Project: Deuterium

[TechMinerUK]

Hello everyone

Last year in June/July I completed my first watercooled build "Clear & Simple" which was a hardline watercooled loop using acrylic in the black/white/monochrome colour scheme. It looked great but was rather "muted" in the style area not to mention the R9 290X which didn't really fit into the rest of the systems specifications.

So, I've decided to have another but this time it's going to be a little bit different. For the project the target will be improving the aesthetics to something more colorful and "eye-popping" to help the system stand out, hence the name Deuterium (Nuclear Fusion fuel) . As a result the colour scheme for the system is going to be a black, silver/chrome, blue and purple.

This build log is going to go more in depth as I have never attempted case modding, acrylic fabrication or cable sleeving so it will be a learning curve.

Now, without further ado the hardware:
Components
CPU: Intel i7 5820K
Motherboard: EVGA X99 Micro 2
GPU: Palit NVidia GTX 1080 "Founders Edition"
RAM: 32GB of Corsair Vengeance 2400MHz DDR4
SSD: Samsung EVO 850 500GB
Fans: EK Vardar F1-120
Cables: Custom Pexon PC Teleios cables
Case: Caselabs S5

The loop
CPU WB: EK Supremacy EVO Nickel/Plexi
GPU WB: EK GTX 1080 Nickel/Plexi with nickel backplate
Radiators: XSPC EX360 & EX240
Pump: Laing D5
Reservoir: AquaComputer Aqualis Eco 100ml
Tubing: If all goes well, 12/10 Mayhems Glass tubing
Fittings: 12/10 EK-HDC Fittings

So that is all for now (I have already started working on the case) but I plan to get some updates done very soon

Sidenote: No this build is not sponsored but many thanks to Aytex for the header/logo

 

[TechMinerUK]

Good to see you coming back in action again
I am looking forward to your mod. It sounds very interesting.

You can only prevent the upgrade bug for so long

 

[TechMinerUK]

Oh yes. Since I finished my build last year, I have revised it twice
I will post photos for the second revision.

For fans you may also have a look at these, EK-Vardar F4-120ER. They may fit your build better depending upon what is in your mind. You may have to paint the fans if white is not the fit color for the theme. They are also high static pressure like sp120's
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-water-blocks-ek-vardar-f4-120er-2200rpm-white-wc-868-ek.html

To be honest the fans won't be visible as they are hidden due to the way radiator mounting works in the S5 (The rings will be painted if I use them). However the reason I haven't set them in concrete is the noise aspect more than anything as the SP120s aren't awful but they certainly aren't the best
Also I think the Vardars come in black as well (Link)

 

[TechMinerUK]

Shame that Deuterium Oxide isn't as snappy a title...Heavy Water would have been a good association Also, I'm probably on the watch list for every major TLA
What size of glass tube are you planning?
Sleeving: Teleios (plastic) or paracord (nylon but cloth-like)?

Hehe, I was originally planning on the name sodium borosilicate but I didn't think it would sound as good. As for the sleeving most of it will be done by a sleeving company (yet to decide) but it will be Teleios as I don't like Paracord elasticity. I'll be sleeving the pump though

 

[TechMinerUK]

Very nice part list. Looking forward to seeing how the Mayhems Glass tubing turns out. Colour scheme also looks great

Thanks, still working out how to implement the glass tubing (Runs etc) but I have some ideas

 

[TechMinerUK]

So, an early update from today. I have been planning out the loop and I would like to run the CPU/GPU in parallel as this will certainly give a cleaner aesthetic for the system as I can use the pre-bent Mayhems glass and just cut to size. My only issue is that I'm not sure what effect this would have on temperature due to the difference in flow restriction between the blocks.


