Project: Liquify Mads

madindehead

madindehead

madindehead

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Joined
30 May 2009
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Maidenhead
Welcome to the project log for ATCS 840: Water (Rubbish name I know, maybe a mod can change the thread title please)

BIG UPDATE

When I started this (over a year ago :eek:) I didn't quite have all the money for the right components etc I wanted to buy for the build. Since starting this log, the PC has also gained a new soundcard (Asus Xonar DG), mechanical keyboard (SteelSeries 7G) and a shiny new headset (Sennheiser PC360).

The Corsair HX1000 is doing well, and was definitely a good purchase, and I'm still happy with my GTX 480. The only problem is: the noise and the heat. I now I can overclock my 480 more (was at 850MHz for a while) but the heat at load became too much :(

So, I was browsing the net the other day, I managed to find an EK GTX 480 waterblock. Since they are quite hard to find now, I decided it was worth buying. It's a lovely nickel/plexi block. My initial plan was to watercool my PC over the summer (end of July/start of August) when I'm on my work placement. However, looking at my finances, I should be able to build this loop in January, taking full advantage of the GTX 480 waterblock (since I won't be upgrading my graphics card until late 2012/early 2013).

With the watercooling in place, my PC should see me though to my next planned full upgrade (new Intel micro architecture/new GPU series).

I hope I can make this interesting for you, and that no one minds this being my brainstorming thread for now, and turning it into my build log come buying time!

So, this is what I have so far in my case, the Coolermaster ATCS 840:

Intel Core i7-920 Clocked to 4GHz on air
Gigabyte X58-UD5 Motherboard
6GB Corsair XMS3 RAM clocked to 1600MHz
Prolimatech Megahalems CPU Cooler
Noctua NF-P12 in Push-Pull config
Zotac GTX 480

The following parts are what I hope to buy when I setup my water loop:

EK 480 GTX Nickel Plexi Full Cover VGA Water Block (Bought)
GTX 480 Nickel Backplate (Bought)
GTX 400 Series PCI Bracket
EK Nickel Compression Fittings

The main loop will be based on the OcUK V12 Watercooling kit here but with the EK Bay reservoir and the EK Full nickel block

The rad will sit in the top of my case, using both the 230mm fans and the 120mm fans in a push-pull arranged similar to this:
Airflow.jpg


Image courtesy of Prereality who has a similar setup in his ATCS 840 (Thread)

This is what arrived today :D

IMAG0214.jpg


IMAG0219.jpg


Will get better photos when I go to install everything. Want to keep the block and backplate safe in the packaging for now :)

So, the full loop looks like this:

CPU Waterblock: EK Supreme EK Full Nickel
GPU Waterblock: EK GTX 480 Full cover
Radiator: XSPC EX360 120mm Triple radiator
Pump: Alphacool Laing D5 Vario Pump 655 and Alphacool HF D5 TOP - Black Acetal
Reservoir: EK Bay Spin Reservoir - Acetal
Fans: Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1450 RPM
Fluid: Mayhems Ultra Pure H20 Watercooling Fluid
Tubing: Masterkleer UV Blue 10mm ID/13mm OD
Fittings: EK PSC Compression Fitting 10mm Nickel

It's basically the OcUK V12 kit, with some modifications of my own :) Cannot wait for it to arrive on the 12th! Will be building it on the 13th after my exam!
 
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Yeah, definitely. And you didn't see the dust that was on that Megahalems the other day! It's a total mess! Haha. When I get the new graphics and PSU, I will try and tidy it a lot then. And the rest of course when the water loop hits about a month later :)

What do you think of the idea for the sleeving colour? Not too bright? :p Will have to see what colours of tubing I can find that would match/look good!
 
So, just been looking around at a few final ideas for this build. I'm thinking, having a pipe into the top of the reservoir to fill it up would be the best plan. Can't decide where to have the actual fill port however. Will need to sort that one out.

These are the style of fittings I plan on using:

bp-comp2l.png


I was thinking a nice turquoise blue on the SATA cables, and maybe fan cables or something. Spice it up a little bit :) But I'm genuinely not sure right now.
 
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:) That blue does look really nice with the Gigabyte boards! I think I might have to opt for a D5 pump, and get the kick ass pump mod that both Rich and NAM_killer have. Looks very sexy in black!

As for the sleeving, turquoise blue on things like the SATA cables, and fan and pump wires should look nice I think. Going to try and mock up the layout in Photoshop later on :)

As for tubing, not sure if I want white/clear/blue or black! Lol!
 
