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project: Easy water cooling.

J

Justintoxicated

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Apr 10, 2002
Messages
14,522
I wanted to make things easy on myself as this will be my first water cooling rig. So I decided on the following parts.

Cooling
CM Stacker (Origional) $155 shipped
DD TDX waterblock $50 (with nozzel kit)
Thermochill PA 120.2 $108
DD D5 $55
DD Low Profile Maze 4 GPU cooler $44
DD Fillport x2 $24
Worm Drive Clamps $10
Audi/ Volkswagon Coolant $30
Swiftech BGA Memory Sinks $20
7/16th inch tubing from McMaster $11 Shipped

Hardware:
DFI Expert NF4 $190
Nvidia 7800GT $300
WD Raptor HD 150 $280
Lite-On DVD Burner $50
Sunbeam Rheobuss $10 (SVC)
Enermax 620 Liberty $185

Fans:
2x Panaflow L1A 120mm x 38mm $30
1 AOC Aluminum 120mm Ball Bearing $10

Misc:
Weather stripping foam $2.50
some Allenhead bolts and nuts for Fan Grill $3
Lowes Brass Ballvalve. - $5
Artic Ceramique - Already had
AS Epoxy - Already Had
Various Thumbscrews $10

Tools:
18V Drill - Harbor Freight Discount -$20
1 inch Holesaw (Craftsman $13 or something) - Killed after one hole
Various files (round flat etc)
Pliers
Needle Nose Pliers
Sand Paper
Duplicolor Metalcast 2 cans $14


Coolermaster1.jpg

Well here it is, arrived nice and healthy.
EnermaxFit.jpg

Got the PSU, and it did not fit! I had to remove the Fan Grill to get it to fit into my case.
 
The Liquid cooling supplies arrived so I got to work,

First, I cut the hole into the top of the case. It was a lot harder than it looked ont he DangerDen site, probably because my case was steal and not aluminum. I used a 1 inch Craftsman holesaw bit and drilled from teh underside, it cut a nice perfect circle.

FillPortHole.jpg

However it left a nasty edge on the top of the case. I was able to debur some but not all of it, so I used a file to get rid of the lip...This however messed up the perfect circle some, but will be covered up anyways by the fillport.

Recieved Rappy Hard Drive from ZipZoomFly:
Was not too happy about the condition of the package.
RaptorBox.jpg


I mounted the fans to the radiator using zipties.
ThermoChillPAL1As.jpg


I secured it using some weatehr Stripping foam rather than velcro, I feel it does a better job and helps keep the air from recirculating in the case.
PA120Radiator.jpg


RadiatorMount2.jpg

Radiator Being mounted (as I carefully press it into the front of the case)

I Have removed all the foam filters from the Drive bay Covers that will conseal radiator.
 
Here are my modified ramsinks, the thermal tape on these was worthless so I epoxied them on. I hope the video card works, because I have not had a chance to test it out yet. ...I do not have the CPU yet either.


I modified these heatsinks with a pair of Pliers, Dikes, and a file.
SwiftechBGA.jpg


Here they are installed ont he card with the water block.I used 2/3rd thermal epoxy and 1/3rd Artic Ceramique. GPU block install was very easy, the ramsinks are the hard part.
7800GT.jpg


Used up the rest of the weather stripping foam.
WeatherStrippingFloor.jpg


This is my second attempt at creating my loop. It's not working out too well, the line from teh CPu to Video card is kinked (not fully but is flattening out some around the bend.) Also the Exit port tube from the video card has a bit too much bend. Not sure if it is possible to resolve these Issues with this arrangement.

NewLoop.jpg


I was thinking about putting the pump on the bottem of the case and running the video card output nozzel to the T-line, then from the T-Line a bay Rez, then back from the front of the case to the rear, and from the rear back to the Pump? it would add quite a bit of tubing but possibly get me better bend radiuses? I'm kind o stuck here unless someone has some ideas.

I have to RMA my D5, it appears the Pot does not work properly, as it just spins around in a circle without having any affect on the settings.

I have to buy another DD Fillport for the bottem of the case, should I also buy one of their acrylic Bay Resevoirs?
 
i like where this is going, and love the ball valve though it looks way heavy ha.
 
