Project: finally have water in my pc!

[no_1_dave]

After umming & arghhhing for months I finally took the plunge!

Corsair Obsidian 700D Full Tower Case

EK Supreme i7 High FlowClear Top CPU Water Block
2 x EK GTX 470 Full Cover VGA Water Block - Nickel Plexi
2 x EK GTX 470 Backplate - Nickel
Phobya Variable SLI VGA Connector 1 Slot SLI

EK CoolStream Radiator XT 360 (120.3)
EK CoolStream Radiator XT 120 (120.1)
4 x Sharkoon Silent Eagle 1000 120mm Fan

EK Multioption Reservoir X2 150 Advanced
Swiftech MCP655 Laing D5 Vario Water Pump
EK D5 X-Top - Black Acetal G1/4" Rev2

3 x Fluid XP+ Ultra with z-7 Clear 944ml (32oz)
3 Metres Masterkleer tubing PVC 13/10mm (3/8"ID) UV-active white
20 x TFC Compression Fitting G1/4" Thread 3/8" ID/1/2" OD - High Flow

I have put the 120.3 rad at the top exhaust as the main rad
Then the 120.1 rad as a rear intake to cool the water a bit after the CPU but before the 470s.

Here is my tool of choice, trusted & used over the years for everything I do:

Here is the pump:

The top:

After 10 mins & finding it really easy compared to what I had read the top was fittet:

 

[no_1_dave]

Used TFC Compression Fittings for everything:

Mounted the top rad & fans:

Time to prepare the 470's:

17 screws on each one:

Nice comparison:

Ran into trouble with a screw getting too chewed up on the second card. Tried everything and eventually had to carefully drill it out. Damaged the card slightly but not where it matters:

Sorted:

 

[no_1_dave]

My ram, it isn't being water cooled:

The res:

And the CPU block fitted:

Looks so much tidier using water blocks instead of fans:

Had to remove the small HDD trays in the bottom for the pump:

Pic showing the rear rad too:

Tubing:

Fillpot:

Front view:

 

[no_1_dave]

Question: did you get the 1.5mm thermal pads with your blocks?

Yep

 

[no_1_dave]

Have you fired the card up since drilling out the screw?

Yep, all works, thank god!
That was the scariest part

 

[no_1_dave]

Leak testing overnight, not a drop (and I need to tidy my desk):

Some random photos:

See the reflection on the GPU blocks

 

[no_1_dave]

And finally I finished it, took me all day bank holiday monday, then leak tested overnight. I found it easier then I expected but definitely more time consuming. I do feel though for my fist time it went very well. The only real scare was having to drill out that screw but it all works & hasn't caused a problem. I also had to use the SLI bridge protector from an SLI bridge protector back plate to help hold up the res.

Final pics:

Temps are now much better.
12 hours prime took my CPU @ 4Ghz to only 65c. However that is core 1. Core 4 only gets to 59c. Weird but acceptable imo.

30 mins of heaven benchmark sees my 470s not going above 43c with extreme tessellation which is even better the I hoped however they are still at stock. Will overclock them over the next few days along with increasing the voltage.

Very impressed with the pump, it is silent! Even on the fastest setting. It has no problem pushing the water around all the components even creating a nice little water feature in the res from the force it was pushing water round the loop & back in, that was untill I filled it fuller anyway.

The water goes:
res - pump - top rad - CPU - rear rad - 470s - res

 

[no_1_dave]

That's looking really nice dave How are you finding the EK radiators? They seem to be showing good temps. I just wonder what they would do on an overclocked GTX 480 It's a bit scary how much fluid you need

They seem to work well, I can't complain.
They come with plugs too so its easy to plug & shake them when initially cleaning them out. Only needed 3 rinses too

I didn't use all the fluid. Only 1 & a quarter bottles. The extra i'll put away in case I ever need it again. The main reason for choosing the fluid is the fact that it doesnt conduct so I dont have to worry so much.

If he got them from OCUK then they seem to have a bit of a random pick and mix thing going on at the moment between old and new designs of the feser compression fittings. Pot luck what you get it seems.

Yea, its pot luck.
I tried to make it so the ones that slimmed at the end (a bit more barb like) were outlets with the smaller ones as inlets. This should make slightly less resistance & less chance of leaking (probably only peace of mind & made no difference at all

Just played 45 mins of BC2 with max temps of 51c
Beats 97c which the second card was seeing on air

 

[no_1_dave]

I looked at that and it was tempting, however I didn't feel it was needed.
I don't plan to clock my CPU higher then 4Ghz and want as much cool water as possible for my 470s

 

[no_1_dave]

It's just a fill port I found on a competitor site for about £2.99.
It has the standard 1/4" thread so will fit any fittings you are using

You have to keep it at an angle when filling otherwise air bubbles come up not allowing the water down which in turn gets your carpet wet (and your face when it blurts the water out)!

 

[no_1_dave]

Nice results, time to rectify the "GTX 470 SLI @ Stock" in your sig now.

I will be looking into that this weekend

nice build, you reckon a 140.1 rad would have fitted on the back?

Probably, but you would need to plug the 8 pin MB connector in first, then it would be a royal pain in the arse if you ever needed to remove your PSU. The 8 pin is blocked enough with the 120 rad. The other option is fitting it outside the case but I didnt want to do that

 

[no_1_dave]

how did you mount the pump?

It came with a double sided sticky silencing pad.
It's just stuck down

 

[no_1_dave]

Nice build dave

I stuck a D5 down with the sticky pad they provided, almost tore the bottom of the case off when I tried to remove it.

Yea, I had to move it back a bit. Was nasty to unstick but managed it in the end lol