Now it's my Turn (MCP655/Storm Rev.2/Maze4/BIX Single) @ 7/16 Tubing

I find it to be alot easier to leak test with the whole thing assembled and in the case. Just hot-wire the power supply so only the pump gets power. If you get any leaks, just be sure to dry off anything that gets leaked on before you power up the system. I worry about introducing leaks manipulating the loop to get everything mounted after leak testing (if you do your leak testing with the loop outside the case). It's kindof a pain in the ass to put the loop in when it's all put together, too.
 
Ah, thanks for the info on leaktesting. I intend on running an AC pump, so no hardwiring would be needed. I haven't done a WC before, but I've been reading up and I'm planning on building something from my sig when I get back to school in a month.
 
Well guys... here is a little update... I wish I had more hours to work on my WC project but I had to be a father and husband until 10:00 PM :p

So here is where I'm at.. hopefully today my loop will meet WATER..! :D


Here is my approach:
Pump --> GPU --> CPU --> Rad --> Res --> Back to Pump

Now I think I got it darn good on the pump location and orientation as you can see the pump will have very little problem with the priming as by gravity the water will go in from the reservoir to the pump intake. Thanks for the tip "Marci" :D

My biggest problem was pump/reservoir location I really spent hours trying to figure the best choice. Also I ended up recycling a piece of metal from the case and using it as a reservoir bracket.

Note: I haven't finished with the connection so you get the idea with the little arrows.
tubingflow0ia.jpg
 
That looks really good. How hard was getting the tubing on there with the boiling water?
 
Mark305TBI said:
That looks really good. How hard was getting the tubing on there with the boiling water?
Click to expand...

Thanks sir.... actually it was easier than what I thought ... I must say I love 7/16 now I know why people like it... it just feels very safe as it slide in very tight. Hot water is the key no doubt but it gets a little tricky... you need to play a little bit with it and use some force from time to time... the challenge was the pump as the barbs are huge but Hot Water to the rescue and Bingo..! :D

Thanks for all your tips.... I'm getting closer guys... now unhappily at work... can't wait to continue my project ;)
 
xXxDieselxXx said:
... you need to play a little bit with it and use some force from time to time... the challenge was the pump! :D;)
Click to expand...

:eek:
 
hmmm...
you should consider re-routing and having your cpu or gpu cooled right after the radiator to take advantage of the coolest liquid...

looks great so far
 
stormshadow said:
hmmm...
you should consider re-routing and having your cpu or gpu cooled right after the radiator to take advantage of the coolest liquid...

looks great so far
Click to expand...
The difference in coolant temperatures from one point to the next in the loop is miniscule at best. Besides, you'd want the radiator to be able to dump as much heat from the closed system as possible. The radiator works best when the Delta T (difference in temp between the ambient air and the coolant) is highest. So you want the coolant to run through the radiator when it's at its hottest. That would be right after it went through the waterblocks.
 
Haste266 said:
Originally Posted by xXxDieselxXx
... you need to play a little bit with it and use some force from time to time... the challenge was the pump! :eek:
Click to expand...

I know it sounded weird when I was typing it but hey that's how you do other things as well :D
 
stormshadow said:
hmmm...
you should consider re-routing and having your cpu or gpu cooled right after the radiator to take advantage of the coolest liquid...

looks great so far
Click to expand...

According to plan that was what I wanted to do but then I really had hard time making the loop as efficient as possible with very little room in the case also keeping in mind the pump orientation I wanted the intake facing up to make it easier for priming.

One thing I learned ... next time I will use a fill port/T Line.... bigger case.
 
Mark305TBI said:
The difference in coolant temperatures from one point to the next in the loop is miniscule at best. Besides, you'd want the radiator to be able to dump as much heat from the closed system as possible. The radiator works best when the Delta T (difference in temp between the ambient air and the coolant) is highest. So you want the coolant to run through the radiator when it's at its hottest. That would be right after it went through the waterblocks.
Click to expand...
meh - i'd still go radiator -> CPU -> GPU
 
xXxDieselxXx said:
According to plan that was what I wanted to do but then I really had hard time making the loop as efficient as possible with very little room in the case also keeping in mind the pump orientation I wanted the intake facing up to make it easier for priming.