Well, I RMAed the D5, so in the meantime I figured I would do some extra mods...

Ahh the joy of painting...

I'll post some pictures up as soon as I get on my broken PC and compress some images before it locks up....

The ballvalve is a bit heavy, But the plan was to mount it to something....as for the added weight itself, no big deal, after all it's installed in a stacker lol.

I could easily get another fill/drain port, but what I would rather do is drill another hole and have some kind of spicket sticking out the rear of the case, from which I could attach a piece of tubing for super easy draining...

The other option is to get another fillport and drill a whole in the bottem of the case...

Then to drain you would just put a tub under the PC, undo the fillport, and crank the ballvalve open...I like the spicket idea better though, can anyone point me to some parts I could use for this?
 
Ok heres some pics, this stuff looks much better IRL, the flash is hell on metalcast paint, unless you can get pics in sunlight, which I don't have available right now...

So anyways picture these things only more Annodized looking ;P

AnnoFan.jpg

AnnoTop.jpg

AnnoCage.jpg


Yea so they pics don't do justice...Still have to paint the backsides of these pieces so it will be another day before I'm done...But keeping with the theme of easy, I will probably only paint the removable parts, meaning the frame of the case will likely stay stock.

The color is really a much Darker blue than appears in the pics I jsut can't get it to show in the pictures no matter what I do....The fan and HD tray look amazingly good, and the inside of the case does not look like a thin blotchy paint job either, thats just what the flash does to it.
 
Looking good!
You could try some cool sleeves on those tight bends on your hose. they work great at keeping the kinks out.
keep up the good work
 
I just picked up a black sunbeam for $10 from SVC sale..I like it, LED's are a bit too bright though...However there is likely a way to fix that pretty easy, although I'm not sure if I want to just yet.

I would like to find a way to remove the front pannel and black it out...

For Lights I doubt I will use CCFL's the only purpose I can see for them is UV...Otherwise I have something a bit different up my sleeve, that will put out alot more light than CCFL with MUCH better color, and take up less space too!
 
A suggestion for you. I just put watercooling in my Stacker, and I had the same issue with the hose from the video card block kinking. What I did was make a big 270 degree curve, with the hose curving towards the back of the case then back to the t-line/pump. It just takes a bit more hose. I can show you a picture when I'm back home tonite.
 
Zamt, while you are at it, make a thread and post all your pic of you modded Stacker.

I like where this is going.
Since I own a stacker also, it's great to see what others do and stea... get Ideas of my own from viewing!
 
You dont need to use cool sleeves to prevent kinking. You could put some zip ties around the bend. Basically what it does (is the same as cool sleeves) is it doesn't allow the tubing to expand in any direction. When tubing kinks it gets alot wider along the kink. Coolsleeves, or zip ties, prevent it from getting wider, and therefore it cannot kink.

Oh yea, how far do the knobs on the Sunbeam Rheobus stick out? I was thinking of getting one for my P180 but dont want the knobs to interfere with the door.
 
To be honest, I meant to do a worklog, but got so involved in getting everything done, I forgot to take any pictures. Here are two shots of the interior tho, and you can see how I did the tubing from the video block to the t-line.

Angle 1

Angle 2
 
Looks good with the bends, if I can't get it to work I might try it, It's not exactly kinking where it's at it's just a bit flatter than the rest of the tubing.

I finished all the painting today, and tonight I put the case back together. Looks better than I thought it would! I'll see if I can get pics tonight but it is late and poor lighting again, so maybe this weekend.

I recieved the CPU today though! Opty 165

Stepping CBWE 0551VPMW,
Hope it is a keeper!

Now just waiting on the pump, DD said a couple days but I have a feeling it won't be back untill next week. I will be extreamly happy if it shows up friday. it's now the only missing piece other than a floppy drive, that I'm not sure I need (it would be installed in the HD bay backwards so you have to open the case to use it). I also still need to plan out a drain, Right now it looks like the best place would be in the floor of the case, I might use something from Lowes or HD, or I may order another fillport but you won't really see it anyways...



