My Water Cooling Build... Noobstyle!

[kinghong1970]

Well, it's finally done...
although i am not a pro like you guys here on the boards and in comparison my 2nd WC'd rig is somewhat sloppy and amateurish at best, i like to post here to share it with you guys who've been most informative and patient with my noobish questions.

CPU: QX6700 (lapped, compliments to my wife's make up shelf... read on)
MB: EVGA 680i A1
RAM: 4GB (4 x 1GB) Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-1066 PC2-8500
DVD: HP Lightscribe DVD-RW +/- and all the #$%@* i tend to ignore
HDD: 2x 74GB WD Raptor (RAID0)
1x 300GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0 GB/sSeagate Barracuda
VIDEO: 7900 GTX
CASE: Lian-Li PC-V1000B

i am recycling my old graphics, DVD and HDD for the time being...

WC Loop: (RAD-CPU-NB-RES-PUMP-RES)
MCR-320
Apogee GTX
EK EVGA 680i NB (Acrylic Top)
MCRES
MCP335 w/Custom Derlin DDC Top
3/8 OD D-Tek Barbs
3/8" ID 9/16" OD Tygon R3603
Primochill ICE (Purple)

Case:
my PC-V1000B had some holes, signs of wear and tear but i figured that it's a nice looking case so decided to stick with it.
popped some holes, too many holes, for cable management and such, took some dremmel, pliers and vice grip to open a hole at top to mount my MCR320.


i found that the knock out tool is great for punching out small holes... but edges are very sharp afterwards.

sorry, no pics of my messy hole cutting on top of case... too messy... but here's how it looks after i mounted the fan housing...


YEP! that's a *cough*Koolance*cough* fan housing...
i did not want to mount the radiator outside, i was looking for some cleaner and en-cased solution so i figured externally enclosing the fans and i may be able to squeeze in a slim radiator such as the MCR320.
i mounted the MCR320 to the fans, using only the center fan screws to hold the Radiator since it seems that there is no uniform fan mounting positions except among some brands...


things get a bit tight but nothing touches, nothing bends out of shape... i will take it out one of these days and clean up that cable.

MB:
as mentioned, i have EVGA680i A1 revision... decided on WC'ing the NB so i removed the Heat Pipes and replaced NB with the EK block.


MB ready and waiting...

being the noob, i had issues on mounting EK block for NB... i did not quite get the placement of washers as you can see here...


but again XS comes to rescue and showed me how to mount the block...

Radiator Woes:
well, i have to say, this project has taken a long time for me and many times, i just ran out of patience and it showed.
i really had a tough time selecting the right radiator and the correct position of the radiator. at first, i purchased a HWLabs BI GTX 120 radiator, then a PA120.1, then a PA 120.2 then finally a MCR-320. what happened to the others? well...

i was going to mount the Black Ice GTX120 inside of my case, where my 120mm Exhaust fan was located.
the fit was a bit snug... so i was looking for ways to make it fit nicer... get a drill, drill a new set of fan mount holes, right? simple? well, obviously not so simple for me... DOH! Oooooh, so that is how it looks inside one of these things...

well, i was told that PA120.1 was better, so another couple of days, another radiator comes in... WTF? this thing is bigger? wow... looks stronger... but again fitting issue... drill time again! this time, i am going to be more careful... DOH!

well, i wanted to get a PA120.2, you know, more headroom? right? makes sense? well, i dont want to be repetitive so... shall we say,... DOH!

well, here's how i WAS going to mount it...



i think that it has something to do with DeWALT's Bright Yellow and Black drill design...

finally, decided on getting a MCR-320.. no, i hid the drill from my sight... it survived...

Radiator Fans:
i used the Silverstone Bullet Hub 120mm FM 123, cut and simplified the cables. was thinking of combining the fans to a single speed controller so it can run off one controller but i was too tired and was lazy to start messing with the wiring again...
intersting fans, 40.7 to 106.3 CFM from 900-2600rpm... very loud when set a max.



i was trying to post a video of the fans at various settings... but i guess something i did not learn yet... i guess you guys know what a loud fan sounds like...

