Intro:
It has come that time again to build another computer; my 3-year-old pc is showing its age in the latest games. Familiar story huh? This pc had to be a damn site quieter than my previous, and last me another 3 years in to the future. Well, perhaps not 3 years
Making a powerful computer to play the latest games and be the general workhorse is the easy bit. Add in a good dose of overclocking to squeeze out that extra boost and the challenge then becomes to keep the pc cool and stable. That extra heat means an increased necessity to remove it from the pc and its components, but I dont want it sounding like I'm living in a wind tunnel experiment. Water cooling was the answer for me.
Theres not many readily available cases that I liked the look of, and the ones I did like were made or modded by people in this and other forums. I obviously cant have theirs, so I decided to make my own. I like clear pcs, just something about them. So my case was to be made from clear acrylic. Im considering adding mirrored film to the inside of the case, so it reflects the outside world until I switch the computer on! Ill see how it looks in clear acrylic/perspex first. Ill get to the case lighting later.
There are some very knowledgeable folk in these [H]ardforums, and I have used their opinions and insights to think up parallel HEX. I thank those of you that helped me, even though you didnt know it at the time With the sucking up done, its time for the bad news. There was some advice I didnt take , that being the parallel loops of the water cooling cicuit.
parallel HEX The water cooling loop is a series circuit with six parallel branches in the middle of the series loop. The majority of water cooling circuits Ive seen are series, and perhaps some with one or two parallel loops from it. I wondered if it would be better for all waterblocks to be in parallel with each other, as it works with resistors and thats what waterblocks are to the water when you think about it. Will it work? I dont know but theres only one way to find out..
The waterblocks being fitted are:
GPU 1 & 2: Aquacomputer Aquagratix [X1800XT 512MB] [X1800XT 512MB master]
CPU: Cooler Master AquaTrident [AMD X2 4400+]
NB: Aquacomputer Twinplex Pro [DFI RDX200]
HD 1 & 2: Cooler Master AquaTurtle [WD Raptor 74Gb] [WD SE400KD]
Other hardware:
P1 & 2: Swiftech D5 pumps
Radiator ThermoChill PA120.2
Radiator Fans 2x Cooler Master Aluminium 120mm fans
Manifold custom
Manifold/Reservoir custom
I was going to water cool the RAM too, as the Crucial Ballistix (PC4000 1Gb x2) get pretty hot with a good overclock, even at their specified voltage of 2.8V. Ive decided to air cool the RAM, for now anyway.
parallel HEX This came about by the shape of the manifold I designed to split the water into six circuits.
A straight manifold may not give equal flow to all outlets, so a circular manifold would be great, however curved flats arent good to make a leak free seal with pipe connectors. So the circle turned into a hexagon because of the six circuits. Simple evolution. Talking of evolution, the manifold has changed slightly, with the addition of an o ring, to ensure the lid is water tight. I will only be using one of the manifolds shown above.
Enough history, lets see the designs for the case!
It has come that time again to build another computer; my 3-year-old pc is showing its age in the latest games. Familiar story huh? This pc had to be a damn site quieter than my previous, and last me another 3 years in to the future. Well, perhaps not 3 years
Making a powerful computer to play the latest games and be the general workhorse is the easy bit. Add in a good dose of overclocking to squeeze out that extra boost and the challenge then becomes to keep the pc cool and stable. That extra heat means an increased necessity to remove it from the pc and its components, but I dont want it sounding like I'm living in a wind tunnel experiment. Water cooling was the answer for me.
Theres not many readily available cases that I liked the look of, and the ones I did like were made or modded by people in this and other forums. I obviously cant have theirs, so I decided to make my own. I like clear pcs, just something about them. So my case was to be made from clear acrylic. Im considering adding mirrored film to the inside of the case, so it reflects the outside world until I switch the computer on! Ill see how it looks in clear acrylic/perspex first. Ill get to the case lighting later.
There are some very knowledgeable folk in these [H]ardforums, and I have used their opinions and insights to think up parallel HEX. I thank those of you that helped me, even though you didnt know it at the time With the sucking up done, its time for the bad news. There was some advice I didnt take , that being the parallel loops of the water cooling cicuit.
parallel HEX The water cooling loop is a series circuit with six parallel branches in the middle of the series loop. The majority of water cooling circuits Ive seen are series, and perhaps some with one or two parallel loops from it. I wondered if it would be better for all waterblocks to be in parallel with each other, as it works with resistors and thats what waterblocks are to the water when you think about it. Will it work? I dont know but theres only one way to find out..
The waterblocks being fitted are:
GPU 1 & 2: Aquacomputer Aquagratix [X1800XT 512MB] [X1800XT 512MB master]
CPU: Cooler Master AquaTrident [AMD X2 4400+]
NB: Aquacomputer Twinplex Pro [DFI RDX200]
HD 1 & 2: Cooler Master AquaTurtle [WD Raptor 74Gb] [WD SE400KD]
Other hardware:
P1 & 2: Swiftech D5 pumps
Radiator ThermoChill PA120.2
Radiator Fans 2x Cooler Master Aluminium 120mm fans
Manifold custom
Manifold/Reservoir custom
I was going to water cool the RAM too, as the Crucial Ballistix (PC4000 1Gb x2) get pretty hot with a good overclock, even at their specified voltage of 2.8V. Ive decided to air cool the RAM, for now anyway.
parallel HEX This came about by the shape of the manifold I designed to split the water into six circuits.
A straight manifold may not give equal flow to all outlets, so a circular manifold would be great, however curved flats arent good to make a leak free seal with pipe connectors. So the circle turned into a hexagon because of the six circuits. Simple evolution. Talking of evolution, the manifold has changed slightly, with the addition of an o ring, to ensure the lid is water tight. I will only be using one of the manifolds shown above.
Enough history, lets see the designs for the case!