My Aqua-Computer watercooled A64 PC-70 case, LOTS of pics of my worklog

F

fallguy

Guest
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Stock buttons on my PC-70.

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Bulgin vandal switches. You can see a slight ding where the drill got away from me. I am going to flatten that out with a pin hammer, you shouldnt be able to see it. The switches glow, blue on top for power, red for HD activity.

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Radiator being cut out, and finished product.

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Res hole marked, being cut out, and smoothing the edges. MUCH better than a puny dremel. :)

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Pump placement.

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Radiator with the cover off. I had to remove the rivets because I had to use bolts, not just screws with these fans.

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You can see the "fountain" spout working, see the ripples? Its hard to capture in a still image, in motion its pretty neat.

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Tried to keep the wires out of the way. Those are the mobo wires, and USB wires.
 
nice setup, i've always admired aquacomp products. Lots of tubing for such a simple setup, but that's due to the HUGE case (which is cool). Always admired your endeavors.
 
I didnt really want to use that much tubing. But I really wanted to go from the res, to the pump first. The pump has been killed before by others by not having water, they are to NEVER be run dry... Do I had to go to the res, to the pump, back up towards the rad. Annoying, but the pump is stong enough.
 
fallguy = emilee?

or are you just stealzoring emilee's pics and calling them your own?
 
btw how much did the whole watercooling system + case cost you? I know the case is ~$150...
 
Trick looking res, but all those blank 5.25" bays look kinda wierd. Ditto with all the open space above the mobo. Are you planning on filling that up somehow? Installing a window?

I used to really love the PC-70, but more and more I'm beginning to prefer the PC-60. Still, proportions aside, that's a really nice setup. Quality looking parts, and I especially like how clean your rad install is. Where'd you get the metal top for that thing, the one with all the diagonal cross-pieces? Personally, I think it'd be hot if you cut those cross-pieces off, then install some black or aluminum mesh under there instead. Something about the sharp diagonals just doesn't work with me, the way it stands out among all the other right angles and curves.
 
Dark, yes the same. How can you not know that? :) Watercooling minus the case was probably a little over $400.

NeuroMaster, yeah there is a lot of empty space. I plan to cover up that unsed usection of the mobo tray with more Paxmat, and in the future, get a LCD and HD waterblock that will fit in the 5.25 bays, so it wont look too bad.
 
fallguy said:
Dark, yes the same. How can you not know that? :) Watercooling minus the case was probably a little over $400.

NeuroMaster, yeah there is a lot of empty space. I plan to cover up that unsed usection of the mobo tray with more Paxmat, and in the future, get a LCD and HD waterblock that will fit in the 5.25 bays, so it wont look too bad.
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mebbe he would partition it off and install a hampster cage
 
Nice setup...is that 1/4" ID?

*me pats American-style thick 1/2" ID tubing connected to Dtek WW*
 
Its 1/2" OD, 3/8" ID. Bigger itsnt always better. Neither is more flow.
 
Well that's because those german waterblocks are designed for lower flow. If I had a LR Cascade + high pressure pump like Swiftech MCP600 + 1/2" ID + Bonneville or Caprice core that makes use of jet impingement and higher flow...that would be hard to beat.
 
That aqua computer gear is definitely the coolest looking stuff I've seen as far as water cooling goes...I am getting ready to put their blocks in my system with a Chevette rad, Tygon 3/8" ID and Eheim 1250 so I'll be sure to post my pics and compare. I'm afraid mine won't look as neat though with my little Antec case, it'll be kind of cramped ;)
 
DaveX said:
Well that's because those german waterblocks are designed for lower flow. If I had a LR Cascade + high pressure pump like Swiftech MCP600 + 1/2" ID + Bonneville or Caprice core that makes use of jet impingement and higher flow...that would be hard to beat.
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As I said, more flow isnt always better, no matter how the system is setup.

If I wanted maximum cooling, I would have kept my Mach II. I happen to like the Aqua products, and how they look. Top quality.
 
fallguy said:
Its 1/2" OD, 3/8" ID. Bigger itsnt always better. Neither is more flow.
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dont make me prove you wrong




i hate the small tubing but the german w/c stuff looks a ton better than the american stuff

also i forgot that bulgin switches mounted into lian lis. i have like 5 of them lying around :D
 
If you're going to crap, take a hike.

They only mount into the power button, you have to drill the reset button.
 
My Exos 'only' uses 1/4" Tubing yet it cools my p4 extremely well. I idle at around 26c and can Dual Prime for hours and only reach 32-33c max, and I bet fallguys setup is more effecient than mine. Sure is prettier. :)

Bigger isn't always better.
 
PopCorn said:
Bigger isn't always better.
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Read this argument

Of course if you have a German style waterblock made to max out before 1GPM, then 1/2" ID isn't necessary. But the fact is most American-style waterblocks w/ 1/2 ID" and jet impingement benefits from higher flow. Even if you've got a block like the DD Maze4 or Dtek Spir@l with low pressure drop, it needs 2+ GPM to perform.

Bigger ID tubing = more flow = more heat transfer = lower temps
 
Fallguy said:
Bulgin vandal switches. You can see a slight ding where the drill got away from me. I am going to flatten that out with a pin hammer, you shouldnt be able to see it. The switches glow, blue on top for power, red for HD activity.
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that's why, when working with materials with a 'finish', always work from the dull side. so in case of accident, it's not visible from the outside.

other than that, looks great!
 