As for the fan controller there is Plenty of room. The knobs stick out almost exactly 1/2 inch. Actualy I could install it in any drive bay, but the ones above the radiator are easier to use plus I want to keep the radiator as far forward as possible and with less restriction in front of it. I have 2 free drive bays since the HD modual will be attached to the floor of the case using industrial strength velcro! It's not going to move around at all! That stuff really sticks.

Steal all the ideas you want, After all thats the least I can provide after all the Q's I asked before buying this setup. Besides all i did was Borrow ideas and sometimes put a little twist on them.
 
Well I spent this weekend putting together a new desk, to go with the new PC.

I have not recieved my D5 replacement yet. I called them today and they said they did not know what I wanted so they had not shipped a replacement....So it will go out today or tomarrow, and then will take a few days to get here... Hopefully it will be here by friday :(

Then I still think I have a bad stick of memory (since it killed my other PC) but I have not been able to test it out yet....

Plus I still don't know if the raptor 150 HD works or not....

GRRRRRR I hate it when you buy a bunch of new parts and get a bunch of defective crap...my name must be spelled S U C K E R...I need that pump soon!

Other than that the PC is finished (other than a window and some lighting.)...

New Pics maybe tonight...
 
I hope the pins on those ramsinks aren't touching the pcb traces...
 
masher said:
I hope the pins on those ramsinks aren't touching the pcb traces...
Click to expand...

Nope, I did not bend them lower than the sink itself, there is a good space between them and the PCB.
 
Majin said:
Any updates?
Click to expand...

Yep, My other computer has reached the point where it's nearly impossible to even use it to compress pictures.

I took lots of pics (so I can post them later if needed) but only one made it to my CF card, and it was sized wrong (trying to post smaller pics)

Still waiting on RMAed PUMP so I can turn it on and find out if my memory is bad also..
HOPEFULLY the HD works too since the box my Raptor 150 came in (From Zip Zoom Fly) was crushed...

1) Anyways I have the PC Fully wired other than power plugs, the CM really makes it easy for clean wiring! Much better than what I figured I would be stuck with after looking at many peoples comps..So the rear pannel does fit on looks similar to wiring shown in this pic onlhy you dont see as much wire behind the Slot for the fan..

2) I fixed the kink solution by flipping the water block the other way (upside down from this picture)

3) Changed Nozzel in the TDX to #4 Nozzel.

4) Finaly here is the pic, well I have better ones that show more of the interior with all wiring in place, but they did not make it to the CF Card... :(

CaseBlue1.jpg


Now if only that pump would arrive so I can turn it on!
 
I got the pump, poped it in, leak tested over night..

THe new pump makes a whining noise I don't much carefor, I'm going to see if DD will cross ship me one if I out down the money for it, else I will look into another kind of pump..

Anyways I need to install photoshop now ;)

Comp booted first try.

Installed windows and hit up prime 95 on both cores to see if my memory was bad (have not run memtest yet). Well it seemed to work.

So instead of waiting for 24 hours, I decided to try it a little faster...

Up voltage to 1.4 Just to see how this would do...Set FSB to 300, set memory divider to 200FSB to avoid memory issues, and used the 9x (highest CPU will go)...

I have been priming away for a few hours at 2.7 ghz with only 1.4v Temp is maxing out at 38c and my room is nice and warm.

Next I will try 2.7 at stock voltage ;)

Oh yea and I am writing this from new PC !
 
Sorry for the lack of updates, I had to get my ATV together for Prez weekend. I must say it was alot of fun smashin the dunes with 4 HID lights on a 2 stroke with a custom DC conversion!

Anyways, I'm not done yet but I am very impressed with the new Computer system. I got it up to 2800MHZ 29 hour prime stable off 1.6v. But I backed it down to 1.5v 2754mhz and it does 2700 mhz @ 1.425v.

I think I'm going to add another HD for storage and keep the rappy for launching and loading applications.

I purchased a Jigsaw (Black and Decker) today with fine tooth metal cutting blades, as well as a Brass Barb and PVC endcap. for about $38.

