First WC Project - Ground Up

cahonis · 28 Nov 2013 at 22:33

Started sleeving the fan cables:

Only 5 more to go, plus the res/pump cables & temp sensor cables.

cahonis · 8 Dec 2013 at 19:44

So finally started to put the loop together:

And a leak test:

Which was successful so I'm very happy.

Further updates soon

NoNameNoNumber · 8 Dec 2013 at 19:51

That's a lot of TIM on the CPU!!!

Also did you buy the GPU blocks recently?

GreasyDiablo88 · 8 Dec 2013 at 20:11

Loving it so far! Anything you're still waiting for?

Kaktus69 · 8 Dec 2013 at 20:16

:Looks great! Far neater than my feeble attempts

Mole. · 8 Dec 2013 at 21:35

Looking good, might want to keep an eye on the tube between the CPU and motherboard block, it looks like it's trying to kink.

cahonis · 8 Dec 2013 at 21:56

NoNameNoNumber said:
That's a lot of TIM on the CPU!!!

Also did you buy the GPU blocks recently?

It looks a lot thicker in the picture than it actually is!

Got the GPU blocks about 4 weeks apart. Build was originally going to be a single GPU but had to wait for some kit so ended up buying another! Got one directly from EKWB and the other from another vendor as OCUK don't sell them

GreasyDiablo88 said:
Loving it so far! Anything you're still waiting for?

Thanks

Nope, have everything now, well, will do tomorrow when my red braided cable kit from Corsair turns up

Kaktus69 said:
:Looks great! Far neater than my feeble attempts

Thanks

I'm trying to keep it as tidy as some of the more professional looking builds I've seen on here!

Mole. said:
Looking good, might want to keep an eye on the tube between the CPU and motherboard block, it looks like it's trying to kink.

Yeah, it seems to have gone like that about an hour after I fitted it.
I warmed the tubing up in hot water then cooled it wrapped around a jar for a few minutes. It looked OK but now I'm not so sure :confused:

Might have to drain the loop if I see any problems and redo that part of the loop but the flow looked good during leak testing so I have my fingers crossed. I've got some 45' fittings left over to use if I need them

NoNameNoNumber · 8 Dec 2013 at 22:00

cahonis said:
It looks a lot thicker in the picture than it actually is!

Got the GPU blocks about 4 weeks apart. Build was originally going to be a single GPU but had to wait for some kit so ended up buying another! Got one directly from EKWB and the other from another vendor as OCUK don't sell them

Cool beans, That's why I was asking about the blocks because I had trouble getting hold of mine.

CharlieRich · 8 Dec 2013 at 22:42

Was going to say the same about the possible kink on the tubing between the mobo and CPU block... You could fit a couple of 90 degree fittings and some of those acrylic tubes if you wanted to be super cautious and neat... Still looks amazing though mate

cahonis · 9 Dec 2013 at 07:59

CharlieRich said:
Was going to say the same about the possible kink on the tubing between the mobo and CPU block... You could fit a couple of 90 degree fittings and some of those acrylic tubes if you wanted to be super cautious and neat... Still looks amazing though mate

Yeah, I left it overnight and it's slightly worse so I am going to drain the loop and put in two 45' fittings I've got left over to reduce the bend

DavidS14 · 9 Dec 2013 at 11:47

Agree with above 2x 90° connections between the CPU block and the board cooling with a short section of pipe between. Acrylic is OK if the connections are in line and not slightly off set a short section of pipe would allow for any differences in height.

I used the VGA connectors for my cpu/mb block connections:

cahonis · 9 Dec 2013 at 13:43

DavidS14 said:
Agree with above 2x 90° connections between the CPU block and the board cooling with a short section of pipe between. Acrylic is OK if the connections are in line and not slightly off set a short section of pipe would allow for any differences in height.

Think I'll just use the 45° fittings I already have, this build has already cost me a small fortune

cahonis · 15 Dec 2013 at 13:36

Well the 45° fittings don't work, still get a kink

Typically, the 90° fittings are out of stock so looks like the build is on hold until they come in stock again

cahonis · 23 Dec 2013 at 10:13

I substituted XSPC 90° fittings for some EKWB ones I found that are almost identical:

Note the abundance of tiny bubbles coming out of the CPU block - that took me over 3 hours to sort out :mad:

Anyway, the loop is complete, just need to do some tidying up, get some extender cables for the temp sensors so I can route them around the back and find some subtle lighting to use around the CPU block and case.

Apologies for the poor picture quality. I spent nearly 7 hours straight working through problems - I was soo tired & it was dark by the time I had finished and using a flash was horrible:

I'll update with some daytime pictures and temps once I get it sorted over xmas (hopefully!).

DavidS14 · 23 Dec 2013 at 10:56

Looks much better with the 90°'s much cleaner

Something Else · 23 Dec 2013 at 11:04

What was the reason for putting the gpus so far down?

cahonis · 23 Dec 2013 at 11:11

Something Else said:
What was the reason for putting the gpus so far down?

To reduce the gap between them so I could use an interconnect rather than additional tubing.