Krazyxazn's Watercooling Setup

WhenKittensATK

WhenKittensATK

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 6, 2009
Messages
320
Photo Albums:
Lapping CPU Waterblock (June)
Lapping CPU (July)
Assembly (July)

This is my first attempt at a watercooling system. I recently purchased an used GTX 480 that came with a Koolance VID-NX480 water block for free. Then I saw someone selling an used watercooling system and thought what the hell.

Water Cooling Parts:
CPU Block: Swiftech Apogee GTZ
GPU Block: Koolance VID-NX480
Pump: Swiftech MCP355 with XSPC Top
Reservoir: Swiftech MCRES-MICRO Rev2
Radiator: Swiftech MCR320

Extra purchases:
6x EK barbs
Swiftech MCB-120 Radbox Radiator/Fan Housing Rev 2
Mounting screws for GPU block
Mounting brackets for CPU block (for 775 socket)
15 FT of 7/16in. ID (5/8in. OD) Durelene General Purpose Clear PVC Tubing
Sandpaper of assorting grits
Black & Decker RTX-6 Rotary Tool
Koolance 3 pin / 4 way splitter cable for radiator fans

Total investment: $186 and a 9800 GTX+ (traded)
 
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What recommendations do you guys have on case fans to use on the radiator?

I currently have in stock:
4x Scythe Slipstream 120mm Fan (110 CFM / 37 dBA / 1900 RPM)
2x Rosewill 120mm case fans

Should I just use these or buy new fans?

tangoseal said:
Pictures do miracles for these projects :p
Click to expand...

Gonna see if someone will let me borrow their digital camera, unless you like laptop webcam pictures :D
 
I would buy new ones if you have the money for it, slipstreams are poor radiator fans. Not sure about the Rosewill ones.

Gentle Typhoons are the recommended fans if money isn't a problem, otherwise, Yate Loons for their low price and good performance. 38mm thick fans are also recommended.
 
Here are some pictures of how the rig is currently setup.

Might buy a SATA DVD burner to replace that old IDE one. I'll do some benchmarks to get average temps of the CPU and GPU on load with air cooling. So I have something to compare them to once I install the watercooling system.

My thoughts on the Rosewill Challenger Case.
Pros:
1) All black exterior/interior (including the case screws)
2) Tool-less 3.5" and 5.25" drive bay (very easy to work with)
3) Motherboard tray cutouts (wiring and CPU mount)
4) Pre-installed fan filters (front intake and PSU)
5) Front panel I/O (I have my external eSATA HDD and Headphones plugged in there)
6) Watercooling tube cutouts for external radiator
7) Supports 1x 140mm (Top) and 4x 120mm (front, 2x side, and rear)
8) PSU fan cutout on the bottom of case (if you want to mount the fan the other way)

Cons:
1) Wiring tray cutouts aren't as big as I would like (easy fix get a bigger case)
2) Front panel I/O prevents the use of the top 5.25" bay
3) No filters for side panel
4) No side panel window (I could mod one into it, not for looks but would be the best way to see if water was leaking)
5) Not very wide
6) 3.5" bay cannot be removed
7) Could use more room behind motherboard tray and side panel
 
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The ketchup and vinegar on the waterblock had some effect, but I think I'm going to take it a step further by lapping both the waterblock and the CPU. It'll give me something to do while I wait for parts.

I was looking around and I found some people with a similar case that did case mods and/or watercooling:
Link 1 (Watercooled)
Link 2 (Side panel with fan cutouts and fan grill cutouts)

Those are the NZXT Gamma case, I have a Rosewill Challenger which is the same except for the front panel.

I think my dad has a dremel somewhere :D
 
Now get some copper polish and cotton balls and give it a massively good shine. It will help.
 
CPU mounting screws should be here next week. Petra's Tech Shop was nice enough to give me a free shipping label to ship them back the barbs for examination. I'll have to contact them and see whats up. Shipped them last week.

Not much happening at the moment.
 
Good news. Petra's Tech Shop said they would ship me 4 new Enzotech fittings today (my choice since they didn't have anymore D-Tek in stock). The CPU mounting screws are here.