I will be working on cutting a window with my new toy.
I will also be making a block off plate to replace the crappy one that closes off the lower PSU as well as the screen mesh in the bottom of the case (may be removed later for another 120x2)

I need some suggestions! Should I mount the drain port to the plate that will go on the floor of the case or the plate for the lower PSU ? Would it be easier to drain out the back of the case or through the bottom? I will also be able to unplug the Ballvalve from the case and move the hose around (like it is setup now)
 
Ok Here is where I am at. SorryI'm taking so long on this easy project, I'm trying to take it easy since it's not that big of a project and I have other things going on also.

OPTERON165.jpg

Here is the max I got it stable too, might have been another mhz or so but this is pretty much it. this is at 1.61V So I'm backing it back down to 2700 @ 1.425V (this is what I achieved on my second attemp but it took a bit longer to hit 2800, I figured it was too easy at 2700, but I guess I just got lucky like last PC and nailed it right away)



LightTest.jpg

This is me testing what the lighting will look like with the LED"s I plan to use, The thing I am holding is a modified Mini Mag with the head removed. The light was modified to run a Lux III Royal Blue LED. THe LED in this picture is severly underdriven and will be much brighter when powered closer to spec. I plan to put 2 of these into the case (to better distribute the lighting and hook them to the Sunbeam RheoBuss). I will build the driver for them after I place my order. The LED is not UV, but close to that spectrum so it makes the Neon Slots on the DFI glow, but does not Illuminate the UV Cables or any clear UV solution.



CompSide1.jpg

This is a pic of the case from the side, I just removed the Center portion so there is a circle. I used a Jigsaw and it cut like butter, only took a few minutes. I have not finished sanding or removing the bolt posts because I'm not sure if I should leave the circle or cut a larger window. So I didn't want to waste time on it.

So I need opinions, does the circle look ok? My problem with a larger window is not tools it's that I don't have a vice, or a very good work area (basicaly all I have is an old traler with wood platform base), so it is hard to clamp the case down to work, but I can take it to the parents house later if the circle does not look good. So I would like some feedback before I continue!

Thanks,
JI
 
u8myrice said:
I'm really not feeling the circle. I like the blue theme though.
Click to expand...

Thanks, any suggestions then? a rectangle would be better? I'm not going to cut any shape that will expose teh drive bays, thats why they are not painted.
 
The offical stacker window with a blue tinted plexi on it would look the titz.

Do that :D.
 
Actualy I don't like that window at all,

1) it shows the drive bays (why would anyone want to see them is beyond me)

2) I don't like rivots.

Blue tint is ok, but I prefer clear... I could do something similar tha would avoid these 2 things though...but I can't cut much more towards the front of the case else it will expose drive bays.


Also, I have a bunch of these LED's in white (like 5 of them, 1 would be enough to light entire case brighter than necessary), would white be better than Royal Blue? They won't make the Slots on the DFI glow, but I think it might still look cool.
 
would it look good if I just squared off the lower back and upper front corners and finished trimming the circle?

This would be a strange shape no?

or square the front botom of the circle too, this would create something like an inverse official stacker window that hides PSU and Drive bays. (only a more agressive curve in upper left thanks to stock hole)
 
Noni said:
The offical stacker window with a blue tinted plexi on it would look the titz.

Do that :D.
Click to expand...

AWESOME, Someone else is using Titz!
I though That would never catch on!

Oh yeah, that window is just not working, cut it larger!
Then it will look Titz!
 
well it sounds like I should cut a bigger window...Jsu tneed to find some place I can work on it then...I stopped here because the title is easy water cooling, so I wanna do things as simple as possible. Still need to find a place in my area thats sells cheap sheet metal.
 
hey dont listen to these guys, that window looks awesome, and since you made it, you must like it at least a little, and it is YOUR computer.....



i think it looks great :D
 
Dustintendo said:
hey dont listen to these guys, that window looks awesome, and since you made it, you must like it at least a little, and it is YOUR computer.....



i think it looks great :D
Click to expand...


Yeah it looks great, but not TITZ!
 
I like it mostly because it was very easy. The stacker comes with a mesh side that I removed, then I only had to cut some braces that are there to support a plastic mount for an 80 mm fan. Did not take very much time at all ;) I have it all masked up I jsut need a place to work on it where I can cut straight lines!
 
The round window looks killer IMHO, goes with the whole water thing too by adding a "port-hole" to your PC. :D
 
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