the exact same could be said for me and my stuff
Project: Silent Overkill
- Thread starter Cenedd
- Start date
One of the things I've been idly toying with (read obcessively overthinking!) is a filter. I had planned to use or integrate an Aqua Computer filter that's got nice surface area and visibility and some taps so you can clean it without draining...but it looks very restrictive at the inlet/outlet. So I was thinking an inline filter in the PC to external rad hose, but use QDCs to make it hot cleanable. That's a thing, right?! 
Having trouble finding the right QDCs in stock that aren't scalping prices but assembled something from what I have to ...sanity check it. I think I may have to scrap this plan because what I've made is quite clearly...
...a LIGHTSABER! *Facepalm*
Having trouble finding the right QDCs in stock that aren't scalping prices but assembled something from what I have to ...sanity check it. I think I may have to scrap this plan because what I've made is quite clearly...
...a LIGHTSABER! *Facepalm*
I never understood the point of inline filters for running loops. If there's enough crud in your loop to warrant filtering it out, then surely you didn't do a good enough job prepping and cleaning your kit in the first place?
No. And the reason is that the particles it traps are tiny. Like, never anything your block or pump would struggle with. The problem is it then reduces flow. Which *is* a problem. The thing is too unless you have a digital flow meter (IDR if you do) you won't know it. Overall? they are just a bit of a ball ache and not a necessary one IMO.
That is probably why even though mine is absolutely drop dead gorgeous (glass and chromed brass) it was on sale for stupid money. I would surmise people all came to the same conclusion about them as me tbh. I mean really dude think about it. Why do you hardly ever (if at all) see any one using them? and, if they were so good why would every one not be using them?. Again, just a guess here, but I would imagine a conclusion was reached about them many years ago and thus no one bothers.
Well I did a fair amount of cleaning but clearly didn't get everything - that or it's generating more. I also tend to run my loop quite a while between coolant changes - at least the deliberate drains!
I rather like the filter mesh in the bottom of Aqua Computer's UltiTube res's....I'm just not sure I can incorporate one....although I was wondering about one mounted on the external rad. I'd quite like to have a play with the LeakShield stuff and that would be one way to mount it.
True.
Maybe. The fins on the cpu block I was looking at have fins down to 0.15mm...although there are alternatives at 0.5mm
Got some parts on order. Couple of PCIE ribbon cables: one 600mm for GPU and one 300mm for 10 gig NIC. Started to redesign the 3D printed rear-bay half-height PCIE slots so it takes full-height cards. It does mean the screw hole will be unhelpfully at the bottom but I can get round that with a clamp style retainer. Why? I need two ribbons coming from the back of the case to the motherboard and they have to go to specific slots (x16 for GPU and x4 for NIC)....and they can't cross. So I need the clearance above the NIC for the GPU cable to run - and also not get melted by the heatsink on the NIC. There may have to be a rear-mounted fan for that!
Also got a Farbwerk 360 coming for the lighting, a Bykski CPU block, some Alphacool QDCs and EPDM hose for the external Mo-Ra. Almost seems like I'm making some progress!
Talking of Mo-Ra's, have you seen they've just released a Watercool MO-RA IV 600?! Must....re...sist!! Is it still "Overkill" if there's a bigger rad available?! At £600
it may have to be!
Also got a Farbwerk 360 coming for the lighting, a Bykski CPU block, some Alphacool QDCs and EPDM hose for the external Mo-Ra. Almost seems like I'm making some progress!
Talking of Mo-Ra's, have you seen they've just released a Watercool MO-RA IV 600?! Must....re...sist!! Is it still "Overkill" if there's a bigger rad available?! At £600
it may have to be!I did have a look. £600 is too much to start with...but once you add the fan grill (£100 for one side) and 9x200mm fans (or 18x140mm for with an £83 adapter plate) and I'm bound to want the decoupled pump-mount with tank (£150) and add-on for 2nd pump (£50) and the pair of D5's to go in them. Next thing, there's no change from £1500!
Postie just turned up:
Might have some work ahead of me!
Stop Press! I was going to whinge about failing to find them when I wanted them but I found where they were hiding. I couldn't find any definitive answer either way but it does very much seem that these Alphacool Eiszapfen are compatible with Koolance QD3's. I've not done a pressure test but they fit and there's no wiggle. Why does this matter? Well partly for interest but also because it's possible to get QD3's that have a 16/10 compression fitting built in rather than a female G1/4 and then install a fitting. May not prove worrying about but I was too cowardly to risk it with nothing telling me they weren't a completely different dimension!
Might have some work ahead of me!
