[Worklog] sNiPeRbOb's BIG, KOOL, BLACK and BLUE (Formerly Koolance Rebuild)

[sniperbob]

Yes i know i know. I am going to catch some hot air for building with Koolance, but i have my reasons.



I became the lucky owner of a loaded Koolance PC2-901bw server tower case with integrated Koolance cooling components. It came with the older CPU-300 style cpu waterblock, and two GPU-180 blocks (one for the Radeon 9800xt, another for the mobo chipset)


Here are the specs of what will be used:
Asus SK8N mobo
AMD Athlon 64fx (socket 940)
Corsair 1GB DDR RAM
ATi Radeon 9800XT 256mb AGP gpu (also considering a Sapphire 3850 512mb)

I have recently ordered from Koolance:
CPU-340 waterblock
80mm stock fan grilles (clearance woo!)
1/4 I.D. UV tubing
Koolance g1/4 compression barbs
1.120 Koolance radiator (as secondary radiator)
I have also completely gutted my case and started some mod-work here and there.






I have cut out and filed down all of the stamped fan grilles in the case. I also primed and painted the entire inside chassis of the case flat black, to match the outer appearance of the case and to simplify things color wise.

Now a couple questions. Would it make more of a temperature difference to run the loop like this:

Pump/res-3.80 rad-cpu block-1.120 rad-chipset block-gpu block-back to pump/res

Or would it make more sense to route the loop directly from one rad to the next, then on through all of the blocks?

[sniperbob]

So it's been quite some time, time enough to bump my build log.
Much has happened since i last posted and i will try to include some pictures as soon as i find them...
All new Hardware:
-ASUS m2n-sli deluxe mobo
-AMD Athlon x2 5400+ Black Edition CPU (2.81 Ghz)
-2 MSI 8600 GTS
-Koolance CPU-340 block
-Koolance 1.120 radiator

[icon57]

yes, more pics please.

[sniperbob]

Here are some more pictures finally

Old Hardware


More Old Hardware


Second Radiator


Another shot of Second Rad


I will add more pics later tonight hopefully! Enjoy!

[sniperbob]

Koolance CPU-340


Koolance CPU-340 on its new board


Throwing the M2N-SLI Deluxe in it's new home


All buttoned up inside


Watching the beautiful Coolant...

[bianco]

love that matte finish!
good job sniperbob

and this is quite a nice looking car!

[sniperbob]

ya, the one you can see is a 1952 Packard sedan, and the one you cant really see (the one inside) is a frame off resto of a 1933 Dodge DP6 series sedan. You can kinda see the body outside on sawhorses. I did most of the chop/cuts at my grandfathers woodwork/car shop, and i figured i'd incorporate some new technology with some old

[bianco]

ya, the one you can see is a 1952 Packard sedan, and the one you cant really see (the one inside) is a frame off resto of a 1933 Dodge DP6 series sedan. You can kinda see the body outside on sawhorses. I did most of the chop/cuts at my grandfathers woodwork/car shop, and i figured i'd incorporate some new technology with some old

haha. nice!
i thought you're working on it to resemble one of those beauts on the poster..

[sniperbob]

well... you know those are my weekend cruisers haha. I'm actually in college for Automotive Technology so I know a good deal. I'm a man of many hobbies, and it just so happens that cars and computers tend to have a good deal in common, especially newer cars.

[sniperbob]

so i have a question and didn't really know where to ask so here it goes. My tower currently holds two MSI 8600 GTS's in SLI. The problem is that i am experiencing random black screen lockups in games like COD4. Any idea what could be causing this. Something else i also noticed was that while monitoring temps using GPU-z, one of the cards runs 6 degrees C hotter than the other. Both cards are still on air cooling as I am too poor to buy the EK full cover blocks and am not sure i am going to stick with these cards, especially if i cannot figure out the lockups. I am using a Rosewill 600W PSU, ASUS M2N SLI Deluxe, ADATA 2gb ram, AMD Athlon 64 x2 5400+ B.E. overclocked to 3ghz, one 74gb wd raptor and one 160gb wd caviar. Anyone have any ideas? I would really appreciate any information.

-sNiPeRbOb

[MomijiTMO]

It's normal to have air cooled sli cards with different temps. Have you tried the best drivers for a 8600GTS sli set up?

[sniperbob]

i am using the most recent geforce 8 series drivers, if that helps any. when you say the best SLI drivers, what do you mean? is there a series of drivers that works the best for SLI configurations for these cards? if so where do i find them? thanks for the help

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

maybe its because your PSU deserves to be in a trash can, not a computer.

other than that it's probably a driver issue. you do mean 8600 GTS right??? not 8800?

[sniperbob]

ya its two 8600gts's. i can't really complain about the psu, as i bought my current mobo, ram, gpu, and psu off of a kid my brother knew for 150, including the cheap mid tower case it was in.

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

yeah...but you probably are getting very poor line stability and it may be that the PSU cant even handle the minimal load you are putting on it without failing to maintain current and voltage stability

[sniperbob]

what would you recommend as far as PSU's?

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

you can get a corsair 750tx for 83$ here : http://www.provantage.com/corsair-me...x~7CSMC05E.htm

or its little brother which is still a great PSU and will work for you for a while, the 650 TX for 66$: http://www.provantage.com/corsair-me...x~7CSMC05F.htm

both have excellent line stability and are great packages. I use them in all the builds that I do for contract and not a single one has failed me


BUT: make sure that its not a driver issue, although the PSU is a good thing to upgrade, I wouldn't say its a guaranteed fix for your issue

[sniperbob]

i may have to call in a favor from this guy who lives down the hall from me. I just finished building a computer for him, all air-cooled. EVGA 780i, q6700, asus cooler, 4gb patriot ram, ultra 1000w psu (i should "borrow" hehe) EVGA GTX 260. it is a screamer of a computer, lotsa fun to build too in a Apevia x-jupiter case. So if i try another PSU and don't get lock-up's it should be pretty safe to say that i am underpowered, right?

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

yeah, sounds like a good idea

[sniperbob]

Ok, so it's been quite some time... I haven't had access to a camera in a long time, so there has been no posting... Something tells me though that that jolly red-dressed man will grant my wish and give me something to help log this build in breathtaking detail. But, for now i'm forced to use the onboard webcam on my laptop with a Yamcam program... So i apologize in advance for the shoddy quality...

Here are some pics with the new hardware in place:
ASUS M2N-SLI
EVGA 9600 GSO (2 cards in SLI)
2Gig ADATA DDR2 800 RAM
Rosewill 600W PSU
2 WD 74GB Raptors
1 WD Caviar 120GB

Full Tower Shot:


New cards:


Another cheap shot:


Man, i can't wait to get a decent camera to truly showcase some of the stuff in detail...
I am also currently searching for LC options for the 9600GSO's, and am pricing out different options for switching the top stock Koolance rad for a 120.2 rad, and the Koolance pump/res for a different pump. I would like to upgrade to a 3/8 tubing loop, but in a way that isn't gunna break my already flimsy bank account...

[sniperbob]

I have access to an OK camera this afternoon, so an update will probably come tonight sometime.

[Cutless009]

WOO UPDATES, lookin good man, cant wait to see some of it in detail!

[sniperbob]

UPDATE: stole my friends HP camera... Some current setup pics.











Stripped the sticker off the side of my Rosewill 600Watt PSU


Hoping to get some things for Christmas/Birthday (15th of December) to give this build a QUALITY update!

[FrostyPanda]

lookin schweet!

[sniperbob]

lookin schweet!

thanks man! hopefully some more interesting updates to come next week! maybe some acrylic is involved...