As for the wiring and cables I have been messing around looking for sellers but for now I am looking at the design like the one below. Feel free to recommend any improvements, sellers etc as this is new territory for me and if I'm paying for custom cables I may as well get the best quality/design

Design found here: (Link)

So that is all for now, I'm currently cutting out some templates for an acrylic panel to cover a section of the case to hide some of the tubing/pumps etc and seeing if anywhere in my local area sells custom cut acrylic panels

 

[TechMinerUK]

I'm not much help to you on the parallel loop question other than I've seen it done and as you say, division of flow is going to be based on restriction - pretty much like electrical resistors in parallel I would think.
Remember you can stick a 45°, 90° or double-45° fitting on a block before the HDC to get some bends. So you could, for example, 90° downwards out of the left hand side of the GPU, have pre-bends staggered shortly afterwards and then run the tubes parallel, stacked above each other. That would take out less of your PCI-E slots - should you need them.
Does the black line represent a connection with the tubes descending through the grommet? I'm not sure if your diagram shows 90°s out of the GPU and then you have the pre-bends to descend through the hole but if you need additional bends, you could always back-to-back HDC - 90° elbow - HDC to get a bend. If the Bitspower 90° link things don't fit that diameter of pipe, Alphacool do a G1/4 female to G1/4 female 90° without rotaries to keep the size down.
The only people I've seen recommended for cable sleeving are Pexon. Haven't used them myself but they are mentioned a number of times in projects.
Image isn't working but the link shows black, purple, blue. Should look good - depending on the colours of your other stuff, obviously.

The diagram of the loop is in it's simplest form, it won't look anything like that other than the order of the components as for the actual runs they will be done so I could go dual SLI in the (Very distant) future. Also the black line represents a pass through port for the tube (Ironically I missed the other ones off the diagram). As for the parallel flow I need to do some research as I do prefer the aesthetics but if it is going to cause a big imbalance in the flow I will have to go down another route

 

[TechMinerUK]

I'm back everyone and I bring news and updates, today my sleeving arrived with a cable connector kit. All in all it went okay, I messed up one (Used wrong measurement) but the other went great






So I need to order more sleeving and I'm in dual minds whether to do the PWM cable again (That's why I haven't heatshrinked the molex at the pump yet but honestly I'm glad I'm not sleeving all my cables (PSU etc) or my fingers would be non existent

That's all for now but there should be more to come soon

 

[TechMinerUK]

Does your fan controller do PWM and can it handle the power draw of your D5? If so, you can re-wire the two separate cables as one single PWM cable and plug it in. One wire instead of two is neater

I don't think I'll be using a fan controller (If so I doubt it would support the D5) so it's best just to keep them as separate cables. Still the black plugs look much nicer than the beige/off white 4 pin header and the translucent molex

 

[TechMinerUK]

So I'm back for another update. I've still yet to start building this project as I'm waiting for parts to arrive.

This week my Caselabs parts arrived (Thanks to deFiniLogy)


I also ordered some matte acrylic to cut out a cover for the case to hide the pumps and drainage section of the loop.


Unfortunately this arrived (I hate glossy acrylic, so many scratches so easily )


So that's it for now until I get the rest of my parts ordered. It looks like I'm going to need to sand(blast) the acrylic panel to get a reasonable matte look and I also need a new glass cutter.

To top it off my glass nipper arrived like this


However I wasn't going to let that stop me so I got to cutting the glass

 

[TechMinerUK]

That's bad news on both. Can't you get them to send you replacements for both rather than trying to sandblast it? Agree on glossy being evil though!
Can't help but feel those lengths of glass are just random carried-away snippings rather than the lengths you need

Unfortunately the listing they had was wrong (Yet the place I bought it from still hasn't changed their listing ) so I just took a half refund

And yes, I just wanted to try my method for cutting with this piece, my plan is to the system in PETG/Acrylic perfectly and then copy the lengths in glass

 

[TechMinerUK]

I'm currently in the process of ordering fittings but I have come across a dilemma. I have limited funds for the build so I need to decide the design first and I have two final ideas.


The first one is using Mayhems pre-bent 90° tubing and 45° fittings on the CPU to pass through ports to form two triangles. Then for the GPU use two 90 fittings on the GPU and 45° fittings for the pass through ports and straight tube to form 45° runs to the GPU


The other option is just to use straight runs and 90° fittings for the CPU to pass through ports to form rectangles and the same for the GPUs. However this method would require a angled run from the CPU to the GPU and extenders as the tube is pre-bent but unfortunately only has 10/11cm after the 90° bend which is too short to reach the pass through ports.

