Zeus

[x88x]

Ok, so I know I haven't made any progress on Faust in...well, ok, I haven't made any progress at all on Faust...it's mainly just been sitting on my desk gathering dust while the components sit in a temporary case.. Anyways, on to the point:

While I loved building mightyMite, it never quite turned into what I originally envisioned. In addition, I started out with really a crappy base, and it ended up turning into a conglomeration of parts. While I am rather proud of parts of it, it has recently begun to irk me. Between my northbridge overheating with no space to put in a fan and discovering a disturbingly large bubble in my watercooling loop, I decided it was time to move my system to a new home.

This time I decided to start with a nice, solid base, and since I have since determined that I really don't need a small system, I headed over to Micro Center and had a look around...turned up with this beauty:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zuess_00.jpg

and unboxed:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zuess_03.jpg
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zuess_01.jpg

guess what these are for ;)
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zuess_02.jpg

starting to strip it down..
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zuess_05.jpg

Hey! What's that doing in my bays?!
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zuess_06.jpg

Ah, that's better. ..now, what shall we put here...?
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zuess_07.jpg

...have I mentioned how I love Micro Center?
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zuess_08.jpg

There, much more useful:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zuess_09.jpg


More to come, I'm currently working on making mounts for that rad out of some aluminum angle; I think I'll do that more tomorrow when I have time when people aren't sleeping..one of the down sides of living in an apartment; I can't do metalwork at weird hours. :(

[billygoat333]

just do it in your bathroom... and if people complain just say its the pipes and blame it on the landlord! lol. sweet ass looking case.

[LiTHiUM0XiD3]

tried that... doing body work in the bathroom sheetmetal or bondo got me hell... depends on the gf/wife situation i guess lol

[x88x]

Hmm, I might have to try that; my bathroom is on the better side of my apartment; there are two storage rooms the size of my apartment, plus a stairwell, before there's anyone else, and the brick floor/ceiling is a pretty good sound killer....also there's no gf/wife, so that's not really an issue.

[Couch3ater]

Nice choice of case. ^_^ Totally love Cooler Master mods. Looking forward to seeing this shape up.

[x88x]

Nice choice of case. ^_^

Thanks. I was almost sold on the Antec 902, but then I saw this and the dual 140mm fan mounts already in the top sold me.


My original plan was to put my two current 120mm rads in the top mounts inside the case, with fans on the outside. Unfortunately, they're a bit too thick for that (like, ~1/2"), so now I'm gonna be reversing it and mounting the fans on the inside with the rads on the outside.
Rather like so:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_10.jpg
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_11.jpg
My eventual plan is to get a 140.2 or 120.2 (the 140's are weirdly expensive...I guess because they don't sell as many?) to put in place of those, and at that point drill the necessary holes to run the tubing through. In the mean time, I'm enjoying that CM put in those little holes for just this purpose.


Another setback; once I finally got the mounts for one side of the 120.3 rad cut out, I set up a couple to gauge sizes, and the aluminum angle is about 4-5mm too short :evil: Oh well, I needed to go to Ace tomorrow anyways. At least now I know what I'm gonna be using to mount everything else ;)

EDIT:
Almost forgot; I sent off my dead OCZ Vertex for RMA today, so I'm hoping that I'll be getting it back sometime next week.

[Couch3ater]

Hahaha, Cooler Master knows how to make a case. I had no idea they sold the Centurion with slots on the top for Rads, let alone two of them. I was surprised when I opened up this log and saw that. Lol, I have a Centurion myself, and it certainly would have saved me the trouble if I knew they made the one you have. I'm currently in the process of attempting to water cool the CPU (first try. --crosses fingers--) and I'm scratching my head as to where I should place the rad... >_<

[x88x]

Well, as I saw when I tried to fit my rads in there, they're actually designed for fans, not rads, but hey as long as they fit, same difference. :D

If you have a normal Centurion, the only places I can think that would work well to put a rad would be in the rear 120mm fan spot (preferably inside if it'll fit; outside if not) or in a few of the 5.25" bays.

Another small update I just remembered; as you might notice in the shot of the front panel, the top bay has a 3.5" pop-out section in it. Now, obviously I'm never gonna be using that, so all it's doing is standing out, making my front panel look uneven. Fortunately, several months ago I built a system at work using a Cooler Master case that had almost identical bay covers...all of which were pulled out and tossed in a pile to be thrown out. Now, for some reason I held onto them, and for once my packrat-ish tendencies payed off. I now have fully matching front bay panels. (I'll add a pic when I get home).

[x88x]

Ok, first, the promised pic of the front panel first:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_12.jpg

And now one of my favorite parts of modding; new tools :D
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_13.jpg

[x88x]

Well, as I was thinking over what I told Couch3ater, I realized that since I'm already putting rads outside, I might as well take it all the way and put another one outside:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_14.jpg

So, I decided to break out one of my new toys and get some holes made for that:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_18.jpg

..and the bigger one for something something else :D

http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_16.jpg
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_17.jpg


WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM!!!
http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/8417/ttgl13mm6.jpg
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_15.jpg

Now that I look at that on here, I think maybe I should have taken that picture on a smaller drill :facepalm:


And...it appears to be 11:30pm and I have forgotten to eat dinner...I think I'll do something about that now.

[x88x]

Ok, got a bit more done before bed. I made the mount for the res and got to use another of my new toys, the tap & die set!
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_19.jpg

I rather quite like that. :D

[blueonblack]

Nice work so far! +rep

[p0Pe]

haha i love the build, and the edit in the last post:P

[x88x]

Ok, no work update right now, but my NB waterblock came in today!

Big box:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_20.jpg


....little box.... (yes, that was the only thing in there..well, other than a crapload of packing peanuts)
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_21.jpg

and last but not least, the waterblock. look harder, you'll find it eventually :P
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_22.jpg

Just to accentuate how small this thing is; yes, those are standard G1/4 fittings...thing is tiny!

I finally made it to Ace today after work to get larger alu angle for the 120.3 rad mounts...I'm really glad I checked how much it costs... I only need ~3' for the mounts, so I was gonna get the 4' length because obviously that's gonna be a lot cheaper than the 7' length, right? Apparently not! The 4' was $10.99 ...and the 7' was.... $11.99 ....seriously, what's up with that? Needless to say, I now have an extra 3' of alu angle going into the spare parts...closet?

[x88x]

Ok, little snippet. The only thing that really bugged me about this case was the feet. They were these nasty hard plastic things, with a thin ring around the edge, so only that thin ring was actually touching the ground. So, I looked around the furniture section at Ace and found some nice big flat rubber feet about the same thickness as the current plastic ones. (The one in the foreground is the new ones).
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_23.jpg

Much nicer :D

[Couch3ater]

=DD I'm glad I was able to aid in your scheming. I was thinking of throwing the rad there, but when you mentioned modding the bays, it sparked some curiosity. I'll have to play around with it and post the results up here.

As for the mod; nice work! Really like how it's coming along so far. Can't wait to see what you have in store. ^_^

[x88x]

Bleagh, I really need to get to sleep... oh well, I wanted to get the res mounts finished tonight, and I did.

Basically I took two lengths of 1x1x1/8 alu angle and ran them down the inside of the 5.25" bays on either side.
Mounts by themselves on case:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_24.jpg

The res then mounts on one side:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_25.jpg

And the fans mount on the other:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_26.jpg

Unfortunately, my awesome fans are about 2mm thicker than normal 120mm fans, to I'm gonna have to either use different fans or shave 1mm off four edges :dead:

I also mounted the other two rads:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_27.jpg

I'm quite liking how this one is turning out so far :D

Tomorrow (ok, later this morning...ok, maybe this afternoon :P ) I'll be working more on the WC loop and getting that new NB block set up.

