Riff Tamson (here we go again !)

[ALXAndy]

Riff Tamson was a Karkarodon male from the planet Karkaris. Tamson served as a commander and warlord for the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars and was placed in charge of operations on aquatic planets such as Mon Cala.

OK so basically I now have a third Area 51. It's one of these.





Again it is the ALX version, so chrome everywhere and motorised front panel and roof vents. The last time I worked on it it was badly broken (the PSU had blown and it was in a right state) so to get it into working condition I had to basically rewire it all as it was not designed to run from a normal PSU. It has a 10 pin cable for the board that controls everything. Any way, it was a success and it now looks like this.



Only replace the Titan Black with a Fury X. It looks like this when empty.



It has a false floor etc, all very tidy (trust me it took many hours to make it look like that inside !).

Now I did some counting earlier from the leftovers of Dianoga and deduced that I am not far from another loop. This rig already has an AIO but I can sell that for £20 or so and buy a block. Talking of blocks, I need opinions. I have three on my shortlist (£8.50 each) and wanted opinions. There's this one.



Which I used on Dianoga (needs modding to make it look nice). This is much in the same vein.



Or there is this one which I am heavily leaning against for a couple of reasons. Firstly it is smooth and larger so my fittings will not hit each other or anything else (like writing etc) and secondly because I don't need to mod it at all.



For the rad I am looking at a nice fat Mayhem atm. I will see what else is out there too. Coolant? XSPC, same as I used before (it needs nothing else and works on any metal).

If any of you guys know about a cheapish pump (say £25 max?) then please LMK. I am not going to drop my knackers on a pump. I've already got a res etc.

 

[LePhuronn]

Yup! Here we go again!

How much kit are you cooling in this? Unless you go second hand I doubt you'll get a pump for £25, however the Alphacool DC-LT ceramic is a surprisingly powerful little pump, and comes in about £35 with its plexi top. The low noise 2400 version is gash though, so look for the full-fat 3600 V2 (it has an RPM sensor wire this time). There's also a new 2600 version out too, but dunno what's involved with that.

Tiny little thing yet is perfectly fine for most standard loops. Almost got myself one for Asteria II before I made the DDC work (in theory - still not in yet ). It's still a fallback option though.

 

[ALXAndy]

I've found this for a tenner.



It's stating 500l ph and 3m. I looked up my DDC that Lewis gave me and that seems to be about 1/2 spec. However, the CPU I have is 60w max. It's an 8 core Xeon clocked to 2.2ghz on all 8 cores. I could replace with a 2670 V2 but there's not much point really because the 2.2ghz is actually fine. I've gamed on it quite hard and it was great.

I am only doing this for something to keep my mind from the dark side and cosmetics. I love mechanical things and water cooling is lovely for that

Hoping to find some second hand stuff to save on costs because Xmas is coming. Found some stuff on OCUK that I have added to my wish list too

 

[LewisRaz]

That pump that I sent was considerably more powerful than the one in my main loop. The XSPC d5 I think it is. I dont know what they say on paper.. Just what I have witnessed...

 

[ALXAndy]

That pump that I sent was considerably more powerful than the one in my main loop. The XSPC d5 I think it is. I dont know what they say on paper.. Just what I have witnessed...

Yeah man it's powerful. I can fill the loop in about five seconds.

I think the one I have seen for a tenner would be more than good enough tbh. Especially as it's only cooling the CPU.

 

[LewisRaz]

Yeah man it's powerful. I can fill the loop in about five seconds.

I think the one I have seen for a tenner would be more than good enough tbh. Especially as it's only cooling the CPU.

Yea mate go for it. Should be more than enough! And even if it isnt you could run 2 of them for less than another pump

 

[ALXAndy]

Well I did some more research. It seems the model number for the pump is SC600. I ran a search over Google which took me to Youtube.

There are quite a lot of videos on there showing the pump being used. It seems to be popular. There's also a video of a guy who has taken it apart.



I'm quite into electronics and even I can tell that it's pretty meaty and quite well made. So sod it, I ordered one. The pump is one of the most expensive parts so at £10.93 it was a no brainer. I did not want to pay £7 extra for the bracket (as it's ugly and stuff) so I will make one out of leftover acrylic and then spray paint it, given it will be small enough to fit into the booth.