DaveX said:
Read this argument

Of course if you have a German style waterblock made to max out before 1GPM, then 1/2" ID isn't necessary. But the fact is most American-style waterblocks w/ 1/2 ID" and jet impingement benefits from higher flow. Even if you've got a block like the DD Maze4 or Dtek Spir@l with low pressure drop, it needs 2+ GPM to perform.

Bigger ID tubing = more flow = more heat transfer = lower temps
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Let's leave this thread to it's intended purpose, to celebrate a guys work on his new rig. Thanks.
 
PopCorn said:
Let's leave this thread to it's intended purpose, to celebrate a guys work on his new rig. Thanks.
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Just read that thread. Ok back on topic. Nice setup.
 
trust me, the german gear is top notch and my Aquacomputer rig keeps my OC'd 2.4C nice and cool...


I should add that they look incredible too, its like having a BMW mounted in my case ;)

I was hesitant to use the AC gear because of its smaller diameter tubing but have not been disappointed so far...... runs GREAT


nice looking setup, little sparse but nice :)
 
I did drop it, got a Mach II. Then sold it, and went back to water.

Even if the ignorant people dont think 3/8" can cool well.
 
Hey fallguy - how are your temps with that setup? I talked to the owner of snt-systems yesterday and am going to wait for his next shipment of blocks (hopefully in a week) before moving from my current setup to the German goods.
 
fallguy said:
I did drop it, got a Mach II. Then sold it, and went back to water.

Even if the ignorant people dont think 3/8" can cool well.
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please read some cooling forums where you will be proven wrong.


i put a vandal switch in like you did because i liked the look. i absolutly love that res you have though. i have no room for a res however and im sure it doesnt come in 1/2"
 
Sure looks nice, just missing a couple of finished pics where you can se the whole side.

And what kind of graphics are you using?


Super nice work. :)
 
kronchev said:
please read some cooling forums where you will be proven wrong.


i put a vandal switch in like you did because i liked the look. i absolutly love that res you have though. i have no room for a res however and im sure it doesnt come in 1/2"
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Please read what I wrote before looking foolish.

Its 1/2" OD, 3/8" ID. Bigger itsnt always better. Neither is more flow.
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I never said 1/2" cant be better, I said it isnt always. The difference is so small, its pointless to me. With high flow, you can have more pump heat, and less time cooling the water in the radiator. Now, stop going off topic.

MrHappyGoLucky, Idle at stock was low 30's. The factory bios on mine reads temps wrong. There is a beta bios out that reads them right, but it isnt stable for me. So I cant test load temps, or overclocked temps. :/

EinsteiN, 9200SE. Waiting for a X800 Pro. Trying to find one without paying tax, and Im not paying above MSRP for it.
 
Thanks for the answer Fallguy! I can't wait for snt to get more goods in stock so I can blow some money :D

I think everyone on these forums are so brainwashed by the "it must be 1/2" OD or it is bad" syndrom. Yes 1/2" OD is necessary for the likes of the Cascade, WW, RBX, TDX simply because they are designed for alot of water FAST. The Germans have taken a different approach to watercooling; but it doesn't make it wrong/bad. I don't think we will see the raw performance of a Cascade but it will work just fine for those of us who want to look good and be silent.

So really what it comes down to is this: do you want absolute performance (1/2" with a HUGE pump) or silent beauty (10mm or 3/8")?
 
You'll be happy with snt's service. Ive bought several things from them, and even exchanged a few, everything always went very smoothly.
 
fallguy said:
I never said 1/2" cant be better, I said it isnt always. The difference is so small, its pointless to me. With high flow, you can have more pump heat, and less time cooling the water in the radiator.
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Do you also want the water spending more time in the waterblock to "absorb more heat"? It's a common misconception that water needs to move slowly through a radiator to be cooled well. Think of this, maybe each molecule spends less time in the radiator each time it goes through, but it goes through more times per minute - it's just going in a loop after all! It actually spends the same amount of time in there overall, so you can see how time is not an issue - fluid flow characteristics are, because that's what governs heat transfer. That's why there's such a large focus on creating turbulent flow, because it's superior to laminar flow for heat transfer properties of a system.
 
zer0signal667 said:
Do you also want the water spending more time in the waterblock to "absorb more heat"? It's a common misconception that water needs to move slowly through a radiator to be cooled well. Think of this, maybe each molecule spends less time in the radiator each time it goes through, but it goes through more times per minute - it's just going in a loop after all! It actually spends the same amount of time in there overall, so you can see how time is not an issue - fluid flow characteristics are, because that's what governs heat transfer. That's why there's such a large focus on creating turbulent flow, because it's superior to laminar flow for heat transfer properties of a system.
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he never made any such claims

edit: whoops, nevermind, he did
the whole more time in the rad talk is wrong, and you are right, I like cathar's racetrack analogy best
/edit

but,
I'm going to defend fallguy and the "euro" way right now, even though i'll take 1/2" ID over 3/8" ID tube any day

yes, in fact, you will probably get lower flow rates if you compare smaller diameter tubing to larger in the same setup.

but it all comes down to the individual, and what they consider to be sufficient for their purposes.

yes, he may be sacrificing quite a few 3dmarks by going this route than going with a big ass heatercore, complete with a rad box and large diameter tubing, danner mag 5, bench setup, etc. etc. etc.

this rig just looks kick ass, and I'm sure he likes it more than I do (i'm a bench rig kinda guy)
 
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