Frank's 2011 Upgrade

wra18th said:
It was a bunch of pain, but looks like the end result was worth every "tear". Awesome job! Thank you for not quitting. Aus10 has a good role model now. :cool:
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LOL wra18th - no sooner you say this and there goes AUS10 posting Victor up for sale, damn now how does that reflect on me? lol - yeah lots of work to find in the end I had to do just one SATA Power cable - oh well the new Corsair SATA III backplane works great anyway, guess I'll show it off with the pretty cables now. Though the Bitspower MCP Pump Mod kit covers it up mostly.

Maniak said:
Frank is looking sweet. My goodness, all those cable problems. Crazy how frustrating they can be esp. considering how tedious sleeving can get after a bit.
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Yeah sleeving gets very tedious especially when I am so close to the goal line with Frank, every minute I spend on the weekends is like forever because I just want to get him to "picture perfect perfection" and set back after set back, but all in all it was a good learning experience as each time I got better at them. I have found that sleeving a 24-pin is different than a 6-pin or 8-pin or a ATX 12V 8 pin, etc - each one has its quirks. SATA Power cables IMO are the toughest when you are trying to get perfect spacing between them so they fit custom to your need.

Will update some more pics soon - working on a video right now of his current state - a bit over due for some new Frank videos on YouTube. The ones I have there now are older than the last 24-pin I sewed in, so that shows how old those are - two sewn 24-pins later and I have not updated a video, so I am beyond time for a new one.

AUS10 - I personally believe you are making the right decision. The kick ass stereo, console and TV are much better investments in hardware when you just want to sit and game/watch movies and hang out. This is one of those constant hobbies that will take your time up as well as burn cash like nothing - then to find you only want more and oh another upgrade and..........and..............and its never good enough, not something I am sure you want to keep wading through, so all the best in your endevours. BTW - if the Bitspower Mod kit for the MCP pumps do not go, let me know, I may need one for VAMPI. Yeah, I was able to keep the MB without having to return it, so VAMPI is still on covertly. :eek::D

Also guess what I was using to test the power cables I was making this weekend - yep, the "dead" Silverstone ST1500 - seems it WAS the mosfet that blew on the Classified. Now I need to find out why. The PSU seems to be working just fine, it was just sucking the smoke out of the case while the fans were still turning making me think it was the PSU that blew, even smelled like it did because right next to it the mosfet was what actually blew up. I will have to go over th eboard before I pull it to find out what could have caused it to go before dropping in the new one. For all I know it never actually dried out there and got trapt under the waterblock or something and poof! Either way its a good thing the PSU is still good.

Also, I made these up for the video I am making, the final spec's for Frank......................


frankcomponents001.png


frankcooling001.jpg
 
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Was there a block or anything on the mosfets? It seems every single board I have had since the Athlon 64's came out they have a heatsink of some kind on them. Or did the board ground out on the case? Idk just ideas.

Glad to see Vampi will still happen. Your constant work makes me feel better about how much time and cash I spend on mods. Tho now im doing cheap stuff. Mostly adding 120mm fans to older cases and hitting em with the rattle cans. a good way to keep busy for a while.
 
Thank you uncle pm or skype me with any thing you want ill hold anything for ya discounted to for the familey. :) lol

im glad to hear vampi is still cruising along. Should be awsome knowing you i sold on victor for the theater using similar speakers to yours and similar everything, give it 4 months ill get bored and build a HTPC like vampi lol should be fun :) haha who knows what the future holds. frank and vampi need done though that future is certain.
 
This thread continues to amaze me. As I don't have the time or money to invest in good custom sleeving or full watercooling yet, I took the lazy route and have a Corsair H50 and individually sleeved cable extenders that I bought for cheap :) .
 
bowmanm3 said:
This thread continues to amaze me. As I don't have the time or money to invest in good custom sleeving or full watercooling yet, I took the lazy route and have a Corsair H50 and individually sleeved cable extenders that I bought for cheap :) .
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Yeah I started out with those extenders myself, even still have whats left of them, though I stripped a couple for the connectors that I needed one day when making my own. It all happens in steps, so where today you are doing extenders and ready made psuedo-water cooling, tomorrow you will be filling a shopping cart with connectors, tubing, blocks, and so on and welcome to the addiction - lol.