One thing I learned ... next time I will use a fill port/T Line.... bigger case.
Click to expand...
good call - i think efficient loops are defitiely a priority - not only aesthetically but for flow as well...
 
Mark305TBI said:
The difference in coolant temperatures from one point to the next in the loop is miniscule at best. Besides, you'd want the radiator to be able to dump as much heat from the closed system as possible. The radiator works best when the Delta T (difference in temp between the ambient air and the coolant) is highest. So you want the coolant to run through the radiator when it's at its hottest. That would be right after it went through the waterblocks.
Click to expand...
thats exactly wat stormshadow was saying, after the coolant runs through the cpu block, gpu block, res and pump, it goes back to the rad where it is cooled and goes through the same process again
 
Leak test in progress... so far 4 hours of continuous pumping and not a single drop. However I got a little scare situation where I felt the radiator barbs somehow wet... I played a little bit with the O rubber rings or seals and wallah it worked.. but somehow I don't like the feeling of those seals.. it's like if you tight then by hand a little too much they will move out of place....

leaktest41gi.jpg


And here some pictures of my rig during leak test.. :D

BTW the pump feels cool by the touch.. I was expecting somehow warm... also it was a little noisy at first then after all the air was out basically very little noise.. it's close to the sound of a single 80mm fan.. in fact my Laptop next to the box was louder ;)

leaktest12kd.jpg

leaktest30if.jpg

leaktest24xw.jpg

leaktest54bd.jpg
 
Introducing Medusa..! The new RAM sink :D

Well guys what's the point of making your own loop if you can't customize here and there? :p

medusaintro5aw.jpg


Here I ran into this issue. I'm guessing many of us have been there... as you might know there are 2 RAM chips right in front of the barbs for the 7800GT VGU. Well.... with the Maze4 high profile that was not a choice...2 RAM's went down when I placed the tubing and even after I could not fit the bad boys so I had to grab McGiver's Swiss Army knife and do some moding of my own to get enough clearance between the chip and the tubing.

missingram3mr.jpg


Here is how it looks:

finalmedusa5kx.jpg
 
All done guys..! ToDaY it's "D" day..! Well "W" Day...

I'm running an extra leak test with all the components mounted and today will do some Benchies.. I will post later tonight... I already recorded my temps when I was aircooled with an AC Freezer 7 Pro :D

I tried to sort the cables as much as I could but room was an issue... next time I'll get a bigger case.. even tough this case has a nice size

Pretty excited here...

wccompleted4ao.jpg


wccompleted22ll.jpg
:D
 
xXxDieselxXx said:
Introducing Medusa..! The new RAM sink :D

Well guys what's the point of making your own loop if you can't customize here and there? :p

medusaintro5aw.jpg
Click to expand...
LOL!! I love that.... gotta do that to my next set of ramsinks (if I use the Swifty ones) :D
 
Sad Sad News for me guys... :confused:

My PC won't start at all.... there was not a single water drop during the whole process. The PSU is working fine took all the components out and just left the mobo and PSU and CPU connected and nothing...

I have an Asus A8N-SLI Premium, when I power up the PSU I can see a green led going on but that's all I see... I have been reading and seems like it happens very often with the mobo. Weird thing is it was working fine until I started my WC project :(

To top my bad luck I had to leave for one week camping so I will be eating my brain the whole trip trying to figure out what to do next.

I tried wiring the PSU and fans and pump go on... so the PSU is fine also readings are good.

Tried resetting the CMOS... took battery out and reset jumper deal and nothing... sounds like new mobo for me :(

Is there a chance the CPU block is creating a short or something?

I'll keep posting... when I come back.. :eek:
 
I replied to ya on this over at xtreme but as a quick re-cap, make sure the 4 pin power connector is securely connected. Otherwise, the Asus board will not POST even though it looks like it is powering up properly.
 
