First time custom water - hardline

Honestly I don't understand why more people don't use hardline for the fixed components that will conceivably remain through an upgrade cycle or two. the runs between the reservoir and pump, or radiator/s and reservoir. those can be created once and fitted to the case, then you are only re-doing them if one of those components gets changed.

nothing says you can't mix hard and soft line.
 
Heh- that's why I picked up a Fractal Define- everything comes out with thumbscrews. But drilling rivets shouldn't be to bad, as long as they didn't use stainless or anything!
 
yeah! some people still appreciate function over form. show us!
 
Nimisys said:
Honestly I don't understand why more people don't use hardline for the fixed components that will conceivably remain through an upgrade cycle or two. the runs between the reservoir and pump, or radiator/s and reservoir. those can be created once and fitted to the case, then you are only re-doing them if one of those components gets changed.

nothing says you can't mix hard and soft line.
Click to expand...

true, especialy for short/very short tubes
 
As far as compression fittings for HARDLINE tubes? I think they need to be snug, but they are going to pop out MUCH easier than floppy tubes. The hard tubes don't have the elasticity to compress and conform, and the fittings don't have barbs to hold them in place. The floppy tubes should be compressed over the barb so firmly that you are more likely to rip apart your hardware than pull them out.


As for your pump woes, if it is a PWM pump, you may have to hook it up to a working mainboard, as it may not 'go' without a pulse signal. I've never dealt with a PWM pump, so unfortunately I can't help much there.

If it is a normal 'ol DC pump, it should be powered via 2 pins of the 4-pin Molex from the PSU. If the PSU is pumping out current, but the pump is not actuating, then you may have a faulty pump.
 
you want the large Molex plugged in, that carries the predominance of voltage and current for the pump, the Mobo connector is supplying the PWM signal via the fan header.
 
I use a paperclip bent (and taped) between pin 14 or 16 (green) and any ground (I use 15 / 17) will tell the power supply to wake up and run the pump for leak testing. That way you don't have to have anything else plugged in.

connector_atx_pinout.GIF
 
That just turns on the PSU, you still need the large molex on the pump plugged into the PSU as well.
 
Turn off fan contol in bios. See if it ramps up to full speed.
 
Right no bios. Think I might have confused this thread with another...
You might need to put the OEM fan on to get it all going. That way you can get to bios to over ride the fan control. Changing the pwm plug location might work. You just need to get it to full voltage to get full rpm. Maybe an adapter...
I've always built system out of case with a hsf to make sure it's all working, turn of fan control etc then add the loop.
 
Leaving the wire to the mobo off and running solely on the large molex should give you full pump speed
 
It most likely is the"no CPU fan" protection going off. Try connect it to the CPU header then see if that helps. Or just connect any fan even the OEM hsf to the header to trick it. You should also only be powering on in short bursts until the loop is mostly full.

edit: just looked over your pics again and see that your res and pump are mounted sideways. so if you aren't already, you need to lean your tower forward a bit when filling to ensure the pump does not go dry. if you look where the fill port is and where the tube to the pumps is, there is very little volume for the pump to draw. once the loop is full it wont be an issue.
 
Last edited:
60% should be plenty to fill and leak test- angle the case to get as much air out as you can and then start running the pump a bit to help moving the last bubbles out. I have to put my case on it's side to fill the majority of the water, or it would take forever...
 
Lookin' nice! I wouldn't worry much about the CPU waterblock- some blocks care more than others but I have never seen more than a degree or so in lab testing. I figure it's probably moot in the real world, especially compared to having a better layout.
 
please don't take this the wrong way but you did take off the protect film on the WBs right? seen it happen to the best of us...
and your top gpu does not look like its connected correctly. it should go in one side and out the other. otherwise there is no water flow in the block.
 
is that a kink?
image.jpg


google "sli water loop" and look at the pics to see the flow setup. I don't want to jack somebodies pic...
but it should be in one side out the other for the gpu blocks. which side is first should not matter...
for that short of a distance soft tube will work. might not even see a difference.

edit: and there should only be one tube coming out of the bottom gpu.
edit2: and you still have air in the loop. you're really gonna need to tilt your case around a bunch to get it all out.
 
Last edited:
should flow like this:

image2.jpg

Nebell said:
When it comes to CPU, if it's that black indigo
Click to expand...
not sure what you mean. ill look on their site.

edit: you might be able to salvage that squiggly tube between the cards...
Edit 2: Looked at store, still not sure about indigo thingy...
Edit 3: Found it. I honestly have never seen those before. Weird little thing... I've always used AS5.
 
Last edited:
like this? that will work too. just a lot of unnecessary bends. you could just go with a straight tube in-between the gpus. that's the easiest simplest way. just my 1.6cents (CAN$ is horrible right now ;) )

edit: and I like the look of the hard tube coming straight up and into the cpu. that's why I suggested the step look.

image.jpg
 
It will restrict flow a fair bit. Can you move the bottom connector to the right port? It should be good after that.
Edit: Left port in, right port out or vise versa depending on flow direction.

Can you take a pic just a little further back and straight on the edge of the cards?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top