Stop Press! I was going to whinge about failing to find them when I wanted them but I found where they were hiding. I couldn't find any definitive answer either way but it does very much seem that these Alphacool Eiszapfen are compatible with Koolance QD3's. I've not done a pressure test but they fit and there's no wiggle. Why does this matter? Well partly for interest but also because it's possible to get QD3's that have a 16/10 compression fitting built in rather than a female G1/4 and then install a fitting. May not prove worrying about but I was too cowardly to risk it with nothing telling me they weren't a completely different dimension!
Ok, this is where I am now:
There are a few things that need tweaking but generally it works and does what I set out to achieve with the PCIE cables....apart from just one thing. Can you see the heatsink under that card? Well, that's just a placeholder card but the 10 Gig NIC has a similar heatsink and is known for getting toasty - like painful to touch toasty. So I think I need to redesign it to flip the card over 180°. Not sure if the existing PCIE ribbon is long enough or if a straight connector will handle being folded over on itself (not a creased fold, just a bend).
The other issue I have. See the cable hanging out the top? That's for the GPU and it needs to go over the top of this assembly (can't go under as it had to plug into the x16 GPU slot) and then through the lower grommet on the right. Does it look long enough? ....er, no. Some of that may be because there's a bulge of the other PCIE ribbon in the way and that would be reduced if I flip the NIC over...but at best I don't think it's going to route nicely. The next option I'm aware of is 900mm instead of 600mm. As always in this industry, cables are only available in two lengths: too long and too short! *facepalm*
There are a few things that need tweaking but generally it works and does what I set out to achieve with the PCIE cables....apart from just one thing. Can you see the heatsink under that card? Well, that's just a placeholder card but the 10 Gig NIC has a similar heatsink and is known for getting toasty - like painful to touch toasty. So I think I need to redesign it to flip the card over 180°. Not sure if the existing PCIE ribbon is long enough or if a straight connector will handle being folded over on itself (not a creased fold, just a bend).
The other issue I have. See the cable hanging out the top? That's for the GPU and it needs to go over the top of this assembly (can't go under as it had to plug into the x16 GPU slot) and then through the lower grommet on the right. Does it look long enough? ....er, no. Some of that may be because there's a bulge of the other PCIE ribbon in the way and that would be reduced if I flip the NIC over...but at best I don't think it's going to route nicely. The next option I'm aware of is 900mm instead of 600mm. As always in this industry, cables are only available in two lengths: too long and too short! *facepalm*
Hmmm, could have sworn I'd replied to that; sorry. I did actually think of using the chasis as a heatsink. My concern with that originally was melting the powdercoat. Probably not hot enough for that but still, it didn't seem a good idea to dump a load of heat into the area that the SouthBridge sits over - that thing gets fairly hot by itself!
Anyway, another day another redesign! And done! (for now!)
It's really satisfying when something works and fits perfectly first time! *cough*
Might have to modify the design at some point as I might need/want to mount the Aquaero on it...but that's a bridge to cross when I come to it!
The card in there is still just a placeholder but the 10 Gb NIC does also have a heatsink. We'll see if I need to add a fan either directly to the heatsink or in the bay area. The ribbon for the GPU can now come over the top of this whole assembly and disappear through the large rubber grommet that's roughly between those two screw-on retention brackets.
All the front panel and RGB (control and power) wiring came out at what is now the top (right hand side of this pic, near the "EVO" tie). I've already dismantled the front and rerouted it all to the bottom so it'll reach the bottom of the motherboard. Might look at not using the front ARGB and giving control of the strips directly to the Farbwerk 360 - dunno yet, it's kind of admin at this point
Anyway, another day another redesign! And done! (for now!)
It's really satisfying when something works and fits perfectly first time! *cough*
Might have to modify the design at some point as I might need/want to mount the Aquaero on it...but that's a bridge to cross when I come to it!
The card in there is still just a placeholder but the 10 Gb NIC does also have a heatsink. We'll see if I need to add a fan either directly to the heatsink or in the bay area. The ribbon for the GPU can now come over the top of this whole assembly and disappear through the large rubber grommet that's roughly between those two screw-on retention brackets.
All the front panel and RGB (control and power) wiring came out at what is now the top (right hand side of this pic, near the "EVO" tie). I've already dismantled the front and rerouted it all to the bottom so it'll reach the bottom of the motherboard. Might look at not using the front ARGB and giving control of the strips directly to the Farbwerk 360 - dunno yet, it's kind of admin at this point
True, but it's slow progress. I can't imagine who's holding it up with over-thinking!