By the way I finally edited a video and put it up on YouTube showing off Frank a bit more than I have done before - check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5u0x9chfoo
 
Nahid said:
Good job 1st!
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TY Nahid - nice to know you still check in from time to time :D Hope all is well - we have to do a Halofest one day for the fun of it.........

wra18th said:
I have made a mess in my pants.:eek: This is geek pr0n for sure.:D
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lol, thanks Wra18th - it helps if you keep both hands above the desk at all times - so I have been told at least..
 
The1stCAV said:
TY Nahid - nice to know you still check in from time to time :D Hope all is well - we have to do a Halofest one day for the fun of it..........
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I agree, we must Halo, stat!!

I enjoy this thread quite a bit, it has come a long way!
 
Nahid said:
I agree, we must Halo, stat!!

I enjoy this thread quite a bit, it has come a long way!
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Well considering it is your fault I got hoked on this forum to begin with - then I guess ultimately it is your fault I started down this road, because had you not gotten me hooked on this forum I would not have had such great inspiration to build the frankster - so glad you did - thanks. :D
 
I wanna do everything the same. Except blue instead of red. =)

And maybe with the 650D, I LAN a lot...
 
ranviper said:
Sadness...
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Indeed but i have to blame cav :) lol he always talked about how amazing his speakers were and how good they sound and i just im a audio person love sound love it more then gaming so i figured that this was a better direction for me to go. so after talking to cav decided on
Tv: havnt picked out lol
Audio: paradigm Studio CC 490 center
Paradigm Studio 20s front left and right
Paradigm Studio 10s rears
Later on i will add a Paradigm subwoofer like studio 12 is my goal its just expensive....
Pioneer VSX-1021-K

And a 320gb PS3...

Then it clicked... after that since i already miss computers (been 2 days) Im thinking about build something like a vampi only not as good duh lol but liquid cool it start from scratch who knows maybe do something custom... idk... lol (Wheels turning in my head :))
 
Aus10 said:
Indeed but i have to blame cav :) lol he always talked about how amazing his speakers were and how good they sound and i just im a audio person love sound love it more then gaming so i figured that this was a better direction for me to go. so after talking to cav decided on
Tv: havnt picked out lol
Audio: paradigm Studio CC 490 center
Paradigm Studio 20s front left and right
Paradigm Studio 10s rears
Later on i will add a Paradigm subwoofer like studio 12 is my goal its just expensive....
Pioneer VSX-1021-K

And a 320gb PS3...

Then it clicked... after that since i already miss computers (been 2 days) Im thinking about build something like a vampi only not as good duh lol but liquid cool it start from scratch who knows maybe do something custom... idk... lol (Wheels turning in my head :))
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Yeah, something about building computers is just, addicting really. It's like drugs, but without the side affects, and people think you're smart. ;)
 
I cant watch the videos of frank gaming it makes me so jeolous and miss victor not that he could do nearly what frank can but whatev life goes on gives me a excuse to buikd a new one haha :)
 
lol, the demise of Victor (RIP Victor) - then he wants bad ass sound - now already missing Victor. Dude PC building is crazy once it gets in your veins it just grows like a fungus that you cannot ever get rid of - when you look at an OEM PC like a Dell or something, you just go - But, but I can build one better, cheaper, faster, prettier....................and then you find yourself filling up the next shopping cart for the next build.

Still I support your decision AUS10 - I think the TV and speakers as well as the PS3 are your better option at your point in life, however you will never get the build out of the blood now.

So you were able to get past the "weird intro" you didn't care for on the video? Did you like the rest of it?
 
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Indeed a good laptop though I can't build. Like I'm thinking bout this one

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba...inum/2809404.p?id=1218354582258&skuId=2809404

I did get past the weird intro if I was you I would have showed off the monitors more and the setup it's self like keyboard speakers plus the erm although if it was strictly for frank then yes I did like it. Just watched you play crysis 2 made me miss gaming just don't have the money :( although I agree it will always be in my blood from now on. :)

Updates for the baby's?

