The "Forge" Lian-Li A77F Custom Watercooled PC

[GTOViper]

The "Forge"

Here is my first attempt at a custom watercooled rig that I've been working on for the past 5 months, the build is physically complete and is now in the overclock tuning stage.
Any comments are greatly appreciated and thanks for visiting!

09/17/2010 Update: CPU 24/7 Overclocking is now complete, humming along at 4.2GHz. For BIOS settings and related information if you're interested, it's on page 2 post #26

 

[KWH]

I like your attention to detail, sweet rig.

 

[GTOViper]

I like your attention to detail, sweet rig.

Thanks! It definitely took a lot of elbow grease to put everything together.

 

[SchrodingersCat]

As a fellow modder this is absolutely beautiful. In fact once I finally find myself financially sound again I intend to be doing some similar things to a Rocketfish I acquired in the last month. This is definitely inspiring and brings some simple ideas I hadn't yet thought of as a modder. Kudos ^^

My photographer side also loves the macro shots. All I say though is larger focal depth on some. you could show off so much more that way!

 

[GTOViper]

As a fellow modder this is absolutely beautiful. In fact once I finally find myself financially sound again I intend to be doing some similar things to a Rocketfish I acquired in the last month. This is definitely inspiring and brings some simple ideas I hadn't yet thought of as a modder. Kudos ^^

My photographer side also loves the macro shots. All I say though is larger focal depth on some. you could show off so much more that way!

Thank you for the kind words, and be sure to post your project here once you get it going .

Photography wise, I'm completely inexperienced, it definitely took a lot of trial and error to get the results I wanted. But I think it turned out a lot better than I expected!

 

[lianregnif]

where did you get those computer tie downs?

 

[GTOViper]

where did you get those computer tie downs?

They're available at a lot of places, just search "p clamp" you should see some results pop up.

 

[soul555top]

Looks really nice and I love the picture quality! =)

Keep up the good work and thanks for the pics.

 

[mattlef]

Great work.
Are you planning on getting the case panted or powder coated? In all honesty, that would push this build from great, to epic. The only other thing I can think of would be a PSU cover/shrowd... but that just might be my style talking. Dude, excellent work, and keep it up.

 

[night_2004]

I'm really liking the front lighting and the cable management that you have there. As a fellow A77F owner I'd like to ask what lights you used and what cable management stuff you have?

 

[Dan_D]

Very nice work.

 

[GPUCommando]

holy crap thats beautiful man

 

[phoenix1985]

That's good pic & nice case

 

[GTOViper]

Great work.
Are you planning on getting the case panted or powder coated? In all honesty, that would push this build from great, to epic. The only other thing I can think of would be a PSU cover/shrowd... but that just might be my style talking. Dude, excellent work, and keep it up.

Yeah I'm thinking about some khakis... maybe a pair of nice Diesel jeans... . J/K. But seriously, I originally thought about powder coating the interior black as well, but there are already tons of builds that go for the all black look with the 800D. So I decided to head in a different direction and go with the silver nickel blocks instead.

I'm really liking the front lighting and the cable management that you have there. As a fellow A77F owner I'd like to ask what lights you used and what cable management stuff you have?

Thanks! Yeah the A77F is fairly easy to work with, I definitely recommend this awesome case! It also comes in silver and red brushed metal look.

Cable management are some p clamps and screw caps, and wire sleeves are from MDPC-X, shipping is a bit steep, but the quality is definitely top notch. It took forever to sleeve the PSU since I can only work on it night and weekends. Since it's my first attempt as well, it took quite a bit of practice to start sleeving at a steady pace.

The lighting are 24" red led light strips (logisys I think) I got from performance-pcs. I trimmed the strip a little as they're bit too long. you have to dissemble the whole front bezel and take it apart and stick in there that way. Hope that helps!

Very nice work.

Kind words from Dan_D! I'm in tears~~

holy crap thats beautiful man

That's good pic & nice case

Thank you! I really appreciate all your positive comments!

 

[SchrodingersCat]

Great work.
Are you planning on getting the case panted or powder coated? In all honesty, that would push this build from great, to epic.

Actually, some recent research of mine (as well as the above mentioned rocketfish case having fallen victim) is showing that powder coating may not be a great option for modders as good as it looks and as durable as it is. But some of that is also related to the skill and knowledge of the person applying it. And I have a pre-owned case that shows exactly what NOT to do. Guy that sold it to me got jipped on that mod.

