Cosmos S - single loop (for now) - first LC attempt

[miahallen]

I'm putting together my very first WCing loop in my new system, and I'm looking for as much help as I can get, I cannot afford to screw this up. I've been following MaxxXRacer's guide here. I just recieved the bulk of my HW, and I've been cleaning and prepping.

This is what I am planning:


Here are all the parts:
CPU block - Swiftech Apogee GTX CU
NB block - Asus Maximus Extreme (Fusion Block System)
Pump - Swiftech MPC350
Radiator - Swiftech MCR320-QP-K
Reservoir - EK-Multioption RES 150 rev.2
Tubing - Tygon® Silver Antimicrobial 3/8" ID - 1/2" OD

How about an alcohol bath?




This is why I cleaned the CPU block



Only problem I've had so far is that the EK RES has a crack, so I'll be sending that back to Jab-Tech for an exchange. When it returns, I'll be out of town, and will continue when I return (mid August). Unitl then, any comments or suggestions?

I do have one question, will I have trouble feeding/flushing the loop due to my rad being at the top of my loop (it'll be about level with the fill port)?

[xVeinx]

Very nice setup.

[C38368]

Nice and simple and, perhaps best of all, modular! Well, sort of--I'm gearing up to rebuild my loop and I'm giving serious consideration to removing the graphics card to its own loop so that I don't have to pull apart everything just to install a new one. This is why I haven't yet upgraded to a 4870!

Let us know how it goes, yeah?

And completely unrelated to watercooling... Tapping the Vein FTW, no new album yet FTL!

[MomijiTMO]

Looks good and I'm glad you cleaned your loop parts. So many people skip this step.

[Helfarch]

So the acrylic res... cracked before or after you filled it full of alcohol

[MomijiTMO]

Alcohol will not react with acrylic.

Acetone on the other hand. . . . .

[lyl]

Alcohol will not react with acrylic.

Acetone on the other hand. . . . .

Actually alcohol isnt good for acrylic. It gets absorbed into the the acrylic and then evaporates leaving it very dry, and will crack a lot easier.

A little bit for a short bit of time wont hurt, but i wouldn't recommend it. I rinsed my Micro res out with alcohol when i got it (stupidly) and it has very very small cracks near the fill port.


Looking forward to the rest of the build.

[miahallen]

So the acrylic res... cracked before or after you filled it full of alcohol

Alcohol will not react with acrylic.

Acetone on the other hand. . . . .

Actually alcohol isnt good for acrylic. It gets absorbed into the the acrylic and then evaporates leaving it very dry, and will crack a lot easier.

A little bit for a short bit of time wont hurt, but i wouldn't recommend it. I rinsed my Micro res out with alcohol when i got it (stupidly) and it has very very small cracks near the fill port.


Looking forward to the rest of the build.

Well, I didn't notice the crack until after the alcohol bath...but the alcohol did have a nasty reaction on the acrylic. For some reason I thought it was included in MaxxxRacers guide, but afterward looking back, he only mentions the rad and the blocks. (BTW - how would you go about cleaning the NB block?) It left a white film that I was able to scrub off, and seemed to "soften up" the outer layer. I actually put a fingerprint in the side of the res that I could not get off afterward....next time I'll just use distilled water. Because cleaning it did help me identify a lot of debris from the res.

[lyl]

As for your question about filling... It shouldnt bee too hard. The trick is to put some water in the res, close it up, move the case around to move air up and out to the res. And repeat. The water level in the res will (hopefully) keep getting replaced until the loop is about full. Dont rush the process, it may take time

[gummybearx]

wow! your intended setup is EXACTLY the same as mine is in the cosmos s! :-) how were you planning on putting in the fillport on top near the back though? the only place that is free has a steel support panel under it, for the bars that are on the top of the case.
i was about to put the fillport there, but then i realized there was that metal there... :-(

[miahallen]

wow! your intended setup is EXACTLY the same as mine is in the cosmos s! :-) how were you planning on putting in the fillport on top near the back though? the only place that is free has a steel support panel under it, for the bars that are on the top of the case.
i was about to put the fillport there, but then i realized there was that metal there... :-(

That's where I plan to put mine...not sure how I'm going to drill through it yet, but I'll figure it out.

I've been out of town for the last 4 weeks...I plan to install the loop this week.

[miahallen]

So, I stripped out all uneccessary HW last night, and installed all the LC components. Then I cut all my tubing, and connected everything up. I slowly began filling the system with distilled water.

I soon found a leak at the radiator barbs, it turns out the DD barbs don't work well in the ST radiator. I swapped them for some ST barbs used elsewhere in the loop...problem solved.

I powered up and nothing leaked...



I attempted to cut a fill port hole in the top of the case, but soon realized that it was not going to work. The rad blocked it once installed.



Here is how the case looks right now...



I've inserted three extra fans up fron (800RPM for some silent airflow).



I'm running dual HD 4870's in Crossfire



I have my OS loaded on a VR, and 3x 1TB WD "Green" drives to store all my media files. They're in a RAID5 array controlled by an Areca ARC-1220 (with a custom fanless cooler ).



The VR is sitting on the special gel from Petra's Tech Shop, and secured with hair bands.





The loop turned out just about how I wanted it...here is the initial product:











Thanks for looking, and suggestions or criticisms are appreciated

[higgins]

Nice build dude.

[Rapt0r]

how you hold your reservoir in that position?

[miahallen]

Nice build dude.

Thanks!

how you hold your reservoir in that position?

Zip ties! The acrylic brackets it came with were extremely brittle and broke when I tried to use them

[Rapt0r]

Thanks!

Zip ties! The acrylic brackets it came with were extremely brittle and broke when I tried to use them

Oh man,no wonder I did not see the brackets...

[absoluteczech]

Thanks!

Zip ties! The acrylic brackets it came with were extremely brittle and broke when I tried to use them

get a bracket from un designs

[miahallen]

get a bracket from un designs

Do you have a link?

[armeniandave]

Do you have a link?

Petras, Sidewinder, and Performance-Pcs in America have them. Also highflow in the UK carries them. Look for the 3G or the Absolute rev.2

http://petrastechshop.com/u3gpubrflad5.html
http://www.petrastechshop.com/uabpubrre2fl.html


Dave W
(UN)Designs

[miahallen]

Thanks you guys, but those are pump brackets, I'm looking for a bracket for my res.

[dingdong555]

Nice work, all that is left is to liquid cool those 4870's

[cmoazz]

I'm debating this Cosmos S case and the Thermaltake Armor+ case for my next build. Is it possible that those front 3 fans could instead be a radiator or would there be no room? I plan on using the Black Ice Rads(from the Asetek xtreme kit) - it can be a 2x120 if it can't be a 3x120 rad. What do you guys think?

I've seen lots of threads on this Cosmos case being watercooled, anyone know of any using the Thermaltake Armor+? Which case is bigger anyhow?

Thanks

[bianco]

hi miahallen. nice idea on the loop for the cosmos. i'm also doing a project and cramming everything in the cosmos.
would it be possible to see more pictures on how you mounted your res? quite interested in your use of zip ties. thanks!