Project BSG Scorpion Fleet Shipyards (Lian Li PC-A77B)

[luke997]

Few coats of matte black later - matches the case nicely and looks much better:



Time to get it connected...

[luke997]

Time to wrap up V1.5 upgrade and draw conlusions:

1) GTX 580 3GB with EK-FC5X0 GW Acetal Nickel blocks in series
Result: Win

Better performance in 3DVS, higher AA available, almost 400W less power draw from the wall.

2) 2x Koolance PMP-450S (D5 Strong) 24V pumps with Koolance 12V-->24V converters
Result: Epic Fail

With 2 pump at full (24V, 6000RPM) speed I'm getting 165 l/h.
Comparing to previous 225l/h with 1 more GPU block (albeit in parallel and different design) doesn't look like an improvement, does it...
On top of that I have to run it at ~20V - 145 l/h - otherwise they are very noisy (vibrations)

3) 12GB (3x4GB) RAM - Corsair Dominators GT, 2000mhz @ CL9
Result 12GB RAM: Win
Result Dominator GT: Fail

12GB is win - no more page file, much better in Vegas.
Dominators GT are fail. Best they'll do is ~1930mhz at CL10 and that's with 1.35V QPI!
My previous Dominators did ~ 2003mhz @ CL9 with 1.31v QPI.
Maybe I got a bad batch - but as a high end product and price such should be quality and QA)

4) All fans controlled by single CPU header on the mobo (PWM signal only)
Result: Win

Works perfect, single setting in Asus Fan Xpert to controll all fans!


5) Back to EK res on the dual D5 top - this time 140mm.
Result: Win

Less bling more classy - plus easier to fill the loop


6) Additional water temp sensor on the inlet to second (top 360) rad
Result: Win

Obviously

7)Aquaero 5.0 Pro
Result: Epic Win

Not much to say - is there? Just an excellent controller
No PC software yet but you can do most of the stuff (not as easy though) through the panel.


What now? If you've been following the worklog - it's pretty easy to guess.

Version 1.6 rework on Friday/Saturday (while I still have the time).

Changes:
1) In: 3x DDC 3.25 - EK Dual Top V2 + EK Top V2
Out: 2x Koolance PMP-450S (D5 Strong) 24V pumps with Koolance 12V-->24V converters


Why? Obviously I won't live with 145l/h , and I've found this:
Skinee Labs EK 3x DDC

Which convinced me that combined head of 3xDDC 3.25 should at least get me back to 200-230l/h range.

[luke997]

Here's couple in-game benches before I change the pumps.

All in benchmarks run with:
Settings: Maximum
AA: 8x
Resolution: 6000x1080
Stereo: 3D

1) Mafia II
Average: 32.5
VRAM Usage: 1050

2) F1 2010
Average: 39
VRAM Usage: 2600

3) Just Cause 2 - Desert Sunrise
Average: 34
VRAM Usage: 1300

4) Dirt 2
Average: 53
VRAM Usage: 2200

All run @ my OC 24/7 settings, great results in my book - considering such high res in 3D - finally everything playable on max!

There are other great side effect to these 580s too:
- no more flicker in side monitors in 3D Surround (there was pulsing brightness change with 480s, not sure why, I could live with it but it was annoying)
- no more black textures in the distance in Mafia while driving

[eXa]

Down to 165/145L/H now

Adding more pumps has a really big diminishing returns. Look at Stephen from Swiftechs little (for fun) test. going from 3 to 5 pumps gained nothing.
http://www.swiftech.com/stephens-corner.aspx#tab3
I dont think you will gain much at all going from 2 to 3 pumps in your really restrictive loop.

I would look to try and reduce restriction instead. Going from serial to paralell gfx again, reducing 45s to a minimum and so on...
I know, 45s doesnt have that much restriction, but they do have some, and with the amount you have it will add up.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=266003

Im not saying that your loop is restrictive just because of the 45/90s, i dont. If i should take i guess, i believe its the mosfet and nb block thats the biggest sinners.

I just think its un-neccesary to use alot of them 45s when the tubing can do the job just fine

[luke997]

So I've swapped 2x450S for 3xDDC 3.25, fired WC up and....

