First time water cooling build

Just a update following on from the disaster earlier.

I removed the PSU from the case to be safe, placed a jug under one of the tubes and cut away catching the coolant. Repeating for each tube and also shaking the case to free up any trapped coolant in the radiator or reservoir.

And here are some photos after the drainage:

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One good thing I discovered is how amazingly tight and strong the tubing actually is. I was putting a lot of force into pulling the tube and it just would not budge even after I took the hose clips off (which I discovered are reusable by using a knife to prize them open). Even more surprising was the durability of the tubing especially with the coolant been held inside, using scissors and a sharp Stanley knife I effectively pushed right through the tube and twisted and still nothing came out until the tube was practically cut right off.

So this gives me that extra confidence knowing how tight the tubing is to remove and how durable and strong the tubing actually is.

Back to the build I put the motherboard back into the tower mostly to determine the length of tube needed for the water block.

With some of the remaining tubing left I have connected to the radiator to the water block - MAKING SURE THIS TIME TO PUT THE WATERBLOCK PLATE OVER THE TOP FIRST. I have no tubing left now so tomorrow I am hoping to get the x2 1m replacement tubing I ordered from OcUK which was despatched today 1st class standard royal mail.

Hopefully the tubing arrives tomorrow and I can get ccracking with it :)
 
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I found its better to have all the blocks in place and then fit the tubing to them in-situ so to speak. Also then you (mostly) eliminate most tubing length guesswork and also kinks/twists.

For a proper leak test you need to have the pump running as its the pressure that will tell you if you have any leaks or not.
 
dfour said:
I found its better to have all the blocks in place and then fit the tubing to them in-situ so to speak. Also then you (mostly) eliminate most tubing length guesswork and also kinks/twists.

For a proper leak test you need to have the pump running as its the pressure that will tell you if you have any leaks or not.
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Yeah I learned this rather quickly, and also to allow a bit more length before cutting in the actual place you measured just to be sure. I've also given myself more slack now so when I pull the front pump/reservoir out the case it can move more freely and come out more. I know it is best to keep the loops as small as possible but by given the marginally extra tubing I should be able to pull the pump/reservoir out the front quite easily so already this would be a bonus as I can unscrew the drain port at the back and catch the coolant this way rather then cutting the tubes :)

WalderX said:
Shame about the error but seems you are back on track - nice one!
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Thanks mate :)

Yeah it was annoying to say the least and it delayed the build by a couple of days :o

I managed to use some of the left over tubing toget going again but I just need one final piece so I am desperately hoping the replacement tubing gets here today :p

I will post some more pictures in a couple of minutes of the new tubing in place INCLUDING the waterblock plate in place so I CANNOT FORGET TO PUT IT ON! :D
 
Ok, these might not seem much different to the earlier pictures but I wanted to get as much steps on as possible to show my progress. Note the drops in the tubes are just that, drops of coolant that had dripped from the top radiator from the previous leak test - the loop is not complete yet so there is no coolant filled up.

The below pictures are the putting the tubing back in place, but as my previous comments mention I am allowing more slack to enable the front pump\reservoir to be pulled out the front of the case if needed (useful for future draining because of the rear drain port).

So nothing fancy here just yet, basically the connecting of new tubes:

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NOTE THE WATERBLOCK PLATE BETWEEN THE WATERBLOCK AND TUBING!! :D

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Now waiting on the replacement tubing when the postman decides to show up...
 
Not sure I'm following your logic here.

Half the parts haven't been secured in place and you are already trying to connect the tubing?

First and foremost I would get that CPU water block attached to your CPU/Mobo (don't forget to add thermal paste).

Then secure your pump/radiator in their final positions & you can draft up an initial tubing layout before making any adjustments if needed.

Good luck with the rest
 
Rainagul said:
Not sure I'm following your logic here.

Half the parts haven't been secured in place and you are already trying to connect the tubing?

