Project: Clear & Simple

Luggs said:
Looks really nice and clean, what colour you thinking of for coolant?
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I will be using clear coolant as I just think it will look a lot cleaner. Although I do like Mayhems Pastel White but I've already got the clear coolant :)

Rehok said:
Yep, Either that or the New Gigabyte one that is coming out that has the nice red accents on it, Although that would probably look better in a White/Red with a Hint of black build
I take it you are doing White Coolant?
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Nope, I'm using the Mayhem Clear X1 coolant :)
 
grim. said:
It's not too bad in all honesty, just be careful measuring it up and have a couple of practice bends to get to grips with how much heat to use.

This was my mental attempt which at the time seemed like a great idea but I hate how messy it looks now. I've been waiting to upgrade for a while but nothing has come out to justify it yet.

I'm looking forward to seeing some updates, document as much as you can, I'm nosy :D
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Luckily I have some spare tubing to practice on. I just had a bit of an issue recently where my original loop plan will have to be modified to fit the case. I'll be sure to update as soon as I can :D
 
Rehok said:
So you not using PETG? apparently that is easier to use and looks better because you get less spider cracks
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Nope, I'm not using PETG as I couldn't find anywhere that sells it and I have seen that in some cases it has flattened when bending using mandrels. I might end up using PETG though if the acrylic drives me mad. :D
 
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Well, today the RAM arrived so I've whipped up the system for a quick tester to make sure all the components are working fine. A couple of burn tests and memtest and then I will dismantle for the watercooling. :D

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Gentlemen, you know why I've gathered you here today ;):D
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More to follow over the coming days...... :D
 
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Busy busy today as after I finished stress testing the computer I was back to work to watercool the GPU and put the CPU block on the motherboard
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Some minor issues such as a slight coil whine from the R9 290X. It crushed my spirit :( but after I asked a friend how it sounded I was told to "stop being a finicky sod" and get on with it.:D
So I did and now I'm tired but happy about how it looks.

Another slight issue is that the CPU & GPU ports are slightly off so my hope of the tube being straight with one bend has been obliterated.

Anyway that's enough for one day, more to follow.....
 
.:SAmSuNG:. said:
Had the same problem on my build mate. I planned a perfectly vertical pipe with one bend from the gpu to cpu but it was slightly off.
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It's going to be a bit tricky but my plan is for a straight line out of the CPU and then a slight kink in the line down to the card. That way it should look relatively clean.

grim. said:
If it's any consolation I have a 290x lightning and also have coil whine, but when the sides are on the case it's barely audible and with headphones on it goes unnoticed.

It's impossible to say from that pic, but you do have a little bit of play with those revolver fittings so you may get away with just one bend if the ports are only slightly out of line. But if you do have to do a bend in the acrylic, if it's done right and looks purposeful then I think it'll still look great.
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No, even with the play in the fittings the amount they are off by is still far too big. Definitely going to require some try/error to get the bend right. As for the coil whine it is hardly noticeable (Similar to my R9 280X) but it gets audible for me when I launch a game like Planetside 2. To be honest I think it might be a issue with the PSU/GPU combo where the power supplied is at the same frequency as the capacitors (or something like that)
 
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So today I finished off two tubes, they took around 2-3 hrs each but I couldn't be happier. The first one was pretty easy with the use of the extender that was included with the EK pump.
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However the second bend was a pain in the **** as no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the damn thing to fit and look good. It's hard to show but there is not a direct bend route from the CPU to the GPU aided by the issue that the Monsoon insert isn't a perfect fit into the Primochill tubing due to the manufacturing tolerances. This meant I had to employ a second pair of hands into the task and now it looks good (after numerous attempts) :D
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Now I'm tired and too lazy to make a tea or coffee so tomorrow after I have had some refreshment I shall continue. :D
 
Rehok said:
Did you use any tools to bend them or did you do them by hand? looks neat, Can't wait to see this completed.

the one thing i don't like about Rigid tubing builds, the tubing alone takes a ton of time which i don't have :(
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For the first bend I used my right angled mandrel from the monsoon kit. For the second it was a combination of the right angle mandrel and guestimation. :D

colinmcr said:
I know your pain, I've only bent two pipes for mine and its not easy at all. First one for me was easy but the second one took 3 hrs. My third pipe was an all day affair and I gave up in frustration.

It just looks so good though its worth the effort.
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Yes, it is worth the effort but I think this will be a hybrid loop where I use soft tubing for the tubing you cant see such as the radiator to pump connection as I can't find a way to get the tubing to bend in such a tight space :confused:
 
grim. said:
That cpu to gpu bend looks spot on, I don't think you could have made it look any better.
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Thanks :D
Unfortunately I had an issue today and now I'm out of tubing. I tried to finish off my last bit of tubing which goes from the CPU to the radiator. However the Monsoon 13/10 insert wasn't quite a perfect fit so the piece ended up bulging and looking awful. So now I need to order some more tubing to finish the build and just to be safe I'll get a Primochill insert.
 