What I'm planning on doing for the loop is:
pump>CPU>rear120>NB>top120>GPU>120.3>res>pump
Keep in mind that the NB in this case is a GeForce 9400, so it gets really hot. Previously on the crappy passive HS, running two 1680x1050 monitors, it would usually run in the mid to upper 70's C

Unfortunately, I didn't examine the MBB before ordering the NB block, or I would have ordered one for the mosfets as well. For now I'm thinking I'll just cut the heatpipe off near the mosfet HS and let it be.
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_28.jpg

[Mark_Hardware]

Project Zeus eh? Lookin good so far, I'm expecting big things! :P

[x88x]

Project Zeus eh? Lookin good so far, I'm expecting big things! :P

Well, it's in fitting with the naming scheme I have for my network.

Domain: Hades
Fileserver: Faust
Laptop: Hermes
SSH server: Kharon

[billygoat333]

lol I use homestarrunner as my computer names. my desktop is compy386 and my laptop is lappy486.

good work with the rads... love the front mounted rad. reminds me of an intercooler on a turbo'd car. :D you better put some lightning bolts on that case!

[x88x]

you better put some lightning bolts on that case!

Heheh, yup, that's the plan. I want to get the functional work done first before starting on making it pretty though.

[billygoat333]

now what would be really cool would be a mini tesla coil on top! :D

[x88x]

Ok, got the mosfet HS separated:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_30.jpg

Unfortunately, I appear to have misplaced both my thermal paste cleaning fluid and my AS5...I assume they're in the same place, but that place is not where I though it was...

and the first SSD mount finished!
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_29.jpg

Now to start on the next one...

[x88x]

Well, I took a break from alu work to search more for my AS5, and I found it! It's weird, I put all my thermal paste stuff in one bag in the box with all my other cooling stuff in it...who'd a thought? :P

Ahh, that's much better:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_31.jpg

[x88x]

Little slower this evening, but I got brunner :D :
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/HPIM0550.jpg

and I got the second SSD mount done. I've got a random 2.5" drive in there as a spaceholder since my other Vertex is currently sitting at OCZ's facility in CA, waiting for them to decide that it's actually bad and send me a replacement. :(
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_32.jpg

[x88x]

Well, I think I may have found a solution to the 120.3 fan problem.. Now, as anyone who's worked with these fans knows, you can actually take the fan out of the frame, so I was taking the inside out of the first one to start filing it down, and realized something. The remaining plastic frame squeezes in quite nicely in the mounting frame for the rad. I have all three mounted like that and running for a while to see if they stay nicely.
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_33.jpg

[billygoat333]

oooh... that looks dangerous. lol I like it! really looks like a car radiator now!

[x88x]

Well, they're held in pretty tight; I had to squeeze them a bit to get them in. I figure it's at least good enough to hold it for a few months till either I file down the frames or I buy new fans (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835226012).

[x88x]

I've gotten the loop mostly done now. I ran out of 3/8" fittings and thought I was gonna have to source some more (either several days of waiting or 1.5-2 hours of driving to Micro Center and back), but then I remembered the line running from the fillport to the reservoir. Since it's not really part of the loop, replacing it with 1/2" won't affect the flow at all, and I have plenty of 1/2" stuff, so...
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_34.jpg

I haven't gotten the pump mount quite figured out yet, but it'll be down at the bottom, in front of the PSU, with a line running from the bottom of the res, then out up to the CPU block.

EDIT:
Also, I forgot to mention, I got word today that OCZ shipped out my SSD on Sunday (adjusted), from Taiwan... So according to FedEx I should have it by Thursday.

I know the PSU looks a bit off, but it's gonna be replaced in a few months. I've already decided that part of my tax return is gonna be going to a new PSU and 140.2 rad.

[Couch3ater]

Still loving this mod. I like where you decided to mount the SSD's. As for the fans on the front rad, I think that's pretty sweet. Nice way to save some dough; cut a fan until it fits. Looking forward to seeing this done. =D

[x88x]

Ok, so I got some industrial strength velcro for the pump, got everything hooked up, and started filling the loop.
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_35.jpg

Everything went well for a while, then....a leak. Of course the one fitting that leaked was the one on the BOTTOM of the reservoir! :facepalm:

I tried tightening it in place, but it was still leaking, so I flipped the case over and started pulling it apart enough for me to fix it...working on that atm.

[x88x]

w00tz! Lowes was open till 10pm! Just barely made it! Seriously, they called '5 minutes till closing' right as I got to the plumbing isle. Now I has teflon tape! I wanted to get it just to make sure, but in retrospect, it makes a lot of sense that it would leak without it. I mean, it's the lowest point in the loop, right at the bottom of the res, so it's got much higher pressure on it than any other fitting...I know, I know, I should have used teflon tape on all of them, but...well...I didn't have it, so...I didn't use it. :facepalm:

[x88x]

Well, fitting is teflon'd and refitted, and it appears to be working so far. I'm letting it run for a while to clear out the air bubbles. Meanwhile, I'll be working through the rest of the wiring.

[x88x]

Ok, it's been running now for what, almost 2 hours? So far that fitting is perfectly dry, and I'm not seeing any more leaks. Also, I turned on all the fans about an hour ago, and holy crap! The radiator housings are almost cold to the touch; I'd say probably at least about 10-15 F below ambient! I can't wait to see what kind of temps I get once I actually power everything up!

btw, for anyone wondering, the pump and fans are running off a power supply off an old external HDD.

[Trace]

It shouldn't be able to cool below ambient...Just FYI lol

[x88x]

Hmm, you're right, I remember having this discussion somewhere here recently...idk, according to my thermostat my apartment was sitting at about 68F, and the rad body definitely felt cooler than the air... Either way, I'm still really excited to see what temps I get when I actually start the thing up. I checked all the fittings again this morning, and didn't see any fluid coming out, but then I realized that the pump got turned off at some point.. :facepalm: So, tonight after work and Avatar, I'm gonna finally hook up the last of the wiring and fire this thing up!

[Trace]

The metal will feel cooler then the air because the metal "sucks" the heat out of you quicker then the air; this is the same reason that when you get into your car on a hot day, the metal buckle will burn. The metal has a higher heat transfer, similar to the effects of water. This is why water cooling works better then air cooling. (I'll try to find you a link)

Can't wait to see this thing working.

Edit: (This lnk should do it.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_transfer

[x88x]

Thanks, I was thinking it was something like that but couldn't remember what it was called.

Also, three cheers for OCZ and FedEx for getting my SSD home one day early!

[x88x]

Ok, finally got everything wired and up and running (well, not the second SSD..still need to check the firmware on that first, and that is not a job for 2am...).
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_36.jpg

Now, I'm not entirely sure what all the other temps are, but I know the first GPU is my onboard 9400, the second GPU is my GTX260, and the 'Core' temps are all my CPU cores. I am quite curious what the others are though, seeing as how one of them is freaking 13C.
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/loadtemps.png

I'm more than a little surprised at the high CPU temps, though I do take comfort in the fact that from idle to full load (once the temps stopped rising) was only a change of about 2-3C.

[artoodeeto]

Should we be alarmed at the box of matches next to the case? :D

I'd guess on that 13C temp, it's probably a spot somewhere on the mainboard, away from the hot stuff. I had a similar experience with Speedfan (and that's my only complaint about it) - it's pretty vague on what some of those things are that it's measuring. But, I suppose that's the price you pay for free and generic.

[x88x]

Should we be alarmed at the box of matches next to the case? :D

Hahaha, I didn't even notice those. I lost my lighter, so I was using those to light my butane torch for working with the heatshrink tubing.

Does anyone have experience with the 45nm Penryn CPUs? I'm really curious as to why I'm not getting lower temps on this, almost to the point of pulling the waterblock off and redoing the thermal paste just to make sure everything's good.

[artoodeeto]

If only there was a way to run the cooling system pipes thru the fridge...
It's been years since I last ran a WC setup, but from my experience the temps I got weren't remarkably low, they were just stable and the load temp wasn't much different than the idle. Checking the thermal grease might be a good idea, and also make sure there aren't any air bubbles in your water tubes (I'm sure you would have heard them by now if there were any).
Would it work to use automotive coolant instead of water, for better heat absorbtion?

