**Project Ultra Durable Mk2**

[dlknight]

This project log will capture my upgraded build from a current Ivybridge system to a newer Haswell refresh build based on an i7 4790k.

I plan to continue with the watercooling and will be reusing as much as possible from the old build including blocks and pump.

I'm planning on possibly updating the case to something special but haven't 100% decided yet so the updated build may happen within the existing case as an interim measure.

I plan to post photo updates at various points along the project along with comments.

I mainly use my rig for gaming and browsing the web, it also comes in useful when working from home where I can remote desktop into my work laptop.

Current Build Spec

• Intel i5 3570k (Ivybridge) @ 4.7GHz
• 16Gb (4x4Gb) Samsung Green DDR3 @ 2000MHz
• MSI Z77A-GD65 Motherboard
• 2 x AMD R9 290 @ 1040 / 1350
• 2 x 500GB Seagate HDDs (RAID 0)
• Samsung EVO 850 SATA3 500GB SSD
• Lian Li B25F
• Laing D4 Pump
• Alphacool UT60 240mm Radiator
• Magicool SLIM DUAL 280 MC Radiator
• Aquacomputer Cuplex Kryos CPU Block
• 2 x Aqua Computer Kryographics Hawaii Radeon R9 290x
• Corsair TX850 - 850W PSU

Updated Build Spec

• Intel i7 4970k (Haswell) @ 4.0-4.7Ghz
• Avexir Blitz 1.1 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz
• Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H Motherboard
• Caselabs S8
• EK-CoolStream XE 360
• Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 240

 

[dlknight]

First bit of hardware porn....

 

[dlknight]

Just to show why I'm running crossfire with 2 x 290s would love to run dual 980Tis or Fury cards but they are just too damn expensive compared to the 290s!

3 x Dell U2311H and 1 x U2515

 

[dlknight]

Thanks for following folks!

Well I've just had a tiring few hours before the project kicks off properly I had a little preparation to do. The following pictures show first the state of my office / rig area earlier and then after all my hard work from the last few hours. This is the initial preparation for my project.

Almost had a nightmare with the ethernet cable from my understairs switch as it only just reaches the rear of the computer now, it shouldn't be a problem however when the project is complete

I'm not ready to reveal any ideas on the case plans just yet - like to keep you guessing

I picked up two of these tambour units from a local office clearance guy, really pleased with the one in the photo.

BEFORE



AFTER

 

[dlknight]

Well I had a splurge on a famous auction site and ended up with a few little bits one evening -

1. Some assorted Barrow compression fittings in shiny silver colour and matt black (just a small number to decide which colour suits best) - not arrived yet.
2. Some assorted para-cord for home made cable braiding.
3. Cable combs to make the braided cables tidy looking.
4. Some generic power extensions leads to braid.



The grey para-cord looks a bit more silvery than I was hoping... might need to find a better match for the RAM slots, that is where my original idea came from to do the cable braid in black and grey to match the slots.

I haven't played with the bright green para-cord yet but will try a cable in that colour I think to see if it goes with the heatsinks...

So this afternoon instead of playing Eve Online or Elite Dangerous I spent an hour or so playing with the para-cord and some old bits of PSU cable I had chopped off a broken PSU.

I'm not sure which looks best - I quite like the green and silver/grey, also not sure about having the cable all one colour or split horizontally or vertically...

Here is a selection of my attempts -

 

[dlknight]

Haven't posted in awhile

So I got distracted first of all by the nice Barrow compression fittings which appear to be identical to the Bitspower fittings and without the nasty graphics on them.



