Frank's 2013 upgrade.......

Looks like these will be here today, so this means I can start the process of mounting fans on radiators and fans/radiators in the case this week once I finish putting them all together.

Socket Cap Screws/Hex Socket Screws M4 X 10MM (Pack of 100)
Socket Cap Screws/Hex Socket Screws M4 X 10MM (Pack of 100)
Steel Hex Nut, DIN, M4-0.7 (Pack of 100)
Vermont American 21117 4MM-.70 High Carbon Steel Metric Plug Tap

The tap is to ensure everything is using M4 threading and sizes so all the screws work right.
 
I was talking to a company about how I planned on running and controlling these fans, then it hit me, I am running 45 fans in this rig. I wonder if I should keep this thing on coasters, it may take off on me and start rolling out of the room with as many fans will be pushing lol, even at 1/2 speed I cannot expect this thing to be quiet, even with <15 anbd <19dba fans at 1/2 speed. That is a ton of freaking air moving.

The controllers I have are Lamptron Black FAN-ATIC 5-Port Military Switch Baybus. There are 5 switches per controller and I have two controllers I am using, this was what I was planning per 60W toggle switch (Control over 60watt per channel: Laboratory tested for a total power consumption of 300W across the baybus):

CONTROLLER 1
9x Pull MORA3 LT Fans
9x Push MORA3 LT Fans
6x Push/Pull fans Radiator 1
6x Push/Pull fans Radiator 2
6x Push/Pull fans Radiator 3

CONTROLLER 2
3x Case Fans Top Unit
2x Case Fans Top Unit
1x Center Bitfenix 200mm fan
2x Aqua Computer D5 Pumps (Bottom)
2x MCP 655 Pumps (In 5.25&#8221; RePack)

This is the plan moving forward.............

Here is what I hope to pick up when I sell the Core i7 975 Extreme CPU........

1x Aquacomputer aquaero 5 XT USB Fan-Controller, Grafik-LCD
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=31993

1x Aquacomputer Flow Rate Sensor MPS Flow 400 G1/4
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=36086

4x Aquacomputer Temperature Sensor - Inner/Outer Thread G1/4
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=32775

Then I got to talking with others and discussing the loop I planned when it was brought to my attention how cool it would be to use the Bitspower mod top on the Dual Mod Top Extreme unit I have. Instead of having the Phobya 150 Res sitting on the side, purchase two of these 250mm mod tops and set this in the center of the Water Barrel. I will run it parallel with the length of the case in the center to allow for better air flow past it. I will drop in red LED's in the base and at the top to have the red liquid glowing in these tubes in the Water Barrel 24 - it is a Water Barrel after all - lol.

So I have a couple of these in the shopping cart as well waiting to sell this 975X and other items I will be posting...........

Bitspower Dual / Single D5 Top Upgrade Kit 250 (Clear Acrylic Cap)
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=34482

BP-D5TOPUK250P-BKBKCL--1024X768-3.jpg


There will be two of these on top of that dual D5 pump top. Look at the pictures above and you will see the current assembly with the Dual D5 Mod top, and the Black Sparkle pump mod kits. That is what will receive these two kirts and be mounted like in this picture, so the reservoirs are vertical and both lit from top and bottom of the reservoir.
 
One suggestion I would have is to think about running some parts of the loop in parallel. Like say the 3 front rads would be the first thing I would say to parallelize, but there are plenty of other things you could do as well. That should drop some of the flow restriction in the loop as well as slow the water down in the rads which should help it cool off as well.
 
extide said:
One suggestion I would have is to think about running some parts of the loop in parallel. Like say the 3 front rads would be the first thing I would say to parallelize, but there are plenty of other things you could do as well. That should drop some of the flow restriction in the loop as well as slow the water down in the rads which should help it cool off as well.
Click to expand...

Taking from your suggestion and discussing it with others, I think this is a better choice for running the loops - seperate them into two loops.

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I would still parallelize the 3 front rads, though. If you do run two loops, make sure you monitor loop temps, and if one is hotter than the other you may need to re-balance your component loads.
 
OK, taking from what you are suggesting, that would require some form of manifold or multi-port solution to split the flow into the radiators. Interesting because I have always wanted a reason to buy these Koolance 5-way manifolds, now here is a great reason and use to do so.