[Airbozo]

If only there was a way to run the cooling system pipes thru the fridge...

It's easy.

The hard part is missing any pipes or wires when drilling the holes for the tubes. I converted an old refrigerator to handle my keg and tap and was able to drill the hole without hitting anything. It so happened that one of my friends used to work at an appliance repair store and he was able to pull up the technical manual on my 'fridge to show me where the cooling pipes and wires were run.

Another friend (who is part of our beer brewing circle) just cut a hole in the gasket around the door and ran his tubing through that. A little silicone around the tube and no leaks...

[x88x]

I got weren't remarkably low, they were just stable and the load temp wasn't much different than the idle.
I haven't seen what my new load GPU temps are, but moving from my old WC setup with 2 120mm rads to the new one adding a 120.3, my GTX260's idle temp got almost cut in half. That's why I was so surprised to see that my CPU idle temps only went down about 5-10C.


Checking the thermal grease might be a good idea, and also make sure there aren't any air bubbles in your water tubes (I'm sure you would have heard them by now if there were any).
I think all the air has come out by now. Between letting it run for a couple days, letting it sit for a day, and flipping it over every now and then during the process, I think they're all out. At least, I'm not getting any more air floating up to my fillport anymore.


Would it work to use automotive coolant instead of water, for better heat absorbtion?
Actually, I'm using Feser One's black non-conductive fluid (http://www.dangerden.com/store/feser-one-uv-black-illusion-f1-coolant.html) atm; idk what the difference in heat transfer is from regular water though.

[SXRguyinMA]

straight distilled water absorbs heat much more efficiently than it does when mixed with antifreeze. the antifreeze is there for just that...to keep the water from freezing. Most race teams use a combo of distilled water and water wetter (to lubricate the water pump seals) as it absorbs heat much better than antifreeze does. well that and if it spills in a crash water doesnt make the track nearly as slick as antifreeze does.

If I had the time I'd like to empty my loop (currently filled with thermaltakes coolant, used for the UV green effect) and replace it with straight distilled water and see if it makes any difference with the temps :?

[x88x]

I use the Feser One stuff mainly because it's non-conductive. That way on the off chance that there is a leak/spill, I don't have to worry about it shorting stuff out. I know pure distilled water is also non-conductive, but in the case of a spill, it's not gonna stay distilled very long.

[SXRguyinMA]

lol true. I know the thermaltake stuff i'm running is non-conductive as well, just a little added peace of mind incase I happen to spring a leak

[x88x]

Well, it's taken probably about 6 hours of research, 3-4 hours of work, and 3 computers, but I finally have both Vertex drives flashed to the 1.41 firmware, wiped, RAID'ed, and Win 7 installed.

More updates as I work stuff out.

[SXRguyinMA]

dang all this makes me want to forget going to SSDs anytime in the forseeable future lol

[x88x]

Hahaha, well, the performance gain is definitely worth it, and it wouldn't have been anywhere near the pain it was if a) I weren't a perfectionist, and b) I were working with different hardware. I wanted to start out fresh, with as clean a drive as possible, so according to an official guide on OCZ's website, that means I needed to run their special wiping program on each drive both before and after flashing the firmware. So, to do that, I needed a working system that was running on something not one of the SSDs. So, I dug out my last remaining free SATA HDD, and installed Vista 32-bit on it (some of the apps have issues with 64-bit...). However, once I had pulled any data I needed off the SSD that I had been using, then ran their program on it, I tried to boot their firmware flashing disc, and after a long time researching and trying different stuff, I determined that something about my MBB was making it fail.... :facepalm: So, I head over to another (older) system, and the flashing works on there... So, back and forth between those two for a while, and I finally had clean, fresh drives. :D (For anyone who was counting, yes, that's only 2 computers. The third one was my laptop with the instructions on it...).

I will say though, that because the technology is still fairly immature, running SSD(s) is still a bit of a pain, but if you want to squeeze as much performance as possible out of your system, it is very much worth it.

[SXRguyinMA]

ahh well thanks for explaining it, it makes more sense now :)

I dont think I'll get getting them anyways, unless for a sponsorship or whatever. The $$/GB ratio still isnt what it needs to be to make it worthwhile for me.

I LOVE the mod though, and look forward to seeing this thing done!

[x88x]

I LOVE the mod though, and look forward to seeing this thing done!

Ask and yee shall receive ;)

I went to put the side panel on the case and...ran into a problem :facepalm:

So..marked:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_37.jpg

and set:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_38.jpg

Also, idk if anyone remembers the custom wiring rig that I made for mightyMite:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/HPIM0443.jpg
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/HPIM0442.jpg

incorporated into Zeus:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_39.jpg

And it all comes together finally:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_41.jpg

Short-term I'll be working on overclocking it (my first attempt at overclocking), but long term I do have some aesthetic mods in mind, plus a couple cooling upgrades.

EDIT:
Looking at this post, I noticed it looks like there's a gap between the sidepanel and the front...there's actually not, it's just awkward reflection.

[blueonblack]

Love the finished look in the last pic, the matching radiators and fan grills, the fittings on the hoses, very nice! +rep

Edit: I'll have to +rep you later, it seems I have to spread the joy. :)

[billygoat333]

looks great! good luck with the overclock. +rep

[DonT-FeaR]

looks pretty wicked mate. and yeah good luck with the oc

[x88x]

Well, I haven't really done much with overclocking it yet...between work, classes starting up again, quadmount, and..well..actually using the thing, I haven't had much time to try.

That aside, tonight I came home to it randomly locked up on a black screen...and then once I rebooted, it started randomly restarting.... Now, knowing the history of the PSU that's in this thing, I'm assuming that the PCIe 12V lines are going again :( ...and for once the federal gov't has awesome timing! Hurray for tax returns!

On the docket to be ordered/picked up from Micro Center tomorrow are:
PC P&C Silencer 750W Black (http://www.pcpower.com/power-supply/silencer-750-quad-black.html) (ha! take that you stupid ThermalTake piece of crap!)
Black Ice GTX280 (http://www.dangerden.com/store/black-ice-gtx280-xtreme.html#tabs)
Water block for my mosfets (haven't decided which one yet; I have to get some measurements first...for some reason nobody makes one specifically for my board :whistler: )
10 more feet of 3/8" Tygon (http://www.dangerden.com/store/tygon-3603-tubing.html)

...I'm fighting with myself to not get a Radeon 5670 and SyncMaster 2343... ...I should not have extra money...ever...I am not responsible... :whistler:

[Kayin]

On that note, want that SSD?

[x88x]

Haha, yeah; I was just thinking of that actually. I'll shoot you a PM.

[x88x]

So...long drive to Micro Center today...in the snow...people are idiots..

Anyways, as always I came away with way more stuff than I intended, but at least this time it was mostly clearance stuff! :D

Swag!
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_42.jpg

As you can see, I ended up getting the 750W Corsair PSU instead, since it was on sale and they didn't have the PC P&C 750W in stock (oh well, probably saved my about $50 anyways). Also got a new UPS because the old Belkin I've been using for my fileserver just suddenly decided that its battery is dead :dead: Most of the rest of the stuff was on returned/opened stuff that's all marked down anyways, plus they were knocking an additional 50% off, so it was all really cheap. For example:
400W mATX PSU: $7.89
...3 adhesive rubber feet (apparently one got lost somewhere :P ): $0.48
A.C. Ryan 3x120mm black alu fan grill: $4.98

...no plans for any of that stuff, but hey, at those prices I couldn't turn it down! (especially the A.C. Ryan grill)

[x88x]

Ok, I gotta say; Corsair is giving PC P&C a run for their money...I know they're very similar in terms of durability and build quality, but in presentation Corsair is majorly trumping them :D

I open up the nice thick cardboard box, and..foam! Ok, they're already beating PC P&C's packing...let's see what else they have going for them.
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_43.jpg

...a velvet bag?? Seriously? That's...interesting...
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_44.jpg

..and a plastic layer underneath all of that? Wow, they really didn't want this thing to get scuffed in shipping...and it's not even shiny!
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_45.jpg

[Luke122]

I have that same Corsair in a 650w at home. :)

[Couch3ater]

Looks an awful lot like my PSU. And that packing looks familiar too. >_< Hahaha, I got mine about a month back. Love it.

