Cube-Water-Overclock!

[MnM]

The Problem:

Having owned a few cases until now (from midi towers to CoolerMaster Stacker) I was always a little bit unhappy about the room availalbe inside. The most annoying thing was that with almost all the cases I owned they had to be modded in one way or another in order to put in a radiator.

The Solution:

So I was always on the lookout for something better. Recently I came across a new thread at xs.org in which I saw the MoutainMods U2-UFO Opti-1203 case.

This seemed like the case I always wanted!! Huge case, plenty of room inside, already modded for 120.3 Thermochill radiator. Yes this was my case! I decided to start from scratch - with almost everything new.

Just to give you an idea - this was my old setup:



It was pretty good while it lasted.

The Parts:

So about 2 weeks ago I started ordering new stuff in. Here is the list with what has been ordered so far:

6 x Logisys 120mm Quad Blue LED Fan
1 x U2-UFO Opti-1203 Black Powder Coat - Diamond Top
4 x Logisys 80mm Quad Blue LED Fan
3 x 120MM Chrome Grill
3 x Mountain Mods 120MM Fan Grill (VERSION 2)
3 x Mountain Mods black Acrylic 5-1/4 bay cover
1 x ThermoChill PA 120.3 Radiator
3 x 80MM Chrome Grill
1 x Dual 12 Inch Blue Cold Cathode Kit
1 x Dual 12 Inch UV Cold Cathode Kit
1 x Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate DVD 32bit
1 x Silverstone 1000W OP1000 Power Supply, Black, 80mm fan, 4 x PCI-E 6pin connectors, 2 x PCI-E 8pin connectors, 2 x triple SATA connectors single rail 80A
1 x Intel® Core 2 Quadro™ QX6700 2.66G LGA775 2x4M 1066 FSB XD EM64T EIST VT
1 x Asus P5k DeLuxe Wifi
1 x mCubed TBAN-SH Transparent Analog Sensor Hub
1 x mCubed bigNG
1 x DDC-2 18W water pump with 1/2" D-Tek high-flow bars
1 x Petra's DDCT-01s top
1 x BLue UV Reactive Pentosin
1 x biocide
1 x Arctic Silver 5
1 x Aero GateWatch 2 (black) fan controller
1 x ClearFlex 60 Tubing
3 x CoolSleeves
1 x Blue UV Sleeving Kit
1 x 8800 GTX (oc 600 Point of View) - petty as I wanted an ATI 2900HD but the benchmarks does not favour this video card
1 x Swiftec MCW60 GPU water block
1 x Thermalright 775 Bolt thru kit
1 x 1.44 black floppy
1 x sata dvd writer black
1 x dvd rom black

- yeah a lot of parts.

On top of this I kept (from my old PC):

2 x 36GB Raptors
2 x 320 Sata2 16MB cache hdds
1 x G.Skill HZ 2GB DDR2 PC8500 Dual Channel Kit (1066Mhz) CL=4-4-4-5

The Pictures:

And this is what I got so far:

U2-UFO Opti-1203 Black Powder Coat - Diamond Top case from Mountain Mods



Thermochill PA 120.3 radiator



D-Tek Fuzion CPU block + Swiftec MCP355 with Petras top pump



Other accessories (read bling ) for my new case (neons, led fans, grills, bay covers)



The hardware that is going to be overcloked by the above is:

P5k DeLuxe motherboard
QX6700 Quad CPU
2 x 1GB G-Skill ram
SilverStone OP1000w power supply (single rail 80A)
black 1.44 and dvd writer
and of course Vista Ultimate 32bit OEM edition (I could not pass up in getitng this at a bargain price together with the hardware). The intention is to run WnXP until need to move to Vista. Here are the mandatory pics:









As I am an overcloker, I am not too concerned about noise (hell I run a quad cpu 2GB XEON 8GB RAM DELL server in my room=lots of noise) but what I want is a very stable system overclocked to the "edge" if I can say so.

Apart from the above bits and pieces I am still waiting on two more parcels to arrive with more hardware (fan control, video card, cable sleeving etc)

As most of the stuff only arrived in the last couple of days I have not started my water cooling project yet. Most of the hardware is still in its boxes

I hope to get a start in the next day or two. Will keep this thread updated with my progress.