On the other hand spray painting of any sort would probably look nice. But the lian-li exterior is so nice I'd leave it alone and stick to internal painting unless you wanted some detailed designs on the exterior. Just my opinion on that though.

Thank you for the kind words, and be sure to post your project here once you get it going .

Photography wise, I'm completely inexperienced, it definitely took a lot of trial and error to get the results I wanted. But I think it turned out a lot better than I expected!

you deserve them. And I certainly will once I get the chance!

well, if you're inexperienced then you deserve a pat on the back. Few people would put that much care into their photography, even if some of the shots are a wee bit off. well done. And my best advice to you on macro shots is focal depth, tripod, and a whole hell of a lot of lighting!

 

[GTOViper]

Yeah... after taking those photos, I've definitely gotten a lot more appreciative of great photography, it's not an easy task getting the shots to look good, some of the above shots are done with tripod, but the others are done-free hand due to space restrictions and to get the right angle. It was a tiny corner in the house =P. as such, the lighting wasn't the greatest either.

 

[munkle]

Looks nice. Keep it up. Now if you need to remove a video card do you have to take both out?

 

[fochkoph]

The A77F...*swoon*

Looks great man, MDPC worthy IMO. But now-a-day it takes that extra special something to get into that club.

Gorgeous!

 

[GTOViper]

Looks nice. Keep it up. Now if you need to remove a video card do you have to take both out?

That, and I'd have to drain the whole water cooling system and most likely would have to cut new tubes to replace the worn out ones... It'll be a hassle compared to air cool for sure. The price you pay for going water...

 

[SchrodingersCat]

That, and I'd have to drain the whole water cooling system and most likely would have to cut new tubes to replace the worn out ones... It'll be a hassle compared to air cool for sure. The price you pay for going water...

Would it be possible to invest in some quick disconnects that would go inline just prior to hitting the first gfx card block and do the same on the way back. That way you not only wouldn't have to drain the system to get them out, but if all you needed to do was get them out you could do that without having to drain anything as the cards could sit there with the disconnects keeping the water closed in their respective tubs and blocks.

granted, a rebleeding of the lines would still likely be necessary, but could potentially save a lot of time.

 

[Dan_D]

Would it be possibly to invest in some quick disconnects that would go inline just prior to hitting the first gfx card block and do the same on the way back. That way you not only wouldn't have to drain the system to get them out, but if all you needed to do was get them out you could do that without having to drain anything as the cards could sit there with the disconnects keeping the water closed in their respective tubs and blocks.

granted, a rebleeding of the lines would still likely be necessary, but could potentially save a lot of time.

Yes you can. I think Bitspower makes some and I know Koolance does. I use the Koolance ones and they are simply awesome.

 

[GTOViper]

The word on the street is, QDCs are pretty sweet, I've thought about putting some QDCs in the the loop, but then I thought, it really isn't that often that you would want to change out parts unless you're using it as a bench rig to try out all sorts of different components. I personally don't change out parts that often, but if I do, I guess a whole re-tubing would probably be in-order anyways since the tube length would probably be wrong. But it definitely crossed my mind when I was planning and researching the parts though. The no spill Koolance ones are supposedly pretty awesome!

 

[rocket733]

Koolance is the way to go; they're the only ones that make decent looking disconnects.

 

[Loiselle]

@GTOviper... your rig is what I would like to have mine be one day. The attention to all of the little details make me so envious. Just every single little detail went over with a fine tooth comb. I can't see a single weak spot in your build.

You, sir, should be very proud.

 

[GTOViper]

Koolance is the way to go; they're the only ones that make decent looking disconnects.

Not to mention it actually works as advertised, its literally no-spill, or a drop or two at most when disconnecting from what I've seen online, it's quite amazing actually.

@GTOviper... your rig is what I would like to have mine be one day. The attention to all of the little details make me so envious. Just every single little detail went over with a fine tooth comb. I can't see a single weak spot in your build.

You, sir, should be very proud.

Wow, thanks for your support! A stream of positive comments from fellow [H]ard modders certainly gave me a ton of extra boost in my confidence.

 

[GTOViper]

After a couple days of tweaking around and stability testing, I finally got it stable at 4.2GHz with 100 passes of LinX 0.6.4 with the latest Intel Linpack Binary at full memory load.

