ABS/Tagan Black Pearl - evolution of a water-cooled rig

[kgtiger]

Hay shazza, are those black strips on the XT photo, just from the chamfered edges?

For that striped thread in your block, you could try Heli-Coils. I have used then before with great success, but only in steel and ali.

I have google Heli-Coil to see if there is a Heli-Coil set just for plastic or if the standard one will work, and found this http://www.helicoil.in/
At the bottom of the web page there is an article about Dodge threaded plastic inserts that are made out of brass.
I have not had the chance to play with these, yet!, but looks good, see for yourself, hope it helps.

[Xion X2]

Wow, that XT is a beautiful block.

[shazza]

hmmm, why can't you wait to take it apart? To see if it gelled up?

Yep - I'm curious to see if I've got gunk build up in the GTZ running with Feser One.

Hay shazza, are those black strips on the XT photo, just from the chamfered edges? ..

Yes - the black stripes are just the way the light is reflecting on the block surface - it's actually all silver. Didn't get a chance to take a better pic before leaving town.

Wow, that XT is a beautiful block.

Yes - it looks good, but my main reason for getting this block is the mounting mechanism. And, of course, curious to see if I see a temp drop compared to my other blocks.

It'll be about a week before updates start coming. Away visiting the grandkids - got my butt kicked in Wii Baseball, Tennis, and Bowling by a 6-year old!!!

[millertime359]

It'll be about a week before updates start coming. Away visiting the grandkids - got my butt kicked in Wii Baseball, Tennis, and Bowling by a 6-year old!!!

O well, should of cheated.

[Chicken Patty]

Yep - I'm curious to see if I've got gunk build up in the GTZ running with Feser One.


Yes - the black stripes are just the way the light is reflecting on the block surface - it's actually all silver. Didn't get a chance to take a better pic before leaving town.


Yes - it looks good, but my main reason for getting this block is the mounting mechanism. And, of course, curious to see if I see a temp drop compared to my other blocks.

It'll be about a week before updates start coming. Away visiting the grandkids - got my butt kicked in Wii Baseball, Tennis, and Bowling by a 6-year old!!!

"gunk", thats the word I was looking for, couldn't come up with it

[PaRn ssR]

12.43

[shazza]

I bet y'all thought I gave up on this project. Nope, just been away visiting in So Cal. But, I was doing what I do best (shopping!). Got home to AZ a while ago, and found these waiting for me:





What's inside Gotta wait til after I unpack from the trip and take care of my other chores




To hold you for a while (if you've come this far on this crazy ride with me), here's a nice sunset pic I captured while away:

[Caoder]

that's a lotta packages ... can't wait to see what u do

[Antioch]

Shazza, I think we were in the same place yesterday to see that sunset!

[ohms]

zomg go home already Shazza! We need more updates!

[aka_GK]

Curious

nice sunset btw

[Waterlogged]

IT LIVES!

[kgtiger]

Wish I had a magic garden that would grow boxes like yours.

[shazza]

OK, folks - sorry for the wait. Been busy - here's some quick shots from my shopping spree ( hold yourselves back from the excitement - just be thankful I did not subject you to warm fuzzy animals this go around )



Xtremely Xciting --- "Tape of the Gods"








Some lighting experimental junk:







A baby Gentle Typhoon:







Some "Big Boy" fans (for radiator testing, not for this build):







Hmmmnnnn ... what reservoir to use????






Some BP pass through fittings:







First purchase from WaterCool:







Just curious ...






EK FC Block for the 5850...more pics to come when I install it





And - what I'm most excited about (really!) - three 12" x 24" pieces of aluminum sheet to use for cutting practice (the aluminum, not my fingers )




Oops - a little inconsistent on my backgrounds, but no time to fix - off to dinner!

[Lu(ky]

Nice Santa came early I see... Where did you get the three 12" x 24" pieces of aluminum sheets from? LINKY!! I need some on a build coming up soon.. Looking great...

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

there is a great sheet metal shop on ebay that I have used, they have pretty much any size of anything and good shipping prices. I usually just find them via searching

[CptDreadFlint]

I think I see me house in the sunset pic .

And regarding doing chores and unpacking before opening packages...wow. That's more self-control and discipline beyond anything I can ever comprehend. You must teach this grasshoppah a thing or two about the ways of chi and patience...

...or something like that.

Anyway, awesome stuff!!!! New HK, new Swiffy XT... How do I get in on this outfit?

