SR-2 Build

[B NEGATIVE]

I have been lusting after an SR-2 rig for some time and now i am in the position to get one.
After much consideration and head scratching,i went for the Little Devil V8 inverted HPTX case.








I was VERY tempted by the caselabs MH10 but the shipping costs and VAT crippled that idea...£700 for a case is unacceptable to me!!

Hardware:

Board: SR-2 ,MIPS mobo block with VRM block and 2 Watercool HK 3's (black)
CPU: x5650 Hexacores
Ram:12-24Gb Corsair or G Skill....not decided yet
GPU: 3x 7950...this really depends on the availability of reference layout cards
Storage: 2x Force GT 120Gb SSD (1 for OS,1 for games and everything else) 1x 2tb HDD for storage
PSU: 1200w Silent Pro,maybe Strider 1500w













This rig will be dual loop and 24v,the reasoning behind this is the restrictive rads will make a D5 cry if left on its own to do the work!
As usual SpecialTech is my vendor of choice for this....anyway TO THE PR0N!!

Cooling:
2x 360 AMS rads with D5
1x 480 AMS Dualcircuit rad
2x Bitspower 200mm Res (depending on how much room the PSU takes up)
2x Watercool HK blocks in Black
1x MIPS SR-2 mobo block
2x 24v D5 pumps
1x Koolance 24v twin pump controller
Koolance Copper pipe fittings
















Some components may change but this is how i see it coming together.




A little bit of progress...

Double wires FTL.

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Off come the stock EVGA plates for the cut down version (supplied,EVGA are thoughtful like that)



Watercool back plates..



Mounting hardware..

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Right then.....

Whats this?


Magoo also wants to know what it is.










The SR-2 is a huge board but is tiny in there






Remote gadget for the SR-2....

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Chrome plated.....yum!

PSU done,just the molex and sata to do...





Also swapped the fan panel around so Silent Pro looks the right way up...

[B NEGATIVE]

Ok,first hitch of the day,looking at the clearance of the PSU to the AMS rad and have discovered they wont fit. 146mm wide rad=PITA!



So the Dual psu extender is required after all.



Also,the bloody 24 pin is too short,24 pin extender GO!

[B NEGATIVE]

My doubts about the Chrome flaking off the tube was put to rest....



Today i had a look at the bending required,no sing at the back please.

You may have been wondering what the red tape was for? it is the 0 line for the bend,i can work out the length required to get 2 90 bends to meet to set out dimensions


To get this..


Got some push fit fittings to make the test fitting.






I may even keep using these fittings,they look ok and are 1/3rd the price of the koolance fittings.
Downside is i dont trust push fit fully,not like a proper compression fitting.

The tails have not been cut yet,i want the piping at the same level. So,i need to get the Ram in and see what i can chop off...


Or i could use 45's...

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This build has been C+P from the other forums that i frequent,sorry if it seems.....disjointed.

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The AMS rads are not being used now,too damn big and im not really wanting a psu extender on the back..so im using XSPC RX rads instead

Some of the loop which came today..


24v capable D5's



Bitspower Res..why would you buy anything else??



Some of the fittings..



Dual 24v pump controller



2 480 XSPC rads...



Special mention and thanks to Coolmiester at XSPC for 1 of the 480 rads and to Steve at Specialtech for getting in AMS rads in especially for me that i cant use...i know he spent a good few hours trying to source these for me.






Still waiting for one more 480 rad and 2 Koolance D5 tops then i can get going on the loop.
Ordered more 10mm Copper pipe today so i can get on with the pipework.

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Snug as a bug...





You can see why the AMS rads that i wanted wouldnt fit....

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Spider at SpecialTech sent me his old Ram....for free no less!
Many thanks to the miserable old git,i really appreciate it.

[Buckeye]

Very nice, those cases look very good.

Love the pipe bending work you are doing !

[B NEGATIVE]

Moar pipe bending today,got the spacers i forgot to order!

ST got my stuff out fast as usual.







Taking shape now...

[Junimrox]

Wow, this piping is amazing, looks very good! Wonderful job!

[MrBean]

Good job,luv this build

As Dave has said, we have two balls, why should our PC's have only 1 cpu

Piping came out good, chrome-on-black/red always a winner. Keep it up,can hardly wait for the end-result!

[HWaddict]

Wonderfull, more pr0n please!

[B NEGATIVE]

Delivery turned up with goodies...



This PSU screams Quality,very nice choice i think...plus the cables look easy to braid with no double wires!

Result!






a free fan you say? some enermax 'stadium light' job...



Specs for the unit..



Dominator GT's and a Force GT SSD..



I wont be using the airflow fans tho..





Looks mint dont it.







So....time for some work!

[Church]

What do you think of redoing a bit middle one tube? As in to bend a bit to side from top-right cpu end, to make that tube parallel to other two?

[B NEGATIVE]

Last rad appeared today along with a couple of fans...





Annoyingly,the cables are not braided and they have coloured all the wires black,so good luck if you want to braid these...for a £12 fan,braided cables are not a lot to ask.
They do include a 7v resistor tho for those without controllers




They look great in case.
Now just waiting for the 12 120 SP versions and another 140....

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ST got the rest of my loop in.

Sorry about the crap pics,the weather is bad and my phone is no-pro

2 Koolance D5 tops and the rest of my fans.











The pics of the pump tops doesnt do them justice,they are the best bit of machining i have seen on WC gear.
No swirls or tool marks,even the impeller machining is spot on.

Should get all the loop in and done this week,ordering the first of the GPUs and another SSD end of the week.

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Got the fans on the lower XSPC rads...





Perhaps a DSLR is in order...

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A little update..

Bolted the two tops together,just waiting on a Sli link to join them up.





Mounting holes drilled and bulkhead fitting in place.








Silicone washers for pump dampening..



Pumps bolted in.





Top rad fitted.







Some external shots...















One of the SP 120s didnt come with a red fan ring...hence the white one in a couple of shots...

There is still some painting to be done yet on the rads and pump tops before final fix,i was keen to see how they look in there....couldnt help myself!

[enkie]

wonderfull job

[tived]

nicelooking build

[B NEGATIVE]

Specialtech got my order out again in quick time...

So im looking now towards the modding and finishing up the loop so i can get this fired up.

Some 1.5mm Alu sheet and some 3 mm flouro red acrylic.
Im removing the drive bay panels and replacing them with a solid Alu panel and doing some cover work on the HDD/SSD caddies..



Some braided fan cables,braiding cables is a pain at best,but doing fan cables is just frustrating for me,hence i wimped out and bought some.


The last fittings for the loop,Koolance lo profile 90's and a VID fitting for the pump tops.



Trying to keep the cabling tidy has become a bit of an obsession,these caught my eye...





Dont know if i will use it,i really im not keen on that HUGE connector..

These i will be using..



Staggered length SATA III cables,should keep everything tidy behind the board..

Now.....this was my GPU choice,3 670 FTW.
I know Coolmiester will be disappointed that its not dual 690...sorry mate!





Whats this?? A full size 680 board??



Which means 680 blocks and plates!!!



Dont get comfy stock cooler....

So now im waiting on another 2 cards and the blocks...plus some more storage...maybe a light even!....OOOOOOooooooh!