Ps learn how to answer your damn phone uncle cav! lol
 
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Uh oh some one is having huge issues with frank...... We shall see the new changes(dramatic music) lol
 
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OK I replaced the Switech POS rad, put in the BlackIce Xtreme 3 Performance rad with the additional pull fans, changed out all the fan hardware to all use the same black hex head screws, got Frank all tidy Saturday right in time to go grill for some neighbors coming over for dinner. I had done the leak test and so on, had Frank ready to show the neighbor as well as try out the new BlackIce Radiator. Well I wasn't happy with the temps, but was enough to show some of what Frank can do but I noticed the temps getting hotter and hotter. Not something even with the Swiftech I was having issues with - something was wrong.

So Sunday I had to tear Frank down again and try to find the solution. The last thing I wanted to do was to take that Black Ice rad out - it is such a PITA to get that rad in and out, though I did find a next trick that worked very well this time around. See when you are mounting a 360 rad with the pull fans underneath the top of a case, you have to have all 3 fans on the rad, then try to line up the fan holes with the rad holes with the case top screw holes as well as the top covers and fan things I have outside the case - a lot of thing sto line up to get a screw in and working. It is a total frustrating experience. However Saturday I took some of the thread I use to sew cables, I put a "pull" fan in the top, put the screws down through everything (no rad yet)and got all four screws through fan 1 and positioned. I then took the thread, using my starter loop like I do to sew cables I looped it over the threads of a screw that was poking through the bottom of the fan. I did this on two corners of each fan until I got all 3 fans installed/held up. Because the thread was so thin and small it wasnt going to cause a problem threading into the rad but was just enough to barely hold the fans in place. The trick is to get at least two corners of the rad aligned with screws and the rest basically falls into place. So then I put the rad in, worked at getting those two corners aligned and when I did it was so much easier to get the rest done.

So come Sunday I tore Frank down, thought of taking out the MCP655 pump inside as well as changing the loop trying to find where the heat issues were. Finally located it by blowing through each section of the loop looking for resistence - I found it! The CPU block weas clogged, seems the rad had some flux or some gunk I guess that came loose and clogged the CPU block. I was able to take the CPU block apart without having to take it off the MB and break the CPU/Block connection by taking off the cover and exposing the insides of the block. I cleaned it out, then began my task of reconfiguing the loop.

Because I knew I wanted the ERM unit to do the heavy lifting and knew it was powerful enough to cool the GPU's, I decided on this final loop config:

ERM Unit > CPU > Xtreme 3 Rad > MCP655 Pump > GPU 3 > GPU 2 > GPU 1 > MB > Back to ERM Unit

This allows the CPU to get the cool water first, then cool back down through the BlackIce rad, then into the GPU's where eventually the ERM Unit cools that down to start it over again. Apparently I made the right decision - temps are freaking awesome at the lowest fans speeds I have ever ran Frank - EVER!

With the ERM unit at a pump setting of 3 (1-10 are the choices, 10 being the highest/fastest pump speed) and the fans on auto (basically sitting about a 1-2, 10 being max here as well) I am very impressed with the temps after two hours of idle and normal work.CPU will dare to hit in the high 20's as well many times, the GPU's are rock solid and bounce between 31-33c. The VREG was almost always 48-55C and the rest of those were at least 10c higher with fans at full blast before - this was a terrific loop order and radiator upgrade that did worlds of wonders for temsp and the ability to reduce fans speeds - aka noise while working. When gaming its fine - the sound is louder than the fans and I never hear them, but for work, this is soooooooooooooooooooooo nice

franktemps9192011.png
 
Run crysis with everything at max (max pumps max fans ec) oh I got a htpc
 
Aus10 said:
Run crysis with everything at max (max pumps max fans ec) oh I got a htpc
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Ahh but that is the trick AUS10 - DO NOT RUN PUMPS AT MAX. If you have followed the thread and the epiphany I had you would know that you run the water slow through the blocks and the radiators - turn fans up as needed.

