Sectorix's Water Cooling Build (Obsidian 800d)

[Church]

My main comment would be - drop use of so many 45s && 90s. Bent tubing with plain straight fittings will work just fine or even better flow wise and will cost you 100$ less.

[Aphellyon]

Loop's getting tighter... I like it. For the drain you could maybe run a splitter off the 45 from the pump-->gpu run and snake some tubing down through the mid plate and have the actual drain plug in the PSU compartment. All you would have to do then is remove the side panel and drain.

Oh, by the way, gotta ask... what league are you in? I'm assuming your main race is toss? ... please ignore if you don't wanna go OT

[sectorix]

TY, btw please note i edited and added a second diagram to represent another option ( with an XSPC Bay reservoir, that might simpify things ) although i really like the EK Res.
i am considering running a "snake" tube for that, its just me not liking excessive pipe in the system... plus, i suspect since this is the pressure generation link, putting a splitter there might actually
hurt the flow.

churcy, i am thinking about the angle stuff, not sure what direction to go :\ i want a clean flow loop with no kinks, and i hate the ugly anti-kink coils.


Aphellyon, regarding your other question, Gold EU/Diamond US & Toss

[sectorix]

by the way, since im going to terminate the loop back to the reservoir from the top end of the res, does anyone knows if im going to get problems from it ? ( like bubble noise, pressure drop, potential other problems ? )

[sectorix]

well my bet on the fan-controller-less fan system is a success
the sunbeamtech unit was a perfect match

i got the power unit for the fans today, and then had a dry run with the fans running at full, and the noise is almost non-existing.
plus the power controller was 4 GBP ( ~7 USD )

the fan power unit in its packaging :


it comes with some 2sided glue pad to mount it in the case.

my little experiment :


it was a good decision

SECTORIX.

[PiLsY]

Could get rid of the fillport altogether?

1st option : Make the top res inlet a rotary connection and just unscrew it to top up. Id advise you fit a downtube inside the res from the top inlet - itll make it easier to bleed and you wont get the vortex effect. Initial fill could be tricky though.

2nd option : Fit a delrin Tee piece in the tube from the top rad to the res inlet. Have the flow go straight through, but on the Tee branch fit a koolance QDC. You can then clip on the filltube when you need it. Combine this with the rotary above to make top ups easier.


Just a quick pointer - make sure you fill the loop with the case on its back, top mounted barb down rads are a nightmare to bleed and this makes it much easier. I've a similar layout to you in my case albeit with more rads, and it took me a while to get the filling technique down. Here's the relevant post anyway. The section of tubing I disconnect to fill would be between top rad and top res for you, i've got an extra rad in between . You can skip the bit about the rear rad too as its not relevant for your loop. Speedy finger work is needed to reconnect the tube, you will spill a little water so make sure youve got paper towels all around the connection. It gets easier with practice. A Tee connection here as per Option 2 above would make this far easier. Once you have it connected again tilt the case towards its roof so that any air that got in when you reconnected the tubing goes into the res (thats where the downtube mentioned in option 1 comes in as it allows the water level to be low and not allow air into the top rad even with a top inlet). This will leave you with a pretty much completely bled loop before you even turn the pump on.


Hope some of that at least is helpful . GL with the build, looks promising .

[sectorix]

1st option : Make the top res inlet a rotary connection and just unscrew it to top up. Id advise you fit a downtube inside the res from the top inlet - itll make it easier to bleed and you wont get the vortex effect. Initial fill could be tricky though.

i have the Rev 2 150 ml EK, so it means i have 2 ports on the top, does this change the picture ?
as mentioned...

so you suggest i put back the res pipes ( instead of the cylone fan ) for this setup ?

[PiLsY]

Sorry just edited above post with more info - you were quick off the mark there dude!

[sectorix]

thanks, could you elaborate on the "down tube" ? maybe with a picture showing exactly what you mean ? <3

[PiLsY]

The X2 Advanced comes with threaded tube inserts that fit inside the res on the reverse of the ports. They direct flow and stop air from pocketing up through the top when a top inlet is used. If you google "ek x2 res tube inserts" and look at the pics itll explain it far better .

[PiLsY]

I reckon this is what you're after. Screws straight in to the backside of the inlet on the top cap and drops the intake to just above the lower inlet. You want the straight pipe version, not the cyclone or perforated.

They list a 120mm version too but the pic is wrong (shows a tube res which im sure you wont get for under £4 ). Description is right tho.

EK web page elaborates here.

Relevant part :

Basic version:

Bottom part gives user 3 options for placing the G1/4 fittings/barbs as inlet or outlet. Top part gives 1 additional option for placing the G1/4 fitting/barb as inlet or outlet. So the basic version has totally 4 options. Unused G1/4 ports are to be plugged with enclosed G1/4 Plugs. Additionally, the reservoir comes with one internal 12mm ID and 16mm OD tube with thread on one end so it can be screwed into threaded ports inside the reservoir (1 × bottom, 1 × top).


