First WC Project

TheKnat

TheKnat

TheKnat

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OK so this is my first time trying to watercool a PC and for the most part its gone ok (I think). Its not the best setup in the world but I didn't think it was bad for a first try!
wc1.jpg


wc2.jpg


wc3.jpg


wc4.jpg


wc5.jpg


The only problem I've got now is that it doesnt seem to be as cool as I thought it would be, but that could have just been me being optimistic. Just need to let it settle in now and hope for no leaks.
 
Looks good. Could do with a bit of cable tidying though.

Idle temps wont differ much between air and water, its the load temps that matter ;) .
 
your loop doesn't look right to me, the cpu block should get the coolest water possible first and thats not happening, it looks like you've gone:

pump -> res -> cpu -> rad -> gpu -> pump

where as ideally it should be:

pump -> rad -> cpu -> gpu -> res -> pump
 
Last edited:
It makes very little difference what order your loop is in aslong as the res is before the pump.
 
TheKnat said:
I followed the guide which came with the kit so it goes:

res->pump->gpu->rad->cpu->res
Click to expand...


not sure how much difference it all really makes but ultimately you do have the cpu after the rad so it'll get the coolest water ;)
 
I wasn't originally planning on putting one of my gpu's in the loop but it came with the kit, so I thought what the hell!

The end plan is to get a second kit which will have the gpus on it, leaving only the cpu on the main loop
 
Dead Dog said:
not sure how much difference it all really makes but ultimately you do have the cpu after the rad so it'll get the coolest water ;)
Click to expand...

GPU's run twice as hot as CPU's, there's nothing wrong with sending the coolest water to the hottest component :\
 
Yer but gpus have a hire heat threashold anyway and the cooler your cpu the higher the clock (till a certain point).
 
Yer but what i'm saying is that a gpu has a much higher heat threshold than a cpu and so should be put after the cpu as temperature is less of an issue.
 
w3bbo said:
It makes very little difference what order your loop is in aslong as the res is before the pump.
Click to expand...
Very true, ive had mine in various configerations and it makes no difference what order its in.
The only MUST is that the RES is before the PUMP, if not then it will take forever and a day to bleed (if you ever manage to at all).
 
OK so I've had this running now for a few days and theres a few things that don't seem to be correct to me.

1) I left it ripping DVDs over night and with the CPU at a constant 70-80% utilization the temp went up to nearl 80C. This seems way hitter than what I would expect from a water cooling setup.

2) I'm not sure if its clear from the pictures, but the radiator on the back isn't hanging straight. It almost seems like its too heavy for the radbox adapater that came with it, so its leaning at an angle. I think this might be making air get trapped in the system because its still making the occasional gurgling noise.

3) When I plugged the radiator fans in, I put them into the CPU fan and chassis fan connectors. Was this the right thing to do ? I only ask because the computer runs them at different speeds.

4) And lastly, If I wanted to put my other GPU into the loop whats the best way of doing this? Is it better to add another radiator to the loop or to create a second loop with both gpus in ?

a lot of questions I know, but now that I've done this once I'm itching to do it on the rest of m computers but want to make sure I'm doing it correctly.
 
1) Either the block isnt clamped down tightly enough (as tight as you can without using excessive force, clamp the springs down tight), or there is air trapped. Shake the case about a bit. Is the res the highest point ?

2) No idea. Seemed a cruddy idea to me anyway. All youd need to do is put the fan on the outside of the case, and screw from the outside in. Its an OTT solution for something that was never a problem. Blowhole mounting F T W.

3) I prefer to 4 pin molex them at a set voltage, but this shouldnt be a problem.

4) Is it a .2 radiator ? What CPU and GPU ? The rad requirements are getting silly with some chips (namely kentsfield + 8800s)
 
Thanks for the reply.

1) I'll try re-tightening the CPU heatsink again and see if that helps and the res is at the top of the case so that shouldn't be causing any problems.

2) I take it by this you mean just remove the radbox and go straight through the radiator, fan and then into the chassis ? Does this not cause air flow problems, especially on the lower fan as it wouldn't be sitting somewhere it could pull air from easily. Unless I maybe change the fans so that they are pulling air over the rad rather than pushing it.

3) I'll try chaning them over to the molex ones and see what happens.

4) Yes its a .2 radiator. I'm currently running the QX6800 kentsfield and 2x8800GTX graphics cards.
 
jellybeard999 said:
4) Is it a .2 radiator ? What CPU and GPU ? The rad requirements are getting silly with some chips (namely kentsfield + 8800s)
Click to expand...

I've seen this stated before that you need a 120.2 just for a Kentsfield. I've got an X3210 being cooled perfectly adequately (58C load) by a 120.1 with 100% utilization of all 4 cores however I will also admit I was surprised at how little improvement I got in temperatures with a 'decent' water cooling setup (D-Tek FuZion/Laing Ultra/PA120.3/0.5"tubing) that was a quiet as my Thermalright Ultra-120. I have now been advised to add a 500mm external reservoir to my system so as to give me adequate liquid volume to buffer the heat build-up. Maybe not.

As for the SWiftech RADbox mounting twisting under the weight - that's normal I'm afraid and if it's gurgling then it does sound like it has air in it. The air would explain some of your poor perfomance but at least it should be straightforward enough to unscrew the radiator and shake it about to bleed the air out.
 
Thats a bit annoying because I never originally intended to install one of the 8800GTX's in the loop, but I got carried away and did it. I think I might look into removing it as I can't see it overly benefitting from being cool when its not being overclocked or anything.

This leaves with a bit of a problem now in that I have to figure out how to bleed the system without it exploding and also try and find where I put the fan assembly I took off of the gpu.

Note to self, in future think things through before getting excited
 
UPDATE:

OK I've managed to get the radiator to stand up straighter and also gave it a shake to get rid of the air and it seems to be working. There are less gurgling sounds now and performing the same task I did last night, the temps havn't gone above 70 yet
 
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