Ok. I made a really bad mock up of the layout of this loop. Please don't laugh :p The tubing is bright green, simply so you can see the layout! Red arrows show the flow direction :)

PC_casetest.png
 
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It's not a HAF case that I'm using mate :p It's an ATCS 840. But thanks for the input :)

SSDs are quite out of my budget, considering I really want a good sized one :( Also, I'm really not in the mood for moving all my stuff to other hard drives currently :p
 
I was going to ask:

What do you guys think to using the 2 x 230mm fans in the roof of my case to cool the radiator? Or will they not pull enough air through? I have seen some people who watercool the ATCS 840 use 120mm fans on their triple rads. Others just use the roof fans.

Update: I forgot to add the loop order to my mock up above. It will be as follows:

Triple rad in roof > CPU Block > GPU Block > Reservoir > Pump > Back to rad

I have space in the base to add a dual rad before the reservoir probably, if I decide I need the extra cooling. I assume this won't greatly affect the cooling performance?
 
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A few other small updates. I think I am going to opt for a D5 pump instead of the DDC, as it appears to be more powerful. Also, I can add the sexy Bitspower D5 Matte Black mod kit to it when I want.

Cable sleeving is decided on, going to go for turquoise SATA and fan cables, also power switch cables to the front etc, all the small ones. Everything else will probably be sleeved in black. Thinking either a nice blue/turquoise or black tubing. Is there really much performance difference between the different tubing sizes or not?
 
Another update:

I'm going to put the water on hold for a month or so longer that was originally planned. This is for several reasons:

1) Uni will be keeping me very busy in October time, so I might schedule the waterloop for just before/after Christmas. It all depends if I have time to sort it out during my exams!

2) Money constraints. I should have the money to pay for it all, but I want to give myself a month or two extra to save up (plus, it allows me to go ahead with a second monitor instead).

Will be updating my original post in a minute to reflect these changes. Watercooling will still be going ahead this year, just later than planned. And the tidying of the case will still be going ahead when I get my AX1200 and GTX 480, and my items from Nils at MDPC-X :)

So, don't fret, still some ATCS 840 love coming.
 
G-Dubs said:
Sorry to hear you've had to put your plans on hold for a while. Well thought out and coming along nicely Look forward to updates
Click to expand...

Thank you for the kind remarks :) Currently just working out finances etc, so I will try and have a time frame for the main waterloop soon.

At least I can tidy the case etc, so that should look nice with the AX1200 PSU and the GTX 480 in it :D
 
Even though the build is on hold, I can still look around for some parts.

I found these TFC Feser 1/2" ID tubing. Which one do you think best matches the braiding? Also, is Feser tubing good? I want something quality.

show_image_in_imgtag.php.jpg


Which one is best?

1:
FT-0061-logo.jpg
2:
FT-0062-logo.jpg
3:
FT-0078-logo2.jpg


I think either 2 or 3 looks best. What do you all think?
 
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Yeah. I really don't like number 1 that much. Don't know why I included it even! Number is 3 is quite nice too I think, but I would want to see that one actually next to the sleeving. Is the Feser tubing quite good?

I might just order a metre of 2 and 3, and see how they compare to the sleeving, but I also think 2 will be best :)
 
As for the tubing, another option would be to use Feser Blue fluid, and clear tubing. What would be best? I was aiming to go for Nano Fluid, but that Feser tubing is quite expensive. Will try and shop around for a better price.
 
Monkey Puzzle said:
Tubing 2 or 3. I'd go for 3 personally - lighter and very slightly turquiose is a nicer colour and still looks pretty close to the colour of the braid.

It's really not worth the hassle of getting dye - it's slightly prettier than coloured tubing, but UV light doesn't show your pc components very well. Coloured tubing and white cathodes (even better when slightly dimmed) looks nicer and avoids gunking up your system and staining every part in your loop.
Click to expand...

Hmm. Not a bad idea actually. If I get myself some clear liquid, would be fine anyway. I want to get the nickel/acetal EK blocks, so you won't be able to see the fluid except for in the reservoir. Which will be inside anyway.

Thanks for the advice on the dye :)
 
Just wanted to ask another question:

Do you guys think it would be a bad idea to buy my watercooling parts in batches, instead of all at once? I mean, it's not like components, where they can go wrong electrically. If I save the pump and fans until last, I should avoid any major problems.

What do you guys think? I was thinking of buying the blocks one month along with the reservoir and fittings and tube. Then the next month the radiator. Then the last month the pump, fans and coolant and any final parts.

Good idea? Or not?
 
I think I've had a change of heart regarding the colour of fittings and blocks...I know, hopeless, but that's what planning is for right :)

As I'm going blue and black braiding, I figured the gold on the matte black Bitspower fittings would just look a little bit wrong :( Still, I'm probably going to use the black sparkle Bitspower fittings. Not sure which GPU block I want to use, but I can work round that one was I plan further.

All this planning is getting to me. I need to plan all this before I buy, as I want to be able to buy right away as soon as I have cash. Sourcing the 1/2" ID fittings is looking difficult for now. What is really the best size for watercooling though? Or does it really not matter? Why do they even make multiple fittings sizes?
 
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