(Update: Now a Build Thread) Has anyone built in the Primochill Praxis Wetbench SX?

kamikazi

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jan 19, 2006
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Update: Now building, see most recent post 11-15-2022

I have some troubleshooting to do on my machine that will most likely require me to drain my loop. My case is pretty cramped with 3 radiators and a gpu verically mounted making it all but impossible to access things like M.2 slots and unable to unmount/remount the cpu block. Also, I have to vertically mount the gpu because the side panel will not fit otherwise as the waterblock is too large. So, I've decided to go in another direction and build in the Praxis Wetbench SX. I searched the forum here, but haven't seen any references to the newer SX, just the regular wetbench. Anyway, I bought the full kit with every possible piece. Very pricey considering it's an open air test bench, but I like the idea of being able to get to everything very easily. I also like the fact that I should be able to get to every screw without tearing everything apart. Right now, a lot of my fans are held by only 3 screws and it's very difficult to get to some of them, even with one of those special screwdrivers made for tight spots.

It's going to be a while before I get into this. I was wondering if any of you have built in the wetbench sx and have any pictures for inspiration. I'll be using 3 radiators, a small reservoir, and a dual DDC pump that's separate from the reservoir.

praxiswetbenchsxcomplete.png
 
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I started assembling the wetbench sx this afternoon just for mockup purposes. Two issues so far:

1. The screws that hold the radiator/AIO side mounts are too short. I saw this in a review from a couple of years ago. I had hoped they provided some longer screws by now, but they didn't. The provided screws are M4×6. They don't make it all the way through the female threads. Two of these holding a large radiator seems like a bad idea. M4x8 would be sufficient. I have some M4x8 and they worked fine, but the heads are a little small. I added washers, but then they were too short. M4x12 with washers works nicely.

2. If you use a 360mm radiator on one of the side mounts, you can't do full push/pull, only 3 on the top and 2 on the bottom. The design of the bracket is really for a 280mm radiator to fit perfectly. It may be possible to squeeze in 3 fans on the bottom of a 420mm radiator, but not a 360.

I'm still happy with how I think it will work out. I'm going to have 2 x 360mm radiators and one 240mm radiator. I don't think using 14 fans instead of 16 fans on the three radiators will make a huge difference.

Other thoughts: I bought the full kit that you can use for the slanted version or the flat one. I had no intention of using the flat version, but I can see the appeal. With the flat version, you can get to everything on the mid tray easily from the front, even after the whole system is put together. With the slant version, you'll have to come in from the side. However, the slant version makes the whole assembly a decent bit higher in the rear with more vertical space for stuff back there.
 
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Update in plans. Now, I'm going to use a Watercool MO-RA3 radiator with some quick detach fittings which should greatly simplify the build.
 
Finally got some rebuilding done.

Motherboard, GPU, and CPU installed and connected to reservoir and pump. I have a temperature sensor mounted there on the right side of the reservoir. That's the return from the radiator, so I'll be getting the coolest readings there. Notice I'm using Koolance QD3 connectors on the inlet for the the gpu block. I'll also have one on the outlet.

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Dual DDC Pump final mounting location. I used the Heatkiller kit for isolating the pump, just basically hollow rubber cylinders with screws on each end. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any way to line up the foot print of the pump with all of those slots that are built in. I was originally going to use a kind of diagonal rotation to get it to fit into the slots. However, some are wide enough for M4 screws and some are not. I ended up having to drill 3 holes so I could use slots on one side and the holes on the other for mounting. That allowed me to set it up in a good configuration. In this picture, I have a zip tie holding it in place before mounting with screws. That 90 degree with a ball valve is a drain for future draining as needed.

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Here's a shot from underneath. You can see the screws on the right side don't fit in the slot and I had drilled holes for them.

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All of this is mounted on a media cart. I have the radiator on the middle tier of the cart. This is the exhaust side of the radiator. I have a drain valve there at the bottom. There is another temperature sensor on the side of the radiator next to that drain valve. Since the radiator fills from the bottom, that's going to be the hottest sensor I have.

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Here's where I've mounted the Aquero on the back of the unit. I have a piece of plastic behind it to make sure I don't ground out anything on the chassis. I had to drill one hole for this in the middle beam so that I could get three screws to mount it.

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This shot just shows some perspective of the motherboard with everything hooked up.

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Intake side of the radiator that is in the back of the cart. Notice the two sets of QD3s so that I can remove the radiator completely for draining if needed. I set them up so that I can run the loop without the external radiator if I just wanted to flush things out by connecting the outlet and return from the components together. Of course, I would have no cooling at that point, but I guess it would be good for cleaning/flushing.

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The only thing I really don't like so far is the power supply mounting system. The plastic thumbscrews that are provided for hanging the power supply off of the plate in the middle just don't get the job done. When I was tilting the top around for removing air bubbles, those screws would slide around and drop the power supply. I'm going to crank the brackets down with steel M4 screws to make it more stable.
 
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