As for the rest for the loop the runs will be lines straight down from the radiator/reservoir to the pass through ports in the panel I'm cutting

So, I'm stuck so I put it to you people. Which do you think would look the best?

 

[TechMinerUK]

Of the two, on paper the first looks better as everything is neatly parallel. Whether that translates in practice, I'm not sure without seeing it, holding pipes up and swearing at it
I know that Bitspower do fittings that will join tube together - not that they are limited budget-friendly but it might get you out of a spot. EK also do some HD (push-in rather than the HDC compression) fittings with a female thread so you could back to back a female HD and a male HDC to join pipe - only on a push-fit basis though so it couldn't hang off the joint. Otherwise, EK HDC - female to female - HDC but it's getting bulky. If it's going to be hidden behind bulkhead though... Alphacool do some cheap female to female 90°s too and you wouldn't need the rotary for hardline.

To be honest the bottom one is more likely to be parallel than the first drawing. I've had a look at the alphacool fittings as they would be the ones used in the build as I can still use the secure HDC fittings. Although regardless of the design I'm sure pain and profanities will ensue

 

[TechMinerUK]

I've built up quite a good list of (un-)suitable vocabulary should you run out

With it being glass tubing it's quite possible I may need that list

 

[TechMinerUK]

So a short update today, I have been playing around with the colour scheme and component colours and I've settled on the idea of black RAM. I'm not sure if I will choose the Corsair Vengeance DDR4 or Kingston Fury DDR4 or some other brand with EK blocks. However after messing with the colours I think the system may look good if I did the following wiring scheme with purple/blue purple coolant in the piping and reservoir as it should set up a nice pair


Also, I'm not sure on whether plexi blocks or Acetal blocks would look best in the system and I'm open to as much advice as I can take on this build as it's all new territory. So that's the progress point at the moment

 

[TechMinerUK]

looking good so far

Thanks

Nice parts list, its gonna be a nice build once done but being called project Deuterium I expected a black and yellow colour scheme likened to the radiation symbol

To be honest I was toying with yellow but I decided against as I wanted a blue/purple look to it as it just caught my eye as a colour scheme

 

[TechMinerUK]

So a smaller update today, I have made progress with acquiring the parts for the project. I have purchased the GPU, RAM and fans for the system. The GPU will be a KFA2 GTX 1080 "Clown card", the RAM is some Corsair Vengeance DDR4 2400MHz 32GB kit and the fans are six EK Vardar F1-120 fans which will be fitted with some XSPC gaskets to help dissipate and absorb any vibrations.

More to follow as and when the parts arrive (GPU could be as late as July )

 

[TechMinerUK]

Personally I'd got for acrylic (clear) over Acetal/delrin (black, opaque). There is the argument that acetal is harder wearing and less susceptible to cracking if you tighten the fitting too much (just don't do this ) but the flip side is that with a clear top, you can see if it's full of either loop-crud or air bubbles. Also, you can light it by shoving an LED in it if you want pretty.

I must admit I am siding towards the acrylic/plexi blocks as I think you're right that it will look better as it shows off the coolant and I can see if any gunk develops. I suppose the worst case scenario is staining and cleaning the blocks
And yes, I could get LED's in the block (May as well stick RGB ones in as that's what everyone seems to be doing at the moment hehe )

 

[TechMinerUK]

The only thing you'll find is that RGB LEDs are all 5mm and the pre-drilled holes in acrylic blocks (at least the CPU and GPU blocks) are all 3mm. Now there's an obvious solution to this

The hammer and chisel ?

 

[TechMinerUK]

Special round chisel, yes. The better ones have spiraling to remove the debris rather than blowing it and getting in your eyes
I've drilled a 3mm hole for this in my mono block but will probably increase it to 5mm to go RGB - width permitting. It drills fine at slow speed - just don't go for it at high speed as it could melt rather than drill. The hole is frosted rather than clear (which I'm guessing are moulded) but it helps diffuse the light better.

If I were to stick lights in the blocks I'd probably just go with with LEDs as knowing my luck if I were to drill/chisel into the block I'd crack it open