Finally doing it....the long way - spec help!

pgi947

pgi947

pgi947

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Hi chaps following on from this thread:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18371858

Decided I'm just going to use the Reserator as a 'fancy' reservoir though I do plan to complicate things just for the sake of keeping my 500R.

Now the 500R is far from aimed at watercooling, the best it will naturally fit is a slimline (sub 29mm) 240 radiator. SO here is my plan....

Have allot of spare materials at work so I thought sod it why not just make an external box to house the radiators and pump(s)? This way I can keep the case as is and simply have 4 hoses running in/out of the 500R. My intention is to put a pair of 360 radiators in the external box and probably the pump too while having the reservoir externally too with the Reserator.

This is where my choices get a little tricky, first a quite simple one, which radiators? quite like the look of the G-Changer radiators, good performance? The real tricky one comes to the pump, would the sheer amount of hose (estimate around 4-5' in total) and radiators be too demanding and perhaps an idea to put another pump in the line to help things along? Also what would be the best method of linking the pumps + PC to all power on from one switch? I'd presume just extending the molex into my case but any and all suggestions welcome.

As for blocks, a good high flow CPU block be fine? For the GPU's I need 6870 blocks as my 6950's are based on a 6870 PCB (cooling configurator confirms this)

I know its a round about way of doing things, but at least it saves me explaining to the other half why I need to buy a new PC case 3 months after I got the 500R.

Thanks in advance and apologies if that was all a little long winded :p
 
pgi947 said:
Hi chaps following on from this thread:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18371858

Decided I'm just going to use the Reserator as a 'fancy' reservoir though I do plan to complicate things just for the sake of keeping my 500R.

Now the 500R is far from aimed at watercooling, the best it will naturally fit is a slimline (sub 29mm) 240 radiator. SO here is my plan....

Have allot of spare materials at work so I thought sod it why not just make an external box to house the radiators and pump(s)? This way I can keep the case as is and simply have 4 hoses running in/out of the 500R. My intention is to put a pair of 360 radiators in the external box and probably the pump too while having the reservoir externally too with the Reserator.
maybe have the pump in the comp?

This is where my choices get a little tricky, first a quite simple one, which radiators? quite like the look of the G-Changer radiators, good performance? The real tricky one comes to the pump, would the sheer amount of hose (estimate around 4-5' in total) and radiators be too demanding and perhaps an idea to put another pump in the line to help things along? Also what would be the best method of linking the pumps + PC to all power on from one switch? I'd presume just extending the molex into my case but any and all suggestions welcome.
as above, maybe keep pump in case and some nifty cabling to get all the fans to spin up using fan splitter cables?
A D5 should be enough

As for blocks, a good high flow CPU block be fine? For the GPU's I need 6870 blocks as my 6950's are based on a 6870 PCB (cooling configurator confirms this)
see my spec, obviously change the GPU blocks!!!

I know its a round about way of doing things, but at least it saves me explaining to the other half why I need to buy a new PC case 3 months after I got the 500R.

Thanks in advance and apologies if that was all a little long winded :p
Click to expand...

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK Tech Lab - D5 Vario Pump & Alphacool Clear HF D5 Top Value Combo £84.98
2 x EK-FC7970 Full Cover Waterblock - Nickel Plexi **EN Nickel Plating** £79.99 (£159.98)
2 x Phobya G-Changer 360 Ver. 1.2 Black £62.99 (£125.98)
1 x EK Supreme HF CPU Waterblock - Nickel Plexi £56.99
1 x EK Dual Bay Spin Reservoir - Acetal £46.99
1 x Mayhems Pastel - Blueberry Blue Coolant 1L £14.99
6 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1450 RPM - 3 Pin £12.98 (£77.88)
1 x Masterkleer Hose Pack PVC 15,9/11mm (7/16ID) Clear 3.3m £10.88
1 x OcUK Tube Cutter Aluminum 3-14mm £8.50
10 x OcUK 1/2" G1/4 - FatBoy Style - Black Nickel - Barb Fitting £1.68 (£16.80)
1 x OcUK Value PSU Bridging Connector (24 Pin) £1.30
Total : £617.89 (includes shipping : £10.50).



EDIT: you need 14 fittings! :p
 
Looks fantastic, OCUK should consider employing you!

Pump in the case should be do-able, should fit on top of my HDD cage and no need for a res as the Reserator will be serving that purpose.

So does this sound about right:

[Reserator] [PC Case] [Rad-Box]
Res>Pump > CPU Block>360 Rad>6950 Xfire>360 Rad>Reserator

Would a single molex have enough grunt to power 6 fans? I would presume it does but no harm in checking :) If so I'll route them into a 6>1 block, have blocks and rails to hold it all at work.

Edit: also going to need to fish out some quick connect couplings so I can disconnect the lines after initial bleed to get it packed away in my workstation.

Edit 2: Found some 1/2" BSPP male and female Snap-Tite hydraulic quick connects at work, should do the job for the quick connects.
 
