Watercooled Case Gallery

Noxvayl · 11 Mar 2014 at 23:35

Made a change to my rig, looks a bit better now. The change was inspired by a new motherboard that allowed me to put the GPU in the 3rd PCI-E slot further down providing enough space to add a quick disconnect between the CPU and GPU and improved airflow supplying the the top two radiators from a side mounted 140mm fan that wasn't possible in the old configuration.

Corsair550DWaterCooling92014-03-09-0527_zpsc978c32a.jpg

The FX 8350 dumps more heat into the system so my water temps are higher now but system still remains as close to inaudible as I have gotten a computer so I am very happy with it.

Something Else · 15 Mar 2014 at 22:46

Not much of an update with my pc.

Added a cheap Zalman fan controller to it to allow me to control the LED strip as it was too bright. Got a molex to fan three pin off ebay and connected it to the controller and the led strip to allow for control. Stuck the controller on the back of my case and it works great.

Vid below.

whyscotty · 15 Mar 2014 at 23:11

Enthoo mark 2 - 4770K - 780 Classy

Something Else · 16 Mar 2014 at 00:53

whyscotty said:
Lots of shiny parts

Well you had to come in here and make the rest of us feel inadequate didn't :rolleyes:

you!

whyscotty · 16 Mar 2014 at 12:03

Something Else said:
Well you had to come in here and make the rest of us feel inadequate didn't you!

Avenged7Fold · 16 Mar 2014 at 17:58

I think i need to go out and buy a sports car now

Shawy · 22 Mar 2014 at 12:17

Noxvayl said:
Made a change to my rig, looks a bit better now. The change was inspired by a new motherboard that allowed me to put the GPU in the 3rd PCI-E slot further down providing enough space to add a quick disconnect between the CPU and GPU and improved airflow supplying the the top two radiators from a side mounted 140mm fan that wasn't possible in the old configuration.

The FX 8350 dumps more heat into the system so my water temps are higher now but system still remains as close to inaudible as I have gotten a computer so I am very happy with it.

Why so many QDs?

khemist · 22 Mar 2014 at 12:44

So he can disconnect any part without draining the loop i guess.

I used to think like that as well but the way i've got mine set up just now it's so easy to just drain and refill, so i don't bother using them.

Noxvayl · 22 Mar 2014 at 20:45

Shawy said:
Why so many QDs?

2 reasons; the first is to be able to do upgrades and fault testing easily without disturbing the loop, the second is to allow easier bleeding of the radiators because they can be done individually outside of the case and then connected together afterwards which has worked out quicker and more effective at removing bubbles from the system. The quick disconnects have been positioned so that if the graphics card needs to be taken out I can use an old air cooled one and have the loop connected with only the CPU included.

With the radiators positioned as they are and the loop being so long the bubbles take a while to get out. Isolating the radiators has helped make the process a lot faster.

I've recently had 3 motherboard faults and 1 graphics card die within 12 months. Refilling the loop once was enough, after that I got the quick disconnects to reduce the hassle when a component needs replacing.

Shawy · 28 Mar 2014 at 21:23

Noxvayl said:
2 reasons; the first is to be able to do upgrades and fault testing easily without disturbing the loop, the second is to allow easier bleeding of the radiators because they can be done individually outside of the case and then connected together afterwards which has worked out quicker and more effective at removing bubbles from the system. The quick disconnects have been positioned so that if the graphics card needs to be taken out I can use an old air cooled one and have the loop connected with only the CPU included.

With the radiators positioned as they are and the loop being so long the bubbles take a while to get out. Isolating the radiators has helped make the process a lot faster.

I've recently had 3 motherboard faults and 1 graphics card die within 12 months. Refilling the loop once was enough, after that I got the quick disconnects to reduce the hassle when a component needs replacing.

Still seems excessive. It takes 10 minutes to drain a loop and then 10 minutes to fill it afterwards. And to bleed the air from your radiators, just leave the pump running - you don't have to do anything else.

Noxvayl · 28 Mar 2014 at 22:10

It might take 10 mins to drain and fill the loop but between those times you have to work with the loop to get access to components. In my case you need to remove the 140mm radiator in order to get to the CPU or motherboard hence having disconnects allows that to be done without any hassle. Without the disconnects you either have to struggle with a pipe so short there is almost no room to manoeuvre the radiator or you loop the pipes from the 140mm radiator longer than needed to provide the manoeuvrability required.

It might seem excessive but if you had the displeasure of working with the system you wouldn't find the alternative appealing. I admit that I could have done without the 140mm radiator and avoided all the fuss but I find the disconnects and the added radiator to be better than not having either.

Shawy · 29 Mar 2014 at 23:11

Pretty sure I could get the CPU & motherboard out of that system without draining it. Heck, I managed to swap the motherboard in the new Emperor system without draining the loop:

Where there's a will, there's a way.

Uncle Petey · 29 Mar 2014 at 23:28

^ Nicely done.
Pics of UV goodness pls!

Shawy · 30 Mar 2014 at 00:42

Uncle Petey said:
^ Nicely done.
Pics of UV goodness pls!

Unfortunately the UV was a fail on this build..

The cathodes would need to have been mounted right in front of the res/ tubing for it to have any affect. We tried cathodes, LED strips and even a UV LED plug on the res, which was absolutely pathetic.

Avenged7Fold · 30 Mar 2014 at 02:11

Love the reservoir mounting. Want to have my rez there too but cant let go of roof radiator space

Put the cold cathode behind the reservoir so it lights it up but keeps it out of sight.

Freddie1980 · 30 Mar 2014 at 02:38

You don't often see horizontal resiviour mounts, what res mounts are using? I wouldn't mind getting those for myself when I redo my rig.

Shawy · 30 Mar 2014 at 10:26

Avenged7Fold said:
Love the reservoir mounting. Want to have my rez there too but cant let go of roof radiator space

Put the cold cathode behind the reservoir so it lights it up but keeps it out of sight.

2 420 rads is more than enough cooling potential!

That's where I ended up sticking the LEDs - the UV cathode there only lit up the back side where the cathode was. :/

Freddie1980 said:
You don't often see horizontal resiviour mounts, what res mounts are using? I wouldn't mind getting those for myself when I redo my rig.

I try to add something new/different to all the watercooled systems at Overclockers

And I used EK's UNI holder to mount the res horizontally.

Silent_Scone · 3 Apr 2014 at 19:03

Avenged7Fold · 3 Apr 2014 at 19:07

Sweet.

You even made that beastly radiator look cool with the fan controllers on top of it. Mind your mouse hand though!

Silent_Scone · 3 Apr 2014 at 19:12

It's the cats I'm more worried about