[x88x]

Heh...so...while I was pulling out the old PSU, I discovered that one of the power contacts for the pump was loose....
So, in retrospect, the PSU may have been just fine, but the pump wasn't running, so it would run till it hit the limit in the BIOS and shut off...which really makes a lot of sense because when I left it overnight running memtest to make sure that it wasn't the RAM, it ran for a lot longer before shutting off at some point in the night.

Oh well, I was wanting to get a new PSU for this build anyways :P

So, running wonderfully on the new PSU; so far no problems, and according to SpeedFan, the rails on this PSU are much more stable than they were on the old one :D

So, I've ordered the new 2x140 rad for the top, plus fans and a mosfet block, to finally finish off the guts of this system. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a mosfet block that'll fit my board stock, but hey, since when has that stopped any of us :twisted:
...I just realized that between my computer and car, I've spent almost $600 in the last 36 hours :dead: ...it's a good thing I don't do this very often...

Oh, as a side note, would anyone be interested in possibly buying, I think it was these two:
http://www.xoxide.com/noctua-nh-u12-cooler.html
http://www.xoxide.com/noctua-nhu9b-hpcooler.html
In opened boxes for $35 each plus shipping? They seemed to be in perfect physical condition, they just had been opened and returned. Assuming they're still there, I can pick them up for cheap off the Micro Center clearance returns cart.
They also occasionally have cases that had been on display for sale on that cart, and I was sorely tempted by an Antec Minuet (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129039), for I think it was $30? It was missing the top panel and USB/sound board, but the rest of the case (including the PSU) was still intact.. I did manage to persuade myself to not get that at least :P

[Trace]

Aren't cars and computers money pits? They're never good enough! But I wouldn't quit this hobby for anything.

[Snowman]

Aren't cars and computers money pits? They're never good enough! But I wouldn't quit this hobby for anything.

Tell me about it I am dropping about a grand in the volkswagen this week.

[x88x]

Aren't cars and computers money pits? They're never good enough! But I wouldn't quit this hobby for anything.

Yup. They're also about the two fastest depreciating things in the world too :P

[msmrx57]

Yup. They're also about the two fastest depreciating things in the world too :P

Entirerly too true. 30% value drop day one.

[billygoat333]

I'm so jealous, I wish I had a micro center close by.

[x88x]

So a quick update on this. Now, because I don't really have a good way of having packages delivered to my apartment without them sitting outside my door for a long time, I have everything delivered to work. Normally this works out great because stuff rarely gets delivered on the weekends anyways, so I'm usually there when it gets delivered. However, with all this snow we've had, I haven't been able to make it in to the office yet this week, so even though everything got delivered yesterday when the roads were barely passable (but my parking lot was still a mess), they're just sitting there on my desk. :(

So, here's hoping the snow stops so I can finally get this thing moving again.

[x88x]

Yay! The snow finally stopped and I was able to get to work! As a result of this....loot! :D

So first we have the mosfet waterblock. Very nice, simple packaging:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_46.jpg

A trend which continues on the inside:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_47.jpg


New fans. These move ~40CFM at ~10dBa, as opposed to my old ones that move ~80CFM at ~30dBa. I know they never actually moved that much anyways, since they've been on radiators all the time, so these will give me a much better airflow/dB ratio. Worst case, I get another 6 and do a push-pull configuration, and it'll still make less noise than my current setup. (Also, three of these should actually fit on my 360 rad).
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_48.jpg

And, last but not least, the star of this little show.. My new 280 rad :D
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_49.jpg

EDIT: I won't be working on it till tomorrow though; still got some stuff for work to finish up tonight.

[x88x]

Finally got some work in on this :D

First, the parts:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_50.jpg

Now, unfortunately, I have to strip out the entire WC loop to do what I need to, so...introducing my elegant coolant collection system :P
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_51.jpg

And finally everything is stripped out. Took a little convincing, but it gave me a few thoughts as to what changes I might want to make to the loop while I have it apart (to make it easier to drain next time), so it wasn't a waste.

I'm leaving everything to drip the last little bits out overnight (also because I'm really tired), but for now just a quick preview of things to come:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_52.jpg

Yes, gone will be the tubing looping out the back. Instead, I'll have this new 2x140mm rad sitting on the top, mounted much like the rear rad. I'll also be building a custom mount for the mosfet block (because nobody actually makes one for my board), and reapplying the AS5 on my CPU block, hopefully bringing down the temps. I did look into it a few weeks ago, and apparently I have been applying it wrong :P They have new recommended application methods for multi-core CPUs, and I had still been using the method for old single-core's (ie, those without heatspreaders).

In other news, does anyone know of a good LGA775 waterblock/pump combo? I'm going to want to watercool Faust eventually (whenever I finally get back to it...it keeps getting pushed further and further back...), and I want to have as simple (and cheap) a loop as I can get away with. It'll only be cooling a dual-core 45nm Celeron (I forget the model atm), and I'll be using the spare 120mm Black Ice rad from this build.

[x88x]

So, as I was working on this again this morning I realized two things. First, the 3x120 rad that I got wasn't what I was thinking I was getting when I got it, and second, that I never flushed out any of my radiators before putting them in my system.

The 3x120 isn't a problem really, just for some reason, when I bought it, I thought it was a Black Ice GTX Extreme; turns out it's a Black Ice Extreme (stupid, confusing names), which was the Black Ice GTX Extreme's predecessor. As it turns out, the Extreme only dissipates 69% as much heat as the GTX Extreme, but tbh that extra isn't worth the $108 and more days waiting to me now, so I'm sticking with what I have. If I have a cooling issue with all these rads, I think the problem will lie elsewhere anyways. :P Besides, if I do decide to replace it at any point, there's plenty of space there, so I'll probably replace it with a TFC X-Changer instead.

In an attempt to rectify never flushing my rads, I decided to not only flush the new one, but all the old ones as well, just to be safe. I didn't actually see anything come out of any of them while I was flushing them, but oh well, better safe than sorry.

I'm continuing work on this today, preparing the case for the new rad, and making a new mount for the mosfet block. I'll update later.

[x88x]

Well, I'm running into a few problems here...

First, I'm beginning see perhaps why nobody makes a mosfet WB for my MBB.... It seems normally there are two rows of mosfets... well, I have 3
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_53.jpg

What I'm thinking is a slab of aluminum (or copper if I can get some locally), as a base, with the WB sitting on top, all clamped down nicely, lapped, and AS5 applied.

Speaking of lapping, I think I might know why I was getting higher temps on my CPU than I was expecting. Apparently somewhere along the way, my CPU WB got a few small nicks and scratches in it! I blame the complete lack of space to do anything at all in mightyMite. :P So, time to break out the lapping gear. It's been a long time. ...ooh, and I remember seeing a smallish sheet of glass that somebody threw out yesterday...maybe it's still there! :D

[x88x]

Well, the glass was gone (come to think of it, I saw it before that area was plowed...so it's probably smashed up inside a giant pile of snow somewhere. :( Ah well, the kitchen counter worked ok. So, I got the CPU block lapped and reinstalled (with the AS5 applied properly this time :P). I got rid of the scratches and pitting, so hopefully I'll be getting better temps once it's all back together.

I also got to work on the case, getting it ready for the 2x140:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_54.jpg

and improving it for the rear 1x120:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_55.jpg

Now I'm off to file those down smooth, but before that..