2x Koolance Tubing Splitter/Manifold, 5-Way Swiveling
spl-xfr3_01.jpg


By purchasing those items above, I can then place them between the RePack and the Radiators. Here is also a great place to pick up enter and exit temps as well as grab my flow measurements where they enter/exit the manifolds. These Koolance solutions will allow me to split to the three radiators as well as pick up temps all in one fitting. This will allow the flow to be divided in thirds across the three radiators, however the pressure factor is reduced by a sixth per rad I believe. Where they exit the manifold and come back together as a single run, this should be a good place to pick up a combined and full flow rate and the exit temps after it has run through all three radiators. One pump will pull liquid from the RePack, push it through the Mosfet., CPU, and North Bridge, then I will pick up temps before going into the first manifold. Things should equalize around here from the second pump pulling through the three radiators and pushing the fluid back into the reservoir where it starts all over again.

What do you think of this solution?

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Right now I am trying to decide how I will monitor these loops. There are two solutions I have put together, but am undecided on............though I am leaning pretty heavily in one direction due to about a $3-400 cost difference and the fact the cheaper solution also allows me to use the screen for other things than just water cooling data display.

AlphaCool
1x Alphacool Graphical LCD-Display 240x128 Pixel Blue Negative
1x Alphacool Heatmaster
2x Koolance Flow Meter Frequency Adapter for INS-FM17N
2x Koolance INS-FM17N Coolant Flow Meter [no nozzles]
4x Koolance Coolant Temperature Sensor Plug, G 1/4

Or

AquaComputer
2x Aqua Computer Plug 3pin Plug For Relay Output (For Aquaero 5)
2x Aquacomputer Flow Rate Sensor MPS Flow 400 G1/4
4x Aquacomputer Temperature Sensor - Inner/Outer Thread G1/4
2x Aquacomputer Aquaero 5 PRO USB Fan-Controller, Grafik-LCD
 
the only problem i see with the parallel idea is that you would be doing it with 3 different radiators, all of which will have different resistances. this means the flow through each will be different. you should definitely research to make sure that they are similar resistance or you might get one thats barely even doing anything. the other option would just be to try it and see what temps you get in parallel compared to in series and do whichever one cools better. im thinking the 2 pumps should still be plenty of pressure even with all 3 rads in series, which means you could just be introducing extra tubing and more joints that can leak and more money for no gain.
 
ekuest said:
the only problem i see with the parallel idea is that you would be doing it with 3 different radiators, all of which will have different resistances. this means the flow through each will be different. you should definitely research to make sure that they are similar resistance or you might get one thats barely even doing anything. the other option would just be to try it and see what temps you get in parallel compared to in series and do whichever one cools better. im thinking the 2 pumps should still be plenty of pressure even with all 3 rads in series, which means you could just be introducing extra tubing and more joints that can leak and more money for no gain.
Click to expand...

I believe you have a valid point and was what I was thinking when I split the loops. Now that I have done this above config, it just seems like it is too much added cost ($40 a pop for each manifold) just to see if parallel is better than serial for cooling. I have to think that these MCP655 pumps have enough push to run this in series and save me additional install of two manifolds, the cost, the tubing and as you said above - the added potential for leak points. I think I most certainly will try series first and see how that works before I go to the added cost fo those manifolds.
 
The1stCAV said:
I believe you have a valid point and was what I was thinking when I split the loops. Now that I have done this above config, it just seems like it is too much added cost ($40 a pop for each manifold) just to see if parallel is better than serial for cooling. I have to think that these MCP655 pumps have enough push to run this in series and save me additional install of two manifolds, the cost, the tubing and as you said above - the added potential for leak points. I think I most certainly will try series first and see how that works before I go to the added cost fo those manifolds.
Click to expand...

yeah i think it's still worth looking into, but im not sure how much of a cooling benefit you'll get from it. splitting the loop in two is definitely a good move though, as you wont have to drain that entire system if you have a leak.

idk if it's worth pointing out, but 3x360 radiators for just the cpu, mosfets, and SB is a ton overkill. that's kinda the theme of this project, so whatever. :D but yeah if you did somehow have flow problems due to resistance you could just remove a radiator and your temps would probably fall like .1 degrees anyway. there is a limit to how far you can OC your cpu, and at that speed a single 360 is probably enough, and maybe add another 1x120 for the mosfets and SB so you have probably twice what you need. on a related note, are you planning on WCing your ram? i dont see any block for it in your diagram, but with the general ovekill theme and the insane water cooling in this build i think it would almost look out of place to see the ram not under water. :p
 
You know I just had a discussion about water cooling ram and the fact that if you have good air flow, its really a waste of cash. Watercooling RAM really has negliable results over air cooling if you have air flow. I understand this is all about over kill and going extreme, but to outlay another $200 just to cool some RAM, I may have to think about that. I certainly could use that $200 for more bling lol. We shall see if its possible though, I never have done RAM cooling before and each build is fiulled with firsts for me, so who knows, I just may do it as yyou said just because this is an over the top, excess build.