I've been trying to think of up mods to do for this build:
Side Panel Window (maybe)
Case Lighting (if I do the side panel mod)
Cut away fan grill (IDK about this one)
Terminal Block (maybe later *)

Initially I was going to do the terminal block for the radiator fans, then I remembered my fan controller still has one empty slot. So I plan on trying to connect the 3 fans with this splitter. If anyone knows a place that sells a 3-Way Splitter for cheaper than $4, let me know. I plan on getting two of them.

So maybe I'll save the terminal block for the case lighting or some other build without a fan controller. I did see this one neat mod where they wired up a fans + terminal to a 3-way switch: 7 Volts, OFF, and 12 Volts. I thought that was a pretty cool DIY mod to do, but like I said I got a fan controller :p.
 
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Krazyxazn said:
The ketchup and vinegar on the waterblock had some effect, but I think I'm going to take it a step further by lapping both the waterblock and the CPU. It'll give me something to do while I wait for parts.

I was looking around and I found some people with a similar case that did case mods and/or watercooling:
Link 1 (Watercooled)
Link 2 (Side panel with fan cutouts and fan grill cutouts)

Those are the NZXT Gamma case, I have a Rosewill Challenger which is the same except for the front panel.

I think my dad has a dremel somewhere :D
Click to expand...

I just set up water cooling on my NZXT Beta Case, you may want to check it out for some ideas. I have the Radiators mounted on the outside of the case and the fans still mounted on the inside, it seemed like a good idea to me and it has worked out well. Good luck with your configuration. I bought my tubing from PTS, sadly I didn't bother with OD measurements which made it hard to work with my compression fittings. I should go leave a good review for them on reseller ratings, as currently there rating looks pretty bad.
 
Here are some other builds in similar cases:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/339/img20110227160654.jpg/
http://www.overclock.net/gallery/data/500/NZXT_Beta_Evo_after_modding.png
http://haste.4saken.org/pics/i5build/m59/first_leak_test.jpg

================

I went to gather some temps on Air Cooling:

CPU - Intel C2Q Q6600 G0 Stepping (3.4 GHz @ 1.42 V)
CPU Cooler - Xigmatek HDT-S1283
GPU - EVGA GTX 480 (stock)
GPU Cooler - Stock

OCCT's Power Supply Test (max temp after 6 mins): CPU = 77 C /// GPU = 105 C
3DMark Vantage (max temp): CPU = 61 C // GPU = 72 C
Score: P15887 3DMarks (Your Score is Low Compared to Similar Systems. :yucky: )

Thermal or CPU HSF isn't right. Core 0/1 is 5 C higher than Core 2/3.

cyrusfox said:
I should go leave a good review for them on reseller ratings, as currently there rating looks pretty bad.
Click to expand...

Yea Reseller Ratings only shows their ratings based on the last 6 months. Their lifetime rating is like 9/10. Their only rating this year was on Jan-30-2011.
 
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CPU Lapping is finished. This one was stubborn as hell. Many hours spent.

CPU Lapping Photo Album

Going to start assembling the water cooling system and then maybe start on leak test tonight.

=========

I finished wiring up the case. Now its time to design the loop.

I sketched these 2 designs based on Res -> Pump -> Rad -> CPU -> GPU -> Res

Design 1
Design 2

Feel free to make suggestions on Res and Pump Placements or alternate loop flow designs. This case seems pretty cramped when not using a front panel Res.

========

Tape of the Gods (3M's double sided mounting tape)

I can even shake it and it still holds together.

========

I'll reorganize the photos with Google Picasa once I finish the build. Photobucket messes up the order and there doesn't seem to be any sort function.
 
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Photo Albums:
Lapping CPU Waterblock (June)
Lapping CPU (July)
Assembly (July)


I'm going to go with Design #1, but move the pump on top of the power supply. My 7/16" ID tubing really hates Swiftech's 1/2" Plastic Barbs, couldn't even get the tubing more than half way on there. So I'm just gonna order another pair of those EK 1/2" Barbs. That tubing is definitively not coming off once its on without pliers or cutting along the barb.