I headed over to Lowes last night looking for some copper flat bar for the mosfet block...turns out they don't carry copper flat bar, and neither does anybody in town :( So, rather than settle for aluminium, I found a 2" copper pipe fitting. Trouble is, it's round...I'll just have to see what I can do about that. :twisted:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_56.jpg

[x88x]

Well, the heatspreader plate is working out a lot better than I was expecting, tbh. No pics right now, but it was fairly easy to get a flat piece and cut it into the right shape...the hard part has been lapping it down so it's heatsink flat. Going on 4 hours of lapping now (with 320 grit), and I think it's almost there. :dead: Then I get to move on to the 400...then 600..1000..you get the idea. The max I have right now is 2500 grit, which I'll be finishing it off with....eventually.

So, to anyone out there wondering if it is possible to make a custom heatsink out of a copper pipe joint..yes. But be prepared to spend a lot of time lapping.

[x88x]

Well, as expected, I got almost nothing done yesterday (just a couple hours of lapping), but today I finally made some real headway!

First, a few 'in progress' shots. Once it occurred to me to use the concrete floor instead of the cheaply built counter... :banghead: Anyways, once I cut the fitting in half, I got one half hammered flat:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_57.jpg

The bottom off the original heatsink as a guide...
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_58.jpg

I forgot to take pics of drawing up and cutting out the piece, but after a good bit of cutting and many, many hours of lapping (thank God for nitrile gloves :D )...and deciding I wasn't quite happy with the other blocks either, and pulling them off as well...I finally got these. Thing of beauty, if I do say so myself. :D
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_59.jpg

[Jake2k]

Hell man I could have sent ya a copper bar if ya just asked ;) Nice work on those though, thats a pretty amazing transformation haha.

Now forgive my ignorance as I am a newb but what are they for? Just passive cooling or part of the water cooling?

[x88x]

Thanks, I'm rather proud of how well it turned out. :D

The left one is the copper portion of the mosfet block...which, actually, I don't think I have a proper picture of yet..here we go:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_60.jpg

The top one is the copper portion of the NB block, and the bottom one is the copper portion of the CPU block (all turned upside down, of course).

The one on the right is the piece I actually made. Since nobody makes a mosfet block for my MBB, I got one that I thought might be fairly close...unfortunately, it was rather...less close...than I thought it would be, namely that it was only wide enough to cover two rows of mosfets, and I have three. So, I made this copper plate to sit between the mosfets and the mosfet block. I have thermal padding left over from my GTX260 DD Tieton block between the mosfets and the plate, and I'll put AS5 between the plate and the mosfet block. The two extra holes you see in the plate are the mounting points for the mosfet block. The killer on the plate (other than starting out with such a relatively rough surface) was that I had to lap both sides of it...the dips where I hit it a little harder with the hammer were the worst...

Here's a shot of the plate mounted. Unfortunately, on Monday I got the wrong size screws for mounting it..4-40 instead of M4 :P , so I'll be picking up screws for that tomorrow, and I'll have shots of everything finally mounted tomorrow.
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_61.jpg

[x88x]

Damn, has it been a week already? ..wow.. Ok, well quick now before I pass out....

I finally got some more work in on this today, and the case is finally almost ready to refill again!

At some point (I wanna say Sunday night?) I got the fan holes filed down smooth and even. Sorry, no pics, but I just thought of it now...and it's already covered up:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_65.jpg
IDK if you can tell from the pics, but I painted the top..it started out just touching up around the holes where I slipped, but then it just kind of expanded to envelope the entire top. Not the best paint job (brush strokes are painfully evident...at least to me..), but it does the job for now. I'll probably do something about it at a later date, but for now it's fine.

And a shot of the front with the new fans:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_66.jpg

I also finally got the screws cut down to the right size for the mosfet block last night:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_62.jpg

with tubing:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_63.jpg

And last but not least, I slimmed down my res mount. It was a bit too large and...square...for my liking. Dremel, hand files, and 400-grit wet sanding later, and...much better. :D
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_64.jpg

[x88x]

Got the loop cut and assembled:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_68.jpg

The inlet for the rear rad gave me a little trouble because the fan grill for the rear top fan was getting in the way, but a pair of wire cutters and some filing later, and all fixed:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_67.jpg

I just finished filling the loop, and I appear to have underestimated the difference in loop capacity...looks like I'm gonna have to drive over to Micro Center tomorrow for another bottle of coolant. I have the pump running now, to work all the air out of the loop.. I think it's mostly out now, and I'm just barely above the top of the inlet to my res. :-\ I also have all the fans running, to see what the noise level is like, and....WOW.... all 6 fans together are maybe as loud as the pump. :D At this rate I might have to end up replacing the fan in my PSU with one of these. :P I'll have to wait to see if I still get similar temps with these fans. Worst case, I double the noise level by doubling the number of fans...but double of nothing is still pretty small. ;)

http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_69.jpg

[x88x]

Ok, a few updates on this.

First, while I was at Micro Center to get the coolant, I finally get a tripod for my camera. :D
It's fairly nice; metal frame, extendible legs, and the best part..normally $8, open box so it was marked down to $6...and on clearance for 50% off, so $3. :P
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zues_72.jpg

So, now I can actually get stable shots without the flash...

A couple more tools; I finally got a glue gun, and I paid a visit to the local hobby store and found this weird little thing.
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_70.jpg

Basically, it's a small electric heat gun designed for model landscape shaping...it also works quite nicely for heatshrink tubing. Not quite as maneuverable as my old little butane torch, but a lot more dependable (the torch has been being really finicky lately).

So, with that in hand, I finished up the last of the wiring (for now). ..ignore the blob in the top left, that's gonna be replaced in the not too distant future.
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_71.jpg

Now to start it up and see how it does with the new equipment.

[x88x]

Ok, first, I don't think I've posted a shot of the interesting side of the interior yet. :P

Here ya go (the aluminum bar is because I noticed that my card was actually noticeably bending under the weight of itself and the waterblock...I'll be replacing that with something a little more...in fitting with the theme...later):
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zues_73.jpg

Now then, I've got it up and running now, and I'm quite impressed with two things:
1) The noise level. I think I mentioned this when I was testing the loop, but the loudest thing in this system now is definitely the pump. Has anyone tried undervolting pumps? I'm sure I don't need the high level of flow that I have, and if I could knock a few hundred RPMs off it, I'm sure it would be quite a bit quieter.

2) The temps! Ok, so they're actually slightly higher than before, but keep in mind I'm moving half the air that I was before!
old:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/loadtemps.png

new:
idle:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/idle.png

load after 10 minutes of prime95:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/load.png

Keep in mind also, that except for the first GPU temp, this is all temps with new AS5, so after a week or two everything should drop a few C.

Seeing these temps, I think I will invest in 6 more fans to set up a push-pull arrangement, but even then I doubt I'll be topping 30dBA. Maybe below 20 if I can turn down the pump!

I gotta say, all that aside, it is soooo nice to have my desktop back in working order again. :D It's been, what, 2 weeks?

Well then, right now I'm gonna clean up my desk a little, then put in some long overdue time working on my Borderlands character. :D Gotta get it ready to take on General Knoxx!

[msmrx57]

Nice progress. :up: As far as quieting the pump, how about making a smallbox for it and packing it with foam of some kind? Just my 2 cents.

[artoodeeto]

Ok, a few updates on this.

First, while I was at Micro Center to get the coolant, I finally get a tripod for my camera. :D
It's fairly nice; metal frame, extendible legs, and the best part..normally $8, open box so it was marked down to $6...and on clearance for 50% off, so $3. :P
So, now I can actually get stable shots without the flash...

A couple more tools; I finally got a glue gun, and I paid a visit to the local hobby store and found this weird little thing.
Basically, it's a small electric heat gun designed for model landscape shaping...it also works quite nicely for heatshrink tubing. Not quite as maneuverable as my old little butane torch, but a lot more dependable (the torch has been being really finicky lately).