[MnM]

Ok more stuff arrived today.

I got Gatewatch2 fan controller, Thermochill bracket, MCW60 GPU water block, some UV sleeving kit anf of course XFX 8800GTX extreme (600MhZ).



Today I have assembled Petras top on the DDC-2 pump



And I have started cleaning the rad (the last task my trusted 1250 is going to perform before going to its new owner):





I really do NOT like the plastic barbs that came with the Thermochill. I did not use any tape on them and they started leaking during the cleanup process. I have emailed Petra for a shipping quote for the AquaExtreme high flow ones. Hopefully they will get back to me tonight so I can pay for the stuff and receive them Monday/Tuesday.

In the mean time I have lost the camera (my friend needed it back) so no more pics until tomorrow sometimes after I get a new camera. I have strated sleeving some of the fans and the cables out of the Gatewatch as well. Also installed top and back fans in the UFO case. Pics tomorrow with this tomorrow.

[MnM]

Ok got a new camera so it is time for more pics. More stuff arrived today:

T-Balancer bigNG:



bigNG addon - Analog Sensor Hub:



I have started to do some testes in order to determine tube sizes, SATA-floppy-IDE cable sizes etc.





Still waiting on a few other things to arrive - but what is holding me back ATM is the rad barbs. They are on the way and should arrive aroud Friday this week. I hope by then to have ALL my cables sleeved, tubing cut, and mounting position for pump and hdds worked out.
More pics as I do more work on this. Soon....

[MnM]

Ok been away for a while - family/work took most of my time so I did a few bits and pieces in between

First of all new stuff arrived - cable sleeving stuff, reservoier, barbs for Thermochill, cables:



Started to take apart the retail heatsink from my 8800GTX while I am waiting for the GPU block to arrive:






I have also installed the hard drives - I really like MM hdd bay



Started working on the radiator so it can be installed:



Installed the reservoir in its bay:



Then I decided to strat sleeving the cables (and I can tell you that it took a while and still not everything is done):







Since I am still waiting for the GPU block to arrive (and I can not cut any tubing because of that yet) I have decised to install the needed cables and try my best to keep everything as tidy as possible (well my best...):





That about where I stopped. I going to have dinner now, no more working on the PC tonight. Hopefully more updates tomorrow after the GPU block arrives.

[septim]

Reserved 4..........

yeah more pics....

[[cTx] Nooc]

Reserved 4..........

yeah more pics....

LOL

but I don't disagree . Every MM mod we've seen has been amazing

and don't forget the floppy

[Okda]

Reserved 4..........

yeah more pics....

LOL very funny

[Lu523]

Yea, more pics. And a total on the price if you don't mind me asking.

[septim]

btw MnM you might want to cover up them serial # just in case you'd register said product... cause some OCing voiding warranty stuff....

[[cTx] Nooc]

btw MnM you might want to cover up them serial # just in case you'd register said product... cause some OCing voiding warranty stuff....

OH...but he would NEVER

[marauder16]

OH...but he would NEVER

yeah, lol
cover up the serial on the mem. too, just for security

[MnM]

Updated second post with today's happenings

Edit: I have also fixed those pictures so no more serials (not that I would do that anyway ...)

[septim]

nice, yeah gues its time for that new camera you've always wanted, hehe.

[MnM]

Got my new camera so I added more pictures.
Slowly getting there.

[septim]

yeah nice pics, nice bigNG, you gonna run the ddc through the bigNG?

[MnM]

yeah nice pics, nice bigNG, you gonna run the ddc through the bigNG?

The intention is to run the ddc 4 molex plug directly from power supply and have the RPM cable plugged in the bigNG/sensor hub (one of them) for rpm monitoring and configured to shut down below if rpm drops below a certain number. I really do not see any benefit from running the 4 plug molex (power) directly from the bigNG/sensor hub.