175 l/h

In all fairness, it required a total of 7 45's more than 450s.


That's where I thought I'll try it EXA's comment

I would look to try and reduce restriction instead. Going from serial to paralell gfx again, reducing 45s to a minimum and so on...
I know, 45s doesnt have that much restriction, but they do have some, and with the amount you have it will add up.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=266003

Im not saying that your loop is restrictive just because of the 45/90s, i dont. If i should take i guess, i believe its the mosfet and nb block thats the biggest sinners.

I just think its un-neccesary to use alot of them 45s when the tubing can do the job just fine

I've dissasembled 2/3 of the loop and removed this merry band of fittings



All replace by straight compressions and hose. Couldn't do any more, my this Primochill is very stiff but the results were worth it:

211 l/h

Considering previous flow with 2 DDC's and even older with 2xD5's - one conclusion - this new EK blocks are much more restrictive than previous wave design.
Nothing wrong with it if the temps are better - will check this later.

Adding more pumps has a really big diminishing returns. Look at Stephen from Swiftechs little (for fun) test. going from 3 to 5 pumps gained nothing.
http://www.swiftech.com/stephens-corner.aspx#tab3
I dont think you will gain much at all going from 2 to 3 pumps in your really restrictive loop.

Here's scaling in my loop with 3 pumps:

1 - 122 l/h
2 - 175 l/h
3 - 211 l/h

3rd pump is worth it in my book, especially if one dies again, I'll still get enough flow to keep rig running for a while

DDC's run @ 4500 RPM, got 55C temperature inside the housing and are much quieter than 2x450S, not to mention lack of any vibrations.

[luke997]

I'm curious what the flow I'll get in parallel GPU's so I'm going to try that now.

[luke997]

I've changed GPU's from serial to parallel and now I'm getting 240 l/h.

[josk1]

awesome, now give us what we want: pix, pix, pix!!

[luke997]

awesome, now give us what we want: pix, pix, pix!!

No pix for now as the pump are looks a bit ugly, rest looks a bit better.

For those who wonder how I've connected Dual DDC Top with Single DDC Top - I went all out and connected directly Dual DDC output to the Single DDC input with straight fitting (length <1cm) so this pump is on the side - but I got the least restrictions possible

[eXa]

My my, i gotta say, both using 3 pumps and reducing 45s gave a bigger improvment than i thought

There is alot of nice info in this thread, almost to bad that its "hidden" in worklogs

[miahallen]

3) 12GB (3x4GB) RAM - Corsair Dominators GT, 2000mhz @ CL9
Result 12GB RAM: Win
Result Dominator GT: Fail

12GB is win - no more page file, much better in Vegas.
Dominators GT are fail. Best they'll do is ~1930mhz at CL10 and that's with 1.35V QPI!
My previous Dominators did ~ 2003mhz @ CL9 with 1.31v QPI.
Maybe I got a bad batch - but as a high end product and price such should be quality and QA)

It's probably the fault of your IMC, not the memory
6GB was mach easier for the IMC to handle, so its no suprize that the new kit can't hack it....it might need a lot more QPI voltage to reach the memories rated speed/timing. Check my rant here for more insight:
http://www.techreaction.net/2010/10/...400mhz-absurd/

Here's scaling in my loop with 3 pumps:

1 - 122 l/h
2 - 175 l/h
3 - 211 l/h

3rd pump is worth it in my book, especially if one dies again, I'll still get enough flow to keep rig running for a while

I've changed GPU's from serial to parallel and now I'm getting 240 l/h.

parallel FTW

Thanks Luke

[luke997]

It's probably the fault of your IMC, not the memory
6GB was mach easier for the IMC to handle, so its no suprize that the new kit can't hack it....it might need a lot more QPI voltage to reach the memories rated speed/timing. Check my rant here for more insight:
http://www.techreaction.net/2010/10/...400mhz-absurd/

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind and try to push some more

[luke997]

I've done some tidy up with the first pages, so now there's nice quick loading index for easy access to the log.

Anyways, let's kick off BSG v3.0

Changes:

1) In: Asus Rampage III Black Edition
Out: Asus P6X58D-E

P6X58D-E was a nice board but now there's good looking and nicely performing replacement - so time for a change.

