Project: Si7ence #2

[PaulyD]

Old build kind of ground to a halt but things are now picking up and this project is back on its way, its changed so much since it first started I thought it would be worthy of a new thread for it

Outlining the spec at the moment:

Case: Lian Li V2000
Mobo: Asus P6T6 WS Revolution
CPU: i7 920 D0 Stepping
RAM: 12gb 1600Mhz Dominator
HDD: 2x500gb HDDs in Raid0 + 1tb storage drive (waiting on new SSD releases but will be 2x64gb SSD's in Raid0 replacing the 500gb's)
GFX: 4870x2 in RMA, 8800GTX standing in
PSU: BeQuiet 1200w Modular PSU
Fan Controller: Big NG
Sound: Asus Xonar DX + Z680

Cooling will be done by water of course

CPU and board loop:

CPU: Heatkiller 3.0 Copper
NB/SB: MIPS NB/SB/NF200
MOSFETS MIPS Mosfet block x2
Rad: Thermochill PA120.4
Pump: DDC 18w
Res: Dual DDC Res Top
Tubing White 3/8 5/8 XSPC Tubing

Graphic card loop:

Rad: Thermochill PA120.2
Pump: DDC 18w
Res: Dual DDC Res Top
Block: EK Full cover GTX Block
Tubing: Blue 3/8 5/8 XSPC Tubing

Fans throughout the build will be Enermax Clusters

All using 3/8 compression fittings and 45/90 degree rotaries where required.

Finally case mods being done:

1. Anodized electric blue externals
2. Powdercoated black internals
3. Mobo tray and midplate cut for cabling and tube routing
4. Side panels having two rad grills cut for the bottom section
5. Right hand panel will have a window mod done to it

Currently the case is away having the above work done on it and is due back in a couple of weeks time

Things I got to do in the mean time...

1. Braid PSU, misc cables - got a choice of black and white braid for this
2. Sort out motherboard - Currently away for RMA and awaiting on a replacement, this is the reason my last project log grinded to a halt

Most of the hardware is already acquired and am really just waiting on the motherboards return before I can start getting things under way

Thanks for reading so far, will organise some pictures of the hardware shortly!

 

[PaulyD]

Cheers mate, your build is one of two that inspired me to go for the V2000 in the end and thanks for all the help you given me along the way so far

 

[PaulyD]

cheers dude

You got the blocks on your board yet?

Enjoying the mouse!?

 

[PaulyD]

get on it Paul!

Most of it ready to go! Once i get motherboard back anyway...

Like most of my previous build logs I collect all the bits and pieces first and then do it one go, not really progressive over the months like a lot of builds!

At the moment got the following out of the original list:

Case: Lian Li V2000 - GOT
Mobo: EVGA X58 SLI motherboard - GOT - but in RMA
CPU: i7 920 D0 Stepping - GOT
RAM: 12gb 1600Mhz Dominator - GOT
HDD: 2x500gb HDDs in Raid0 + 1tb storage drive (waiting on new SSD releases but will be 2x64gb SSD's in Raid0 replacing the 500gb's) - GOT
GFX: 4870x2 - GOT
PSU: BeQuiet 1200w Modular PSU - GOT
Fan Controller: Big NG - GOT
Sound: Asus Xonar DX + Z680 - GOT

Cooling will be done by water of course

CPU and board loop:

CPU: Heatkiller 3.0 Copper - GOT
NB/SB: MIPS SLI chipset Block - GOT
MOSFETS MIPS VRM Block - Coming with case
Rad: Thermochill PA120.4 - Coming with case
Pump: DDC 18w - GOT
Res: Unknown at the moment
Tubing White 3/8 5/8 XSPC Tubing - GOT

Graphic card loop:

Rad: Thermochill PA120.2 - GOT
Pump: DDC 18w - GOT
Res: Unknown at the moment
Block: 4870x2 EK Full cover waterblock - GOT
Tubing: Blue 3/8 5/8 XSPC Tubing - Coming with case

So apart from pics of the various hardware this thread will probably go inactive for a week or two before things develop!

Will get a nice pic of all the hardware together though

 

[PaulyD]

Case had the mod cuts finished to it today and got sent off to the painters so hopefully not too long to wait now before pics go up of the case

 

[PaulyD]

Case is very nearly ready to come back to me, just sourcing some mesh for the bottom rad cuts to the side panels.

RMA still ongoing with the EVGA SLI board, decided to go for the Asus P6T6 Revolution as will match the build a lot better than the EVGA would have done. Pictures of that will come shortly

In the mean time have got the PA120.4 come in and also some nice shiny Bitspower fittings:

 

[PaulyD]

So we're close to seeing this built up then? Im the same, been collecting parts for my next water loop for a couple of months. could have cut the case and fitted certain parts but prefer doing it all at once

That block looks great though!! Did those fittings come from mainland europe? Holland seems to be a common place due to a certain store? Im after some too but keep hearing rumours OCUK are getting some soon so holding off getting them imported.

The fittings actually come from a UK store

Close to being built (been doing mobo loop today) but waiting on case + PSU to come which should be by next week

Subscribed, tech pron list of parts

Subscribed, can't wait for more pictures

Thanks guys

WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS! WE WANT PICS!

RoEy

Hehe, good to see you back mate, hope you had a good break

Seeing as you requested so nicely here is a couple of pics of the current CPU loop. Not particularly happy with this loop order so thinking of changing it.