First and foremost I would get that CPU water block attached to your CPU/Mobo (don't forget to add thermal paste).

Then secure your pump/radiator in their final positions & you can draft up an initial tubing layout before making any adjustments if needed.

Good luck with the rest
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I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable pushing tubing onto a barb on the CPU block if it was attached, but I follow that mechanism with compression fittings
 
Rainagul said:
I don't remember the barbs on one of my old setups requiring so much force it would cause issues. But hey, it's a valid method as well
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I have never killed anything doing this in the 10+ years I have been water cooling. You dont need the actual cpu under the block just the block in its final place to get the correct lengths.

I know what you mean Toon as my rig looks untidy because I need slack to be able to remove my front res time to time.
 
Well all is up and running :)

Sorry I will have to reply to all your posts later on as I am having trouble installing the Graphics drivers so I will be off to another thread in a moment.

I will respond tomorrow with updated photos too. my cable management could have been better but it is not fully done yet so if I can zip tie some of them into the corners this will help.

Just a quick mention though, first boot into BIOS and reported the CPU Temp at 26c which changed by the odd degree probably while the thermal paste sets in.

So yeah just setting everything up in Windows right now while keeping an eye on the tubing for leaks. It been several hours so far and all is good, I know most say test for 24 hours but others say after a couple of hours if it looks good finish the build but keep a close eye on it.
 
toon_mad said:
Well all is up and running :)

Sorry I will have to reply to all your posts later on as I am having trouble installing the Graphics drivers so I will be off to another thread in a moment.

I will respond tomorrow with updated photos too. my cable management could have been better but it is not fully done yet so if I can zip tie some of them into the corners this will help.

Just a quick mention though, first boot into BIOS and reported the CPU Temp at 26c which changed by the odd degree probably while the thermal paste sets in.

So yeah just setting everything up in Windows right now while keeping an eye on the tubing for leaks. It been several hours so far and all is good, I know most say test for 24 hours but others say after a couple of hours if it looks good finish the build but keep a close eye on it.
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We want to see the pictures! :D
 
GiraffePencils said:
I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable pushing tubing onto a barb on the CPU block if it was attached, but I follow that mechanism with compression fittings
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The waterblock was not attached, it was hanging freely, if I follow you basically when everything was connected (waterblock and tubing etc), it was just dangling down so had there been a leak it would have mostly went into a jug, not the PSU/motherboard.

Rainagul said:
I don't remember the barbs on one of my old setups requiring so much force it would cause issues. But hey, it's a valid method as well
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The barbs did not require much force, the tubing however need a fair amount of push/strength to go over the barbs.

dfour said:
I have never killed anything doing this in the 10+ years I have been water cooling. You dont need the actual cpu under the block just the block in its final place to get the correct lengths.

I know what you mean Toon as my rig looks untidy because I need slack to be able to remove my front res time to time.
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Exactly, I kind of held the waterblock where it would have screwed in just to get a feel of the tubing sizes needed.

As for the cables, maybe I am just naturally bad at preparing and organising. Having said that, now the side window is on looks really good.


TheyCallMeAndy said:
We want to see the pictures! :D
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Pictures coming shortly :p

JCX50 said:
Give us some benches with the Celery!
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Whats celery, the veg or some kind of tool I have never heard of?! :D
 
Here are the final build pictures, the very last picture I will put in the first post of the thread.

Excuse the cable management as I know I could do a lot better, but Im happy with it as I am sure could be worse (my very first builds were shocking for wires! :p )

Also as I said in previous comments I had to give myself slightly more tubing as the way the pump/reservoir is positioned in the front bay, I need the slack to be able to pull it a few inches out of the front of the tower if I need to drain or refill etc.

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There is more pictures I just need to get them off my phone..
 
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Now I am thinking maybe add some extra lighting in there especially near the bottom, maybe a cathode or light strip or something. Or just keep it minimal as it is. Not sure.
 
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