Project: Quad Insanity

[Sparky]

The idea behind this was a cheap quad socket build, to give 16 cores dedicated to crunching for XS WCG. If you don't know what WCG is, take a look here

Well, I needed to cool these CPUs, but space between the sockets wasn't a lot for good sized air coolers. So I did the math for air coolers that would fit, vs water cooling with mostly used parts, and found for not much more I could watercool the entire thing. Thus the name "Quad Insanity"

Parts list:

2x MCR320-QP radiators (used)
1x Swiftech Apogee water block (used)
1x Swiftech Apogee GT water block (used)
1x Dtek Fuzion v1 (used)
1x Dtek Fuzion v2 (used)
1x Swiftech MCRES (used)
1x Swiftech MCP655-B (new)
2x Y fittings (new)
7/16" ID 5/8" OD Duralene tubing (new)
6x Yate Loon D12SM-12 fans (new)
1x Sunbeam Rheobus extreme (used)
1x Iandh killcoil (new)
a mix of new and used fittings

Hardware specs:
Arima quad socket F board
4x AMD Opteron 8347 quad core CPUs
8GB (4x2GB) DDR2 ECC memory
random SATA DVD-ROM
random SATA 80GB HD
Antec Truepower New 750W PSU

One issue was this board is not standard form factor, so I needed to come up with something. Well... in the WCG section, I was dubbed the "cardboard master" since at one point I had a stack of crunchers in cardboard boxes for cases So this gave me the idea to use cardboard for design work I don't think using cardboard is a good idea for a permanent solution this time...

OK, PICS of progress so far. First few were with my cell phone as my main camera's batteries were dead.

Board with the CPUs in it - as you can tell, this Arima board is not standard form factor, at all.


Stuff!


Designing the design




Radiator mount holes on the side. Not sure if I should go with the fans blowing out, or blowing in. The final chassis is going to be semi-open. I cut this by hand, using a 120mm fan grill, a pencil, and a box cutter


Partly assembled with the motherboard standoffs mounted.


The hardware set in place, to see how it all fits together. Note the PSU in this pic is just a random one I have that I'm using for test fit purposes, and is not the Antec PSU I'm going to actually be using.


I'm now trying to visualize how much space I really need, once I get the tubing in place. Could I make the final thing narrower without making things too tight? What should I make the final chassis out of? How to fabricate the final chassis? These are all questions I have right now that I need to mull over.

Don't expect fast updates on this, I'm busy with work and other things going on in my life.

Comments and suggestions welcome, especially to my questions I have above

[OC Maximus]

Cardboard.... Nice! I just started using sketchup, really neat program.

[slaveondope]

Nice Why not just use the cardboard I kinda like it

[Movieman]

Go Sparky Go!

[Sparky]

Cardboard.... Nice! I just started using sketchup, really neat program.

I tinkered with that a while back, but couldn't get the dimensions and scales to work right. Probably just because I didn't tinker enough But I can visualize and design better with the stuff in hand more than on the screen.

Nice Why not just use the cardboard I kinda like it

I've considered it! But, if I had a leak, there is a risk of chassis disintegration

[Duh]

Very nice

[OC Maximus]

I've considered it! But, if I had a leak, there is a risk of chassis disintegration

[Sparky]

I've been sitting here, staring at this thing, drinking a beer, and decided to narrow the chassis. It doesn't need to be this huge of a cube. I think narrowing it by 6 inches will be just about right. Also will probably shorten it by an inch.

Also pricing it out. About $40 for the angle aluminum to make the frame. Trying to find a thick enough sheet metal for supporting the weight of everything. I could easily have $80-100 in the chassis alone. Hmm... Need to look at alternatives I think.

[shoota]

I think you could make it a bit narrower and i would pull air in through the rad and make sure that air is hitting that chipset heatsink, it gets hot.

It may not look the best but plywood (or any thin wood) makes a very decent chassis. I got lucky and found an entertainment center on the curb and the arima board mounts on one of the shelves perfectly. i'll try to take a shot of it tomorrow so you can see what i'm saying and who knows maybe give you an idea or two

[Sparky]

I've got a fan to mount to the chipset heatsink for dedicated cooling.

The plywood is definitely cheaper than the metal is. I think the metal would be "nicer" and a little lighter, but the plywood would work...

[Jacka]

You need to put a warning in the thread title to prevent an accidental win overload.

[retro77]

What if you take your cardboard "template" to an A/C shop and have them fab you up something in sheet metal? It shouldn't cost too much and you can drill the holes for the mounting of everything yourself. But they'll have everything to bend the sheet metal however you want.

[Sparky]

That's possible. I'm not sure where a shop like that is around here tho

[ScottALot]

This build is both "WTF" and "OMG"

[shoota]

This build is both "WTF" and "OMG"

..and LOL, well put my friend. this board is just awesome on so many levels

[Sparky]

Small update. I got curious how it would be narrowed. I think it is better.

[UrbanSmooth]

ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A. CARDBOARD. BOX!!!!! LOOOLL!!!!!!!!

Man, why didn't I think of this, just spray paint some cardboard black...

Snake (Metal Gear Solid) would be proud.

[Serpentarius]

that must be one hell of STRONG cardbox ... those rads arent that light, you know .... without water, some rads can exceed 2kgs per piece ..
i'm seeing 2x360 rads on image!
careful it might collapse .... and dent it ... seriously

[Sparky]

They're not going anywhere right now, and that's only held on with 4 screws in the far corners, nothing in the middle. This cardboard came from a box that car body panels shipped in, so its a little tougher than you're average box. But, that's also why I don't think it is a good idea for long-term usage...

Looking into fiber board panels with a wood frame. That doesn't look like it'll cost too much, and would be more durable than the cardboard box.

[slaveondope]

I like it that narrow. Maybe center the fan controller, hdd, and psu. That would allow you to cut the height down some.

[Johnny87au]

funny stuff, cardboard box ftw!!

[Jaco]

subscribed

Will the pump be able to handle 4 blocks and 2 rads?

[NKrader]

haha i should take some pics of the case im working on for a dual sossaman. as i have 1/2in cardboard its pretty fun

[tool_462]

Will the pump be able to handle 4 blocks and 2 rads?

Yep.

Dtek Fusion are pretty restrictive so not optimal mixed with the Apogee, but the pump can handle it

[Sparky]

Yep.

Dtek Fusion are pretty restrictive so not optimal mixed with the Apogee, but the pump can handle it

Um, the fuzion is one of the least restrictive blocks out there.

I'm actually making a semi-parallel setup, 1 fuzion and one apogee per leg. Naekuh recommended that.