InTheFlow said:
I replied to ya on this over at xtreme but as a quick re-cap, make sure the 4 pin power connector is securely connected. Otherwise, the Asus board will not POST even though it looks like it is powering up properly.
Click to expand...

Sorry guys I'm back from a painful camping vacation as I was eating my brain trying to figure out what was going on.. InTheFlow thanks for your reply and Yes, I tried everything I took everything out and got down to the motherboard.... so I'm going to order a new mobo as soon as I can. I think I probably killed the mobo by handling without ground protection.. that's the only thing I think of and no leaks were found.
 
Will you take a picture of your motherboard with your power connectors plugged in?
 
SiGfever said:
Will you take a picture of your motherboard with your power connectors plugged in?
Click to expand...

I'll be glad to take the picture... but wife took it for few hours I will post a picture as soon as I get the camera back :D
 
SAME thing happened to me. I had to RMA it... A Month later and im STILL waiting for the delivery.
 
SiGfever said:
Will you take a picture of your motherboard with your power connectors plugged in?
Click to expand...

Here you go... sorry for the late reply...

One thing I find weird is when I plug a very old 130W PSU which doesn't have the CPU fan or 4 pin power connector the mobo will boot On. It seems like the mobo won't send the signal to the smart 500W PSU .

Somehow I get green light from the mobo but won't boot at all
greenlightyj9.jpg


Here all connected
moboconzc9.jpg

mobozoomjq3.jpg
 
Breaking News..!

It's a miracle..! :toast: Playing with the multimeter I was checking voltages and decided to see if the power switch jumpers were in short.... to my surprise when I turned the multimeter knob to the "Buzz" setting then I proceeded to test to check the 2 jumper pins a little spark along with the buzz when off and wallah..! the CPU fan started to work.... it seems like the Buzz setting emitted a little charge that woke up what i believe it is a relay that send the signal to power On/Off... man I'm excited... I think the static charge probably created a short on the power switch jumpers.... so far I have tried unplugging and plugging back the PSU and it seems to be working now.. Well... time for me to put all together to see if I can boot to windows ;)

<<< Update >>>

If I unplug the PSU for some time it will not respond again... I have to actually use the Multimeter to do the same.. lol I feel like using battery jumpers.... if the PSU is not disconnected it will work every time...
 
My PC is Alive..!

Working great guys here are the benchies I got so far :D

Keep in mind I migrated from AC Freezer 64 Pro Air solution which served me very well also I'm guessing I could get even better temps if I add an extra rad to the loop ;) Future project (Gathering pennies for another single rad)

One thing for sure "Water Cooling" worth every penny... I can't believe I can just hear my PSU and hard drives :)

The biggest performance hit was the VGU 17C degrees lower on full load

On Air clocked at 2.6 on Water clocked at 2.7
Room temp was at 87F/30C
wcresultsjt3.jpg


Lessons Learned

1- The most important one.. if you have questions ask. If you don't have questions ask anyway or read and read.. I think I saved my skin many times by reading catching some details I thought got it figured out. For instance I forgot to add RAM sinks to the VGU and I already ordered the parts. Petra's was kind enough to reopen the already sealed package and add the part.
2- For blow holes a holesaw seems cleaner and easier than Dremel.
3- The bigger the case the better it is. I have a nice mid size case and I kind struggled getting things connected avoiding touching the tubing.
4- Scrubbing Bubbles works great if you don't want to wait days with the vinegar process.
5- T-Line might be better approach if space is an issue.
6- Always Always use protective anti-static equipment :D
7- 7/16 Tubing for 1/2" barbs works great...you get that sense of security that having tubing very tight leaks will not be a problem. Hot water a must.
8- When tightening the barbs watch for the rubber "O" ring to not get out of place... if it goes out of place you are tightening too hard.. I saw some leaks when I was flushing the loop before leak test. I was worried about defective barbs but once I loosed the barbs a little bit the rubber ring got back to a circle shape and leak stopped. This is very important for those like me that have the submarine syndrome where we want everything very very tight.
9- Save money and flush the loop with water tap by placing one side of the tube on the tap and the other to a drain or sink... make pressure with hand and let the water go and flush for few minutes. You can also have a sense of your loop restrictions. Then grab a jug of distilled water and try to flush it with the pump On and the other side draining out to a sink.. right after that try to empty the loop, connect all together and proceed filling the loop with your favorite fluid.
10- For nOObs like me 12' of Tubing made it right. I had like 2 or 3 feet left. I used part of the tubing to do the Scrubbing Bubble flush.
11- Pump orientation. I like this one very much .. .Thanks Marcy, Best performance is achieved with inlet pointing at the ceiling, and outlet parallel to floor. Avoid running a D4 / D5 or DDC with inlet pointing at the floor and outlet parallel to floor. This will help to prime the pump by gravity.
12- VGU RAM Sinks with few drops of super glue is a must.
 