Prep of WC parts:
well, i ran near-boiling distilled water through the rads, checked inside of the Apogee GTX to find nice black coating that easily comes off so, toothbrush time... had some leaks on the pump but changing barbs to D-Tek ones did the trick.

well, had time for the PA120.1 to arrive, then PA120.2 then for the MCR320 to arrive so i put my system together without the Radiator and checked for leaks, instead of running just distilled water, i ran water + Hydrix


figured use Hydrix to kill anything and also helps spot nice green blotches on thems papers? why not...


first leak was at my "PC-Pecker"... i guess my PC had to take a leak... but all it took was more Teflons and a wee bit more turn on the wrench...

CPU Lapping:
so still waiting, probably this time, waiting for the MCR320, read about lapping and hence i got curious... yea, that makes sense, get myself some 1500, 2000 and why stop there, 2500 grit and 3000 grit... yea, go for it!
then i hear, glass is a good flat surface for lapping... while wifey was sleeping, i removed a shelf off her make up shelf and taped the polish papers and with some elbow grease, nice and shiny...



at this point, wife started to get annoyed at my project...

side note: yea, i went overboard... i think 2000grit was sufficient...

well, all things went ok, did some cleanup wiring near the HDD cage, all parts here, fits, done!


completely assembled, final coolan in place, leak testing...


eh... was going to mount my radiator at back... and use these holes... and the 3rd hole you ask? ...

DeWALT


HDD cage and cleaned up thems wires down there as best as i could...


this is one of two things that kinda bug me... the bend at the inner RAD barb...

and no, i dont think i can ever get a dual 8800GTX or Ultra to SLI (unless my wife sees a nice Mikimoto Pearl Necklace) so loosing the SLI ability did not bother me...


pic of the entire system...
the V1000B is a tad small... wish i had purchased the 1200 or even the larger towers.


closed up and ready to go...


front profile view...

and here's a shot of my brother's system... the first WC'd build for me...

his is just a swiftech 120 kit... maybe i will upgrade his RAD...

well, thanks for your patience...
and thank you for all the help...

as for posting my temps... i have not overclocked it yet and i am trying to get a temp reading program to run... as you can see on my other threads...

maybe i should install XP and check temps on that...

OC'ing... well, that will be a project for some other time...

well, i gotta go replace the glass shelf for tha missus...
cya!

[Grinch]

setup looks good to me.....but I would lose the smartcoils unless you have to have them...*-)

[jabski]

nice work kinghong

[Leadslinger]

Not a bad job, love the commentary had me laughing. nice to see what that purple actually looks like...my next box will be black and purple since I already have black and blue...but then doesn't everyone? ..lol

[disruptfam]

hey having them ram sinks on the vrm's does that help with heat dissapation much? I wanted to do the same with my evga 680i board.I dont know it they will fit with my d-tek fusion block though

cheers

[[XC] DragonOrta]

Looks alot better than my first loop looked, although I've never been one to stress too much about how my stuff looks.

[[cTx] Nooc]

looks awesome

purple coolant ftw

[teyber]

nice build!

im confused... was teh nb picture how you ARE supposed to mount it or NOT how to mount it?

[Asgard_thor]

wow, very nice

[kinghong1970]

nice build!

im confused... was teh nb picture how you ARE supposed to mount it or NOT how to mount it?

yea, that was a pic showing my state of mind...

the FUGLY green washers actually goes in between the MB and screw head (on back side) and between MB and washer+nut (on top side)

except on the one mounting hole where there is a chip very near the hole...

as for Ramsinks on the VRM's... i had some and i saw it being done... and the rest, see my sig...

i think the D-Tek has a bigger plate... i am sure you can find pic of someone with D-Tek on a evga board...

thanks for the comments...

[Jedda]

Very nice WC in a challenging case.
Your third build is going to be something to see, if they continue improving at this rate.
Very nice, indeed, and thanks for the look at it.

[XS_RoB]

Love Koolance shroud from an Exos....

I like the looks of it!

Anyway - I would like to get a shroud like that for my rig..... can you order straight from them?
Will it fit the PA 120.3?

Oh and your build is sweet! Love the Purple!

[LogAn'sRun]

HAHA!! That was awesome! I love the commentary and found it very light and refreshing. The fact that you got a 320 in that case alone is impressive. I think it's a great case and a great job btw. Case size all depends on what you want to do in the end, I feel. You want a LAN case, the 1000 fits the bill. If you're never going to move it, give the 1000 to the wife (and tell her it cost the same as the pearls), and get 2000 next year.