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pgi947 said:
Looks fantastic, OCUK should consider employing you!
lol, 6 hour round trip to get to the office every day:p
Pump in the case should be do-able, should fit on top of my HDD cage and no need for a res as the Reserator will be serving that purpose.

So does this sound about right:

[Reserator] [PC Case] [Rad-Box]
Res>Pump > CPU Block>360 Rad>6950 Xfire>360 Rad>Reserator
have both rads next to eachother in the loop sequence :)

Would a single molex have enough grunt to power 6 fans? I would presume it does but no harm in checking :) If so I'll route them into a 6>1 block, have blocks and rails to hold it all at work.
yes, but it'll be VERY noisy!

Edit: also going to need to fish out some quick connect couplings so I can disconnect the lines after initial bleed to get it packed away in my workstation.
Click to expand...
 
Cheers so cpu>Rad>Rad>gpu would be a better layout?

Decided to hang on to the 6950's for a while longer yet so the new gpu fund is now the watercooling fund!
 
I went down the same route as you 6 years ago, although for different reasons, and it has worked brilliantly for me. My computer "room" is just two cupboards knocked into one measuring around 4 feet by 6 feet. There is no window and i needed to get rid of the heat. My solution was to stick the radiator in a box on the landing window so that it could suck in the much cooler outside air. The watercooling loop has it's own psu, a 150w AT switching psu which sits in it's own box along with the pump with the res mounted on the outside of the box. I have a single pump, the awesome Aquaextreme 50z, and that copes with around 15 feet of tubing and 2x 6 foot lengths of 15mm copper pipe. With the rig in my siggy summer water temps maxxed out at 32 degrees and during the winter anything between 10 and 24 degrees depending on the outside temp.

Future upgrades are likley to be a second 120.3 rad in the box, plus i got hold of a second 50z for £15 for some serial pump goodness. :D
 
Do you have some pics of the radiator box? Just to get an idea of the layout, what I planned to use for the box is too small, intact it would struggle to dot 240 rads so its going to be a build from scratch or mod an existing structure.

Got the reserator this morning so I'll be pulling that to bits this evening.
 
Here is the window side of the box. I got some fish pond filter wool to go behind the mesh to keep any dirt/dust out.

Mainpc005.jpg



View from the top/front.

Mainpc004.jpg



The box measures 500x160x280mm (LxWxH) but i could have made it a lot shorter. The fans are 3x Yate Loon D12SM-12D 120x38mm and under them is a thermochill shroud. Fans are set to pull air through the rad. To accomodate the second rad i will need to make a slightly taller box and put a divider in so that the two fans won't be fighting each other for air. The second rad will be fitted in the lower front and sucking air through from the rear and exhausting out the front.
 
That looks really good!

Just trying to figure out dimensions now I have my hands on some wood (hehe).

How is the fan controller mounted?

Really looking forward to doing this.
 
what if you have bot rads in the same box with one set of fans pushinjg air in the box and another set sucking air out of the box?
 
You mean 200mm rads? Or have you lost me already haha.

Reserator is ready to go, pump removed, cable hole filled with silicone, degreased and rebuilt with some 1/2" barbs I found in my tool box. Next step planning this radbox build.
 
What sort of temp difference are we looking at between the two, also forboth with just a set in pull or push only?

Edit: been a long day, should have thought about it, two 360s has more surface area than two 200's so would prsume to be cooler.
 
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pgi947 said:
What sort of temp difference are we looking at between the two, also forboth with just a set in pull or push only?
either, but i was suggestinpush and pull on each rad
Edit: been a long day, should have thought about it, two 360s has more surface area than two 200's so would prsume to be cooler.
Click to expand...

yes :p
 
pgi947 said:
That looks really good!

Just trying to figure out dimensions now I have my hands on some wood (hehe).

How is the fan controller mounted?

Really looking forward to doing this.
Click to expand...


I used MDF as it's easy to work with and cheap.

I made a pair of small L shaped brackets for the fan controller.

For a pair of rads you could just make the rear cut-out larger and either mount both rads to the front of the box (one above the other) or have one mounted in the top and the other mounted in the lower front of the box (the way i will be doing it). Really if you mount them both in the front with one over the other there is no reason to make the box so wide as mine. All you would really need is the box wide enough to accomodate the thickness of the rad plus the fan (or fans if you go push/pull). That way you could get the width down to as low as 110mm (internally, 25mm fan/60mm decent rad/25mm fan). The box would'nt need to be as high either as with just the rads stacked you would only need internal space of 250-260mm (decent rads are about 125-130mm wide).
 
I'm with you now :D

Thinking of only having 3 fans on each rad, some nice 1000rpm fans being fed via a front 200/230mm intake fan?

My first draft design for the case so far is 500x150x200 (LHW) having the radiators horizontal almost stacking on top of each other. 120mm x 6 in pull and 1 x 200/230mm directed towards it in push.

@pastymuncher, cheers for that, I'll get something knocked up probably sat morning, just a mock up and perhaps make some template rads from wood too to get a rough idea. Small world too, my other half's family are not too far from you in Huntly :)

Any idea where I can pick up a PDF template for a 360 rad? the places I've found so far want to charge.
 
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