Project Color Match

[MattLaFleur]

Got rid of my mid tower coolermaster Centurion 5 (now my HTPC) and moved to a HAF 932.

Got a good deal on a Maximus formula to replace my GA-EP32-DS3L (also HTPC now)
and decided why not go water while I'm at it.

so here's how I spent my Friday-Saturday.

got the board first and cleaned the dust off

lapped the q6600 while I waited for other packages to arrive

painted the card backets black to match the case

Koolance 350 came in took it apart and cleaned it to be safe

Finally the case comes in and I can tear it apart

also on the door step was

got everything down to the bare frame
(sorry about the shitty pics, terrible lighting in this room)

got It painted

 

[MattLaFleur]

got the board, radiator, block, pump, and tubing all mounted up

decided to use IC diamond instead of the AS5 this time

cables were an absolute rats nest at first

this was my first time working with water, and it took me much, much, much longer to work the air out of the system then I ever would have thought.

but its ready to fire up now, the moment of truth has arrived

and behold it lives

I couldn't be happier with the switch to water, much quieter under load and I shaved ~24 degrees off my load temps. The other major plus is now everything is red/black color matched looks great IMO.

 

[MurderCityDevil]

very nice...question - was setting up WC very difficult for it being your first time? and how much research/planning did you have to do beforehand? I'm planning on WC my next rig and have never done it before so I'm curious.

that is an awesome mobo by the way - i have the same one.

 

[MattLaFleur]

very nice...question - was setting up WC very difficult for it being your first time? and how much research/planning did you have to do beforehand? I'm planning on WC my next rig and have never done it before so I'm curious.

that is an awesome mobo by the way - i have the same one.

I spent a few weeks reading reviews, trying to balance budget to performance gains (but honestly I think if you go with any of the big name brands you should end up fine), and I feel it turned out fairly well. The koolance 350 seems to be the best performing block out right now as far as I've seen and comes with i7 bracket for when I do my next upgrade in the fall/winter.

my recommendation is to order extra tubing, and coolant/dye. I used 30% more tubing than I expected to due to changes/mistakes. I lost some coolant to a leaking fitting also.

It wasn't an easy build but it was well worth the effort.

 

[OofC_S7v7N]

This might have been asked but i didnt catch it, exactly how long from start to finish?

 

[MattLaFleur]

This might have been asked but i didnt catch it, exactly how long from start to finish?

started 7pm Friday went to about 5pm Saturday

 

[Cmustang87]

The Full Moon beer added a nice touch to this thread! <3 Blue Moon and all of their seasonals!

Back on-topic, glad to hear your first water cooled machine worked well for you. Patience is a virtue! I've never had a water cooled machine or worked with it, but you did a great job it looks like.