Project: ケイ - Watercooled Threadripper

Kei · 29 May 2013 at 23:46

I conducted a small test this evening by disconnecting my pair of side panel fans. (to simulate a window panel) Bad news is, although it still functions, ambient temperatures inside the case were nearly 40. Switching the two base fans to intake still makes it worse. Only issue i've found so far with my current config is that the bequiet 140mm fan that is the front intake doesn't appear to be creating much airflow with the case mesh & filter over it. In free air it shifts a decent amount of air, about even with an AP-15 at the same rpm.

I don't know what you guys with silent water cooled systems do to keep temperatures down, but i'm obviously doing something wrong as i can't seem to get it right.

Anox · 30 May 2013 at 01:18

Sounds like a bit of a hurdle, maybe go for the premium corsair fans or noctua...

Kei · 30 May 2013 at 08:40

I'm using scythe gentle typhoon 1850rpm fans in all but 3 locations. Side panel fans are a deepcool uf120 & scythe s-flex 1600rpm. Front intake is a be quiet silentwings usc 140. Everything else has an AP-15.

The system is reasonably quiet as is, but if I want a window panel like most people have (plain with no fan) I can't keep the system cool and keep it quiet.

Kei · 13 Jun 2013 at 20:39

Gave my system it's monthly dust and refitted my corsair dominator modules after removing them for doing the 8pack superpi runs. Which proved that i had a better chip than i thought and i could push my memory further too. Presently sitting atop the AMD results in the competition thread, awaiting someone with a thuban to knock it down a notch.

Nice to see that 3 months down the line since watercooling it, there are no signs of trouble in the coolant. (as it should be

) The case is now fully decked out with gentle typhoons and is virtually silent with them set at 1100rpm, plus it still holds mid 50's maximum temperatures.

Intending to replace the standard solid blanking plates with some vented versions to improve airflow as there is a deadspot which gets toasty between the sound card and gpu.

I really need some short SATA cables to neaten this side up. Still, it's not bad considering the non modular psu.

JCX50 · 13 Jun 2013 at 22:36

I strangely like how the 4 sticks of RAM aren't matching especially in this setup.

skalragg · 20 Jun 2013 at 09:26

nice build, has given me ideas for my own rig

Kei · 30 Oct 2013 at 09:12

An update. I've bought a GTX 780 and EK waterblock to replace my HD 6970 & aqua computer block. A backplate will also be added next month. (sadly OCUK don't sell the TITAN SE backplate)

Kei · 30 Oct 2013 at 23:07

Finished fitting the waterblock this morning then had to go to work for 7 hours. Now running, this EK block is either miles better than the aqua computer block or the GPU is much more efficient as it's idling at 28 now vs 44 before and load temps peak at 46 vs 58 previously.

I decided rather than drain and refill, I would attempt to perform a swap with the loop still full. Taking the GPU feed hose off first and squeezing it flat to restrict flow and plugging it quickly minimising fluid loss. Then doing the same for the bottom hose. Less than 50ml of coolant lost and only a small amount of air introduced. No leaks either which is always a good thing.

Took the old aqua computer block apart to see if there were any signs of corrosion and found nothing but lovely shiny copper inside.

Kei · 1 Nov 2013 at 15:01

Tubing is looking more purple than it did originally. Not so sure that the backplate is going to be worthwhile now as the pcb colour matches the asus sound cards so doesn't look as out of place as i originally expected. Seems the card has caused my TX650 to start whining once the boost clocks kick in. (was especially bad folding a core 15, but is silent on a core 17) Was quite noisy with batman arkham origins too. (will double check but pretty certain the noise is coming from the psu not the card) Will probably look at the antec HCP-750 next.

Some air is still cycling through the system (damn xspc reservoir design) luckily it's just a few small isolated pockets. Temperatures seem to be good, so it's not adversely affecting performance. Presently folding away at 1150/1800 with stock volts and sitting at a comfortable 41 degrees. Not used to the green side for overclocking so it's going to take me some time to get it right. North of 1228-1241 on the core with 1.2V seemed a bit iffy, but 1215 seemed like it might be ok. I'll probably settle with 1175-1200 if i can get it to remain stable. Probably needs more voltage to remain stable beyond this, which would mean messing with the bios which i'm disinclined to do.

