takes time, patience, my friend... ;)

congrats for the job and for the computer, is amazing!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SxL

congrats for the job and for the computer, is amazing!

---

Thank you! ;)

Gary @ Sidewinder is a king. I called, got him on the phone right away, and was able to change the shipping dates for the 3x rad and the NB block, it will ship Thursday and get over-night'd to me in time for Friday. w00t!

nice work captain zero.
im surprised you bothered with the fuzion block, personally i took one look at it and didnt think it was worth restricting the loop. i used the passive block with ventilation instead.

5000$ :shock: :shock: even my skulltrail system didnt cost that much :D




sry 4 my english

Finally. My 3x Rad and NB Block to replace my Fusion have arrived, a day late but all in one piece and still much sooner then originally planned.

It will be an early start on wrapping on this build, it *must* be 80-90% built by end of the day tomorrow. The next few days will be for monitoring, tweaks and benchmarks. ;)

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3057.jpg

Yeah just one thing - those cheap plastic barbs that ASUS supplies with their motherboards are crap... Mine worked for about a month, then when I was gaming, I happened to look over and see a nice little puddle of water on my 3870. Those things are CRAP so I bought a few bitspower barbs...

Awesome build though - one of the top 5 I've ever seen!

moar!!!

Installed: The new MCW-NBMAX NB block and the 3x rad:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3063.jpg

The good and the ugly:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3061.jpg

Ready to roll:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3067.jpg

The whole setup, ready to fill with distilled and isopropyl for a good cleaning:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3066.jpg

My baby likes to hold my hose ;)

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3065.jpg

Barbs, Tubing AND Clamps on NB Block...

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...IMG_3067-1.jpg

The New MCW-NBMAX, TUBED!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3075.jpg

The GT Apogee CPU Block:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3076.jpg

Running on Empty:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3077.jpg

Plop-Plop, Fizz-Fizz..:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3090.jpg

The loop's done and in the process of being run. It's been going for a few hours with no sign of trouble but I'll let it run for a few more. In the meantime, I'll prep the rest of the components.

Enough pictures for you guys? :)

Stay tuned, I'll include some video in upcoming posts. ;)

Update:

Checking on the loop, my little girl approves. :)

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...h_MVI_3087.jpg

wow if you dont mind me saying so....your rig is hot! subscribed!

EDIT wait a minute that looks like my wife!!! you 2 timin sonofa....

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...IMG_3067-1.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3063.jpg


...ViperJohn makes the MCW-NBMAX NB block for Swiftech.:clap: Good for him! :up:

Nice pics! Let's see it mounted.

Subscribed, cant wait to see the outcome!

Subscribed!

Update - Major:

The loop's running in the sink, the final run, complete with my own brew for the coolant. More on that shortly, it will run for another hour before I install it into the case. Everything else is set to go and I'm installing it TONIGHT!

Need to back up a bit first though, since I've been asked about this...

The Intel CPU fan mod I made for the back plate was quite a cool mod and I did document how it was done, but I didn't go into enough detail it seems - but I'll share what I discovered and how it was done.

Had a little help from the father in-law. Now this guy is a mechanical genius, can basically build anything, even offered to build a replacement NB block from a copper ingot - complete with 1mm fins and 3/8" barbs. In the end, it's easier to pop the $50 for the Swiftech. Besides, I need to give him something more challenging. ;)

He does special effects for movies, builds the coolest props ever - even gave me this 'Crew Only' hat from his last film! ;)

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3162.jpg

So this mod had help and I gotta give mad props to Jeff K at KOW fx, he even has his own IMDB page heh. Thanks pops. ;)

The End Result:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3154.jpg

For those not aware, the Extreme comes with a fat Fujitsu chip directly on the back-side of the board beneath the CPU (go back a few posts for details on that).

Here's the fan, stock CPU comes with most (if not all) quads.

Remember this thing?

