My new i7 watercooled rig

MacGruber · 13 May 2009 at 20:23

Well i got all my bits on monday and after spending the whole day building it it's all up and running now.

The rig consists of -

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping
Asus ATI Radeon HD 4890 1024MB
Coolermaster Real Power 850w Modular Power Supply
Coolermaster HAF 932 Case - Black (No PSU)
OCZ Gold 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 2000MHz PC3-16000C10 Low-Voltage Triple Channel
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit
EK Supreme i7 Clear Top CPU Water Block
Samsung SpinPoint F1 320GB SATA-II + 1x 1TB SATA Drive + 2x 200GB SATA drive
Scythe Kaze Master Ace 5.25inch Fan Controller
XSPC RS240 120mm Radiator
XSPC Single Bay Reservoir
Samsung SH-S223F/RSMN 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter
Laing DDC 1+ Ultra 18W 12V DC Pump
Xilence XPF120R Red Wing 120mm Quiet Fan x4
Gigabyte EX58-Extreme Intel X58
TFC Compression Fitting G1/4" Thread 1/2" ID/3/4" OD
XSPC 1/2" High Flexibility PVC Tubing - 1m x3

Now for the pics (^_^) - i didn't take pics during the installation as i was having too much fun

Here are all the parts laid out on my bed nice and boxed ready to go

Here is the finished PC all closed and working

Side view

Now for the juicy insides :cool:

The cables for the radiator fans just need a bit more work i think

These are the worst pics i think, not the best cable management i could have done but it does the job of keeping the front nice and tidy

So far i have OC'd it to 3.5 GHz and ran Prime95 for 13 hours with no errors and the temperature new went above 70 degrees Celcius. Haven't ever done OC'ing before so jsut gonna take it easy for now, and i work night shifts so haven't had much time to play around with it. but will do that from saturday onwards when i am off.

Once i am satisfied with that i will look into getting a water block for my 4890 so i can OC that as well.
What do you guys think? any advice and tips are greatly appreciated.

zeppelin` · 13 May 2009 at 20:33

u could get a lot more out of that chip on water, although u saying temps hit 70? but for a relatively mild oc on water, them temps are far too high imo

PaulyD · 13 May 2009 at 20:34

Why didn't you go rad -> cpu -> nb -> res ???

Tubing would be so much neater that way

Bradley8988 · 13 May 2009 at 20:47

The rad fans would look tidier if you spin em around so the wires are out that hole above the mobo and outa sight. Dont like case at all really but spec is very nice and love the mobo.

zeppelin` said:
u could get a lot more out of that chip on water, although u saying temps hit 70? but for a relatively mild oc on water, them temps are far too high imo

Depends what voltage hes using.

Agreed with pauly on tubing layout.

MacGruber · 13 May 2009 at 21:09

PaulyD said:
Why didn't you go rad -> cpu -> nb -> res ???

Tubing would be so much neater that way

when i measured the tubing the bends looked like they were going to be to sharp and didn't want to risk getting kinks in them.

Bradley8988 said:
Depends what voltage hes using.

i haven't changed the voltages yet as i mention i have never done OCing before. According to EasyTune6 CPU VCore is 1.4v

Bradley8988 · 13 May 2009 at 21:22

Thats why then. I dont have i7 but im pretty sure thats the kinda voltage you would want for 4.5Ghz not a mild clock like you have. Ditch the n00b software and jump in the bios.

MacGruber · 13 May 2009 at 21:29

Bradley8988 said:
Thats why then. I dont have i7 but im pretty sure thats the kinda voltage you would want for 4.5Ghz not a mild clock like you have. Ditch the n00b software and jump in the bios.

i always fiddle in the bios, but i am currently at work so just RDP'd to it to find out what the voltages were with that as it came with the mobo ^^

Busy installing my old software remotely on it now as work is going slow so that i can just jump straight in on saturday when i finish this weeks shift work

Bradley8988 · 13 May 2009 at 21:35

Well im 99% sure you would be looking at over 4Ghz with that kinda voltage. I wouldnt put it any higher as i think thats at or even above intels recommended safe voltage.

reflux · 13 May 2009 at 21:38

Yeah, my i7 C0 is @ 1.35v for 3.8ghz.

Bradley8988 · 13 May 2009 at 21:38

Exactly. The D0's normally take less voltage.

MacGruber · 13 May 2009 at 21:42

Here is what the easytune thing says

Bradley8988 · 13 May 2009 at 21:44

Well iv never used that, can you open CPU-Z and post a pic of it underload (Stress)? To me it looks like your running 1.4v which is too high for your clock.

MacGruber · 13 May 2009 at 21:55

here you go

Bradley8988 · 13 May 2009 at 21:56

Thats not so bad then. Idk what easytune is going on about.

MacGruber · 13 May 2009 at 21:59

yeah, it's a bit odd, oh well, bring on saturday so i can OC it a bit more, the highish temps could be cause the loop goes from the rad -> NB -> CPU -> res -> pump.

then again i will most likely upgrade my rad when i look at getting my GFX a waterblock

PaulyD · 13 May 2009 at 22:01

Thats a lot of vdroop on there

Back to the tubing it would have easily done the route I said without kinking, would look a LOT neater that way as well

MacGruber · 13 May 2009 at 22:04

PaulyD said:
Thats a lot of vdroop on there

Back to the tubing it would have easily done the route I said without kinking, would look a LOT neater that way as well

You're right, i will redo it when i get a waterblock for the GFX, for now i'm jsut glad i didn't mess it up and it all works

PaulyD · 13 May 2009 at 22:23

MacGruber said:
You're right, i will redo it when i get a waterblock for the GFX, for now i'm jsut glad i didn't mess it up and it all works

With plenty of pics as well

MacGruber · 13 May 2009 at 22:24

oh yes ^^, watchout next payday ^^