I have also decided on black hose. XSPC, same as before.

 

[ALXAndy]

Well the order is in. Just got everything crossed right now that the rad is in stock as there is only one left... So yeah, pray for me guys !

Firstly and most importantly I ordered myself a rad. Watercool HTSF2 LTX to be specific. Same guys who do Heatkiller blocks.



It's stainless and very industrial.



Which is quite important, because the inside of the case is raw stainless. A black rad would suffice though if they don't have it in stock. This thing holds 5 bar. No, that wasn't a typo from me this time this rad holds 5 bar lmao. Another reason why it's important to me, as it's going to be a server.

I also ordered four of these in a multipack for £9.





Wise words were spoken by Gareth. Always buy twice as many fittings as you think you need. You will use nearly all of them lol.

I've gone for this for hose.



2m gloss black. The case does not have a side panel, so once it's all set that will be it.

For coolant I am sticking to what I know.



Dianoga used about 3/4+ of a bottle. This has far less going on so I reckon I could get two fills. Chose red because I don't like clear. You will only see it in the res and block.

Now I needed a couple of 90' but they are expensive. About £8+ each. Any way, I found these



On sale for £3.95 each and I have some "blocker" things that I can shut off the third holes with, giving me either straight or 90'. Cool beans

Budget right now? bang on £90 total. The block will be a tenner, but I have not decided on which one I want. I want silver/nickel if I can but it has writing on so I am currently weighing up my options of basically making a new top out of 8mm acrylic.

Oh yeah, other stuff. I have three of these in orange and one in black.



Six or seven of these.



Which were £1 each and work/look awesome. This is the res I will be using.

 

[LewisRaz]

Man, I really want to put a "cheap as possible" WC loop into my spare PC now after your projects

Must learn how to make decent cables first tho!

I will be impatiently awaiting updates as ever

 

[ALXAndy]

I just emailed you something I found earlier. Would get you off to a good start

Edit. I think I know what block I want too.



It's pretty much the same as what I have now, only black. I'm quite liking the black out idea tbh. Once the rig is done I will only be able to see water in the res at the front any way.

 

[keaneo]

i really like the way the hard drives are set up in that case

 

[Cenedd]

Went trolling for more projects and what did I find?

Blacked out block can be good and bad. If the top is Delrin, it'll be stronger. You don't get the irritating and worrying cracking/crazing round the screwthreads that you do with acrylic. The flipside is that you can't tell if the fins are gunked up without taking it apart...but that's, hopefully, a more long-term issue.

Always buy twice as many fittings as you think you need. You will use nearly all of them

Actually, I think you'll find that no matter what fittings you have, you'll need a different angle/length/more! And this way you get to add to your collection of 'stuff that might be useful for something'

I kinda like the middle block as the mounting and the engraving on it looks sort of H.R. Giger'esque. It looks to be nickel-plated which is worth looking into. Assuming that it's a copper base (better for heat transfer) and not hiding the fact that it's aluminium or something. Nickel plating stops the copper being corroded and hence keeps it shinier for longer. This is a good thing but problems occur if the nickel plating is too thin - which it could be at this price point - as it can flake off and foul your loop...and look ugly.

 

[ALXAndy]

i really like the way the hard drives are set up in that case

It's pretty neat man. It's actively cooled with ducts and a blower fan too lol (the hard drive bays). It's probably the most massively over engineered case I have ever seen.

Gaz - tbh dude the only place you will see the coolant is from the front bay. I cut a window into it before (not the hex one that was done trying to save the panel) and it looked so stupid. It then cost me $20 for a brand new side panel and then £100 in shipping to get it over here lmao. I will never make that mistake again So yeah, once it's built and "serving" that will be it. I will just keep an eye on the res bay to check the state of the liquid

I was thinking about it last night and I am absolutely certain I am going to need a couple more 90' fittings. Well, if I want the hoses to look really good any way. Also hoping the hoses don't hit the memory coolers (check them out lmao).

 

[ALXAndy]

Hey all

Yesterday I was not feeling so good so literally opened the parcel to make sure it was all there. Then I spent the rest of the day trying to sleep whilst having palpitations. Sucked. Any way, here is what arrived yesterday. You will note that there's a plastic storage container under the order, that's where everything else is. Just as I tidied it all away it will be coming out again



Apols for the ropy pics. It's so dark today and just peeing with rain. I do believe I have found the Noctua of rads though.