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3021.jpg

At first, I wasn't sure how this was all held together. Using metal fatigue, I would wiggle the fins apart and separate them from the core.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3092.jpg

A half hour later...:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3096.jpg

An hour later...:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3099.jpg

This process sucked and it turns out, there's a much easier way to get this fins off - I found out the hard way but at least it's recyclable:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3101.jpg

So here's what's left, no fins:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3102.jpg

Upon close examination, it seems this cylinder in under pressure!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3103.jpg

Sure enough, when the top 'nipple' came off, the gas came out:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3112.jpg

Erm, hope it's not noxious. If anyone know what's in there, let me know!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3104.jpg

Let's cut it open!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3106.jpg

A Hacksaw should do it!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3108.jpg

Not going anywhere:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3110.jpg

A little more hacking:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3117.jpg

What the..?

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3118.jpg

The Interior has a really odd finish:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3121.jpg

Another View:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3122.jpg

Capped Core:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3125.jpg

Ok, let's clean it up a bit

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3127.jpg

Dripping Solder is Good:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3136.jpg

Much Better:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3142.jpg

It's a little tall. Time to cut it down to size. Sharpie FTW!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3143.jpg

Once more on the hacking block:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3145.jpg

Cut down to size!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3150.jpg

Just what I wanted: ;)

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3147.jpg

A little Dremel Duty will clean up some rough edges:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3157.jpg

The Finished Product - A Perfect Fit:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_3153.jpg

that's a lot of work for a backplate.. why not just buy the Xigmatek one, for like 5$

very cool none the less :D

thats alot of work for a back plate (nice looking though), but it looks like a nice little ghetto dice pot, i think that ill do it to one of those

whats the easier way to get the fins off pike the pin the heat it up to melt the solder


and how will it work with the copper piece, wont that intefear with mounting and the fujitsu chip,if u put 60psi on it then it would probly crush the fujitsu chip

Any updates man? :)

My god man, that was some serious modding! :eek:

Looks like you have some sweet skills with metal.:)

Btw i'm loving the log, pics are great! :up:

the looney tunes stickers got my attention... sub'd
haha
waiting eagerly for the completion of your wonderful project! :thumb2:

nice

wow! that's putting stock coolers into good use :D

Journey to the center of the heatsink. :)

Every man, wherever he goes, is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions, which move with him like flies, on a summer day.
Bertrand Russel - Skeptical Essays, 1928

Hey everyone, remember this?

It's been a long road. Many of you have forgotten about this, figured I gave up, had a stroke, ran out of money. Well, that's all true but I'm a stubborn fellow and, contrary to popular belief, never give up.

It's done.

With piles of hurdles and many defeats and, in the end, a victory of, what I can only attribute to attrition. Throw enough parts and dollars at the problem and it might just go away (a prayer to Loki wouldn't hurt, either).

Not a wise choice, for what are obvious reasons and some that are not so obvious. Read on, fellow builder, and know that you are not alone in your woes.

What I've learned is that;

• No amount of research can prepare you for all the potential obstacles.
• A $100.00 motherboard with cheap DDR2 is more stable than the $500.00 motherboard with a $1200.00 CPU and costly High Speed/High Capacity DDR3.
• 'Tech Support' is a misnomer. They're trained to presume that the user is a half-wit and that the problem can't possibly be with their product. AOL pioneered this. It's not support, it's a chess match.
• When you think you have triple-checked everything that might be wrong, check it again. You idiot.

To be fair, a little background. In the first photo I linked, I remember taking that and feeling the elation and almost euphoria I had when that motherload of gear arrived. This was to be a Monster Machine with no rival. I mean, who blows well over $5k on OEM parts? Another $2k in incidentals (tools and repeated trips to Fry's add up, fast). Not to mention the RMA's and other parts that I bought so I could swap them out while troubleshooting a seemingly never-ending trail of problems... Yeah but, it's going to be a Killer Komputer.

http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy...er%20image.jpg

Uh, sure.