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Rehok said:
I've always wondered how the heck people do those really tight spaces, But yeah best using Soft tubing for parts you don't see, JayzTwoCents did that in skunkworks, He used a bunch of Soft tubing in lower compartment which you couldn't see and just left the top part purely rigid
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Yep, it certainly is a better idea as I just cant see a feasible way of bending the tubing to get it to fit without using a ton of fittings. It is just simpler to get the soft tubing for the locations were you can't see it. :)

.:SAmSuNG:. said:
Is the lower tube coming out the fitting at a angle from the gpu? Gpu to cpu looks good.
Why didn't you sand the monsoon insert to fit or buy the correct insert from ocuk?
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The issue is that the Monsoon insert was too small and I didn't for see this being a massive issue as although it was small for the other tubing it was only by micro fractions. But in the last bit of tubing it was way too small. Also I couldn't buy a Primochill insert as they were out of stock :D

As for the slight angle yes a little bit but it fits into the acrylic fitting snug as it goes in straight and in person it looks fine. I've also made sure they're all air tight :D
 
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Long time no updates :D

So as with most things the plan has changed slightly. I am going to attempt to purchase some more hard tubing and a Primochill insert as I hope it will fit a little better allowing me to get the bend from the CPU to the radiator spot on.

As for the rest of the tubing the space required for the tight bends is simply not there for me to get them to a standard I would be happy with. Because of this I am going to go with soft tubing for the rest as it will not be visible and it will be considerably safer to avoid kining in the bends of the hard tubing. Unfortunatley OverclockersUK don't have the Primochill insert without buying a kit and it appears there's no plans to restock so I'll have to do some ingenius thinking about the choices available :(

So heres the part's list:
YOUR BASKET
1 x PrimoChill 13/10mm Acrylic Tube 60cm 4-Pack - Clear £15.95
5 x EK Water Blocks EK-ACF Fitting 10/16mm - Black £4.79 (£23.95)
2 x EK Water Blocks EK-Tube ZMT Hose 16/10 mm - Matte Black - 1m £3.49 (£6.98)
1 x XSPC G1/4" Female to Female Rotary Fitting (Black Chrome) £2.99
Total : £59.46 (includes shipping : £8.00 Ex.VAT).




Also I'm currently taking a quick break from the project to go on holiday but don't worry as I shall be continunuing with this project immediatley upon my return :D
 
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Bryan Kortez said:
Send it this way and I'll finish the tubes :D Loving that motherboard and ram though!

Oh not sure if you have ordered the primochill insert, but mine was a blue alphacool measuring 9.2mm and 1 meter long. Fits my tubes perfectly and getting some clean bends from it.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday!
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Thank you, I'll have a look at it when I get back:D

Brian18741 said:
Man nice work in SketchUp!
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Thanks, must admit I downloaded the models from sources on the internet as my skills are nowhere near good enough to make models as accurate as the ones I used. :)
 
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Well after returning home I've decided to make some changes in the build.

Although I've had no issues regarding the tube breaking/being air tight I've decided to change and go the route of Monsoons PETG as it should (hopefully) allow the insert to fit better so it doesn't squash when bending. Also I've finally found a seller of PETG tubing. Apparently PETG is more robust and is easier to bend so I shall be interested to see what it's like.

This means I'm going to have to re-do the current tubes but I think it will be worth it in the long run and hopefully their should be less stalls in updates as I've made sure to order a large amount of tubing. :D
 
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grim. said:
I'm interested to hear how you get on with the PETG. I've never had any issues with acrylic but with the distinct lack of clear acrylic tubing in the size I need for my fittings I'm having to order direct from the maker anyway so I have either option now. I was put off the idea of PETG by a few things I've read but not seen first hand results yet.
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I know what you mean. I read all sorts about water permeation and it reacting over time with UV rays. However it is the same substance as most drinks bottles and they're relatively robust. Personally I think a lot of stories about PETG are over exaggerating to be scaremongering people :)
 
grim. said:
My concern was the bulging and misshaping when bending. My builds never last long enough for me to worry about long term effects, I usually get bored and rip it apart within a year.
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I heard about PETG misshaping when people bend it but I think that might be because it's being bent too fast. Anyway it'll be interesting to see how it compares to acrylic. :D

ALEXZ360 said:
I have never used PETG but I can see why you would want to use it, trying to find clear acrylic is really difficult at the minute
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I know, everywhere seems to be going out of stock so it's just easier to get PETG so I can continue again. Plus I prefer the Monsoon tube to Primochill (Probably from the same manufacturer I know) but Monsoon just seemed to bend better and it works better with the Monsoon kit :)
 
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