I think these are all the ones that are compatible with your res.

[sectorix]

well, mine comes with 3 of them already , 1 from the top ( going almost to the middle ) and 2 from the bottom
interesting question will be -> do i need anything other than that

( i got the "Advanced" )

[sectorix]

well, this guy ( http://www.youtube.com/user/lvl8hack.../1/nqeF5mSmq98 ) has my res setup ( more or less ) so im confident its ok

so here is another question ... is it worth it to work on a draining valve ( especially if i plan to drain only every 3-4 months to replace coolant ) ?
i mean - i dont exactly understand the closed loop thing, but it seems like you can disconnect a pipe, and only when you open the fill port the air gets in and the water drop, so its almost no spillage ?
the reason im asking, is that although i really fancy some sort of drain mechanism that i cant find, i dont know if its actually worth the trouble...

[sectorix]

the Sharkoon UV kit got here today ( 4x 30cm cathodes )
interesting that these come with 2 power + switche mechanisms ( so you connect 2 cathodes to each )

its fine since im gonna use 2 anyway, thinking about where to mount the on/off switch... i wonder if it fits one of the "hose" holes in the back, or i will make a hole next to it.

[sectorix]

finally decided on a draining mechanism, sure took me a while

so what i do is use another port like my fill port, and put it on a whole i drill in the back of the case.
that goes to a drain setup and terminates at the unused GPU port ( SLI remember ? ) which is the lowest point of my setup

the drain setup is : Drain/Fill Port >> 10mm 1/4" male to male adapter >> ball valve >> fitting

here is a sketch


this simplifies draining, since to drain i just uncap in the back, attach a hose ( with a fitting on it ) to a bottle, and open the valve.

i think this is the simplest way without going to the lower chamber and having too much tubing around. also note that i didnt want to alter the tube that goes from the pump to the gpus, since its the main pressure entry point
of the loop.

let me know your thoughts..

SECTORIX.

[sectorix]

Arrgggh ! , one of the EK-PSC 45" fittings i got is damaged



there was also a mixup from the same supplier and he sent me an XSPC M20 reservoir adapter instead of an XSPC M20 fillport...

i completed an RMA form and sent him back the items, i wont mention the supplier yet - as i hope that they fix this issue and get me the parts asap.


SECTORIX

[sectorix]

just got my 2 new puppies :P



this is gonna be fun !

[PiLsY]

so here is another question ... is it worth it to work on a draining valve ( especially if i plan to drain only every 3-4 months to replace coolant ) ? i mean - i dont exactly understand the closed loop thing, but it seems like you can disconnect a pipe, and only when you open the fill port the air gets in and the water drop, so its almost no spillage ?

That's exactly what I do. Like you say almost no spillage but you need fast fingers and paper towels. Not for the faint hearted . Drain setup will certainly make it easier though if you have room.

Build's coming along nicely

[sectorix]

i just cant wait !!! waterblocks for the GPUs were out of stock, so i have to wait longer :\
meeeeh

[Hell Hound]

Drain setup looks nice,I would keep 140 and use a dual bay res.

[nickbaldwin86]

You should trying using Google Sketchup.

[sectorix]

Ok,

so tomorrow is the expected delivery of the final parts, which means assembly over the weekend ! woohoo finally !!!
i have to thank Specialtech (www.specialtech.co.uk) for having such a great overall service ( i guess thats the benefit of a small shop )
since i originally ordered most parts at Scan (www.scan.co.uk) but to be honest, waiting for over 3 weeks for stock got to me at the end, and i split the order between the 2.

i should have all parts ready for this weekend. also, i did decide to go with the EN Nickel waterblocks ( EK number : 3831109855959 ) for the 580's, was 20 pounds more , but im not going to upgrade soon

lets hope the mail truck doesnt fall over ... my hands are itchi to do this !

[sectorix]

Ok ! 2 shipments out of 3 expected today have already arrived

the EK 580s EN Waterblocks are here and the Corsair 800D SATA3 Upgrade Kit is here

the Corsair upgrade kit was ordered from Amazon, as i couldnt find any stock anywhere else, finally found a store in Germany that delivered.
btw the nickel on the EN version of the EK Waterblocks is a little darker than the normal nickel ones, i actually prefer it that way.



yes, i went for acetal like in my CPU block, i just prefer it that way... ages nicely.



this will accommodate the hot swaps nicely to a sata3, while still supporting sata2 ( gonna use 2 bays for sata3 and 2 for sata2 , hope thats confusing enough :P )



more pictures to come when the last (!) package arrives in a few hours ..

[sectorix]

final shipment has arrived !!!
all of the fittings, the drives, the coolant and some added fancy shmancy parts



now, let the good times role !

[Elmy]

It would be alot cleaner if you did a bay res/pump like the Danger Den Monsoon.