Newbie Questions

[rexhunt]

Hi I am new to the whole modding world. I have had a little experiance with some old hardware that I have managed to scrounge and now I would like to start to make it look a little better.

To this end I have started to design a case in PTC's Pro Desktop. One concern that I have had is that I want to have some of the pipes for the liquid cooling setup outside the case. One of the problems I have forseen is that I want to have the liquid going to the blocks and to the radiator on the side of the case. But I also want a big pipe on the front that will help show the temperature of the liquid through a change in colour. The only problem I can see with that is the pipe at the front is about 40mm od. So I was wondering if that would have any effect upon the effectivness of the loop if it goes something like this:

resivoir->pump->blocks->big pipe at the front->radiator->resivoir

Will I be able to do this with normal sized pipe in the rest of the loop?

Thanks in advance.

[mDust]

There shouldn't be any problems with having a large diameter tube in your loop. The flow will slow down in the wider pipe and then have to be constricted again, which causes resistance. Just make sure your pump has 6-10ft or more of head pressure and you're good to go.

[x88x]

Agreed. It will basically just act like a small reservoir. I'm not sure if it would actually be necessary/make a significant difference, but I would put the radiator(s) before the big tube in the loop, for the same reason you put reservoirs after the the radiators (flow and, to a lesser extent, temps). Are you wanting to have RGB LEDs lighting up the transparent tube or the fluid in it or something? Sounds like a great affect.

[rexhunt]

I was hoping to get some temperature sensative dye if I could find some. Then maby some plain backlighting.

If I finish some of my assignment soon then I may be able to get the photos I have taken of the partially finished case in PDT and put it on my laptop so I can work on it at school. Hopefully by the end of the week I will have updated some photos.

[x88x]

I was hoping to get some temperature sensative dye if I could find some.

Hmm, I can't say that I would recommend that, though I suppose there might be a dye that I don't know about. Spawn might also drop by and tell you never to use dye. ;) Apparently it's a fairly common occurrence for dyes (even dyes designed for watercooling fluid) to cause clogging in waterblocks.

One other thing to consider is that because of the thermal properties of a watercooling system, you won't really get much action in the way of temperature change. The temperature of the fluid in a WC loop rises from system startup to an equilibrium temperature (different for each loop), and will pretty much stay there forever, or until the computer is turned off for a while again, maybe varying a few C when you're under full load.

[rexhunt]

Ok thanks I will make sure to keep that in mind when I get to that stage.

Unfortunatly the only hardware I can get for the actual computer at this stage will probably be only slightly better than a pIII or if I am feeling reckless a 2.4?.04? with 128mb ram, I am thinking use the pIII or whatever it is (I will have to check that particular machine) and put in a whole heap of sd ram (which I already have a bit of). I am hoping that once we move and we are all settled and I get a job I will be able to upgrade the hardware.

So what would you recommend for the components in the watercooling loop. I am trying to do this for a minimum cost while still being able to overclock and upgrade.

[Diamon]

For rads you could use car/motorcycle coolers, car coolers are usually a bit big tho. You could probably save some money that way, probably not a lot tho, and buying rads designed for pc water cooling is a lot easier since motorcycle coolers aren't guaranteed to have fan mounting holes etc :). Maybe try to get some stuff second hand?

For prices and parts you can always check frozencpu.com

I wish you luck with your project.

[x88x]

For getting parts cheap, watch our trading post section, and post a thread in there saying what you're looking for. A lot of the people around here sell stuff off occasionally, usually for a good deal off retail. That's also probably the only way you'll probably find a PIII block...though tbh you'll probably end up having to fab a custom mounting bracket for whatever CPU block you get...it's been a while since socket 370 was common....

[rexhunt]

Wth the bike rad. wouldn't they be a bit big? Mounting shouldn't be much problem, I am quite happy to make a mounting plate for the fans or a wid tunnel or similar.

Yeah thats one thing I thought I may have to do...make some blocks myself, does anyone know where I can find some instructions or something?

And later today I should be able to upload the photos at school later today (go the free broadband at state schools in NSW).

[rexhunt]

Ok looks like I cannot get PDT working on my laptop:(

And I forgot to copy the photos I have taken:(

So no photos till tomorrow, sorry:(

[x88x]

Wth the bike rad. wouldn't they be a bit big?

No such thing. ;)


Yeah thats one thing I thought I may have to do...make some blocks myself, does anyone know where I can find some instructions or something?

I don't think you would need to fab blocks yourself (unless you want to), just mounting brackets for them. It would definitely be easier to modify existing blocks, mainly because getting the contact plate perfectly flat and getting a good maze for the liquid to flow through would require a good deal of work. That being said, several of our members have made their own waterblocks. You should be able to find some with the search.

[rexhunt]

Ok I will see if I can find a block I can mod. then.

And I get what you mean with the rad. but I am trying to keep it all enclosed in the one case. So would the rad. be too big to fit in a case with all the other stuff?

[x88x]

It depends on the specific rad. Judging from the motorcycle rads I've seen though, it would probably have to be placed on the side wall of the case in order to fit inside.

[rexhunt]

Ok that should be all right, as long as it stays inside the case, I can just cut a hole in the side and blow the hot air out there I guess.

how would you recommend mounting the mobo?

[x88x]

The easiest route would be to either grab a MBB tray from an existing case or get one like the Lian-Li:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3387

[rexhunt]

Ok hopefully here are the photos I have taken from PDT.

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad46/rexoregan20/steelcustomtowerpartiallyfinished.jpg
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad46/rexoregan20/awesomelookinguppic1.jpg
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad46/rexoregan20/awesomelookinguppic2.jpg
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad46/rexoregan20/awesomelookinguppic3.jpg
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad46/rexoregan20/Brasscustomtower(partiallyfinished).jpg
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad46/rexoregan20/sideonview2.jpg
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad46/rexoregan20/sideonview1.jpg

I think these are all the photos, and the big hole on the side is for a fan, I may be moving it around a little.

And would it be possible to put the rad up the top and use convection currents to move the air past till it gets quiet hot?

[x88x]

Stick those in IMG tags, please.

EDIT:

I like those triple tubes in the front. :D

[rexhunt]

Not sure of the colour scheme yet, possibly the polished brass rings on the clear piping.

There is much more piping to go on the side, I need to work out the positions of the cpu, gpu, etc. for the cooling.

The pipes will hopefully show, the temperature of the liquid, the pupm speed and the level in the res. But as the pipes have an od. of 40mm it may be easier to use it as the res.

[Diamon]

Make sure you get a STRONG pump if you're gonna have lots of piping and/or rads.

[rexhunt]

Ok, started to get the fan guard drawn up, just trying to get a smooth, even spiral in PDT. As soon as I get it done I will post some pics.

What sort of price range would a suitable pump be in?

[x88x]

Any pump made specifically for PC watercooling should do fine, since they're designed to deal with that environment. You can get a good one new for around $50-$100 (USD).

[rexhunt]

Ok that sounds good, I should be able to afford a new one then.

[rexhunt]

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I have been on an outward bound course for the last week and have not been anywhere near a computer.

I have some "back of the letter" sketches that I will try to get into PDT as soon as possible.

[rexhunt]

Ok I am on work experiance in sydney and almost as soon as I get home we will be moving, so unfortunatly I will be unable to get any more work done on the CAD drawings :(

However I will try to do som mock ups, for want of a better word. Of what I am thinking.