Project Light & Water

R.C.Anderson

R.C.Anderson

R.C.Anderson

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Joined
20 Feb 2009
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2,099
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Rugby
Ok, as some of you might (However, probably not) know, I have been planning a Watercooling build for a while. I have also decided, that I want to backlight my motherboard (I think it would look good, but we'll find out...)

I'm currently at work (Lunch break), so can't provide any pictures, but they'll be coming later on this afternoon, when I get back from work.

Most of the PC is the same as I built here, however I'm changing the case to a Corsair 800D, and adding watercooling.

That's all from me for now, however I'll be back this evening with a diagram of how I'm planning on backlighting my motherboard & with details on all the watercooling gear :D
 
I didn't think about acrylic, I was just planning on using LEDs, however if I have enough of them, and far enough behind the mobo, the light should be quite even, so don't think it would look a lot different to lit acrylic.
 
Didn't think about getting them off the bay, ended up getting them from an electronics supplier (Don't know if they count as a competitor, so I won't say the name), but I've used my Dad's trade account to buy it (Purchase is too low for credit/debit card purchases), so it has to be sent to him first, then he's forwarding it on, so it might not get to me till the end of the week :(

Anyway, here's a little sneak peak (Sorry for it taking longer than I was expecting) of all the watercooling gear:


DSC_3516 by RCAnderson, on Flickr

The reservoir that I've got, although it says single bay spin res, is actually one of these, not sure why it's not in it's own box, but there we go...

It's all going to be going into a Corsair 800D (you can just see the corner of it in the left of the picture) rather than my HAF-X (which I'll be selling on), as I prefer the look of the 800D for watercooling, especially due to the large, unobstructed window.
 
Oh, and also, a massive thanks to both rjkoneill & 5UB, for putting up with all the changes & request for stock updates in my CS thread. You both are truly Awesome :D
 
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Apologies for the delay on this, been very busy over the last week...

Anyway, planning on soldering up my back lighting LEDs tomorrow :)

I bought 30 3mm red LEDs for the job, I'll be wiring them up in series sets of 5 (including a current limited resistor), and I've decided the best way to mount them, is actually to the back of my motherboard, so I'm going to use a single layer of card (To protect from the component legs sticking out from the mobo), then I will be sticking that to my mobo with electrical tape, then taping my LEDs onto that.

At the moment, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work, unless it works out to be too thick (although there's about 8mm of space behind the mobo, so with 3mm LEDs, and a layer of card should be less than that)

Hopefully once I've got all the LEDs soldered together, I can start dismantling my current system & re-installing it into my new case & then I can add the watercooling :)
 
Small update:

My soldering iron has broken, so I had to solder all the LEDs at work during my lunch, so only got them finished today. The result:


DSC_3559 by RCAnderson, on Flickr


DSC_3560 by RCAnderson, on Flickr

Going to flush my radiator this evening, then take my PC apart tomorrow morning to install it in the new case & check what the LEDs look like & install the watercooling, hopefully some more pictures up tomorrow :)
 
Flushed the radiator this evening, was surprised how clean it was, as even the first flush looked perfectly clear!

I haven't flushed any of my blocks etc, should I do? I'm thinking I might do that in the morning anyway, just to be on the safe side.

Going to try and get some nice pics of the individual components tomorrow as well :D
 
Just realised I don't have any screws to attach the radiator to the roof of the case, shouldn't the radiator come with some all the bolts required?

Going to have to pop to B&Q tomorrow to grab some 10mm M4 bolts to use temporarily until I order some nice black ones :)
 
The only screws that were in my SR1 box were the 12 30mm M4 bolts, which aren't any use to attach the radiator to the roof of the case, as they're the perfect length to go all the way through the fan then into the rad to hold them on. Need about 10mm (max) bolts to hold the radiator onto the roof of the case.
 
Just tried fitting my radiator compression fittings, and turns out I'm not going to be able to use the angled fittings I thought I was going to use, as the fans get in the way...

Going to start dismantling my PC now though to start installing in the new case, but I'll try and update on the way (with pics) from my laptop :)
 
A quick update before I head off to work...

managed to get most of the stuff installed yesterday, however decided I need 4 more 45degree fittings to be how I wanted, so they're on order now, and hopefully should be here tomorrow, so I can then get the system filled up, and leak testing.

Got a load of pictures of my progress from yesterday, so I'll be uploading them this evening after work. Just thought though, would have been a lot better if I had taken a time lapse vid of my progress, but too late now :(
 
So, time for a nice picture update of what I got upto yesterday :)

First of all, a picture of what I'm starting with, with a massive Noctua D14 cooler. Going to be nice to get some of that weight off the motherboard!

DSC_3594 by RCAnderson, on Flickr

Always interesting to find out how the thermal paste turned out, seems to have gone alright, used the pea method incase anyone else is interested. Possibly could have got away with a little bit less (judging by the bottom of the noctua), but wasn't too bad.

DSC_3595 by RCAnderson, on Flickr


DSC_3596 by RCAnderson, on Flickr

I was quite surprised how shiny the bottom of the waterblock was, literally a mirror shine!

DSC_3597 by RCAnderson, on Flickr

My motherboard with the CPU block installed, has made quite a differenc compared to having the noctua on, you can actually see the motherboard ;)

DSC_3599 by RCAnderson, on Flickr

Now, time for the gfx card...

DSC_3600 by RCAnderson, on Flickr

It was actually easier than I was expecting it to be, although it did still require a little persuasion to get it apart, but nothing serious, and the card is revealed.

DSC_3601 by RCAnderson, on Flickr


DSC_3602 by RCAnderson, on Flickr


DSC_3603 by RCAnderson, on Flickr


DSC_3605 by RCAnderson, on Flickr

The card with the thermal pads on it. I was suprised when I got to it, that I was required to cut the thermal pads to the right size, guess I was just assuming they would be ready cut, but wasn't too much effort, once I had decided I definitely could cut them how I was going to, and have enough pad!

DSC_3608 by RCAnderson, on Flickr

Now the block goes on. This took a little fiddling, as I found it quite hard to hold the card & block up with one hand perfectly horizontal (otherwise the thermal pads slide around, and end up covering anything other than what you were wanting them to cover!), and with the other hand trying to find the hole underneath the card to insert the tiny screws! But it's worth the effort in the end, and this is the result.

DSC_3609 by RCAnderson, on Flickr

Now to get the board installed into the case.
Shame it's blue, rather than red, but I don't really want to spend more money, just to get a motherboard with matching colours!

DSC_3610 by RCAnderson, on Flickr

Got the LEDs installed on the back of the motherboard, so this is what it looks like with them on.

DSC_3611 by RCAnderson, on Flickr

quite like it myself, although think it might be better if I get something reflective behind the motherboard to reflect all the light out, so that it's a bit brighter. Should look better in the dark though.

I haven't got a picture of how I've mounted the LEDs, as it's not hugely tidy ;) But if someone requests it, I could get a picture for them.



That's all for now though. Hopefully getting the extra 45degree fittings I ordered tomorrow, then I can connect the tubing & get leak testing :D
 
Got the extra 45degree fittings I was waiting for, so I've just put all the tubing together :)


DSC_3612 by RCAnderson, on Flickr

Took more effort than I thought to get the tubing onto the compression fittings, however a little hand from a hair dryer (or hot air gun, depending how manly you want to sound :p) they were a lot easier to get on.

Time to add the coolant I think, then hope that it doesn't leak!
 
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