Ok, I've got the GPU block sort of built. There's no actual card in it but it's got a PCIE plate and it's spaced out to about the right thickness. It's main function is to test the upright GPU bracket fits as expected and where things will end up. I found that the card was rather wobbly being held solely by the PCIE plate and with the PCIE ribbon flapping in the breeze secured only by being plugged onto the PCIE blade on the card. Now there is a supplied steadying bracket and it has loads of different options for spacing and thickness but it looks like....well, it's not pleasing to the eye! So I made a 3D-printed block to screw to the fan plate (that sits behind the GPU) and the PCIE ribbon's PCB then screws down to. That helped a lot and you can just about make it out in this pic:
As stands, the card is aligned far more to the left than I had in my head. At first it didn't fit and I thought I'd have to bring it forward a slot - which I didn't want to do as that would write off using that grommet for bringing the ATX power cable through. By swapping the G1/4 stop plug that was in the back of the block for a flush plug (you can see it in the top slot in the pic above) that made it fit. There's nearly 9mm of clearance between the GPU's terminal block and the glass!
I'm still not that happy with it though. There's not a lot of room to get the DisplayPort cables out of the card and through the case - where I have the bracket currently, it blocks most of the hole for that (can't see it in this pic but it's below the rubber grommet). It might help if I raise it up the case but then I'm going to find the PCIE misses the grommet. The bracket also sticks up (towards the camera) beyond the motherboard tray and I have stupid plans to fill that space with distro plate. So I think I'm back to modelling with the aim of completely replacing the GPU mount.
Also on the PCIE ribbon front, my current ribbon for the 10Gbe NIC is a PCIE3 x16. I need PCIE3 x4 but could only find x16 or x1. Now, two things have happened: I just found a PCIE4 x4 ribbon in the right length and also Realtek have released a new 10Gbe chipset, the RTL8127. It's not massively available but it can be imported for just over £40. So what, why is that of interest? Well, two reasons. One is that it's a PCIE4 card and it's on an x1 width - so I could run a significantly more tidy x1 ribbon which would be a massive improvement over the x16 with six chunks of cable. The other is that it's supposed to be significantly more power-efficient and that means lower heat - which, give the proximity of the GPU ribbon passing overhead, could be relevant. It also apparently supports Wake on LAN (which the Intel one's deliberately don't - too much heat produced when there's no cooling in sleep)...but that's a problem I've already solved with ESP32's. And I'll keep that solution because it also means I have a remote power button and status LED on top of the desk. Darn it, I think I've just talked myself into it *facepalm*
A small update. Firstly, a care package arrived so thanks to @ALXAndy :
What do you need those for, they're everywhere?! A good point but if you look at the hex-head screws on the right, you'll see they don't have the usual teeth on the underside. I want the look of those but I don't want them tearing the plastic to shreds when I screw them into 3D printed parts. Could I find them anywhere? No, all of them toothed. So I went begging. Cheers Andy!
So, any progress? Yes, I have substantially less sanity left than the previous post....and some of that is even to do with this project! *twitch*
I've modelled a new GPU mount from scratch, integrated the mount for the PCIE ribbon and included some clamps for the top of the GPU so it doesn't wobble about disturbingly. Being black on black, they don't really show up and look like a hideous bodge...which is nicer. They clamp onto the 3mm thick back plate so this thing is rigidly part of the case once screwed in. I think they'll still fit once there's an actual GPU PCB in that block, too! We'll see at some point!
Yes, the writing is upside down. It might be rotatable, it might be glued in, it might not be a problem since it'll be vertical once built. Probably the worse sin - now I look at it on-screen - is that the Alphacool logo will be sideways. Could I just claim it's an Ulphacool block?!
Oh and that green motherboard? Don't worry, it's just a placeholder for lining stuff up...although, unhelpfully the ATX power is in the wrong place
What do you need those for, they're everywhere?! A good point but if you look at the hex-head screws on the right, you'll see they don't have the usual teeth on the underside. I want the look of those but I don't want them tearing the plastic to shreds when I screw them into 3D printed parts. Could I find them anywhere? No, all of them toothed. So I went begging. Cheers Andy!
So, any progress? Yes, I have substantially less sanity left than the previous post....and some of that is even to do with this project! *twitch*
I've modelled a new GPU mount from scratch, integrated the mount for the PCIE ribbon and included some clamps for the top of the GPU so it doesn't wobble about disturbingly. Being black on black, they don't really show up and look like a hideous bodge...which is nicer. They clamp onto the 3mm thick back plate so this thing is rigidly part of the case once screwed in. I think they'll still fit once there's an actual GPU PCB in that block, too! We'll see at some point!
Yes, the writing is upside down. It might be rotatable, it might be glued in, it might not be a problem since it'll be vertical once built. Probably the worse sin - now I look at it on-screen - is that the Alphacool logo will be sideways. Could I just claim it's an Ulphacool block?!
Oh and that green motherboard? Don't worry, it's just a placeholder for lining stuff up...although, unhelpfully the ATX power is in the wrong place
No worries dude. I just need to find the rest now ! I had numerous plastic screw boxes filled with screws from the numerous Lian Li cases I have. Could I find them?
Sake. Just hope I don't desperately need any when I change out my fans etc soon !
Sake. Just hope I don't desperately need any when I change out my fans etc soon !