It's a good looking block though. Stuck with copper what with the history of EK nickel plating and acetal rather than plexi due to the glycol content of my coolant. (which seems to have lost it's green pigment, probably as i've been topping it up with DI water which has probably over diluted it)

Kei · 10 Dec 2013 at 20:09

Picked up the missing FC titan SE backplate in rjkoneill's christmas sale. Should finish the current setup off nicely. Could definitely do with replacing the tubing with some clear tygon medical ND 100-65 or primochill LRT. Definitely want to sort out replacing the reservoir with a glass tube. (either an aqua computer or xspc phantom)

Fitted

Rooster212 · 10 Dec 2013 at 23:29

Looks so swish

seriously considering a watercooling loop for after Christmas as I should hopefully be getting some money, as well as the money I've been making from bitcoin mining... this has given me some inspiration

certainly not a cheap hobby but looks awesome! And also nice and quiet i'm sure

fantasticCG · 11 Dec 2013 at 07:41

I love your custom cable colours

Very clean build

NoustieChris · 11 Dec 2013 at 08:05

What voltages were you running on the cpu for the overclock?

Kei · 11 Dec 2013 at 10:10

Rooster212 said:
Looks so swish seriously considering a watercooling loop for after Christmas as I should hopefully be getting some money, as well as the money I've been making from bitcoin mining... this has given me some inspiration certainly not a cheap hobby but looks awesome! And also nice and quiet i'm sure

Picking stuff up in the members market and on clearance certainly helps reduce the cost. The blocks, pump and reservoir are the most expensive bits. The fittings and fans can also add up very quickly, hence why i have got 1/2" barbs rather than fancy compression fittings. (though i am seriously tempted by the monsoon green & blue fittings)

It's not as quiet as it could be, but that is down to the single noctua nf-f12 fan running in the front panel. The gentle typhoons are beautifully quiet at 1000rpm.

fantasticCG said:
I love your custom cable colours
Very clean build

Thanks, wanted this to be different to the builds you see everyday. Sadly when i upgrade the motherboard and cpu, the colours probably won't match anything any more. (I'm one of those rare people who really liked gigabytes old colour scheme and blue pcbs)

NoustieChris said:
What voltages were you running on the cpu for the overclock?

To keep 3.7GHz stable requires 1.456V and the cpu-nb needs 1.3V to run at 2640. I've been running the cpu like this since i bought it in 2009, just bumped the cpu-nb up from 2400 back in march.

parvumsystems · 12 Dec 2013 at 11:56

Good job dude. You've managed to fit a lot in there

Kei · 23 Dec 2013 at 16:34

Disaster struck today. Pipe came off the cpu block inlet barb. Luckily the system cut out quite quickly as there wasn't too much coolant over the components. (didn't get much coolant leak out of the bottom of the case)

This proves that 7/16" hose over 1/2" barbs is still risky without clamping of some sort. I'll be moving over to compressions in the new year along with some new primochill advanced LRT hosing. Temporarily i'll have to resort to cables ties to secure the tubing on.

Anox · 23 Dec 2013 at 19:14

Glad to hear nothing actually went poof when that coolant leaked! The build still going strong I see

Kei · 25 Dec 2013 at 00:14

After a thorough clean off with isopropyl and an afternoon in the oven at 40, it seems that it may have survived. The gpu and memory have tested ok in another machine. Just need to reassemble the motherboard back in the case and rebuild the loop. I've replaced the iffy tubing with the remainder of the xspc 2m length i originally bought in march. Only the pump/radiator hoses will remain original (but then these have never been removed since i fitted them and are still very tight.

The cause of the hose popping off is the swelling around the barbs with age, whilst it's not normally a problem, it becomes an issue when you remove the tubing off a fitting. You can also see just how much it's discoloured vs a new piece in the middle.

After a rough measure, it seems i lost nearly 300ml which mostly ended up landing on the gpu and running down the motherboard. I reckon the new backplate may have helped save the gpu as very little seemed to get under it. It seems i was incredibly lucky as i wasn't even around at the time it occurred. I only realised something was amiss when I came back to find my pc was off. (lucky i didn't try to turn it back on) I'd left my pc running heaven whilst testing a different overclock on the gpu. I thought it was odd that it was off as i was either expecting to see it still running the benchmark or find it back at the desktop if it had crashed & rebooted. I'm hoping the motherboard survived though as i really don't want to be stuck without a pc till after christmas. (nor do i want to buy new parts yet as only 2011 takes my fancy, but it's way over priced.

Kei · 26 Dec 2013 at 00:17

Seems i've been very lucky as I've finally managed to get it all back together leak tested and bled and everything works exactly as it did. Original overclocks still seem to be stable too.

Might stick with the barbs for now and just work with fresh tubing if i make any changes. (as my mistake was reusing old stretched tubing) Still going to secure them though, however unsightly it may be.

Kei · 26 Dec 2013 at 22:59

This was the graphics card after i'd dried off the puddles on the outside and removed the backplate. The core side was a little better. Both halves of the xonar card got fairly wet too though i'd already dried them by the time i took this photo.

Got it all back together with fresh tubing for most of it plus the unsightly cable ties just to help make sure those hoses stay put.