WIP: WC'd Antec 1200 i7 & GTX295 rig dual rads

coolamasta · 17 Jan 2010 at 18:04

WIP: WC'd Antec 1200 i7 & GTX295 rig dual rads *FINISHED + FINAL PICS & RESULTS*

Hi all, been trying to get around to properly cooling my Antec 1200 with i7 & GTX295 but with one thing and another I've only just got around to starting it off!

Full Spec of hardware:

Antec 1200 full tower case
Asus P6T Deluxe Motherboard
Intel Core i7 920 D0 CPU @ 4ghz
OCZ Reaper PC3-12800 1600MHz Ram 7-7-7-24
XFX Nvidia GTX295 Graphics Card
Asus Xonar DX Soundcard
Gigabyte Odin 800w Modular PSU

WC spec list:

EK Spin reservoir
Swiftech 18w DDC pump
XSPC DDC Pump Acrylic Top V3
2 x Phobya G-Changer 240 Radiators
EK Supreme Acetal CPU Water block
AquaComputer AquagraFX GTX295 Water block
1/2" ID 3/4" XSPX tubing throughout
Feser Compression fittings throughout
2 x Yate Loon D12SM-12D 120mm Fans for front rad
2 x Kaze-Jyuni Slipstream 120mm Fans for top rad

Yesterday I went about stripping the case and fitting the Rads in, wasn't sure where to put them but decided on one in the front and one up top as there was so much free space up there!

I have spaced the top rad slightly of the Antec Big-Boy fan to create a better gap between them which should help in exhausting the hot air. I used motherboard brass fittings to space out the rad and it worked well, just had to slightly enlarge the holes on the rad to take them.

Just waiting for a few more parts to arrive then I can continue the build, for now here are some of the strip down and rad fitting...

Rig as it was running with side off

Close up of guts

Motherboard etc removed

Rig in temporary position so I can still use it & game!

Pics of rads & a Yate Loon fans

Yate Loon left, Kaze Jyuni right

Rad held in place by 4 small L-shaped Brackets

Checking clearances for front fans before fixing in rad

All screwed up into place with brackets & fans

Top pic looking down on rad & fan sandwich, notice the brackets

Motherboard brass stand-offs fixed to top rad

Holding top rad into place to mark screw holes

Top rad fitted and lid about to go back on

Looking up at top fan with Kaze Jyuni's fitted

Front shot of the top rad & fans

240mm Rad just about fits up there, literally 2mm free space!

Shot of fan testing, Kaze's are loud and move loads of air but they will be on a fan controller anyway, the Yate Loons hardly make a noise and with all Antec fans on low its soooo much quieter than before, just hope all this keeps the temps good!

Quick front shot showing EK res etc, ready for part 2!

Any comments good or bad? I'm just hoping 2 x dual rads are good enough to cool the over clocked i7 & 295 :worried:

Cheers all

coolamasta · 17 Jan 2010 at 18:05

Couple of quick pics from today, didn't have much time but managed to spare half an hour to cut down one of the hard drive mounts/caddies as it wouldn't go in due to hitting the end tanks. With a quick chop theres plenty of space now to access the front rad pipes meaning I can still use 2 x HDD's which are cooled

After the hacksaw had been out, normal one on right

Fitted inside with 2 HDD's leaving a nice bit of room for rad piping

Outside of case looking normal again

neil_g · 17 Jan 2010 at 18:12

looking good, keep the pics coming

DeadMan · 17 Jan 2010 at 22:47

Love it! very well thought out with great use of the space.

I use the 38mm loons in my TJ07 and they work exceeding well

Richy1204 · 17 Jan 2010 at 22:55

Nice work

I did the same as you with my rig but just with a Antec 900, i mounted XSPC RX120 in the front and i also cut the hdd bay up.

EdGey · 17 Jan 2010 at 23:08

looks nice so far

megatron · 18 Jan 2010 at 00:25

Big cases rule. I tried watercooling with a p180, used a single 120mm rad in the wind tunnel. Its too much hassle for me now though, it depends a lot on ambient temps although u can disperse more heat than an aircooler could manage, meaning its more suited to cranking the voltage up.

