Black Ice work log, (Img Intensive)

Hello everyone, this is my first post on this forum and certainly not my last :D. This will be the work log for my first ever liquid cooled computer, I cant wait to get it together. As of right now I only have the mobo, cpu and ram for the new build, the rest will be made up of my old machine. Bought a few new parts to hold me over until I buy the rest of it, my old pc was getting a little annoying trying to play newer games. Here's what I have picked out for the new pc...

Computer

• CPU - Intel E8500 C2D
• Mobo - ASUS Rampage Formula
• RAM - OCZ Reaper PC2-6400 4x2GB
• GPU - HIS Radeon HD 4870 1GB
• PS - Corsair HX1000W
• HDD - WD Caviar SE16 640GB x2
• Case - Antec P180 Black
• Fans - Scythe S-FLEX 120MM

Cooling

• CPU - Swiftech APOGEE GTZ
• GPU - Swiftech MCW60-R2
• Chipset - Swiftech MCW30
• Pump - Swiftech MCP655 12V
• Res - Ek Multioption Res 250 REV.2
• Rad - Swiftech MCR320 Quiet Power
• Tubing - Tygon R-3603 1/2IN ID 3/4IN OD
• Fluid - Swiftech Hydrx Water Additive

I left out a few small unimportant items but that's the plan, there may be a few changes along the way as to different cooling parts etc. suggestions are welcome :up:. I planned on starting this whole thing around X-mas time when NCIX has their boxing day sale but I got a little impatient with my current machine. So what I ordered will be paired up with my 7800gt, 2x250gb WD HDD and Antec PS going into my P180.

Now on my current machine I have an AMD64 3000+ cooled by a Thermaltake Big Typhoon, so what I decided to do was lap both the processor and HS because it's an older system and I didn't really care if I ruined it lol. The Big Typhoon will be transferring over to the E8500 (If I still have the mounting bracket :shrug:) and I'll find something to cool the AMD which will eventually be my Media Center PC.

Here's a few pics of the lapping process...

The Big Typhoon all cleaned up
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...apping1011.jpg

The original base
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...apping1013.jpg

The grid all drawn out
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...apping1014.jpg

Showing how uneven the base is
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...apping1015.jpg

The process
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...apping1016.jpg

Not lookin too bad now
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...apping1018.jpg

Nothing up my sleeve... and Presto!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...pping10115.jpg
The golden kitty says it all lol actually didn't turn out too bad.

Now the processor (Didn't get as many pics srry)

All cleaned up, just started the lapping
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...pping10110.jpg

Down to the copper ftw!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...pping10111.jpg

Heeeerrreess the kitty
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...pping10114.jpg

Not too bad, could be better
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...pping10113.jpg

Together at last!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...pping10116.jpg

The HS is upside down on the table, the kitty is next to it... Love the reflection :cool:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...pping10117.jpg

I used a glass cutting board at first for my lapping surface, turned out it wasn't perfectly flat tho and it kinda ruined my corners (take a close look). I switched to a piece of glass out of a picture frame (the gf wasn't too happy lol) and proceeded to fix the damage. Started with 400 girt, then 600 up to 1500, and finished it off with a bit of polish. Didn't turn out too bad for my first time ever attempting it and I'm pretty pleased. The CPU idles at about 30C which is a few degrees lower than before :clap: Any questions, comments or suggestions are welcome.

More to come soon...

why do so much work on the BT when you're gonna water it anyway? by the way GREAT lap job! :up:

Just wanted to try out lapping for the first time, plus I will be using the BT untill X-mas.

Looks like u got a nice lap dance. Good Job. Load Temps before and after said lapdance?:clap:

Not 100% sure on load as of yet, I'll do some tests tomorrow. The Idle temps dropped like 5c! though I think that may have been from how it was installed last time.

Well I didn't get a chance to check what the load temps were, I was awoken yesterday morning by the UPS guy knocking at my door with the Motherboard! :D So essentially I didn't really want to wait, I just put the system together. Unfortunately I couldn't use the BT because I couldn't find the mounting bracket for the new processor but that's ok. Think I have a few pics here of the board, I'll upload them asap. Now I just figure out the rest of the details for the build and soon enough it'll be started :up:

Well I was pretty busy lately and only got time to pick at the computer every now and then. So here's a few updated pics with the new motherboard, RAM and processor...

It's finally here!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5.../BlackIce1.jpg

P180 gutted
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5.../BlackIce2.jpg

The new board :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5.../BlackIce4.jpg

ROG Logo
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5.../BlackIce5.jpg

Mounted and ready for action
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5.../BlackIce3.jpg

That's all I have for now, I've made a few changes to the list of WC components as new product has been released. I'll post up the list again when I send in the order for the parts. Also may not use the P180, still on the fence about it, any suggestions for cases?