Thinking of doing CPU -> NB -> mosfet by IO plate -> mosfet by CPU but will then mean the mosfet will have a huge run upto the res in the front drive bays

 

[PaulyD]

Really good use of 45's - doing something simular and tubing in that area is a bit manic, so may steal your 45's between mosfet & NB idea (thanks)
End result will be completely different aesthic so no need to worry there. Will be watching with great intrest

Cheers mate

Think will be trying out a few different loops before i settle on one to use for the final build but will post them up

 

[PaulyD]

Welll wasn't too pleased with how the tubing routed on the first go, the two loops going over looked good but the final tubing between the mosfet and NB didn't look "right" so have given this one a go which i think looks much neater:

The final 45 on the mosfet will route under the other tubing, left at the PCI-E slots into the the res/pump top in the front drive bays

 

[PaulyD]

Some more pics of the current loop but just put the RAM in

The 45 on the CPU block will clear the RAM perfectly

 

[PaulyD]

Contrast between the white tubing and black ram and black chipset blocks etc is really nice.

Thanks, is one thing I was aiming for, should look even more pronounced when against the black powdercoating in the case.

I wanted to get the Black Sparkle finish 45's but glad I ended up getting the shining silver version, think the sparkle really does add to the finish.

 

[PaulyD]

Have now got the PC up and running on my desk, still waiting for my case to come back. Won't be any more pics until then as this is just setup in a barebones setup at the moment to get me back up and running! Will be posting overclocking results later on tonight once i have tweaked it some more

 

[PaulyD]

Cheers Dom, no more pics yet but will try sort out the ones I have of it in bits and upload, will try get some pics of the case how it is at the moment sent over

Sayso - dropped you a mail mate

Have just released I got one problem though which is the RAM gets quite hot so have ordered the Dominator RAM cooler for it, will strip that down and probably paint the fans white to keep to the theme of white highlights here and there. However the RAM cooler being in there now will mean the 45 might not clear it so might need to re-do my loop order

Will have to wait and see once it gets here..

Anyway, here are my first results, 4ghz 20x200 @ 1.248v load. Haven't fully run Prime on this but survived a 5 run at max memory (10gb!) which took an hour to do

Might be able to tweak the VTT lower but haven't tried yet as will be pushing on for 4.2ghz

Vcore: 1.25v bios, 1.240v idle, 1.248v load
VTT: 1.3v
CPU PLL: 1.8v
IOH: 1.1v
VDimm: 1.66v

 

[PaulyD]

Some sneak peeks at the case externals:

 

[PaulyD]

Cheers Dom, it is indeed the powdercoater who took them

In actual fact Ducky, that black TJ-07 is actually my old one!!

 

[PaulyD]

Cheers for all the comments guys

Davyboy - the tubing is 3/8" 5/8" tubing, makes it a bit of a pain trying to get compression fittings but its worth it as the tubing looks better being slightly thicker.

The compression fittings themselves are Feser ones, its just using Bitspower rotaries, you can't really tell much of a difference when it comes to the comp. fittings anyway and had them from my previous build.

The HK 3.0 really is a great block, looking to get nickel coated at some point but the local place round me wanted £46 quid and 2 weeks to do it

Certainly take your time with your build, this one has been a long time in planning, getting the parts etc and hoarding away. I would say go for zero compromise on your build and if something takes a long time to do then its worth it for the end result. Just something a fellow modder told me and its the best advice i have been given

 

[PaulyD]

Hopefully case being sent out today so should have pics of it in the next few days and be ready for the build over the weekend

 

[PaulyD]

Hefty update now as its up and running

Firstly pics of the case, took the advantage of the nice weather to take the pics outside, some a bit overexposed though :

 

[PaulyD]

Couple of pics of the XSPC bay res + dual pump top, had a custom front made to it and anodised to match the case:

Going to sit nicely above the hard drive bay, think the tubing would look slightly neater if the head drives went above and had the pump top / res below it, something I will investigate when putting the GPU loop in later on:

Motherboard in, kept the same loop order as previously done:

Couple showing the backplate accessible, glad it is as i had originally measured out for my older EVGA board and not the Asus P6T6 WS Revolution i'm running at the moment!

 

[PaulyD]

Rad in place now to get an idea of tubing lengths needed, I also used a couple of Hammond boxes to raise the rad up, just used double sided tape to secure them to the rad - nice and easy solution and can easily be removed

Test fit of side panel to see if the hammond boxes are the right height:

Good enough for me, could remove the top off them to slightly lower it and get it even between top and bottom - again, something to do on next loop rebuild

Finished tubing:

Just had to start on the wiring up!

I have hidden my bigNG to the side of the front drive bays with velcro, works well as nearly all the components that need power are in the bottom half of the case so cables can be hidden away nicely - no pics of this at the moment though but will grab some another time

Currently have:

Fan channel 1 - 2 Radiator fans
Fan channel 2 - 2 Radiator fans
Fan channel 3 - HDD and rear fans
Fan channel 4 - Dominator RAM Cooler

The dominator on full blast is rediculously loud, have that down to 50% for the most time and still cools very well (RAM cool to touch, even with 12GB!)

Last thing to do was to sort my room out and get the case in place which actually took a lot longer than i thought it would, here's it in place though: