DIY Watercooled Silent HDD Enclosure

Anyone any ideas where id buy some copper block online (about 7" x 7"x 3/4" , 2 of those) in the uk ?

Is block what i should google, or is plate or something a better description ?



the plan is...

drill a block as above, channels with a large drill bit, tap where the drill enters the block with 1/4" tap, and add barbs or bungs where relevent (bungs would be countersunk) ... the small dots would be drilled through, and allow 4 HDDs to be screwed onto the plate, this would then be enclosed in a alu box, and completely matted with foam, with only a hole for the cables, and barbs exiting, would then be mounted in 3 5.25" bays...

would this VERY simple waterblock cool 4 drives ? Given no air would be circulating, and the drives would be cooled from the sides, and the tops would almost be touching...

does this sound a bit far fetched ?

Any better ideas, or anyone tried anything like this ?

where does it connect to the drives? i cant see it from that pic as for metal "metalsupermarkets" there is a website of that name not sure if i can post it here wouldnt think it was a competitor but better not anyway.

all the dots... but since thats going to cost a fortune apparantly, im going to...

http://www.meisterkuehler.de/forum/biete/2649-v-mk-festplatten-wasserkuehler-version3.html

seems a better idea anyway tbh

I can see how 1 or 2 drives can benefit from this simple set up, but over 2 is far too many IMO. Especially when it's a single loop. The initial 2 drives will be relatively cool but the last one will be warmer, and if the first 2 drives runs hotter than the last, it is possible for the last drive to overheat even when in idle.

I like the idea for a single drive tho, might as my dad (a plumber) to pipe something like that for me...

Dr Jones said:

I can see how 1 or 2 drives can benefit from this simple set up, but over 2 is far too many IMO. Especially when it's a single loop. The initial 2 drives will be relatively cool but the last one will be warmer, and if the first 2 drives runs hotter than the last, it is possible for the last drive to overheat even when in idle.

I like the idea for a single drive tho, might as my dad (a plumber) to pipe something like that for me...

Click to expand...

nah mate, itll do 4 drives or more easy...

That's how my Silentstar Dual HDD cooler works.

And yes I agree with you - it would do loads of drives. The other poster has the common misconception that the water reaching the last drive will be really warm, when in reality, it will be ~ 1'C warmer than the intake water.

Jimbo Mahoney said:

That's how my Silentstar Dual HDD cooler works.

And yes I agree with you - it would do loads of drives. The other poster has the common misconception that the water reaching the last drive will be really warm, when in reality, it will be ~ 1'C warmer than the intake water.

Click to expand...

How are the Silentstars for reducing noise Jimbo?, I am contemplating a dual one as the only noticable noise I now have is my HDDs.


Nice find on these, they look superb. May attempt one myself and sound proof it to save quite a few quid on the Silentstar:

DaveMac said:

How are the Silentstars for reducing noise Jimbo?, I am contemplating a dual one as the only noticable noise I now have is my HDDs.


Nice find on these, they look superb. May attempt one myself and sound proof it to save quite a few quid on the Silentstar:

Click to expand...

Im thinking of doing this, but then im thinking of buying 1 big, quiet hdd, and putting the rest in a fileserver, plus my storage drive and HTPC, this will then be hidden away where i cant hear it ..

my rig is DDC and 5v yate loons all round, PSU is an 80mm Yate Loon (or soon will be) ... so i cant hear a thing bar the HDDs :/

DaveMac said:

How are the Silentstars for reducing noise Jimbo?, I am contemplating a dual one as the only noticable noise I now have is my HDDs.

Click to expand...

Damn good.

I have a 36GB Raptor and 200GB WD SE in mine. The loudest thing in my setup is the pumps, and even they are in a box filled with foam!

silent star is very good at reducing noise, they make my 2x 74gb raptors almost silent (they're very loud by default)

however, its REALLY heavy because of the copper!