Within a very short time of testing, the ambient temp went from 27C to 31C and as high as 33C in my computer room... The Forge dissipates an enormous amounts of heat very quickly...

Here is the stable BIOS 1005 setting for the Rampage III Extreme:

BIOS 1005 setting for the Rampage III Extreme:

Target CPU Frequency		4209MHz
Target DRAM Frequency		2002MHz

LN2 Mode:            		Disabled***
QPI Loadline Calibration:    	Disabled***

Sync Mode            		[Enabled]
AI Overclock Tuner        	[Manual]
OC From CPU level Up        	[Auto]
CPU Ratio Setting        	[21.0]
CPU Turbo Power Limit        	[Disabled]

>CPU Configuration----------------------------
CPU Ratio Setting        	[21.0]
C1E Support            		[Disabled]
Hardware Prefetcher        	[Enabled]
Adjacent Cache Line Prefetcher  [Enabled]
Intel(R) Virtualization Tech    [Enabled]
CPU TM Function            	[Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit        	[Enabled]
Intel(R) HT Technology        	[Enabled]
Active Processor Cores        	[All]
A20M                		[Disabled]
Intel(R) SpeedStep(TM) Tech    	[Disabled]
Intel(R) C-STATE Tech        	[Disabled]
----------------------------------------------

BCLK Frequency            	[200]
PCIE Frequency            	[100]
DRAM Frequency            	[DDR3-2002]
UCLK Frequency            	[4004]
QPI Link Data Rate        	[AUTO]

Memory Configuration Protect    [Disabled]

>DRAM Timing Control--------------------------
CAS# Latency              7	[7]
RAS# to CAS# Delay        8	[8]
RAS# PRE Time             7     [7]
RAS# ACT Time             20    [20]
RAS# to RAS# Delay         	[AUTO]
REF Cycle Time            98 	[AUTO]
WRITE Recovery Time             [Auto]
READ to PRE Time           	[Auto]
FOUR ACT WIN Time               [Auto]
Back-To-BackCAS# Delay     	[Auto]

Timing Mode               1N    [1N]
Round Trip Latency on CHA       [AUTO]
Round Trip Latency on CHB       [AUTO]
Round Trip Latency on CHC       [AUTO]

WRITE To READ Delay(DD)         [Auto]
WRITE To READ Delay(DR)         [Auto]
WRITE To READ Delay(SR)         [Auto]
READ To WRITE Delay(DD)         [Auto]
READ To WRITE Delay(DR)         [Auto]
READ To WRITE Delay(SR)         [Auto]
READ To READ Delay(DD)          [Auto]
READ To READ Delay(DR)          [Auto]
READ To READ Delay(SR)          [Auto]
WRITE To WRITE Delay(DD)        [Auto]
WRITE To WRITE Delay(DR)        [Auto]
WRITE To WRITE Delay(SR)    	[Auto]
----------------------------------------------

CPU Differential Amplitude    	[900mV]
CPU Clock Skew            	[Auto]
IOH Clock Skew            	[Auto]
------------ Extreme Engine Digi+ ------------
Digi+ PWR Mode            	[T-Balanced]
PWR Volt. Control        	[Auto]
Load-Line Calibration      	[Auto]
CPU Voltege OCP            	[Enabled]
CPU PWM Frequency        	[Auto]

Extreme OV            		[Disabled]
Extreme OC            		[Auto]

CPU Voltage        	  1.349 [1.35000]
CPU PLL Voltage           1.828 [1.8285]
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage     1.556 [1.60000]
DRAM Bus Voltage    	  1.654	[1.65625]

>DRAM REF Voltages----------------------------
DRAM DATA REF Voltage on CHA    [Auto]
DRAM CTRL REF Voltage on CHA    [Auto]
DRAM DATA REF Voltage on CHB    [Auto]
DRAM CTRL REF Voltage on CHB    [Auto]
DRAM DATA REF Voltage on CHC    [Auto]
DRAM CTRL REF Voltage on CHC    [Auto]
----------------------------------------------

IOH Voltage        	  1.244 [Auto]
IOH PCIE Voltage    	  1.508 [Auto]

ICH Voltage        	  1.111 [Auto]
ICH PCIE Voltage        	[Auto]

---------- Spread Spectrum Control -----------
CPU Spread Spectrum        	[Disabled]
DRAM Spread Spectrum        	[Disabled]

***on-board jumper dependant

Here is my OC log for anyone that could use this information to help their own overclock with an i7 Proc. Happy Overclocking guys!
Orange value indicates what had changed from the previous OC attempt.