Either way, need to sell a CPU first before I can check out my shopping cart at PPCS for the rest of the items I need - always a hurry up and wait game isnt it..........

Check this eBay For Sale link on [H] - I have a Core i7 975X LGA 1366 chip up for sale if anyone is interested......
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1752056
 
OK so one thing leads to 10 others and I find myself searching for water blocks for RAM............

Considering I have two sets of 4 RAM Modules, I will need to get dual water cooling blocks.

How do these fair? Anyone else agree they would be killer in this build or not? Should I go with a clear top and inset some red LED's or do a black one and black DiNoc it to match the EK motherboard blocks? Keep in mind I have red and black DiNoc on the EK MB blocks and on the CPU block - but nothing is lit. There are no LED's on this board yet and nothing is being lit up, so I was thinking clear top, red liquid cruising through, and red LED's in these. Basically red glowing bricks on either side of the CPU. Not sure if the red LED's will bleed out or clash w/the red I put on the Watercool Heatkiller CPU block or compliment it. Either way, these would be the only items on the board that would be lit up if I went with the clear.

Bitspower Universal RAM Module Water Cooling Set For 4 Banks 4-DIMMs - Clear/Black
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=32400
BP-RAMS44-CLBK_02.jpg

BP-RAMS44-CLBK_03.jpg


I have also decided, I am going with this solution........
AlphaCool

1x Alphacool Graphical LCD-Display 240x128 Pixel Blue Negative
This will be modded of course with the black DiNoc around the bevel
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...cts_id=20561:e0d705845f0b765316f42ca3f0f89553
25416_02.jpg


1x Alphacool Heatmaster
Will be mounted under the MB tray to keep it out of sight, but this will be the main brains behind the water cooling loop monitoring solution
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...cts_id=26314:087e4dcf28634f2dbc16e05342cf473f
26518_01.jpg


2x Koolance Flow Meter Frequency Adapter for INS-FM17N
Using this because it will translate the Flow meters feed to something the Alphacool Heatmaster should be able to read. This is unknown at this time, but appears technically to be what I need to make it work.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=28876
ADT-FM03_01.jpg


2x Koolance INS-FM17N Coolant Flow Meter [no nozzles]
The additional flow meter to monitor loop 2, I already have one of these waiting to install.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...cts_id=24531:24784f87e7cd77abe7dac7f3999d9125
INS-FM17_01.jpg


4x Koolance Coolant Temperature Sensor Plug, G 1/4
Must have the temp's monitored as well before and after the radiators, so here are the four temp plugs I will need.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...duct_info&cPath=59_239_1090&products_id=23997
sen-ap006g_01.jpg


This should allow me to monitor both loops.
 
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Man I wish that col flow/temp monitoring stuff, and that Heatmaster thing existed way back when I did my watercooling projects. I almost want to do another watercooled build JUST to play with that stuff, lol.
 
Yeah, I cannot wait to play with the Heatmaster and the associated software to configure the display, etc - its going to be fun and a great tool to have to monitor loops with. They certainly have come a long way, lots of new toys to play with - the reason to keep building new goodies to play with the new toys :D
 
The Dremel goodies that showed up to assist in the modifications of this case to allow me to cut the mesh I have that I will be placing in the bottom of the top case floor - painted red again like Frank's current case.

cfparts042.png


Always need to ensure you are grounded and have some form of Anti-static precaution taken when touching your motherboard, or other electronics. So I picked up some white anti-static gloves and ground strap for the wrist to keep free from static when I go to water block the board, the GPU's etc.
cfparts043d.png


Here are all the nuts and bolts needed to install the fans and radiators. The issue I faced was the 10mm was gnurled and the 25mm was smooth. The company I purchased them from are sending smooth 10mm as well because they do not match - love great customer service especially when they know its as much about the show as it is about the function and they understood that. :D
cfparts044.png


Last but not least - some more goodies on the way from my favorite place to spend my hard earned cash.........
cfparts045.png
 
You should relocate to Florida to save on all the shipping fees from performance-pcs. I love how they have the option for in store pickup. Can you imagine what that place must look like?
 
deadlift1 said:
You should relocate to Florida to save on all the shipping fees from performance-pcs. I love how they have the option for in store pickup. Can you imagine what that place must look like?
Click to expand...

