Got some planning done for my new build.

This is gonna be HARD! Been kicking this around in my head for a while now and figure about time to make it happen. Not sure on the components atm. I would really like to go Intel again, but not sure if the wallet can handle it. I got some rough prices for the acrylic and OUCH! Looking like I will have about $250-300 tied up in just the materials for the enclosure. I have a couple spare GTX460s sitting here, but will need some water blocks for them OR just go with a single GTX560Ti 448 Core I also have. The 460s in SLI will soundly beat the single TI, but I can save a good bit of money going with a single card. Half the cost in fittings and blocks. TWO GPUs look SOO much better, so I will hold out deciding until the last minute. For now, I will design with TWO in mind for space issues.

My concept. TWO acrylic tubes. The outer will be 12"OD 1/4"thick. The inner 11 1/2" OD 1/4" thick. That will give me roughly 1/4" of free space between them to serve as the coolant rezzy. Should be more than enough capacity for the cooling loop.

The plan is to have the loop running as normal connected to the inner tube on one pump system. The 2nd pump will only be used to circulate the coolant around the rezzy. I am going to design a fairly complex manifold of sorts to attempt to get the fluid ALL moving in one directly, hopefully makin a very cool effect.

I am using Sketchup to get a better idea of sizes and such. From my initial designs, I should be able to fit everything I want and need. Mobo size will depend on the actual inside diameter once the tubing arrives and I cut down the inner cylinder. A mATX will just make it, but it will be extremely cramped. I may end up using a Mini-ITX board. If I go with one, that completely rules out SLI but it will free up some valuable space for the loop, wiring and other components. I will be using copper tubing for the loop. The wiring will be like NOTHING I have ever see done before in a mod. 1/8" copper tubing sleeved. Yep, already have done this before in a custom Hot Rod I am building with my father. Kinda cool actually. Not as difficult as it first sounds. The trick is to start with straight tubing, feed the wiring thru, THEN bend as needed. It should look awesome while being very unique.

Anyway, enough of the blabbler. Here are a handful of pix to give a better idea. BTW, Suggestions and concerns MORE than welcome. If you think of something that will be a problem, please....don't hold it in.

Looks good Speedbump. I was wondering if you were going to have a exhaust fan on top, or if its not really necessary due to water cooling. Also what material is the case going to be made from?

Well, just got the first new component for the build. Great deal on this. koolance.com/vid-nx460-video-card-vga-nv...-gtx-460-water-block BNIB $45.00 shipped. Got a couple spare EVGA GTX460 SCs sitting here with nothing to do. One will be serving graphic duties in this build. I know, not the most powerful out there, but great card that can handle any game with modest settings @ 1920x1200. The price was right on them as well. $55.00 each. ;)

Gonna be building this with cast acrylic. Going to try to use only acrylic but may have to get some aluminum involved somewhere. Yes, I will have a big ass fan...200mm. Not sure up top, or at the bottom. Most likely bottom mounted as the top will have the DVD and some USB ports and maybe 3.5mm audio jacks.

The designs are shown using a mATX board, but after looking at some stuff, probably gonna end up going with a mini-ITX to for clearance issues. Still not decided on AMD or Intel. Hoping to go with a Intel Quad/Z77 setup, but may end up with a 6 core AMD if money issues come into play. Speakin of money...These tubes are CRAZY expensive. 12" OD 1/4" think...$135.00 + shipping and I NEED TWO! If I can squeeze this into a 10" tube, that will knock the cost down to half if not more.

The color choice for this one...Green. Translucent green acrylic, lots of powdercoating and some tasteful LED work.

I'll keep ya posted with updates when I get something interesting to show.

Well, got some work done on the new build. As usual things are constantly changing as it progresses. I found a cheap ($35) extruded acrylic cylinder aquarium that I had planned on using, but it turned out to be a POS. Came scratched and scuffed from very poor packaging, but the size was nearly perfect. I quickly dropped the video card while mocking some stuff up and broke it, so....back to my original plan of using a cast acrylic cylinder. Until then, it will make a very nice test fit piece that I really don't have to take much care with.

Anyway, on to some stuff. My original plan was to use two cylinders with the coolant in between them as the rezzy. I am scrapping that idea to go with one that is even more ambitious.

I am getting the component list narrowed down. So far, got some stuff in.
GTX460 with Koolance waterblock.
XSPC Raystorm CPU block. It is an AMD block, but I will be fabbing up a custom mounting plate to use once I decide on AMD or Intel. Either one...I will create something cool and unique out of the 1/4 green acrylic. (dont like stock )
2x4gb Crucial Ballistix Elite
EK Coolstream XT Radiator
Bunch of EX Black Compression fittings
MCP655 pump with EX D5 Top
Silverstone ST45SF fully modular SFF Power supply.
Various translucent green cast acrylic panels. (adhesive too)


Still not sold on the mobo/CPU. WANT a new Haswell/ASUS m-Itx, but will prob go with a inexpensive AMD setup. Couple reasons for leaning towards AMD. First reason...obviously price. Big difference between the two setups. 2nd Reason. Do I really want to submerge $500 worth of CPU/Mobo in oil? WHAT? OIL? LMAO...yep. That is my new ambitious plan. This new build will be oil and water together. I will build it like a traditional water cooled PC, THEN submerge the whole thing in mineral oil. I will forgo the copper sleeving for traditional paracord in green and black as the overall color scheme has changed due to having a good bit of black already. (pump top, GPU PCB, fittings, radiator and PSU.)