The finish is gorgeous.



And the build quality? typically heatkiller tbh.



They may not be the best rads but man they are beautifully made and very heavy (about four times the weight of my EK Coolstream 360 !).

 

[LewisRaz]

That rad looks so industrial... Now I need to go and watercool my server

 

[LePhuronn]

That rad is boss! Must admit I'm getting a soft spot for Heatkiller stuff - had to change plans for the GPU block and go Heatkiller because EK's terminal port was too high to fit inside the 901, but it's a cracking block.

It's not bare copper any more though

 

[ALXAndy]

I'm well chuffed with the rad. It only cost £43 too, about half of the RRP. I absolutely love OCUK for that. I've tried to shop elsewhere but seriously, everything I have decided on has been here and it has been cheaper. OCUK are not afraid of doing a sale either (I guess because they're a big company) so fittings are available if you look hard enough.

I really do appreciate quality products. I must admit that for the first couple of weeks I was beginning to wonder... The EK Coolstream was made like junk and if you even breathed near it the paint came off. Couple that with a poor design (IMO) with the extenders that can untwist if you are not careful.. Yeah, wasn't pleased. The initial fittings I bought were junk too.

I would say out of all of the fittings I have bought now Monsoon Chainguns are my fave. They're wonderful. They are big though, so you need to be careful where you use them. XSPC come in second. Their chrome finishes are gorgeous (Alphacool look lumpy in comparison).

OK so some progress made Firstly I moved everything around and got the rig ready to be worked on on my other desk. So yeah, just been removing hardware tbh.



I then removed the rad carrier from the roof.



And am now praying that the rad doesn't hit the motherboard (well, not the rad the fans on it). I am sure I ran push pull on a H100 in here though? and it was fine. I need to take some measurements basically.

Not sure which way to orientate it yet either (in/outlets pump res end or CPU block end..) but am pretty sure those preposterous ram coolers are going to need to go or be modified lol.

 

[Cenedd]

Wouldn't bother with push/pull. The gains are quite small in the real world - even benchmarking. Not worth the extra cost or the space.

You sure that's a rad carrier not just a fan carrier? Can't see any outlet for fittings so unless it's for fans in and rad under. Would your rad fit in the carrier and fittings exit via drilled holes in the bottom? Then you could have fans mounted under so there's a bit more clearance for the CPU. That would leave you with either push exhaust or pull intake as an option for the fans. Neither is perfect...but then if your rad is internal, nothing is - not blowing my own horn about externally mounted rads, just that if they are internal (like sensible people do) you either have to exhaust pre-warmed air through them or draw in cold outside air and fI'll your case with hot air. I'm reasonably certain that the difference between best and worst might be 2C at most so go with what makes your life easiest. It only matters for benchmarking and eho-stroking.

 

[ALXAndy]

The rad carrier goes in on a pole and then swings closed on a catch. All of the fans and pumps connect onto the circuit board on the end (that blue thing). They are then controlled via the software in Windows.

However, I have hit a major snag. The Heatkiller rad is not regular dimensions (it's too wide) so won't go into the rad carrier I can't fit fans to the rad and put them in either, as it still hits. So basically I can not mount the rad in the rad carrier

I thought it was game over for the rad, then I looked into the roof of the case without the rad carrier in. Up there in the roof are mounting holes for fans/rads. Problem is, how do I access them?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgt9IX1ORuM

Thank god Dell made those videos ! skip to 6:36 and you will see what I have to do. It might take some extra modding (and I am going to have to make a holder for the circuit board out of acrylic scrap) but I *think* I might get the rad in that way.

Here is a Corsair H100 in the rad carrier.



You fit the fans to the AIO, then screw it into the rad carrier, then put the rad carrier back in on the swing out retention. It's very clever and makes removing the rad easy but yeah, not going to work with this rad. It's about 15mm wider than a typical rad.

 

[Cenedd]

Ok, clearer from 2:40 into that. If it would clear CPU, block and RAM when hung from the bracket, would there be room to widen out the bracket by 15mm by bending the rear bit towards the motherboard plate?