[kgtiger]

After reading " warm fuzzy animals and mounting tape I used all myself-control and discipline to delete what I had written beforehand.
Take deep breath, remember chi and patience need more self-control.
Glad your back Shazza.

[shazza]

Shazza, I think we were in the same place yesterday to see that sunset!

It was pretty spectacular - this was taken from the deck of our friend's house in Running Springs, CA.

Nice Santa came early I see... Where did you get the three 12" x 24" pieces of aluminum sheets from? LINKY!! I need some on a build coming up soon.. Looking great...

I ordered the sheets from online metals. As SD says, you can probably find cheaper on ebay, but these guys were fast and had small quantities available - it's nice quality as well.

I think I see me house in the sunset pic .

And regarding doing chores and unpacking before opening packages...wow. That's more self-control and discipline beyond anything I can ever comprehend. You must teach this grasshoppah a thing or two about the ways of chi and patience...

...or something like that.

Anyway, awesome stuff!!!! New HK, new Swiffy XT... How do I get in on this outfit?

Thanks, Cpt. Yeah - I could see your house, I took your pirate photo with the telephoto . And, about those water blocks - I'm just adding to my collection. Someday, they will be used!

After reading " warm fuzzy animals and mounting tape I used all myself-control and discipline to delete what I had written beforehand.
Take deep breath, remember chi and patience need more self-control.
Glad your back Shazza.

Good self control, kgtiger

Enough procrastinating. Taking pics of stuff doesn't really count as work, so off to the garage I go to see what kind of trouble I can get into. Will report back later...

[Xion X2]

Nice sheet metal. Now you're getting into the fun stuff.

[Antioch]

Yeah, I was driving right through that valley pictured headed west on my way back from Temecula. Needless to say, it was a bit hard to focus on the road with such a spectacular sight right in front of me.

[shazza]

Nice sheet metal. Now you're getting into the fun stuff.

Yep ... can't wait

Yeah, I was driving right through that valley pictured headed west on my way back from Temecula. Needless to say, it was a bit hard to focus on the road with such a spectacular sight right in front of me.

I know - it was quite nice. A good time of year - not too much smog, but enough "haze" to make some interesting colors.


A bit sidetracked on the build - wanted to get some benchmark data on the 5850 before water cooling it. Installed Batman Arkham Asylum, then had nothing but trouble - didn't know if it was game, the dumba$$ Windows Live profile stuff, or what. Spent all evening trying to sort it out. Disconnected the internal DVD drive this morning and all is good -

Un-installed Batman and moved on to Dragon Age-Origins with another DVD drive. All is well - love the game so far.

So, sorry no build updates, I'll try not to get too distracted by the game. I guess this is just part of my ever-wandering way I go about doing a new build

[Anemic]

OOoooh, this is going to be good.....

[kgtiger]

Hopefully you want wonder away for another week, unless you go shopping that is.

[shazza]

Whew ... today's task is setting up the 5850 water block:


The stock heatsink actually goes well with the Torture Rack setup:






But, it's time for surgery:





A close up of the EK block - you can see the milling marks, but don't have a heart attack - this is with a macro lens and the shadows showing the marks:





One of the easier cards to identify which screws to remove ... 14 screws in total, counting the center bracket, which does not go back on - so 10 to put back:





The top is off ... and the thermal pads stayed nicely put on the stock heatsink - now I'll put this away in case I ever need it again






And, a "Pro" hint (which means I have screwed this part up before ) - take all the screws that come out of the stock heatsink and put them somewhere safe. As mentioned previously, Sapphire was good about RMA'ing a dead card, as long as it was put back to stock condition:






An improvement from my previous EK FC blocks - some of the thermal pads are pre-cut:






Thermal Pads on and MX-2 spread lightly on the GPU processor:






This next part, I don't like. The EK instructions say the standoffs are "obligatory" or something like that. Yechhh - I will pay extra for standoffs made as part of the block. This is cheesy. Used some MX-2 to try to hold the plastic standoffs.






Hmmmnnnnnn ... I get a little bit of bowing on the top of the card when the middle screw is tightened all the way down (not over-tightened). And, a bit uncertain if all the thermal pads are making proper contact.





Oops, will have to get a pic of the whole block installed when I install it on the mobo.



I think this is my 11th EK water block (unfortunately, I misplaced my "Buy 10, Get 1 free" card) - as usual, it's very nice quality. The standoff issue bugs me - I should have checked with Eddy first to make sure I really needed to use them. Loosening the screw in the above pic just a bit straightens out the card. I'll see what happens when I install it.



Thanks for looking.