But back up for a moment. Everything had been carefully spec'd out. The Mobo, the CPU, RAM, water blocks, all of it down to minutia. So putting it together would be a breeze. In theory. The first Rampage Extreme board I had was a solid DOA. Finding that out took an eternity. Swapping out PSU's, chips and even RAM before deciding 'ok, it has to be the board'.

Off it goes to ASUS. Only after 2 weeks of 'discussions' about what could be the problem.

http://www.sevenforums.com/attachmen...tercooling.jpg
WATERCOOLING GONE WRONG
A month goes by.

The new (refurb) arrives and so does my first son. Wow.. how am I going to find time to get that snakepit of tubes and wires put together? He's so cute, think I'll play with his toys for a while, they're way more fun and drool-soaked.

http://images.paraorkut.com/img/pics..._baby-4802.gif

A month goes by.

Time to find a weekend and put this thing together. We're well into February at this point. Everything is looking good and, since this all started in September '08, I finally have a POST. It's alive. It's ALIVE!

I don't fully assemble the case and tidy cables since I am only testing and letting it seat for a while before calling it a wrap. I play with some very minor benches and it looks promising. I leave it on auto and treat it with white gloves. Easy does it...

A week goes by and things are looking ok. Oddly enough, however, it's started to BSOD on bootups. Something odd with the SSD seems to be happening. I'd never had one of these drives so maybe this was normal. Into the BIOS and it's all default/auto, yep, check check. It's all good, reboot - nothing. Since the case is still open, I can quickly see that the Green/Yellow/Red blinky isn't happening. Just a solid Amber that I discover is the HDD activity indicator. It's solid. That's it, nothing else is going on, just a solid amber.

Out comes the battery and I sneak out of the office. Maybe I can trick it back to life. The next day, I slip it's heart pacer back in and... nothing. Just amber. You gotta be kidding me. "Hello, ASUS..?"

http://www.silexamerica.com/images/s...es%20small.jpg

Another month goes by.

Kiddo is getting bigger and, gosh, this whole 'kid thing' is really cool. His toys are way more fun than mine and, the best part - they're waterproof! Unlike my pile of hoses and rads and pumps, what a mess. I've got coolant stains in the case, some has run down the side of my HD cage.. Good grief, what a mess. Time to start over. I still don't have a board but I need to pull this apart and do some cleaning and refining...

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG00030.jpg

Another month goes by.

My THIRD Rampage Extreme arrives. My son is almost 5 months old. Wow, they grow so fast. His toys keep getting cooler. I'm so discouraged by the build that I don't even care anymore. The office/workshop is trashed, cables, wires, bits and pieces everywhere. Time to clean up, only this time, it only takes me a weekend. ;)

Finally time to sit this thing down and have a talk. "Look machine, you're supposed to do this and I expect you to do it. Now let's try to get along."

In goes the board. In goes the newly prepped loops, tighter fittings, much cleaner and efficient lines and braided cables, pristine management for all the molex, sata and other cables. This is going to work. It's all on you now, ASUS.

The first time I powered up was nerve-wracking. With all the other boards, I had swapped out every component possible just to trouble-shoot. In each case, it was the board. In all this time none of my other gear had really been tested. I'm well into $8k for this build, it's going to work.

That first time, when you're looking at it all and running through everything in your head.. Cables ok, power is plugged in and your finger is resting on the back of the PSU.. Click..!

Wiiirr.. Huummmm, click BEEP! Holy crap. Fans are going, pumps is gurgling, monitor sparkles to life.. We have a PULSE!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_0744.jpg

So far, so good. Need to calm down. Don't do anything stupid. Ok, where's that damn boot cd? Ok, what's the BIOS looking like? v1003, ok looks good, check check.. Where's that CD?!?