Why thermaltake fans?

There's only one thermaltake fan and I don't plan on using it. At the time I just needed a fan for the rear exhaust on the case and that's all I had lying around. This build is nowhere near complete yet. I'll be ordering all Scythe S-FLEX 120MM fans for the build when I order the rest of the parts.

o geeze please tell me you didn't use the TIM that came on that stock heatsink...

TIM? no clue what that means lol and it you're talking about the excuse for thermal paste they had on the thing, no. That was horrible lol I scraped that off asap and added my own, I never use the paste that comes with them.

I would have used the BT but I couldnt find the mounting screws for the plate to fit the LGA775 so I just slapped that on for now. At the same time I did find a little bag of screws last night that may be what I need to mount it, we shall see :cool:

Purty...

TIM = thermal interface material. The reason why you should always scrape off the Intel stuff is because it is near impossible to get off after a couple of days. Great photos!

Nice work!

What camera are you using man?? awesome shots.

As much as I like the P18x series, you're going to have to sacrifice all of your 5.25" and 3.5" bays if you want to keep that radiator internal. A double fits horizontally in the bottom compartment with a bit of modding.

- Momijitmo yea I never trust the sh*t that comes on those heat sinks, I usually keep a bit of arctic silver around and a few others.
- dingdong555 it's just a regular point and shoot with a few extra options, Canon SD1100IS. I love the camera it's my travel one, hopefully in the new year I'll have something much nicer.
- incore I dont really use any of the hdd bays in the top, mine are all in the bottom section with the ps, I was actually thinking about mounting it across the top of the case inside... I have yet yo check the measurements to see if it'll fit a triple across the top inside and I also want to make sure it wont come down too far and block access to the cpu block for the hoses.

Well I guess it's about time to resurrect this thread lol. Where to start... well the project got put on hold... or kinda died out really, but I am back in the market for a water cooling setup for my pc. I have done a bit of research on the new products out and pretty much have everything narrowed down to what I want. I just need to figure out fluid, what is the best fluid set-up? I have read good things about distilled water with a biocide or silver? I just want to be sure to get the best fluid for the system. So what are everyones thoughts on fluid??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fyrelith

Well I guess it's about time to resurrect this thread lol. Where to start... well the project got put on hold... or kinda died out really, but I am back in the market for a water cooling setup for my pc. I have done a bit of research on the new products out and pretty much have everything narrowed down to what I want. I just need to figure out fluid, what is the best fluid set-up? I have read good things about distilled water with a biocide or silver? I just want to be sure to get the best fluid for the system. So what are everyones thoughts on fluid??

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distilled water with a silver coil and biocide seems to be the consensus around here. that is what i am going to use for my up coming build.

my last build i used feser water, pt nuke, and a feser corrosion inhibitor. well that combo fogged up my clear hoses and eventually corroded my blocks slighty, however in its defence i left the combo in the loop unused for over a year....so yeah...

no sense in sticking with feser. so distilled water and a silver coil is a good place to start. as far as biocide, i read somewhere here that there are two kinds of pt nuke? (i think i read that) and one was better than the other. i could be wrong on that. but i am still undecided on which biocide to use for the new build. but this time i got black hose, so if there is fogging, well, i won't see it, haha.

Thanks for the reply. Yea from what I've read, the silver coil and biocide is pretty good, just need to find out which biocide lol

Here we go, after much research I have come up with a new list of parts for my w/c build...
Pump ------> Laing D5-Pump With EK-D5 X-TOP Rev. 2
Radiator ---> Swiftech MCR220 (maybe a MCR120 too)
Reservoir --> EK-Multioption RES X2 250 Advanced
CPU -------> EK-Supreme HF Nickel/Plexi
NB/SB -----> Black Freezer AIX48NSF x48 chipset block
Tubing ----> PrimoChill PrimoFlex PRO LRT Tubing 3/8"ID 1/2" OD (Blue)
Fittings ---> Bitspower compression fittings 3/8"ID 1/2"OD (Black)
Fluid ------> Distilled Water with Silver killcoil and a biocide (unsure on biocide)

This will be cooling the same setup I originally went with and am currently using...
MoBo ------> ASUS Rampage Formula X48
Processor --> Intel E8500 C2D
Memory ----> Kingston HyperX 2x2GB
Video ------> EVGA 9800 GTX
Power -----> Corsair Professional HX850W (Later addition)
HDD -------> Western Digital WD1001FALS Caviar Black 1TB
Case ------> Antec P180 Black
Fans ------> Scythe S-FLEX 120MM

In preparation I have already had my first go at lapping the E8500, looks pretty good but may give it another little polish with some 4000 grit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...00Lapping1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...00Lapping2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...00Lapping3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...00Lapping5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...00Lapping6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...00Lapping8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...0Lapping10.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...0Lapping11.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...0Lapping13.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fyrelith

Thanks for the reply. Yea from what I've read, the silver coil and biocide is pretty good, just need to find out which biocide lol

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The silver IS the biocide mate, you just use it with plain distilled and thats ALL you need, nothing more nothing less.