2) In: More tubing
Out: 3x Mobo blocks, fittings

In my never ending quest for more flow

I will consider EK block which is due in couple weeks - but only if the mobo temps are really high.
Heard about some issues with temps monitoring on it hence I got some infrared temperature gun.

3) In: Supreme HF Rev3
Out: Supreme HF

4) In: DDC cooling heatsing - 3x Koolance HTS-PMP400.
Out: Ugly looking dremeled cuts in the DDC's housing

I'm pretty certain there will be some dremelling required to fit 2 side by side in the EK Dual DDC Top - but that's absolutely doable.

5) In: Black/Red theme
Out: Black/Blue theme

6) In: Samsung 2.5" 7200 HDD (for Windows backup)
Out: WD Scorpio 2.5" 5400 HDD

This drive is purely for Windows backup - I can't use my RAID 0 2TB for it and WD get's long to initialise in BIOS plus it's really slow for the backups...


All the parts are in - so would be selfish to keep the eye candy for myself

Yeah:


Getting closer


There we go - this is one good looking board!


Here's the board in all it's glory


This is nice but won't be needed (by me



This looks better than expected:


I got silver coloured fittings with it so painting is in order

[matt220]

Loving the new parts

[ximius]

This is going to be one of those never-ending build logs isnt it? Great read though.. keep it up!

[luke997]

This is going to be one of those never-ending build logs isnt it? Great read though.. keep it up!

Yeah Unless there will no more new PC/WC gear developed

[luke997]

Here's how to fit 2 Koolance HTS-PMP400 heatsinks fit to the EK Dual DDC V2 - with a little help of a dremel.

1) One of the "sidepods" on each of the metal frame has to be removed:





2) Here's the frame after cutting of not needed bit:



Cut piece vs uncut:



3) Here's the clearance after cutting and mounting:



4) Here's the heatsinks on:



5) Finished product - looks quite nice - and definitely much better than my old plastic housing cut with a dremel

[Church]

Pitty that there is (UN)designs bracket only for dual D5 top, not for dual DDC one. It sure looked blingy.

[luke997]

I've assembled WC and still testing but couldn't help myself to share fantastic (in my standards at least ) flow results.

Now I'm getting:
405 l/h (1.78gpm) - 3 pumps
325 l/h (1.39gpm) - 2 pumps
210 l/h (0.92gpm) - 1 pump

The best part is.... that's with GPUs in series!

So the gains are:
From 1 to 2 pumps - 50%
From 2 to 3 pumps - 28%

All this with the following changes:
1) Removing 2 EK ASUS X58 mosfet blocks and 1 EK ASUS NB/SB X58 block
2) Removing remaining 12x 45s - now I have only straight fittings and tubing
3) Replacing Supreme HF (rev 1 I think) with rev 3

So finally I have completed my personal quest for decent flow

Tomorrow I'll finish the wiring and do some photo session - so watch out - eye candy incoming

[Elder]

Flow is simply amazing,405 l/h (1.78gpm)
I wonder what happens in the reservoir
at such a high flow (necessarily give pics).

Another thing ... the pressure to produce the three pumps is enormous,
not afraid that something will break eventually?

[luke997]

Flow is simply amazing,405 l/h (1.78gpm)
I wonder what happens in the reservoir
at such a high flow (necessarily give pics).

To my surprise - I didn't even have to put anti-cylon into my 140mm res (I have it filled up to the black cap - so little air left.
Nothing at all, additional bonus was that bleeding the loop is much faster with that flow.

Another thing ... the pressure to produce the three pumps is enormous,
not afraid that something will break eventually?

No worries, I got super mario to tighten fittings

[eXa]

Wow, the flow is getting really good now!

Have you noticed any changes in temps?

[luke997]

Enjoy photos of the completed BSG v 3.0

I wasn't sure at first about black/red but I love it now


















Here's one more shot of the overall setup - a bit closer to see how things go.

Wow, the flow is getting really good now!

Have you noticed any changes in temps?

Yes indeed Will post on that later

[Church]

Rad looks .. so SMALL

[eXa]

Ah nice, even with all that you got in the case it still looks very clean. Black and red looks good too!