Nice clean job there Diesel. Great log for beginners to look at, and some great hints at the end. If you are dissatisfied with your temps (doesn't sound like it at all), your best bet would be to upgrade to a 2x120mm radiator, as it looks like your CPU & GPU are putting out too much heat for your radiator to keep temps down as low as they could be. However, space is a bit of an issue with your case, and I'm sure you just want to enjoy your loop for a while now
smile.gif
.
 
ikellensbro said:
Nice clean job there Diesel. Great log for beginners to look at, and some great hints at the end. If you are dissatisfied with your temps (doesn't sound like it at all), your best bet would be to upgrade to a 2x120mm radiator, as it looks like your CPU & GPU are putting out too much heat for your radiator to keep temps down as low as they could be. However, space is a bit of an issue with your case, and I'm sure you just want to enjoy your loop for a while now
smile.gif
.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the words.. I really enjoyed every step of the process... I kind of got addicted to it just for the fun of it.... now I'm bored and broke lol
:D
 
stormshadow said:
sweeetness

great job diesel
Click to expand...

Thanks buddy....

Today I even got better temps... this time at room temp @ 79F we turned the AC ON and it seems to make some difference. Also I'm hoping to get some better temps after the thermal paste (AS5) settle down better.

The VGU temp it's what looks sexy 7800GT clocked at 470Mhz/1.10Ghz

Here a screenie in Idle:

wateriddlenextdayat79frp9.jpg
 
Now it's time to get that bigger case and do it all over again. ;)
 
And getting better.... this time I rotated the back 120mm fan to actually push air into the case and droppped some more degrees :D

Now the motherboard temp lowered almost 10C I was not happy with the northbridge temp.. I was always in the 30's when aircooling and with WC was hovering around 43C. Now it's back to the 30's also the CPU temps dropped few degrees as well.

BTW: I'm using this little temp monitor app called "Everest" pretty nice.... me like it... you can customize the display of many temp readings and they are very accurate. I compared the temps with other apps.

Room Temp: 87F/30C.
Top picture @ Full Load. Bottom Picture on Idle
backfaninde2.jpg
 
Looking good, reminds me of my own setup, only a bit different. I had to get creative with those swiftech HS and the Maze4 LP myself, bending alone was enough had to snip then down a bit ;)

Only concern is the way your pump is located. When I put mine like that everyone told me I was going to have a hard time Priming the loop. never Tried it though.
 
Justintoxicated said:
Looking good, reminds me of my own setup, only a bit different. I had to get creative with those swiftech HS and the Maze4 LP myself, bending alone was enough had to snip then down a bit ;)

Only concern is the way your pump is located. When I put mine like that everyone told me I was going to have a hard time Priming the loop. never Tried it though.
Click to expand...

Actually my pump orientation is perhaps one of the best moves I made.... I refer to Lessons Learned bullet point # 11 :D

"11- Pump orientation. I like this one very much .. .Thanks Marcy, Best performance is achieved with inlet pointing at the ceiling, and outlet parallel to floor. Avoid running a D4 / D5 or DDC with inlet pointing at the floor and outlet parallel to floor. This will help to prime the pump by gravity"

This made the priming a piece of cake honestly...
 
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