Nice...gotta love Micro Center's clearance stuff. I miss being within driving distance of one. I used to work at the one in Santa Clara, CA, but now that I'm near LA, the closest one is 2 hours south in Tustin. Oh well.
I like the heat gun - I need something for heat shrink tubing (been using electrical tape, then cover that with scotch tape since electrical has an annoying tendency to unstick over time). But I also will be working on model landscaping...two birds with one stone, so I'll have to check out my local hobby shop too. And I love the aluminum bar. Well, ok, I know it doesn't really fit in, but I've jury-rigged a lot of stuff like that in my own case over the years. :D You know, "temporary" solutions that end up being semi-permanent.

I've never tried undervolting a pump before, but I'd imagine it would be easy enough to get a resistor to knock the voltage down a few notches. Actually, come to think of it, you could probably use a fan speed controller to do it. They're usually designed for 12V connections and then you could manually control the pump speed. Dunno if that's good for the pump though, but then again, it would be unique.


I gotta say, all that aside, it is soooo nice to have my desktop back in working order again. :D It's been, what, 2 weeks?

I hear ya! I just got mine back together last night, after pretty much a month and a half hiatus.

[mofo]

I think pumps require a pwm to regulate the speed, but like R2 said a pwm fan controller (with enough watts) could regulate the pump.

[artoodeeto]

I *think* the following is the case, someone correct me if I'm wrong:
if it's a DC pump designed to run off the PSU +12V a fan contoller designed for the same type of connection should work fine. if it's an AC pump that has to plug into the wall, then yeah a pwm controller would be necessary.

[x88x]

I like the heat gun - I need something for heat shrink tubing (been using electrical tape, then cover that with scotch tape since electrical has an annoying tendency to unstick over time). But I also will be working on model landscaping...two birds with one stone, so I'll have to check out my local hobby shop too.
It took me a bit to find this one, it was kinda tucked into a corner behind the trains. ..though I suppose I could have just asked someone.. :whistler:


And I love the aluminum bar. Well, ok, I know it doesn't really fit in, but I've jury-rigged a lot of stuff like that in my own case over the years. :D You know, "temporary" solutions that end up being semi-permanent.
Hahaha, yeah, I get the feeling that this is gonna end up being a lot like that...especially since it's stable enough now that I wouldn't worry about moving it...


I've never tried undervolting a pump before, but I'd imagine it would be easy enough to get a resistor to knock the voltage down a few notches. Actually, come to think of it, you could probably use a fan speed controller to do it. They're usually designed for 12V connections and then you could manually control the pump speed. Dunno if that's good for the pump though, but then again, it would be unique.

I think that's what I'm gonna try; just throw a variable resistor in there to find the sweet spot, then get a resistor that value and put it in permanently. I also might build a foam-filled box for it...definitely wouldn't hurt. :D

[x88x]

Ok, it's been a couple months, but I'm starting this build back up again. Yay for more ridiculous upgrades. :twisted:

Here's a general rough mockup of what's gonna happen (though, upside down):
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_74.jpg

Basically, I'm gonna be placing the Monsta flat on the top of the case with a layer of fans above and below. On top of the upper layer of fans will be my 140x2, with two more fans on top of that. The Monsta and 140x2 will be run in parallel to make the tubing run prettier, but I'll probably do some testing over the next few weeks to figure out if running them in series would give me enough of a performance boost to justify the awkward tubing arrangement that would be required.

I'm also gonna be lapping my CPU to try and fix the oddly high temps that it's been getting.

Oh, and I want to have this all done by tomorrow morning so I can use it for the Defcon CTF quals starting tomorrow afternoon.

I got it dismantled last night and already started running into some problems. Apparently the 140mm screw holes on the Monsta and the fans I got and the 140mm screw holes on the case and my 140x2 don't quite match up....so that's gonna be interesting... Also, since I'm moving the upper inner fans to 140mm, I'm gonna have to figure out some way to improve the tubing run from the 120x1 rad on the back. Or, I might end up dropping that rad and just having an intake fan there. We'll see.

So, modding crunch time! Wish me luck. :D

[x88x]

Hmghwhaneh? :dead: ..Ugh, ok, that was fun...today, not so much. :P

First off, no pics. :( Sorry, I did take some but I took them with my camera (instead of my phone), so they're at home...

So, what happened last night? And why do I feel like a steamroller just drove over me?

Well, after hours of cutting, grinding, fitting, grinding, refitting, regrinding, more cutting, drilling, and so on, I got the top ready to accept the Monsta, and got all four rads mounted. I ended up extending the mounting holes for the rear 120mm so that it would actually fit with the 140mm fans in the top. I also had to modify two of the 140mm fans to enable mounting of the 140x2 on top of the Monsta, because they normally have a solid tube around the screw. I cut out the solid tube so I could get a screw going out each side, going into the two rads. I'll post pics of that once i get back to my camera.

I also finally got the WC loop completely assembled and reorganized (I took Spawn's advice and grouped all the rads together after the blocks), and that was where I started to run into problems. First off, I'm thinking the parallel routing isn't going to work, possibly because of the mounting of the rads, possibly for some other reason, idk...I'll think about that later once my brain starts working again. :P Long story short, the fluid just straight up is not getting into the 140x2 radiator. I can see it in the tubes going up to it, but it never gets more than about half an inch above the top fittings on the Monsta. I think it's just that since the 140x2 is the highest point in the loop, the pressure required to push up into it is more than my pump can do (18W DDC-12V). Between the probably ~16 feet of tubing, 4 block, and 3 other rads, ~2L of fluid, and the pump being the lowest point in the loop, I'm thinking it just can't...hmm, actually, come to think of it, it might just be that there's no way to push the air out of that rad...hmmmm...

IDK, anyways, like I said, I'll figure that out later. Worst case, I'll redesign the loop to a full series design.

Now, after about 10 hours of work on this thing last night, I finally got it assembled, filled (well, except for that pesky 140x2 rad) and leak free...by this point it was 5AM, so I left the fans and pump running and promptly collapsed into bed.

As it turns out, the little power brick I use for testing fans/etc wasn't quite up to the task, because it is only rated to 2A, and with everything hooked up, I was pulling ~3.5A... :whistler: By the time I woke up (~11AM...I had my alarm set for 8, but apparently when I blew my circuit breaker earlier that night I had set my alarm clock to the whenever AM instead of PM..so my alarm never went off...fortunately my work schedule is very flexible), the fans were going in bursts, and the power brick was hot to the touch...I don't think I'll be doing that again. :whistler:

So, by the time I woke up/showered/started functioning again, all the air was out of the lower portion of the loop (below the 140x2), and everything was ready to test.

....
....
....

...and... My GPU isn't working. :(

When I pull my GTX260, the onboard works just fine, but with it in it never puts out video, and the the debug code on the MBB, that's because the GPU is bad. :(

So, that's out of the running for the weekend, and I had no time to test it, but I'm really hoping that it's not actually dead.

[x88x]

Ok, I've got pics, good news, and bad news.

First, pics!

Since I was going from a 140x2 rad on the roof to a 140x3, I obviously needed to make the hole bigger. :D So, several hours of measuring, grinding, fitting, re-grinding, etc later, I had this:
Nice big hole for my new rad.
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_75.jpg
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_76.jpg

Monsta fitted to roof:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_77.jpg

That was Thursday night. ...a looong Thursday night... I didn't take any pics of the semi-finished product then, but it's mostly like it is now except for the wiring bits I did today.