[The_Beast]

looks good

[jabski]

Love Koolance shroud from an Exos....

I like the looks of it!

Anyway - I would like to get a shroud like that for my rig..... can you order straight from them?
Will it fit the PA 120.3?

Oh and your build is sweet! Love the Purple!

PA 120.3 doesnt fit if i remember correct it was tried before on a EVOS2. Could just make your to fit the PA120.3 and copy the design of the Koolance

[calvin]

Nice aesthetics, definitely one of the nicer external rad builds I've seen. Definitely a step up in appearance from the common rad on stand offs approach.

[XS_RoB]

PA 120.3 doesnt fit if i remember correct it was tried before on a EVOS2. Could just make your to fit the PA120.3 and copy the design of the Koolance

Thanks for the Reply! - I just like that Vented Industrial Look!

[ikeenen]

love the purple... I'm thinking about using that colour for my next build. where could I pick some up? in Uv if possible. thanks.

[kinghong1970]

thanks all...

yes, the fan hole position on the Koolance does not match that of MCR320 nor PA120.3

therefore i only mounted the rad to the fan shroud by the center fan screws only. i purchased screws from home depot and cut it to size.

originally, i was trying to somehow craft a shroud for the PA120.2 or 3 but cost i received for milling one was too expensive...

maybe on one of my china trips i can see if one can get made?

i think it would be interesting to get a casing/shroud that can hold a PA120.2/3 and/or MCR series radiators...

perhaps if i was to wish a bit more... with a removable filter for easy cleaning?

as for the purple coolant, i used Primochill but i think Performance PCS or Frozen CPU sold UV versions of a different brand.

[Patriote]

Not that much noob to me Greta job m8!

[Sparky]

I think you must just have this destructive nature about you, and dewalt just gives you a way to let it out

That dewalt thing you have is a little pricey though

[kinghong1970]

Ok, firstly, thanks for explaining about temps and such... Link provided by Jedda helped a lot... so here's my understanding and results... just want to run it by you guys for your opinions and comments.

Ambient Temp (room temp): 28C

1) unfortunately i have made a mistake on fan wirings and i cannot give intelligent RPM readings and hence i'll go with a low, mid, hi range on fan speed...

aah.. forgot my own post...

Radiator Fans:
i used the Silverstone Bullet Hub 120mm FM 123, cut and simplified the cables. was thinking of combining the fans to a single speed controller so it can run off one controller but i was too tired and was lazy to start messing with the wiring again...
intersting fans, 40.7 to 106.3 CFM from 900-2600rpm... very loud when set a max

hence low was at ~41CFM and high was at an unbearable ~106CFM... mid... well...

2) i've ran 4 instances of Prime95...

Idle : -Lo- / -Mid- / -Hi-
Core 1: 43C / 42C / 40C
Core 2: 42C / 40C / 39C
Core 3: 36C / 36C / 35C
Core 4: 36C / 36C / 35C

Load : -Lo- / -Mid- / -Hi-
Core 1: 61C / 57C / 56C
Core 2: 61C / 58C / 56C
Core 3: 60C / 56C / 54C
Core 4: 60C / 56C / 54C

temps are from Everest

i am running a MCR320 -> GTX -> NB -> RES -> Pump loop.

and my cpu is a QX6700 stock on EVGA680 A1 MB...

my ambient is warm to start but i feel the temps are not the best...

thoughts and suggestions much appreciated.

thanks!

oh, last thing... my room temp goes up 2-3C maybe even 4C when i am stress testing for 24 hrs...

[Sparky]

Well it is a quad + nb, and those quads get hot, and your ambient is pretty far up there too. But then, my opteron + my X1950XT on my MCR320 both load at 49 (avg of both cores) and 51C respectively in 28C ambients. Maybe because the heat load is split up though and not all in one place...

Looks like your fans are mounted in push fashion. Try flipping them over so they pull instead (leave the side panel off if you need to at this point to provide enough airflow). I'm curious what the difference is.

[Anemone]

Anyone ever tried mixing blue and red pentosin to get a purple?

hmmm

[disruptfam]

kool