I've definitely lurked way more than I've contributed to this site...so I'd like to give something back. Instead of merely showcasing, I'll try to include a bit of instruction and reasoning in this worklog.
Ivy Bridge is not out yet, so the major electronic components have not been chosen. My plan is to modify a Lian Li PC-P50WB (You can see the last one i did HERE), incorporating a decent, basic but complete water cooling system. I will then wait until Ivy Bridge & Nvidia 6xx hit retail, and after they've matured a bit (I'm in no rush), I will purchase. So...the idea here is to have an Ivy-Bridge ready case, and detail how I got this done from A-Z...from case construction, through wiring the mobo panel, to benchmarks...so a noob can gain something from it (I'm not terribly far from that status myself). I'll clean the post up as I move, and at some point I will final-edit.
I've chosen this mid-tower because it's the size I want...easily transported to a LANparty, attractive, great thermal properties, and plus it's a dead match for my GF's rig (His/Hers). EASILY modified for WC with basic handtools and a dremel, right at home. No fancy water/laser-cutting or commercial grade fabrication skills are required. It will be as silent as possible, but capable of gaming or folding for long periods, worry free. For appearance and theme, I'd like this one to accomodate my mood, so each lighting mode must be able to be independantly switched on or off. The color will be nickel/plexi, black and green. Lighting will consist of green LEDs, UV (LED's or possibly cathodes), white LEDs, or OFF. There will be NO LED fans in this build (because...yawn). The fans I've chosen are capable of over 100CFM, fairly quiet, awesome static pressure (best I've seen out there), and have ball-bearings.
Planned Features
Case: Lian Li PC-P50WB
Front Radiator: Ek Coolstream RAD XTC 280
Top Radiator: Magicool 280 Slim MC-RADI280
Fans: Bgears B-Blaster 6x140mm, 1x120mm
Pump: Swiftech MCP-355
Pump Res Top: XSPC Acrylic Reservoir for Laing DDC
Fittings: Bitspower Shiny Silver compressions/barbs
Tubing: Tygon clear 1/2" ID / 3/4" OD
Coolant: Swiftech flourescent green HYDRX-PM
Fan Controller: Aquaero 5 LT
Optical Drive: Lite On slot load DVD slim drive
Hard Drive: 3TB WDC Black SATA 6GBs
SSD (Caching): 64 GB Crucial
PSU: Corsair 1200w
Motherboard: Undetermined
CPU: Undetermined (Ivy Bridge)
RAM: Undetermined
Graphics Cards (x2): Undetermined (Nvidia)
Waterblocks: Undetermined (EK if they offer nickel / plexi)
22mm switch panel I'm working on...rings glow green.
Starting with the top (which is removable with 4 screws), I'm just getting rid of obstructive, potentially rattling material here.
There is no room whatsoever for gaskets...radiator must mount metal-to-metal.
Lid pops right on...easy as pie
Getting started on the case...the 140mm Rad is a tight fit, so these 4 tabs need to go (The front tabs up in the second bay also need to go in order to clear the fan controller mod...see later down in the post)
Next step is prepping the front rad / mounting all 4 fans (push/pull)and pump.
Being mindful of screw length...
Next, the pump & res-top are assembled
The Swiftech foam pad is too thick for this build, so I cut some thinner foam. Lian Li included
it with the case hardware (for HDD mounting).
Now the pump and radiator need to be mated prior to installation. Rad will hang upside-down,
with the pump outlet going directly into it.
You can see roughly how high the rad must be raised in relation to the pump outlet
Install radiator/pump assy & get ready to size it up for mounting. The object is to have 2 useable
drive bays up top, so radiator height is critical. Too high and the radiator tank obstructs the second bay.
Too low and the pump won't sit flat...so play with tubing length to get it just right...just remember that
if the tubing's too long you'll be running into the PSU wires.
Also critical is the fore / aft depth. Too far forward, and you won't be able to latch / remove grills.
Marking radiator for mount holes...
Punch the spots to drill to avoid bit drifting, then tap and screw
Mount pump by marking / drilling, install rubber grommets on pump feet, then run bolts through
them from the bottom up. The front mount bolt is a bit tricky to reach.
Top 2 bays are clear (just barely).
Bottom of rad: Left hole will be the temp sensor, and the right will be the coolant drain.
Not sure how the 2011 socket is oriented because I don't have one yet, but the area shown
must be trimmed in order to fit the 1155
Fan Controller:
Decided to use my brain a little and come up with a way to mount the Aquaero 5 LT. It would be so much easier to simply purchase the Pro or XT version, but I can't stand the look of the LCD...it is blue and there is no way to change the color to match a theme...plus...I prefer navigating software to fiddling with a few buttons on a front panel. My experience with these controllers has told me the VRMs need active cooling, and most definitely installation of the optional, passive HS (This one's the latest / greatest offering, purchased through Performance PCs).
The fans are Scythe silent 40mm.
I've recycled the (now worthless) Lian Li triple drive bay to construct a mounting/cooling solution.
This should allow me easy access...resetting/servicing the LT during those pesky firmware updates, as well as replace any fans which may decide to fail later. There is also enough room to mount one or two SSDs in the tray. I wish Aquacomputer made something like this for purchase (hint).
**Had to grind the rivets down flat for better clearance. Bench testing confirmed near silence of the 40mm Scythes...I just hope they last a while.
My inspiration
Josh
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Originally Posted by aerial
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