To make the wiring to the fans up top more sane, I'm combining them all into a single line that'll then run down through a tiny hole in the back of the case. A side benefit of this is that I won't have to tear apart my fan power splitter because now I'll only have 12 connections!
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_78.jpg

And the finished product (for now...it's still far from finished, but I'm waiting on some tubing to redo the loop to pull the two top rads into series):
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_79.jpg

Ok, so the good news is that my GPU was just fine! I just forgot that if I plug anything into SATA ports 2 or 3 on my MBB, that the PCIe graphics stops working...I have no fsking clue why, but it does, and I only need 3 of the 6 ports, so I ignore it. :P

Bad(ish) news is that my idle temps are exactly the same as they were before :facepalm: When I redo the loop I'm going to lap my CPU, and hopefully that'll take care of that part anyways.
/shrugs
Oh well, the point of this was more to future proof, and prepare for my eventually adding more stuff to the loop than to improve my current temps anyways.

[x88x]

Hahaha, so, you know how I mentioned that the idle temps weren't much different? Well, I've done more testing, and as it turns out, under load the temps change....a max of 4C on one of the cores. Most of the temps don't change at all under full load. :D

[artoodeeto]

dude. that's a freakin' HUGE rad. wow. your temps sound about right for WC - no change under load. Gotta love that! It's funny, as you've probably noticed I've been taking a bit of a break from working on my case, now that the computer is totally set up, I've been mostly gaming on it, and I'm noticing the same thing as you. My idle temps are ~39C CPU and ~48C GPU, and under load they go up to only ~48C CPU and ~55-60C GPU. Seemingly high idle, but not that much change under load. And if I had room for proper 2.5cm thick fans, my temps would be even lower. Still, wish I had space in my case for rads like that...

Suggestion on the rad that you haven't been able to get the coolant through, although it'll be a PITB now that you've filled most of the system. Disconnect that rad from the connectors on top of it (leave the ones underneath hooked up), and pour coolant into one of the nozzles til it's pushed all air out and filled up to the other nozzle. Then hook it back up on the top, and hopefully that'll solve the problem.

*Edit* - maybe all you'd have to do is unhook the topmost connectors from the topmost rad, and pour coolant into one connector and let gravity do the rest? Not sure if that'd work if you have them in parallel...hmm...maybe not. In series it'd work no problem.

[x88x]

Still, wish I had space in my case for rads like that...
Well, strictly speaking, neither do I. ;)


Suggestion on the rad that you haven't been able to get the coolant through, although it'll be a PITB now that you've filled most of the system. Disconnect that rad from the connectors on top of it (leave the ones underneath hooked up), and pour coolant into one of the nozzles til it's pushed all air out and filled up to the other nozzle. Then hook it back up on the top, and hopefully that'll solve the problem.

I actually tried that, and between stuff splashing up out of the Monsta and having to bring the tube back down to hook it back up, it didn't really work. I think running them in series is gonna work better anyways, and I've come up with a way to do it that'll still look good...it just requires drilling 2 more 7/8" holes in the top of the case...which requires dismantling the thing... Oh well, I get faster every time I take it apart. :P

[artoodeeto]

I feel for ya - I know how much of a pain it is to get everything set up and you think you're done...only to have to take it all apart and re-do it because it's not quite working right.

[x88x]

Hahaha, yeah...it wouldn't be so bad except for draining the loop...I really need to put in a drain-port...

[artoodeeto]

drill a hole somewhere and cover it with duct tape? ;)

[x88x]

Hahaha, nah, I actually have the fillport that was on this build originally, that I'm thinking I'll put in as a drainport, pulling off the unused port on my res. That one is designed to be almost flush with the surface, so it should do nicely on the bottom.

[x88x]

:eek: Ok, so, I got bored waiting for the Verizon guy to show up, and started thinking...going off the normal retail prices, how much is my watercooling loop worth? ...I know, I know, bad thing to think about...I know this now... :facepalm:

I do feel a little bit better than I otherwise would because as some of you know, probably about half of the fittings in there, as well as the Monsta, I didn't pay anywhere near retail for, but still...kinda a depressing view in all. :P

The final total I came to, including the fans (imo still part of the loop since they are necessary), and the case (b/c it made it come out to a nice number :P ), it came to ~$1,400. :eek: ...and almost $200 of that is fittings! :eek: That's just....absurd! Especially when you consider that that's almost exactly what the actual components of my computer are worth. :eek: ...I'll just have to make sure I don't cross that line. ;)

[StormRider]

that's why I don't watercool: I can do a lot of things with that money

[x88x]

that's why I don't watercool: I can do a lot of things with that money

Well, to be fair to watercooling, at least $1,000 of that was me going overboard... :whistler: It's a slippery slope. :P

[x88x]

Ok, so after my GTX260 died, I had to pull it out for RMA (I love EVGA :D ), so...down it all comes again..

Opening this piece, we have me lovely draining blob:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_80.jpg

And in place:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_81.jpg

Now, one thing to anyone new to watercooling, or just anyone designing a loop right now. Forget rad placement, forget pump placement, forget tubing conservation...the single most important thing in your loop is making a way for you to easily fill and drain it. With my first incarnation of this loop in this case I had filling down, but not draining. By this time tomorrow hopefully I'll finally have draining as well. ...it took me about 3 hours to drain a little over 2L from this loop...never again... :dead:

GPU is back in its stock cooler now, all screwed in and ready to go back to EVGA. All I need now is an antistatic bag big enough to cover it... :think:

[x88x]

So on Sunday I decided to finally break down my loop and get my GPU back in it...and while I was at it, lapp my CPU. The GPU went fine, and so did the lapping, but when I got everything back up and running, the MBB said its NB was dead... :facepalm: Ok, ok, so the SATA controller was interacting weird with the PCIe system for as long as I can remember, so I wasn't horribly surprised that it eventually went further wrong...I definitely wasn't expecting it, what with it running for almost 2 years without issue, but hey, stuff breaks for no reason sometimes.. So, I picked up a new MBB at microcenter on Tuesday, drained me loop last night, and then tonight got my CPU and RAM into the new MBB and booted it up in a testbed config...

...yeah....I'm starting to think I may have killed my CPU... :( Tomorrow I'm gonna tear down my fileserver and throw its CPU into the new MBB, see if it works. ..I'm really hoping I just got a DOA board, but...well, given the current evidence I'm not that hopeful. :(

[x88x]

Strike that, reverse it..

I decided to try powering it up again one last time before I went to bed, and... it works! :D :banana: :banana: ...turns out I was watching the wrong monitor...stupid cable nest.. :facepalm: Now to curl up with Dune for half an hour or so, then get a few hours' sleep before I have to get up.

[SXRguyinMA]

yay for non-broken stuff!

[artoodeeto]

LOL! reminds me of a time years ago I upgraded my processor, turned the computer back on and...black screen. No picture...nada. tore my hair out for half an hour before I realized I hadn't plugged the monitor back in. :facepalm:
One drain method that works well for me, and takes under a minute when done right, you've probably seen in my worklog the way I used an air compressor. The only modification I need to make to make it easier is installing some kind of valve between my reservoirs (currently I have to pinch the connecting tube shut) because without the valve or pinching it shut, it ends up blowing air from one reservoir to the other and back out. Otherwise, it works great :D

[x88x]

On my most recent drain I found a method that works really great for my system. I flip it upside down, then take the plug out and replace it with a 1/2" fitting connected to ~1ft of 1/2ID 5/8OD tubing (nice and thin walls so I can pinch it off with a clamp). I then put a clamp on the tubing, holding it closed (as seen in the pic at the top of this page), flip it back right-side-up, and let it gravity-drain into a bottle. Then, once it stops flowing from gravity, I turn on the pump and it pushes out most of the remaining fluid. When the pump runs out of liquid easily available, I just push the tub under the surface of the liquid in the bottle and it's a sealed system again, so the pump pushes air for a short time (usually less than a second; any longer and I would worry) and the air pushes liquid through into the pump and out into the bottle. Once I had it hooked up I was able to drain ~80-90% of my loop (ie, enough to start pulling stuff out but there's still fluid in the rads) in maybe a minute. :D

[x88x]

I have a fan on my MBB now. :( Stupid Asus, making a ridiculous, non-standard heatsink.

