-PROJECT- Zero

[Zero*]

Hi guys

Been lurking around the forum for a while now, just got my account verified so I can begin posting my worklog

My current PC is about 4 years old now, and is looking old, and tired. I thought it was time for a new one, so I've been saving up for ages and I'm throwing money at a PC I can be proud of.

A couple of mission statements I had before I started are:-



1. It needs to be quick - My aim for the project is to get the cheapest Core i7 faster than the extreme edition, so I'm aiming for around 4 gig.

This presents problems, the thing's gonna boil if I'm not careful, so I've opted for a big watercooling loop.

2. It needs to be quiet! - I really don't know whether or not my 2 mission statements will go together hand in hand, but we'll see :P I dont want a PC blaring away in the background while I'm trying to watch a movie on it, so this was a major one.

3. It needs to look awesome! - I really want a PC i can showcase and show off. Certain users on XS have definately inspired me with some of the PC's they have made, which quite frankly, are damn cool.


So far, I've gone for the (what seems extremely popular) Silverstone Temjin TJ07 in black to do this project. I have a rough idea of what components I'm buying for the build now, but I'm taking my time to get it right.

So.. Picture updates coming soon, when I can figure out how to post pictures...

For all you budding photographers out there, prepare to be dissappointed! My photo-ing skill level is around 0, so apologies in advance for the crappy pictures coming up!

[Zero*]

Update 1

Ok, so first task was removing every internal part of the case that I could, so they could be sent away for powder coating.

This is what became of the case!



Hopefully I will put the case back together correctly xD

Whilst I waited for the parts to get back I set to work on building my radiator for this project. I chose a Black Ice Xtreme 480, so some serious cooling power with this rad.



I went for the Akasa Apache fans, they seem quiet and push pretty respectible airflow so they will be the fans to keep the majority of my machine cool.



Its so pretty!

Check back to see how i get on, comments and advice are welcome

Zero

[iceredwing]

planning to do a single or dual loop?

[Anemic]

You havent dicided on any parts yet? Dual or singel GPU? Thats pretty much what mathers in decidin on dual or singel loop.

[Zero*]

Update 2

Hi guys.

Yeah I've decided to just go for a single loop for now, with the 4x120 rad cooling my CPU, Chipsets and Mosfets. I'm not gonna be oc'ing the GPU for now, so until I see it a problem, I'll stick with the single loop

So since I last updated, I've done a fair amount of work on the PC.

I finished my Rad, and bolted it into the case. Gonna use bitspower fittings all over, I want the best



Here's a poor pic of the Rad bolted in, with the pump roughly in the position I want it. You might also notice the soundproof foam I've stuck into the front of the PC. Trying to keep things quiet!

I got my parts back from the powder coating, and what a finish! Didn't cost too much either, which is always good





I've decided to use Enermax Everest fans for a bit of light cooling at the back of the case, they're independently regulated so I can just leave them running.

I bought a Midplate too, to give a proper finish to the bottom of the case. So today's job is to cut this down and drill it



Thanks guys!

[CryptiK]

You have made a good start there, nice going. You certainly can have quick and quiet, with fans at 800 - 1000rpm you will barely hear them, and if your PSU is quiet also, the loudest part will be the HDD's (unless of course you use SSD's).

[Zero*]

Thanks for the comments

I'm going to go for a 32GB SSD as an OS drive (so I'll have a few tweaks to ensure it lasts a long time, removing pagefile etc)

Backing this up I'll have 2x320GB drives running in RAID0.

Today i've drilled out and prepared my midplate for powder coating



As you can see, I've also drilled and positioned my bulkhead fittings for bringing my watercooling through the midplate. The left one will be a feed to the CPU and the other (directly under my EK 150 res) will be a feed to the "engine room" down below



The midplate sits slightly above the plate underneath it, so 3 nuts was a perfect gap





And here's the bulkhead fastening. This, plus some other little parts will be going for powder coating this week. So while I wait, I'll be drawing up my final list of parts for a trip to the shops one day.

Thanks!

[Zero*]

Hi guys!

Sorry for no updates, work has been really hectic so I haven't had much chance to do the PC.

I got the rest of my parts back from the powder coating place, and they are a really good finish, just like the rest.

I also went shopping!



Hehehe! Bought a lot of the parts I will be using for the PC.



Went for the just-released i7 930, as the 920 will be phased out soon enough.



Here is my OS drive, I still need to go to the shops and buy some decent sized drives to run in Raid-0.



While I was buying products I pre-ordered an Nvidia GTX 480, which should come on the 12th April hopefully. Went with Nvidia purely for the 3D, which i tested at the GTX 470 and 480 launch event up at Scan Computers near where I live. Seems ok, big gamble though!

Having the remaining parts bolted in meant that I could assemble a loop for my watercooling system. I fitted my pump, draining system and a big pointless loop up to my reservoir so I could leak test the lower part of my system.





Unfortunately it does mean my motherboard tray is now stuck inside the PC, but its no biggie.



Ooh! Swirly!

I've almost finished sleeving all my cables, I'll get some pictures of this for my next update coming soon.

Thanks!

[liveify]

It appears as if you have the radiator feeding the pump and the pump pushing water into the reservoir? Isn't the reservoir supposed to be before the pump?

[Zero*]

The loop is Rad - Pump - Components - Res - Rad, I just havent finished it yet.

I've done it this way as there's less pipe-work to do with the design i've gone for, and I won't need as many bulkheads. The reservoir's water will be warm, but it will be cooled before heading back through the circuit so I can't see this being a problem

Just looked at my motherboard, and it seems I'm missing the LCD display Apparently Asus sent a massive batch all missing the screen, so the company I bought the board from have ordered some, and will send me one when they are delivered.

[Church]

It's not about temperatures, advise res before pump i mean. It's about ease of filling loop of coolant, taking into account that you can damage pump if there is no coolant in tubes, it's simplier if water from res goes by gravity right to pump. If you don't use res for initial bleeding/filling, you could aswell don't buy it at all and go hard way with filling using T-line.

[josk1]

lookin' great. can't wait to see what's next!
nice parts too (ain't very original, but who cares when it's good )

[Zero*]

Yeah I was worried about what you mentioned Churchy, but when I tested filling the system, the weight of the water alone in the res was enough to fill the res and send the water far past the pump, so there was no problems there.

Thanks guys!

[Zero*]

Hi guys, another update!

Cable sleeving is an ongoing process, should be done soon.

In the meantime my waterblocks were FINALLY delivered so I could construct the motherboard

I started by removing the original heatsink which was a real pain in the ass considering Asus' wonderful sticky TIM which held the heatsinks like glue to the NB/SB.

I finally got the original off, here are the results!



Nice and clean chips! I applied Ceramique to the NB/SB (was running out of AS5, boo) and prepared my EK RE2 version 2 Motherboard block. Looks quite a nice finish, although needed a quick clean before I put it on.



The block was difficult to apply, was definately a 2 man job but we got it done!



Next we cleaned up and attached the Mosfet blocks, which was a fairly simple process. I was a bit disappointed with the tolerances on these blocks, the fit was a bit too tight for my liking, and the blocks sit very close to the square chips that surround the CPU. Nevertheless, the blocks seem to sit ok, without too much pressure on the surrounding chips to be worried about.



You can probably see the brain of the PC in place, my wonderful i7 930 CPU sitting ready!

And finally... the EK Supreme HF CPU block is in place!



Phew, what a difficult job, but at least its done! Cable sleeving will be done for the end of the week, and then the pipework will be finished, and rigorous leak testing will commence for at least a day Nearly there!

Thanks for checking in!