Fans cool the water as it goes through the radiator. The slower the water is going through the radiator, the more it can heat the fins, the fins can cool down with the air and basically it gives the radiator time to suck the heat out of the water. So the slower it goes (within reason) the better for cooling as well as in the water blocks themselves.

As the water is passing through the water blocks, you want the opposite to occur and that is the water to go slow through the blocks to absorb the heat and take it away. Too slow and it cooks and the water is not carrying it away fast enough, too fast and it simply does not hang out long enough to grab the heat at it goes by, so there is a balance you have to find with your pump speeds in order to achieve max water cooling potential - which at the same time you also have to balance that with your radiators capabilities as well.

I think what I have done this time around is found that balance and I even figured out how to set the ERM unit to crank up as needed automatically.
 
oh i ran mine at max all the time my bad... makes sense though i never really thought about it ok well doesnt matter not liquid cooling anymore and wont be for awhile.

what are your temps in games mr busy? lol
 
OK so you want to know how temps do under load? Well so did I. I fired up Heaven Benchmark to get a good heavy DX11 dose of graphical goodness and started it up with the following settings:

heavensettings.png


Then I let it run auto for over an hour, probably closer to two hours. When I got back the ERM unit went from A1 to A2 setting - meaning I had gone over 35c on the inbound water temp so it had done well by automatically kicking up the fan speeds to reduce the heat load. Crazy thing is it never really got any hotter in terms of water temps. So when I got back I figured I would give it a bit more and went ahead and hit the benchmark button to give it one more push before shutting down to see the temp history thinking I was going to kick it up even more. Well not really, Frank just kept tearing away at it in 5980x1080 glory just holding pretty damn steady around 44c on all GPU's according to MSI After burner. So Frank went ahead and did the Heaven benchmark, I wasn't looking for a score actually, I was just trying to stress him a tad. However here are the results of that test:

unigine2011091919434451.jpg


So now the real story - the temps. This shows min/max and a "at the time" value of where I was when I took the screenshot. The max values are the true readings that Frank was doing in terms of temps. He flat out held steady, even OC'd on the processor and still heat was kept at bay. I believe this new loop configuration and the BlackIce Xtreme Performance Radiator was the key to a nicely balanced water cooling system IMO. Between that Xtreme rad, the push/pull 120mm fans I am seeing temps drop back to entry temps after passing through the CPU to the rad them into the GPU's. ITs like the water never hit the CPU and went direct to the GPU's - that is how well the BlackIce Xtreme 3 rad is doing with its 6-120mm fans. It is sucking out the heat it picks up from the CPU and gets rid of it before feeding the GPU just like I had hoped it would.

So without further hesitation, here are the results of almost 2 hours of Heaven and after the benchmark:


franktemps9192011004.png
 
Those 580's load at ONLY 46°C? :eek: I think I know what kind W/C setup I might be looking at in the somewhat near future...
 
Amazing temps, crazy rig. What'd that run you total, about $5k?

Edit: I'm a retard, didn't notice I'd started the thread on pg. 22. Pics & detail are amazing, nicely done.
 
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Wow that is amazing. God he looks so good. I wish i had a frank :( mi htcp gets here on saturday or monday. What softwares do you use on vampi? and when is he getting finised? Stupid bussiness hours...
 
although the 24 pin looks amazing!..i think it would look a bit cleaner inside if you routed the 24 pin through the same hole as the SATA cords are coming out of;)
 
i agree that 24 pin is a work of art,but it kinda sticks out a bit to much..just MO.

its covering the 580's.
while the 24 pin supplies life..the 580's are doing alot more work.

besides if i had 3x580's id be sportin those bad boys in their full glory.
 
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dtischerd said:
i agree that 24 pin is a work of art,but it kinda sticks out a bit to much..just MO.

its covering the 580's.
while the 24 pin supplies life..the 580's are doing alot more work.

besides if i had 3x580's id be sportin those bad boys in their full glory.
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True, but if you move the 24pin cable you will just see all the cables from the 580's, which have the same look. I think his goal was to run all those cables down together, rather than have the 580 cables going down and the 24 pin cables going in a different direction, which might make it look more cluttered. I like the unified look of all those cables going down the front of the 580's, kinda like a cable waterfall!
 
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