If there is any benefits I would like someone to point those out to me

[septim]

i don't know anything about running a bigNG and ddc together.
i've emailed and received no confirmation that the ddc can be run from the bigNG. hence waiting for anyone who runs one of these setups to fill me in.

or should it be like what you're gonna do, run rpm sensor only and shutdown if it goes below.

seems to me your idea MnM is much simplier to copy.
maybe when i get some funds to order the bigNG too i'll copy your idea.

hopefully you get your barbs soon so we can finally see it all comes together.

[MnM]

Hey guys been reading a thread here and one guy said:

"I'm using a Swiftech MCW60 block with G80 adapter "

Now I am worried. What is a G80 adaptor? Do I need one?
The GPU block I got says:

1. Pre-assembled retention mechanism using the four holes surrounding the processor:

All nVidia® GeForce™ series from 6800 and above
All ATI® Radeon™ series from X1300 and above

I assumed that it will work with 8800GTX. If it does work why are people running this GPU block with a G80 adaptor? (btw the reseller that I got this from does not sell any G80 adaptors or any adaptors for the MCW60 block so I hope I dont need one as sourcing one will slow down my build)

[Jedda]

MCW60-FX Kit
MCW60-G80 kit
They're the two mounting kits being discussed.
All Swift have to say about them is -
Please consult your Swiftech distributor prior to ordering direct from us, or purchase the product factory direct BY CALLING CUSTOMER SERVICE AT (562) 595-8009 FROM 8:30 TO 4:30 PST.Please consult your Swiftech distributor prior to ordering direct from us, or purchase the product factory direct BY CALLING CUSTOMER SERVICE AT (562) 595-8009 FROM 8:30 TO 4:30 PST.



The G80 adapter kit is used to replace the standard MCW60 hold-down plate and allows installation with GeForce 8000 series Video Cards.
Looks like this is what you need.

[septim]

the adaptor was because the mcw60 block was before a g80 card, they figured out some diff in hole placement so made appropriate adaptor when the G80 card came out, since people had to jury rig some form of mounting for their mcw60 with the g80 card...

[Bootsy]

Nice thread. I am also considering the MM case and I am currently using a CM stacker. It's like you read my mind

Do you like the look of the Black Powder coat?

[septim]

black is universally liked.. but since you're going with an MM case, you might want to personalized the color too...

but still black is good looking, matte black for the fingerprint sensitive or the glossy shiny black for that picture perfect/mirror reflection bling...

[MnM]

Hmm still confused about the whole adaptor thinggy...I understand that it is for the 8000 series. I have an 8800 series ... so I still need the adaptor?
Also when going to the Swiftec site they list the 8800 series compatible with whatever the unit ships with:

"The MCW60™ is shipped with two separate retention mechanisms composed of spring loaded screws and back plates providing off-the-shelf compatibility with all ATI® Radeon™ and most nVidia® GeForce™ families of products as follows:

1. Pre-assembled retention mechanism using the four holes surrounding the processor:

Most high-end nVidia® GeForce™ series from 6800 and above (incl. latest 7900 series). See compatibility list below. "

When you click on the compatibility list the first entry is 8800 and yes for compatible. No mentiuon of any adaptors needed or anything. After I red this I am sure that the two mounting units that come with the GPU block should work.

Are you guys telling me that it will not work and I need to ourchase the extra mounting kit?

Edit: I am trying the mounting kit right now to see....

[MnM]

Ok it wont fit.

I am left with a bitter taste..as if you go an read swiftnets.com and then check the compatibility list one will understand that the GPU block will fir the 8800GTX series without any other attachements needed. On top of that the unit was sold to me by a retailer stating:

"1. Pre-assembled retention mechanism using the four holes surrounding the processor:

All nVidia® GeForce™ series from 6800 and above
All ATI® Radeon™ series from X1300 and above"

[ranker]

Ok it wont fit.

I am left with a bitter taste..as if you go an read swiftnets.com and then check the compatibility list one will understand that the GPU block will fir the 8800GTX series without any other attachements needed. On top of that the unit was sold to me by a retailer stating:

"1. Pre-assembled retention mechanism using the four holes surrounding the processor:

All nVidia® GeForce™ series from 6800 and above
All ATI® Radeon™ series from X1300 and above"

That was probably written before the 8800 came out. You'll need the mounting plate which runs about $5-10 as well as the ram sinks which costs about $40 a set.