Project: Phantom Phantom

[Sumanji]

Hey guys,

I'd like to outline plans for my first ever watercooling project - "Phantom".

Aim

To passively watercool a Playstation 3 console for super silent operation.


Why?

• I have one of the "noisy" original consoles
• Wanting super silent operation whilst gaming, upscaling DVD's and running F@H
• My PS3 console is out of warranty - nothing to lose!
• I want the challenge of watercooling a non-PC device

Kit selection

1) Waterblock - Innovatek PS-Matic



Realistically it was either this block or the Koolance ones. The Innovatek is a unified block, uses 8mm ID (vs. 6mm on the Koolance), and is cheaper here in Europe. The only issue is that it uses 10/8 compression fittings which are kind of non-standard, so I bought some 8mm barbs to swap them out. Thaks to joecop120 for all his help and advice with this.

2) External Cooler - Zalman Reserator 2



I didn't want to go into the hassle of creating my own external enclosure and putting together a complete custom kit. Since there is no overclocking involved, performance isn't really an issue. I wanted a Reserator since they are practically 100% silent, pretty good looking and they are powered externally by default. As a bonus they also use 8mm ID tubing, which matches up perfectly with the Innovatek block. Other units I considered were the Koolance Exos LT/Exos 2/Exos 2 LX, Innovatek Aquamatic, and Corsair Hydrocool.

3) Other Random Bits

To make the PS3 and Zalman Reserator power on at the same time, I'm going to use one of these or similar. Simple but effective!

Also the waterblock only cools the Cell and RSX chips, so I still want to keep a small amount of air flowing through the console to take care of the Mosfets, RAM etc. I found one of these coolers, which sit between the power cable and the console (so doesn't waste a USB port). I'll probably cut out the fan grills to aid air flow, and also rip out the smaller 40mm fans to allow the water tubing to exit the console.


Challenges

So I have a pretty thorough plan I think... few problems:

• I can't find the Reserator 2 in stock anywhere in the UK!! If anyone can find one here or in Europe give me a heads up please
• The Reserator 2 has an external molex connector used to sync with a PC. I need to work out how to bypass this, as I think it is tied to an alarm.
• Not 100% sure on "corrosion status" - afaik all the bits are aluminium, so there shouldn't be any issues. Will try and read up on this.

Thanks for reading if you have any feedback or constructive criticism, please let me know!

Cheers,

Suman