Try either TRUE silver fittings (at least 6), or just 1 silver strip/killcoil in your res/tube

Oh, so all you need when using distilled water is, the water and a silver coil? That works for me, also makes it easier than figuring out some concoction of fluids to put in my loop.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fyrelith

Oh, so all you need when using distilled water is, the water and a silver coil? That works for me, also makes it easier than figuring out some concoction of fluids to put in my loop.

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Yeah just water and pure silver mate :up:

Definitely easier, and less maintenance involved ie, adding a certain amount of concentration every x weeks/months, whatever it may be

Quote:

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Originally Posted by h20xide

Yeah just water and pure silver mate :up:

Definitely easier, and less maintenance involved ie, adding a certain amount of concentration every x weeks/months, whatever it may be

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hmmm...i thought the silver was for corrosion...so it acts as a biocide as well?

i found the two different pt nukes. one has Copper sulfate as the active ingredient and the other is Benzalkonium chloride. anywho, now it appears that is not needed. cool, haha, that makes it very simple. looks like i'll be running distilled and a kill coil.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrGoodCat

hmmm...i thought the silver was for corrosion...so it acts as a biocide as well?

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Once again, yes. It acts as a biocide.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by h20xide

Once again, yes. It acts as a biocide.

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haha, thanks. i guess i meant that as more of a rhetorical question, except i typed a question mark...and well, kinda hard to tell via reading. thanks for the confirmation though.

does adding a biocide, such as pt nuke, cause any ill affects? i have some already and was thinking of adding a drop to my water/killcoil just as a safe measure. seems like it wouldn't hurt anything...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrGoodCat

haha, thanks. i guess i meant that as more of a rhetorical question, except i typed a question mark...and well, kinda hard to tell via reading. thanks for the confirmation though.

does adding a biocide, such as pt nuke, cause any ill affects? i have some already and was thinking of adding a drop to my water/killcoil just as a safe measure. seems like it wouldn't hurt anything...

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There would be literally no point. The silver ions that break off the coil is PLENTY enough for the amount of water in a loop. Some people have found it leaves a clear film on the inside of tubes/blocks, but I don't have any input of my own as I've never used PT Nuke.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by h20xide

There would be literally no point. The silver ions that break off the coil is PLENTY enough for the amount of water in a loop. Some people have found it leaves a clear film on the inside of tubes/blocks, but I don't have any input of my own as I've never used PT Nuke.

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yeah, i used some pt nuke last time around and ended up with a clear/pasty film on the inside of my tubes, so that could be why. thanks for the input, i'll just pass on the pt nuke this time then, no sense in making things nasty...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrGoodCat

yeah, i used some pt nuke last time around and ended up with a clear/pasty film on the inside of my tubes, so that could be why. thanks for the input, i'll just pass on the pt nuke this time then, no sense in making things nasty...

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No sense in putting it in at all, ever, provided you're using silver.

Quick update...

With my computer being apart and all, I have limited resources for my photos, they're quick and dirty what can I say. But I will get some good snaps when I start to put this all together ;)

I picked up some Kingston Hyperx ram because the OCZ stuff I had was only DDR2-800 and couldn't handle the higher overclock (anything above 4ghz) This stuff is DDR2-1066 which should give me a bit of headroom compared to the 800. The only problem is that, I really liked the OCZ copper heatpipe set-up on their ram, it suits the mobo better than the Kingston heatsinks..... only one solution...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...nkXchange1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...nkXchange2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...nkXchange3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...nkXchange4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...nkXchange5.jpg
Each set of RAM with it's new respective heatsink.

I hope the heatsink switch doesn't cause any problems.

If you're careful enough taking them off, there shouldn't be any trouble with it. I test the memory sans heatsinks, just to make sure there was no major damage, everything seems fine so far.

Ordered about 6ft of SEKISUI #5760 thermal tape last night for the RAM, now I just have to design the Black Ice logo to go on the heatsinks where it used to say OCZ :D

Really nice lapping there.
Regarding those RAM heatsink, are they attatched to the RAMs by pressure from the screws or was the thermal compound that was on from the start som kind of glue?

They were attached with double sided thermal tape, the screws just keep the 2 sides together. It wasn't too hard to get off, I just ran a blade between the inside of the heatsink and the tape, just to make sure I didn't hit the RAM modules. Same goes for the Kingston, double sided thermal tape.