Its a good thing I do not live there, or I would LIVE at PPCS - lol :D Yeah I can imagine that warehouse, it would be like walking into heaven and having all the goodies at my fingertips - I could just imagine the rig I would build if I could secure a corner in that warehouse and just have my way with the stock, then tally up the empty packets when I am done hehe
 
The1stCAV said:
Its a good thing I do not live there, or I would LIVE at PPCS - lol :D Yeah I can imagine that warehouse, it would be like walking into heaven and having all the goodies at my fingertips - I could just imagine the rig I would build if I could secure a corner in that warehouse and just have my way with the stock, then tally up the empty packets when I am done hehe
Click to expand...

I have a feeling you would wind up single...
 
hound said:
I have a feeling you would wind up single...
Click to expand...

No need to just "feel" like you know - let me just confirm it - it would be a marriage killer. :D



"Smooky Moddeur" is a modder in France that had painted his back plate with a yellow stripe to match the RAM heatsinks he painted, mosfet water block and other things he custom painted to match in his build. I rather liked the way the Watercool Heatkiller backplates turned out - so off I went with my carbon fiber wrap.

Keep in mind, I know this is more cf, however this is also on GPU blocks that are going to be stacked and though the MB tray is horizontal, you will not be viewing these back plates full with the exception of the top most plate. So the overkill factor is still safe because its not like these are over done with CF and most of it will be hidden most of the time. I will know though the time and effort it took to do it though. Cutting each individual hole first with an X-acto takes a ton of time. Then the final Dremel touch just takes time so I dont miss the hole and screw all that time up when I am down to cleaning the holes of debris.

Now the only question I have is do I do a single black strip - or do I add the red pin striping?

cfparts046.png


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cfparts049.png


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cfparts051.png


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cfparts053.png
 
Man, you are going all out on this! Enjoying the video tutorials! Very quality work, I like it!
 
Nahid said:
Man, you are going all out on this! Enjoying the video tutorials! Very quality work, I like it!
Click to expand...

Thanks, glad you like (and are still participating - lol). I am doing another video atm on CF the MB tray. More goodness to come............:D
 
I recorded the processes of applying the carbon fiber vinyl to the motherboard tray, however during the process I did not realize that the camera stopped during the red CF application process. So the video I put up on YouTube will not be able to show the entire process, but will certainly be enouigh to give you a fair idea on how things went and how I was able to do some of the things I did. I will do what I can to ensure I give enough details in this video to assist any others that may wish to try the same.

Here are some still images of the finished product. This is the motherboard tray that goes in the Mountain Mods U2-UFO as a horizontal tray. It is big enough that if I ever decide to go with something like an SR-X board, it can handle it without issue.

cfparts060.png


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cfparts072.png
 
deadlift1 said:
Man that looks sweet. How many hours total spent on the mobo tray?
Click to expand...

Thanks all - probably spent about 5+ hours to do it all, there are three pieces there I had to do. One was the back plate (black), then the I/O (red), then the tray (black). Thedn it was putting them all together. I decided to use the silver thumb screws as opposed to the flush black tiny screws he sent with the case, gave it a better look I think.
 
Stunning, as always. And I also like the shiny big thumb screws as well for some reason. All my cases have them.
 
you might run into problems with the manifolds, the coolant will travel the route with least resistance, which means it might cause two of the three radiators to have terrible flow. will be interesting to see how it turns out
 
Reality said:
you might run into problems with the manifolds, the coolant will travel the route with least resistance, which means it might cause two of the three radiators to have terrible flow. will be interesting to see how it turns out
Click to expand...

Actually the manifolds are out - single loop is out.

The plan atm is:

LOOP 1

DUAL D5 RePack > Mosfet > CPU > S. Bridge > Front Rad 1 > Front Rad 2 > Front Rad 3 > RePack

LOOP 2

Dual D5 Mod Top w/250mL Res > GPU 1/2/3 > MO-RA3 LT > Dual D5 Pumps

So as you can see, I have split this to two loops, w/two pumps per loop and one res per looop. I have already purchased the items I need to monitor both loops. I felt this was the best use of the hardware and the loops. Now 3 - 360's in the front is overkill for the CPU/MB loop, but should give me max performance I would suppose. The MORA3 should serve those GPU's well. :D
 
This thread is making me want to rebuild computers again, so many great ideas I want to try. Very inspiring for sure. I think it would look really neat if you had separate res's that were the cylinder type ones that had the vortex in them, mounted in the bottom part of the case. If one side was clear it would look really neat seeing all the fans and then two huge res's that are lit up red that have water flowing through them.