I like how the reservoir is mounted, its a combo of double sided tape and a screw + lock nut. So it's easily removable from the case for filling and draining.

If I do get a dremel, I plan on doing some cutting:
  1. Cut a rectangle where the pre-drilled WC tubing exits are (Reason: They aren't aligned with the barbs on the radiator and give me a place to route radiator fan cables into the case)
  2. Widen the motherboard tray cable cutouts
  3. Cut off built-in metal tie downs on some areas of the case
  4. Cut open a section off the rear side of the top 5.25" drive bay (unusable anyways due to how they did the front panel IO)
  5. Side panel window (Might look something like this: http://min.us/mbFlZXM)
  6. Cut off a piece of the side panel that can't fit due to rad-box mounting screws, so I can close the case.

After writing that last one, I think its no longer a maybe :p
 
The leak test begins, it seems I installed the reservoir upside down :D The angled ramp is suppose to go upwards to direct the air bubbles to the top of the reservoir instead of down into the outtake :p

IMG_2189.JPG


EDIT: Nevermind I installed it the right way the first time. I just emptied the loop and flipped the res and refilled it :p
 
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No, actually, that is the proper direction for the Swiftech Micro-Res. That angled thing is not for the air bubbles, but to keep the turbulence due to water flow low. That is the way it is designed, you did nothing wrong there.
 
I went to gather some temps on Air Cooling:

CPU - Intel C2Q Q6600 G0 Stepping (3.4 GHz @ 1.42 V)
CPU Cooler - Xigmatek HDT-S1283
GPU - EVGA GTX 480 (stock)
GPU Cooler - Stock

OCCT's Power Supply Test (max temp after 6 mins): CPU = 77 C /// GPU = 105 C
3DMark Vantage (max temp): CPU = 61 C // GPU = 72 C
Score: P15887 3DMarks (Your Score is Low Compared to Similar Systems.)
Click to expand...

Water Cooling installed, leaked test, and removed all air bubbles.

OCCT's Power Supply Test (max temp after 6 mins): CPU = 66/66/62/62 C /// GPU 59 C <-- Big improvement on both
3DMark Vantage (max temp): CPU = 56/52/49/49 C (Core 1/2/3/4) /// GPU = 54 C <-- Decent CPU improvement, but big improvement on GPU

===========

Going to do a fresh overclock of the system from stock settings after this. Seen some people get 3.4 -3.6 GHz on 1.3 - 1.35V.
 
First rotary tool cuts ever with the Black & Decker RTX-6. I cut a piece of the side panel to go around the rad box screws. It's a little rough, but the surface of the cut is smooth so you can run your finger along it from any angle.

If anyone has tips for using a rotary tool, lmk.

So far I know (try to practice):
1) Hold firmly
2) Safety glasses
3) Don't move in the direction of the rotation
4) Don't press down with wheel cut-off, let the weight do the work
5) Take breaks for long cut jobs

I just need a better working surface. I clamped it to plywood and rested it against a garbage can.
 
Should I have my radiator fans push or pull air?

====

After a long laborious overclock, I'm finally done (2 days of overclocking). The best I could manage was 410 FSB @ 9x (3.69 GHz) @ 1.6 V on my Intel C2Q Q6600 G0. 13 Hour Stress Test with no errors/warnings. I feel proud, this was my first solo overclock and seems to be a success, usually had a friend or two tell me how to do it.

Overclocking with this CPU and motherboard wasn't a fun process. It seems to have a lot of deadzones. Like at 340 FSB, no matter how high the voltage you put in, it would never boot into Windows. 340 FSB is underclocked btw. 420+ FSB was another deadzone for me (No matter how high the voltage it just wouldn't boot into Windows and the temps aren't even bad at 1.65 V). I was however able to boot 415 FSB, but I couldn't get it stable so I settled for 410 FSB.

CPU369GHz.jpg


===============

Wah! The 8-Pin power slot on the GTX 480 pooped out. Going to try and get a RMA setup. Was only pushing 830 core / 1660 shader / 2125 memory @ 1.125V :(
Thank goodness it wasn't the Mobo or PSU, then I'd be screwed.
 
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