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...aalv72_ext.jpg

After some 8 months, I finally have what appears to be a stable build. Sure, it looks amazing, performs exceptionally well and is way just up there on the 'wow' factor.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...aalv72_int.jpg

I could do better with a rig a third of the cost. Much better. The REX has proven to be a completely unreliable piece of turd. I run a 3x RAD, SwiftTech NBMAX and Apogee GT for the CPU. The CPU (QX9650) idles a cool 20c. The NB? 45c~ on idle. WHAT?!? Yeah, turns out this is normal.

Out goes any chance of that 5.0 Ghz OC I wanted. This NB is fried! But I'm happy, because I have a stable machine that runs anything I throw at it. It's a Crysis eater, for sure.

But, who cares? It was a colossal waste of money and effort. Unless you consider that I'm now a pretty comfortable builder and modder. There isn't much that wasn't altered in some way for this build. That knowledge is invaluable and I'm happy for it.

The coolest moment though, was sitting my son in my lap and watching the marine aquarium screen saver with him on my 30" Dell. Wow, that's priceless. ;)

http://www.serenescreen.com/images/p.../MA3_Thumb.png

In the end, I'd still do it over again. In fact, I plan to. Nehalem is clearly the more stable platform and DDR3 on x48 was purely a money-grab for Intel and others. There's no way this board can do 1600 or even handle DDR3 beyond 350. If you run a ReX with DDR3 and have 400+ on the FSB, I salute you.

And to everyone here, and elsewhere, that has seen my silly mug on one forum or another, I genuinely thank you. Everyone had some terrific opinions and feedback. I could NOT have done it without you.

http://www.robertjordanpianist.com/i...abowaftera.jpg

See you in the funny papers.

Welcome to my life bud. Asus sucks. I refuse to ever buy from them again. 9 months for 1 GPU. 4 months for another and 3 months for another without even getting the correct replacement. Lets not discuss the crapness of my board quality... although it does OC like a little mofo :D

Rig looks good bar that 8 pin cable stretching across the window

~Bex

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RCG_Bex

Rig looks good bar that 8 pin cable stretching across the window

~Bex

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Thanks. And yeah, I agree with you about the 8pin. I tried to run it *under* the board but it wouldn't quite make it. I'm not going to leave it like that but it will mean a new PSU. Even though it's modular, that 8pin is fixed so I can't just swap it out, looks ridiculous just hanging there. Small price to pay for now, at least it's running. No chance of an over-clock though, the REX boards are jinxed.

Thank you for the entertaining update, Captain. And congratulations on the arrival of a healthy happy son.

I did not have great luck with my Rampage Extreme Boards, either (2 down, now awaiting RMA). And, I wasted A LOT of $$ on the DDR3 ram, because it was 4x the cost when I got it. Almost gave up as well, so I can empathize with your tribulations. BUT, you prevailed, and glad you have a beautiful working system now!

BTW, have you considered getting an extension cable for your 8-pin connector? They work fine, and will allow you to route it behind the mobo.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shazza

Thank you for the entertaining update, Captain. And congratulations on the arrival of a healthy happy son.

I did not have great luck with my Rampage Extreme Boards, either (2 down, now awaiting RMA). And, I wasted A LOT of $$ on the DDR3 ram, because it was 4x the cost when I got it. Almost gave up as well, so I can empathize with your tribulations. BUT, you prevailed, and glad you have a beautiful working system now!

BTW, have you considered getting an extension cable for your 8-pin connector? They work fine, and will allow you to route it behind the mobo.

---

I wouldn't have thought such a thing existed, I'll have to google it now! Any recommendations? And if you're ever in L.A., I have piles of parts and gear in a pretty decent workshop to get yours up and running.

We are REX veterans, the toughest breed out there. ;)

Here you go. You can also find them at Fry's and some of the other local stores, I imagine.

Thanks for the offer ... I do have a working system now (just not REX :p: )

Thanks shazza, just ordered this one; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812706004

Should be the last piece I need to wrap this build up. Then I'll take some pro pics of the rig and promptly blow it up.

What did you do with your REX?

Great galaxy ( CosMos S ) :D