Good idea on separating the loops btw. Are your pumps going to be at 12v or 24v?
 
Aus10 said:
This thread is making me want to rebuild computers again, so many great ideas I want to try. Very inspiring for sure. I think it would look really neat if you had separate res's that were the cylinder type ones that had the vortex in them, mounted in the bottom part of the case. If one side was clear it would look really neat seeing all the fans and then two huge res's that are lit up red that have water flowing through them.

Good idea on separating the loops btw. Are your pumps going to be at 12v or 24v?
Click to expand...

Doing dual 250mL Reservoirs in the bottom. These are the Bitspower Reservoirs I showed on the last page. The intention is to have dual cylinders parallel with the length of the case in the bottom Water Barrel portion - centered. These are clear reservoirs that attach to the top of the Dual D5 Pump Mod Kit. The black sparkle mod bottoms go under this. The dual 250mL reservoirs will be lit with both 3mm and 5mm red LED's from top and bottom so it will show two liquid tubes sitting vertical in the middle between the radiators. all side panels are clear acrylic - so everything in the case will be visible at all times.

All pumps are 12v and will be initially regulated between 5v and 12v speeds.

Well I guess Verizon found out Frank was getting an upgrade so they knew he was going to need more bandwidth - lol. They just upgraded me to faster speeds.



LOVE my FIOS............. j/s
 
I love it too. I have the same as you. When I retire and move southward (not Florida), the first thing I'll look for is FiOS availability.
 
More goodies arrived today from PPCS for this build. Yes there will be actual building going on very soon, I promise. #We just had to get through much prep work first.

This is a little part that gets very little notice but is worth every penny spent. This flow meter will give visual indicator to loop liquid movement - if its spinning its flowing - if its not - you had better shut down fast because you have a block in the loop flow and that means something is in the process of getting too hot. Small part with a very important job.

cfparts073.png


Here are the two towers of liquid love going in the bottom of the Water Barrel on top of the dual D5 Bitspower Mod Kit Extreme. These are the two 250mL Reservoirs that connect to the top of that mod kit that will be lit from the top and bottom with red LED's.

cfparts074.png


This is a mix of parts. On the left are 5-1 Fan power strips. I will use two per 9x120mm array, which means I need 4 total in the Water Barrel. I will run the fans to these modules and a single run from these modules back to the fan controllers, allowing me fulll control over 5 fans per switch. Great little module for not much money at Performance PC's - black so they hide easier, and have a holder/base that keeps them in place.

Then we have the spot lights. There are 2 total, but I wanted to use them in the top of the case to spot light specific areas of the board. Many tiumes red LED's just wash out things and white LED spotlights can override those red LEDs and help with highlighting certain areas. So these were purchased on the hopes I will be able to use them strategically to light up some areas on the motherboard.

Then we have the Bitspower Crystal stop fitting. These will be used in various places within the loop to light up the tubing, reservoirs, etc. These are plugs that allow for a 5mm LED to be inserted and used to light up whatever it is bbeing screwed into. I was going to use these to light up the tops of the 250mL reservoirs as well as various places within the loop I will be using Bitspower Crystal 4-way Blocks to pick up temps and add light.

Then we have the Koolance items. I already have tow of these but needed to pick up another flow meter and frequency adapter. These will be used with the Alphacool Heatmaster and should be compatible with their fan monitoring capabilities to show flow rates on the display.

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The Alphacool Heatmaster - the brains behind monitoring the dual loops. This thing apparently can monitor up to 5 seperate loops, so I plan on using this to ensure my loops are running as they should.

Using the software that comes with both the Heatmaster and this display unit, I will be able to customize how my loops are diplayed on this screen. I didn't care for the fact it is blue with white letters, but it was an inepensive solution to give me an external display that I would be able to customize how I want to see the status of my loops. Being silver it was on clearence at Performance PC's, so I went with this version knowing I will be wrapping it in black DiNoc fiber anyway.

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So there are the latest goodies to arrive - aside from the scews that also arrived today. Now its time to start putting some stuff in the case finally..............
 
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