Brizzles · 19 Jan 2010 at 11:38

I've seen your work on other forums coolamasta, always top notch builds.

I'll keep an eye on this one.

Cheers,

Mark - fellow Bristolian

thevet · 19 Jan 2010 at 11:49

i like that,good pics,a proper wc setup.

coolamasta · 19 Jan 2010 at 12:33

Thanks chaps

Cheers fellow Briztolian Mark! What other forums you on mate?

Got loads more pics to go up just need to shrink em and host em, hopefully later tonight although all my apps are on this actual machine so might be a couple of days before I get it up and running again to sort the pics out!

Its all getting bit of a squeeze now and I couldn't mount the pump where I wanted so its sat at the bottom on the case meaning I got more piping that I originally planned but hey ho mounting 2 x 240mm inside was never going to leave me with much space! Maybe I should have used 1/2" OD piping instead of 3/4" OD lol, ah well should hopefully be cool & quiet!! :cool:

coolamasta · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:31

Got the bulk of the work done over last couple of days, couldn't mount the pump where I wanted so had to settle for the bottom of the case but shouldn't be a problem

Here ya go:

Rest of the Watercooling Parts

G1/4 LED holders with UV LED's fitted into EK Reservoir

18w DDC Pump mounted on rubber feet

Motherboard & PSU mounted with EK Supreme CPU waterblock

Starting to pipe it up with red UV coils

Stripped GTX295 (was slightly scary stripping it knowing warranty is out the window)

GTX295 PCB's all de-greased & de-dusted

New Thermal paste & memory pads ready to fit to waterblock

Both GTX295 boards carefully fitted to Waterblock

Another side shot of GTX295 all waterblock'd up!

gt_junkie · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:38

Nice work - looks good!

You planning on cooling the mobo's chipset or are you leaving it as it is?

gt

James Manns · 20 Jan 2010 at 16:11

nice work bud, like the uv coils, they can sometimes look a bit out of place but yours suit the rest.

i never new you could get one waterblock for two cards...?

wakayoda · 20 Jan 2010 at 17:15

I've been wondering how those water blocks fit those cards cheers !

nice coils

EdGey · 20 Jan 2010 at 20:47

looking good so far!

Diggsy · 20 Jan 2010 at 21:09

Is it just me, or is your radiator not installed level? Seems to be lower toward the rear of the case.

coolamasta · 21 Jan 2010 at 10:54

gt_junkie said:
You planning on cooling the mobo's chipset or are you leaving it as it is?

At the moment just CPU & GPU's, there is still enough airflow inside the case to keep the chipset cool which is a nice advantage with the P6T deluxe having such a big heatsink. If it does get too hot when stressing it then I will add a block in but for 4ghz I sure it will be fine

James Manns said:
i never new you could get one waterblock for two cards...?

Its not 2 separate cards mate, GTX295's have 2 PCB boards, one top and one bottom each with its own core, same as the older 9800 GX2's, the std heatsink is one piece and thats just replaced with a waterblock. The new GTX295's are single PCB and both cores are on the same board (see below pic)

http://www.pcstats.com/ArticleImages/200906/GeForce_GTX_295_single-PCB_05.jpg No hotlinking

coolamasta · 21 Jan 2010 at 11:24

Diggsy said:
Is it just me, or is your radiator not installed level? Seems to be lower toward the rear of the case.

Haha well done for noticing mate, if you look at the below pic you will see why (look at the mounting points, rear mounts are lower because mounted on the big fan lip) I could simply add a couple more brass motherboard mounts to the front to level it up but its not noticeable with the side on anyway so doesn't bother me

jrwagh333 · 21 Jan 2010 at 11:25

Loving the pics mate... Sorry if I have missed it but just curious as to what order you are running the loop in... Also to awnser your question, will 2 dual rads be enough. I have a triple rad cooling 2 GTX260's and a AMD 90nm CPU!... And all load temps are below 45C

Dinkas · 21 Jan 2010 at 11:58

coolamasta said:

I see a potential pitfall with the PSU cooling...