[Google Doc] The Forge i7-930 Overclocking Log to 4.2GHz

Here are the parts:

[Asus Rampage III Extreme X58 LGA1366]
[Intel Core i7 930 LGA1366 Batch# 3951A687]
[Corsair Dominator GT PC-16000, 6GB (3x2GB), 2000MHz, 7-8-7-20 CMG6GX3M3A2000C7]

 

[gs274]

This may be a stupid question but, why are you using 2 link tube sets? No matter which way I look at that it appears using 2 is going to kill the flowrate and turn both the cards into a washing machine just sloshing the water around with no direction?! Other than that...nice looking build.

 

[GTOViper]

This may be a stupid question but, why are you using 2 link tube sets? No matter which way I look at that it appears using 2 is going to kill the flowrate and turn both the cards into a washing machine just sloshing the water around with no direction?! Other than that...nice looking build.

Not at all, a very good question in fact.

So here is how the GPU block works [Bottom Side View]:

What you're referring to is probably a more common way to set up a multiple GPU loop, also known as a serial connection:

As you can see, as the loop cascades down, the 2nd GPU gets fed slightly warmer water, and so on if you have more GPUs.

However, with a parallel connection:

Both GPUs gets fed with the cooler water in the loop.

In a parallel connection the 2nd set of connector's water won't actually back flow due to the pump direction =)

I originally wanted the CPU to get the coldest water from the rads as the first block to hit in the loop. But with the way my front and top rad is set up, that would lengthen the loop quite a bit and would start the crowd the overall look with messy tubes. So now the Mobo gets fed first then CPU second, then the 2 GPUs.

 

[hvale2k5]

wow sickkkkkk!

 

[SchrodingersCat]

Yay for quick WC trick demo!

also wonderful temps from all of that. seriously nice to hear with such a wicked OC too. music to our ears!!

 

[ekuest]

this is super badass. i love it.

i do have one suggestion. i think you may be using 1/2IDx5/8OD fittings with 1/2IDx3/4OD tubing or something since they arent screwing on all the way. i think they look a ton better when theyre completely bottomed out. i know its super expensive to replace all the fittings, but you may be able to replace the tubing. just a suggestion.

 

[GTOViper]

They're 1/2 3/4 BP compression fittings with PrimoChill PrimoFlex PRO LRT 1/2 3/4 tubes... if you use a slightly smaller OD tube on the compression fitting, it will spring a leak for sure.

 

[ekuest]

They're 1/2 3/4 BP compression fittings with PrimoChill PrimoFlex PRO LRT 1/2 3/4 tubes... if you use a slightly smaller OD tube on the compression fitting, it will spring a leak for sure.

hm thats weird then. i use 1/2x5/8 tubing and fittings and they bottom out but never leak so i assumed 1/2x3/4 was the same. thats too bad as i think they look way better without that gap in the knurled part. doesnt make the rig look any less incredible though.

 

[GTOViper]

Thanks =) . Yeah, it probably will be fine with a 5/8 OD considering like you said, it does not want to bottom out with 3/4 OD unless you use a lot of force.

 

[ekuest]

Thanks =) . Yeah, it probably will be fine with a 5/8 OD considering like you said, it does not want to bottom out with 3/4 OD unless you use a lot of force.

haha yeah dont do that. i see that ending very badly.

 

[H@RD5]

Amazing job only thing needed, is the inside aluminum to be painted black as well.

 

[GTOViper]

Amazing job only thing needed, is the inside aluminum to be painted black as well.

As mentioned in a previous post, it's more of an aesthetic choice. I've thought about painting it all black, but there are already tons of all black case builds.

 

[Proxy]

Very nice job!

 

[GTOViper]

Very nice job!

Thanks! BTW, here's a little something interesting i found, in Mafia 2 Physx on High. GTX480 SLI gets ~53fps avg but with 1 GTX480 dedicated to Physx and the other for rendering (SLI off), you get ~64fps avg.

 

[mecra]

Hey there. First off, love the whole setup. It's clean, stylish, and well done. Secondly, may I ask how much the water cooling alone cost you? I'm considering water cooling as I'm running 470s SLI and I would want to do it right the first time instead of piecing it together. If you want to PM the total cost, that would be fine too. I'm just curious.

Any recommendations you would have I wouldn't mind either. Thanks again.