I've also been looking into colour schemes for my custom cable sleeving a little more too and geort45 over at overclock.net suggested the following colour scheme based on my motherboard and use of copper watercooling blocks -



Finally I'm still waiting for the next bits for my build, the main thing being the actual case (still not revealing quite what but will post here when it arrives). So I had been having issues with my PC and decided to strip it down and clean out the watercooling system and put it back together. This would also give me the chance to test out the new Barrow compression fittings

So first thing I noticed was my nice shiny copper Aquacomputer GPU blocks were no longer nice shiny copper... They first one was almost completely corroded (unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it), I put this down to me making an installation mistake when I installed the 2nd GPU. The Aquacomputer instructions say that when connecting two blocks via the bridge they MUST be run in series and NOT parallel. Obviously me knowing better I decided to run them in parallel, now I think what may have happened is that the card was getting little to no flow and being bypassed. Then second card faired better and I did manage to get a picture of it before cleaning -



Cleaning was a right PITA, I purchased 5 litres of 12% white vinegar and a bag of baking soda. I made a paste using diluted white vinegar, baking soda and salt. Spread this across the corrosion and left for around 10 minutes before rubbing with a cloth. I then rinsed the block but after an hour or two the tarnish/corrosion returned. I attempted this a few times and worked out that either some residue of the paste or the actual water was making it corrode. So I followed the steps below and this has appeared to prevent the corrosion.

1. Leave paste over corrosion for 10-15 minutes only
2. Rub paste over corrosion using a soft cloth until the original finish has returned
3. Rinse using WARM water (not too hot and not too cold - to prevent condensation)
4. Washing using a mild detergent (couple of drops of washing up liquid in a bowl of warm water)
5. Rinse again using WARM water
6. Dry thoroughly using a towel (do not use white paper towels as the bleach will cause corrosion)
7. Polish using a soft dry cloth

Finally I re-assembled the computer

 

[dlknight]

Bit quiet from me again but had the following goodies arrive earlier in the week big shout to Aquacomputer who got the backplates to me from Germany in a couple of days by their standard delivery option.

The radiator is an EK-CoolStream XE 360 which will be going into the new case when it arrives, this should give some idea of what kind of case I'm going for hopefully

I also got a couple more 90 degree Barrow fittings and couldn't resist fitting the new backplates to my 290s

Before



After



And all back together again

 

[dlknight]

What temps do you get from the 290s?

Tops out about 50C whilst gaming, kind of on the edge with temperatures currently because of the limited space for radiators in the current case hence the project to upgrade and move to a more suitable watercooling case.

 

[dlknight]

Just a quick teaser update and to wish everyone a very merry christmas and happy new year!!

Santa just arrived early and he was driving a UPS van...

 

[dlknight]

Some hasty construction pictures from Christmas Eve I've left the protective film on the windows for now.

 

[dlknight]

Had some more gear arrive and had a play around with fitting so I could get some ideas of how the final setup will look

The fans I want are on back order at the moment so I fitted the radiator into the mounting mechanism without them for now.

I also ordered a selection of hex head bolts from china in black which look awesome, will try and get some close-up pictures of them. These will be used to mount the radiators and fans into the case.

The lowest radiator outlet has a short piece of flexible tubing and then a T piece which will be fitted with a drain tube and plug for easy draining.

Went with a 220mm Barrow reservoir which looks identical to the Bitspower one and feels like a well made item (5mm thick plexi), this will be mounted directly onto my alphacool D5 top mount and then mounted to the front of the case.

 

[dlknight]

Been sometime since the last update!

Work and holiday has gotten in the way but I have finally managed to make some progress.

I didn't want to take the drill to my Caselabs case so I hit up on an idea of using some of the 3M VHB double sided polyurethane tape that GoPro use for their camera mounts. Seems to work fine and holds the weight of the full reservoir with ease.





Attached the hard drives and SSD to the hidden mount which slides under the motherboard tray. This was a PITA to get the cables routed into but gets rid of the unneeded clutter within the case.





Final assembly and pressure testing the loop with an improvised pressure gauge (up to 12 PSI only).

 

[dlknight]

Final assembly pictures after pressure testing the loop

 

[dlknight]

Still to do bits -

1. Braided SATA cables
2. Custom braided power cables
3. Internal lighting
4. Fan controller