Now, because the MBB has no onboard video and I couldn't find one with onboard nVidia video for under $100, so I have to pull out my old 8600 GTS to push all my monitors. So, since I can't have a real HS/F in my case, I was quite happy to discover that the NB waterblock that I had on my old MBB fits just right onto the mounting holes for the GPU chip. :D Unfortunately, I have no heatsinks for the RAM, so I'm gonna be running over to microcenter in the morning to pick some up, but here's a shot of all the components in place on the table.
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_82.jpg

[SXRguyinMA]

nice :D

[billygoat333]

awesome :)

[Snowman]

Unfortunately, I have no heatsinks for the RAM, so I'm gonna be running over to microcenter in the morning to pick some up,

Must be nice to be able to just run to micro center... closest place with even the slightest thing close to what I need is an hour away and I guarantee they dont have ram sinks.

[diluzio91]

i got my sinks on dealextreme for like 2 bucks shipped.

on another note, am i crazy? or do you have 2 GPUs?

[x88x]

i got my sinks on dealextreme for like 2 bucks shipped.
Haha, yup, it's kinda hard to screw up copper ram-sinks. I ended up getting a set of 8 by Switftech for $15, but they already have thermal adhesive on them and everything, so I just have to clean the chips and stick them on.


on another note, am i crazy? or do you have 2 GPUs?

Haha, yup. I had a GeForce 9400 onboard on my old MBB so I only needed the one add-in GPU, but since this one has no onboard video I broke out my old GeForce 8600GTS and proceeded to watercool it. :D It should actually be more powerful than the 9400 as well, come to think of it...not that I do much on those screens..

[x88x]

Well, it was a few days ago, but I finally got everything back together.

I finally got the wiring done:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_83.jpg

and did some sleeving. :D
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_84.jpg

And for the first time in a long, long time, I finally have all the body panels on this thing. :D

http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_85.jpg

Unfortunately, my second GPU isn't working. :( Further unfortunately, I haven't really had the time to tear it apart again and pull out the gpu...so it's just gonna sit there not working, probably until after I move...much packing to be done.

[SXRguyinMA]

lookin good!

[billygoat333]

niiice. sucks bout the second gpu. :/

[flare]

Good luck with the moving.

I'm surprised the roof of that case hasn't caved in with the size of that rad on top!

[x88x]

Thanks! :D

Yeah, I think at this point the rad contributes almost as much to the strength of the top as the case itself does. :P
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_76.jpg

Though even without the rad bolted in the case is still plenty rigid, so maybe not.

[x88x]

Well, it's been a while, but it's finally time to get back to work on Zeus. :D

In the last few months, I've sourced another GTX260 and tieton block, my MBB has died and been replaced, I've taken out my 3x120 rad...in pretty much not that order at all... Oh, and sourced a new PSU.

Anyways, for now the important bit is the PSU. I picked up a Corsair HX1000 for ~$170 shipped off ebay. It's essentially new, but the original owner was selling it because he broke one of the ATX connector pins while trying to sleeve the individual wires. Since I just happen to have ~100 of those pins lying around in a box, that's not really a problem for me. So, one HX1000 for ~$100 off list. :D

Now, the odd thing is that on the wires he did sleeve, he only put on about 4-5" of sleeving...and put on some heatshrink tubing over a bundle of ~10 or so wires. So I'm not really sure what he was doing, but whatever, it saved me a nice bundle of money. :P
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_86.jpg

Now, of course, this PSU is a lot bigger than my TX750, so I'm going to have to move the pump. Updates on that and (hopefully) whether or not my system works with the new MBB/PSU/GPU coming tomorrow.

[x88x]

Well, the PSU was being stupid and not working... :mad:

So, now that my thermal paste has come in, I decided to just put everything back together with the 750. And I must say, I like how it goes with the color scheme of the MBB better than the 1000. If my kill-a-watt tells me that I'm not pushing anywhere near the 750's limit (I doubt I will be) I'm just gonna stick with that until I do my major upgrade later this year.
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_87.jpg

...speaking of that major upgrade, I'm thinking I might put that in my Cosmos....I wonder how that would look with a Monsta sticking out the top.. :twisted:

EDIT:
Before anyone asks, no, the picture is not crooked..I have to tilt the case like that while I bleed the LC system so the bubble in the Mosta goes to the right place. ...one of the problems with having a top-mounted res that's higher than the fillport.. :whistler:

[x88x]

Well, crap...everything powers up, but no video..and I'm too tired to worry about this tonight...GRARH!

[x88x]

Turns out the MBB was dead...might just have been a bad BIOS chip, maybe not. I might try fixing it later. Either way, I decided this was a good time for an upgrade.

So, the previous components are up for sale (or already sold) in the trading post, and I went and visited Micro Center today. :D
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_88.jpg

Asus Crossfire IV Formula (for ~50% off! :banana: ), Phenom II x6 1090T, 2x4GB DDR3-2000 Corsair XMS3, Koolance CPU-360 (for $40 off! :banana: )...funny story...the CPU-360 was incorrectly SKU'd as $59.99 HDD..no clue why, and I didn't even notice it until the cashier pointed it out, but they honored it. I love Micro Center. :D

Fired it up tonight to make sure everything works, and it's good so far. I haven't dropped my 260's in yet because of a problem I ran into with the CPU-360.

In general, I am very impressed with the CPU-360. The heat dissipation fin design makes the pins in my old DD waterblock look massive in comparison, the backplate is a sheet of 1/8" nickel-plated steel, with a thick layer of silicon between it and the MBB, and the top plate is 1/4" nickel-plated steel. The whole thing is amazingly solid. ..just one problem...the retention screws.. For some reason, Koolance thought it would be a good idea to use these things:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_89.jpg

Basically, the tiny screw portion at the end screws into the backplate, then the rest rises up through the silicon buffer, the MBB, the top plate, and the thumbscrews. Problem is, because the lower threads are so short, a) I can't imagine they provide a very strong interface, and b) they aren't as cleanly cut as the threads on the upper part. As a result of this, it is incredibly difficult to get them to thread into the tapped holes in the backplate...so hard that I ended up getting one stuck, and then snapping it in half trying to get it back out. :eek: So, I got the broken-off portion out of the hole, re-tapped the holes (I think they plated it after tapping the holes, so it felt just a tad off from 6-32), and I'm gonna be picking up some new screws the proper length tomorrow.

..and now it's 4am...damn...soo..

The doorbell works, so now I am going to bed.

[StormRider]

that cheap? dang, I'm gonna have to jump on your car next time you go :D

[x88x]

that cheap?

Which one? The 360 was just a fluke. ..and, well, actually the Crosshair was too. It was on open-box clearance for $160 (normally $225), and since I was also buying a qualifying CPU, I got another $40 off.

[StormRider]

50% off the mobo. that would be awesome to get:(

[x88x]

I finally got it all assembled and up and running over the weekend, and I gotta say....it is soooo nice to have it back. :D After surviving on my laptop for ~4.5 months (MBB and sound card died on 11/11), it is so nice to a) actually have a nice amount of screen real-estate again, b) be able to game again, and c) not be limited in what I want to do by the capabilities of my system. ..also, I finally cleaned off my desk for the first time since I moved...which is also nice. :P

One thing I noticed is that the temps on my second GTX260 are ~7C higher than on the other one. This didn't make any sense to me, since they both have DD Tieton full-coverage blocks on them, they're both under full load (folding), and the one with lower temps is a 216 model, vs the one with higher temps is a 192 model. But then I remembered..when I was putting the waterblock on the second one, I was out of AS5 and wanted to just get it running as quickly as possible..so I just used whatever thermal paste I had lying around...and then when I later had it dismantled again and had AS5, I forgot to redo it. So, incase anyone still doubted that AS5 does make a difference compared to the generic white stuff, there ya go. ;) Next time I tear down my loop I'll have to remember to replace that paste with AS5.

[diluzio91]

Glad to hear that 260 is working for ya. Gl with the temps...