HTPC and watercooling - A Build Log

wolvers · 5 Feb 2009 at 10:38

Just ordered my new HTPC case and as my current one is watercooled and is my main PC then I've decided to go big!!

It's a Silverstone CW02.

Forunately there's enough space in my AV rack to accommodate it.

I really wanted an OrigenAE S21T but at 800 notes I just can't justify it. :rolleyes:

I might have to make some custom HD cages to get more than one rad in but that shouldn't be a problem. I reckon I can get two 92mm singles in the front.

Hopefully a TFC Xchanger 120mm single will fit on the back and I'm going to start with my Apogee Drive and maybe look into going to pump/res combo and a better cpu block once I've got the case and measured up. A gpu block, probably a EK VGA Acetal Supreme, will be added too as I don't really want the noise from the fan on the card.

The rest of the hardware from my current build will be carried over; Q9550, P5K-E, HDAV1.3, HVR-4000, 2x640gb, 1x500gb, 4gb PC2-8500 and a Blu-Ray/HD-DVD combo.

gt_junkie · 5 Feb 2009 at 10:56

Love it!!! Looks like an AV amp! :cool:

I would watercool my HTPC but it's a Hoojum Cubit 3 so would be quite a squeeze.

gt

wolvers · 5 Feb 2009 at 15:40

That's what I thought. A lot like the Marantz actually.

Not as nice as these though. :cool:

lankymorley · 5 Feb 2009 at 15:44

Oh my word that is nice! Check out their site too, it's totally designer! xD (The homepage at least.)

wolvers · 5 Feb 2009 at 20:41

I will have one, one day. Oh yes I will.

Anyway, I must forget the Origen for now. The Silverstone should be here tomorrow, weather permitting, as well as the TFC Xchanger and the VGA block. Gonna get stuck in over the weekend.

misterPK · 6 Feb 2009 at 10:13

Would be nice if it didnt have all those screws on the top, but i guess if its on a shelf you're not going to see them.

PK!

wolvers · 6 Feb 2009 at 13:14

Damn this weather! :mad:

DHL have failed to get my components here. What's the problem, I got to work on time?.........a little sideways at times though!

wolvers · 8 Feb 2009 at 10:37

Amazing! Citylink couldn't deliver the case on Friday because of the weather so they delivered it today..............a Sunday! :eek:

mjones1 · 8 Feb 2009 at 10:45

I have never heard of things been delivered on a Sunday.
Can you take some pics?

shadowscotland · 8 Feb 2009 at 14:00

I watercool my silverstone CW01 last year linky if you want to see my pitfalls. Very please with my final result but did take a lot longer to build than expected

Enjoy the build and post some pic's soon

wolvers · 21 Feb 2009 at 19:03

So anyway, one bout of gastric flu later :eek:

and I finally got around to unpacking the CW02 and stripping out the old case today.

It's really nice to have a case with some space in it for a change. I'm pleased with most of the wiring too as I was able to run all of the cables for the things on the front of the case underneath the motherboard as the stand offs are quite high.

A couple of down points though. One where I had to slot the upper one of the pre-drilled holes in the back of the case to get it to line up with the hose fitting on the TFC-xchanger 120.1. It's really odd and I don't understand why Silverstone have spaced them like that especially seen as the lower one lines up perfectly. I've never seen a rad that doesn't have the fittings spaced equally from the centre line of the fan. :confused:

The other thing that I didn't like is the adapter that is used to supply power to the display on the front of the case. It's goes in between the main mobo connector and the cable from the power supply. It's just longer than it needs to be and makes it really difficult to get the power wiring tidy. Luckily there's enough space underneath the Blu-ray drive for it. The actual spur cable is way longer than it needs to be too. Generally though the wiring is much better than in the previous case and there's less of it too as I was able to use one less power cable from the PSU.

No where near filling the loop though. I'm going to cut a 192mmm rad in half next week as I want just a single 92mm one for the RH side and I'm having trouble finding them in stock. I'm also a bit of a tight arse!!

No problem though, we make radiators for F1 cars at work.

I'll post some pics soon when I've got all of the loop sorted.

Carl-Brit · 21 Feb 2009 at 19:51

are these media cases ? that flip out monitor case looks Ace :cool:

wolvers · 28 Feb 2009 at 13:09

Well there was more of a delay as we didn't have any copper sheet at work that I needed to modify the 184mm rad so I found a single 92mm rad for sale Germany.

After some flushing with vinegar and distilled water I left the rads on the rad to dry!

What did the big rad say to the little rad?!

Anyway, here's some shots of the case build. The first one shows where I had to slot the pre-drilled hole in the back of the case to line up with the fitting on the rad.

Enough space for 3 hard drives on the left leaves enough space for the 92mm rad on the right.

I found out that the Apogee Drive (cpu block and pump combo) is based on the Laing Pro 10w pump so I took it apart and did the soldering mod that makes it an Ultra 18W.

gt_junkie · 28 Feb 2009 at 13:11

Tidy install - love the case!

Good job matey!

gt

wolvers · 28 Feb 2009 at 13:36

Some shots of the case once it's all back together. Those bolts aren't seen once it's in my AV stand, thankfully.

This is all you see when it's in the stand.

So now the all important boot up and temperature check and it doesn't start well. The PSU is showing a red light fault and the screen on the front of the case is flashing! :eek:

That link loom for the mobo power connector that I mentioned before is the first culprit that comes to mind and sure enough a quick inspection shows that the pins have pushed out of the back of the socket. It's nice having a fairly easy fix when it looks like the PSU has kicked the bucket!

After booting up I install the software for the case screen and get that up and running. It's quite neat and the built in IR receiver is great, especially as it is able to control the power switch too, and once set to MCE remote it worked instantly with my Harmony remote. The only problem I've found so far is that I've had to set the contrast to minimum to make it readable. It's not the best quality LCD panel I've seen.

I'm pretty pleased with the cooling too. Load temps on the [email protected] are around 62C and the 8800GTS runs at 46C after 6 passes of the Crysis Benchmark Tool. That's 15C cooler on the gpu compared to the stock air cooler. The loop goes RES>PUMP/CPU>120.1>GPU>92.1>RES at the moment, mostly due to convenient plumbing. I may change it to RES>PUMP/CPU>92.1>GPU>120.1>RES if you lot say that it's worth it to get lower temps on the Q9550?

Everything is nice and quiet too except for that modded pump which is now the noisiest thing in the system. I'll make a little foam jacket for it to see if it'll quieten it down a bit as I'm worried that I'll be able to hear it during quiet scenes in movies.

Anyway, that's it so far. Thanks for looking.

.:SAmSuNG:. · 28 Feb 2009 at 13:37

Nice little build dude.

wolvers · 28 Feb 2009 at 13:41

gt_junkie said:
Tidy install - love the case!

Good job matey!

gt

Thanks GT.

Just waiting now for my Xonar HDAV to come back from RMA to fill that empty slot.

LukeTW · 28 Feb 2009 at 13:58

Nice one, liking the case!

wolvers · 28 Feb 2009 at 14:15

Thanks Ya'll.

Here's some shots of the VFD in action that I stole from another website. The contrast isn't as good as that in real life although it depends greatly on the viewing angle. It's neat though and the software is easy to use.

zealot · 28 Feb 2009 at 19:54

Like that build a lot may have to try water cooling my htpc after seeing yours.

The only difference being just the cpu needs cooling as the graphic card is passive and low powered.