Anyway, to be more specific on the actual cooling system. I am planning on having both the mineral oil and water in the same place. The only thing separating them will be their specific physical properties of oil and water NOT mixing. I have actually tested this already and I think it will work. The oil will be suspended on top of the water which will be used just like as if it were in an enclosed rezzy. The trick will be figuring out a way to keep the intake from drawing in the oil. I should be able to accomplish this by using a few strategically places panels near the intake opening. The return port will just pump directly back into the lowest level of oil or water, but that will be decided after some testing to see how much turbulence can be tolerated. If it all goes as planned, the effect will be something truely unique and look awesome. The coolant will be Extinction Green Aurora Mayhem and will be pumped thru clear tubing.

Here are a few pictures of some stuff mocked up. The cylinder is laying on its side atm, due to not being able to secure things. It will be standing upright when finished. The radiator placement is not final, nor is the size. I would like to get a 240mm rad in there but if I can't, I will at minimum require another 120. I will try to mount the radiator(s) on the back side to get more room in front. I must make my decision on the mobo/cpu very soon as I can't progress without them.

PIX:

Went cheep.

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113333

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157357
Should be good nuff.

ASRock saving the day! I have been locking for a mini itx board with a FM2 socket for a long time, but my understanding was that they were only coming in full/micro atx. Thanks SpeedBump for posting that up or I might not of ever noticed. Now if only more companies would make mini itx Fm2s besides ASRock. I'm looking forward to see your build, its going to be awesome.

SpeedBump wrote: Went cheep.

As long as the color scheme of the motherboard looks good.....

L0rdG1gabyt3 wrote:

SpeedBump wrote: Went cheep.

As long as the color scheme of the motherboard looks good.....

If this post wins the contest I'm coloring on your RAM sticks with crayon.

Lersar wrote:

L0rdG1gabyt3 wrote:

SpeedBump wrote: Went cheep.

As long as the color scheme of the motherboard looks good.....

If this post wins the contest I'm coloring on your RAM sticks with crayon.

I dont care what the specs of the RAM are, or how they perform... as long as the coloring looks good... (not really. I do care about that) But, make them RED and BLACK

Think it will be done by september?

Arxon wrote: Think it will be done by september?

Hoping it will be done by mid august or sooner.

lanfest.intel.com/events/fites-2013

Spent a good day out in the shop working on some chassis stuff. Been trying to design some acrylic pieces that will not only look good, but will serve a purpose. The small ones started out as supports for the middle platform, but after looking at some stuff, changed things around a bit. They are no gonna be used for supporting the radiators. Gonna use two 120mm Rads due to space issues. They will be sandwiched together with 3 fans. It should work ok, although running the tubing will prove to be a challenge. Made a couple other pieces for support and I think they look pretty cool. There will be some more along the same design lines for other parts as well. The main vertical panel will be cut out at the bottom keeping only the area between the supports. This will serve a couple purposes. One, appearances. Two, the area needs space for the liquid to move freely.

I have been thinkin of a way to make a support for the front edge of the middle platform. It will need something, but couldn't figure out how to make something that would not take away from the appearance. Came up with an idea. I will be using rigid acrylic tubing, so I will use it as the support. In my mind's eye, it looks good anyway. We will see. Anyway, here are some pictures.

And its green!

Got some more work done. CPU and Mobo came in so I got to it. Measured everything up and got it all mounted up. Not very much room to work in here. Got the gpu mounted up and got a placement for the pump ready to roll. Tomorrow I will finalize the PSU mounting and decide on the SSD placement. The 2nd rad is on the way as is some green para cord, Mayhem Aurora Extinction Green, 3 Corsair fans and some other odds and ends. I think I have everything needed save for the tubing and fittings. Primochill is releasing some new tubing and fittings. I MUST HAVE THEM. New Rigid Tubing and Compression Fittings I will probably get the bare aluminum fittings and then powdercoat them translucent green. For now, I can pretty much build at will and the tubing can be done later on. (Will not be out for another few days anyway)

On to some pictures.

Oh, BTW..the new CPU looks to be a good one. Popped it in...jumped right into BIOs and tossed a bit of voltage and 4.8ghz. Ran Heaven benchmark 3 times in a row and it was solid and stable. Installed a bunch of stuff (about 1 hour or so) and ran into no issues with heat or lockups. Even with the air cooler, still only hit high 50s. I tried 5ghz, (same volts...1.4125) booted into windows, but locked up soon after. I am fairly sure with the oil, water and a little voltage it will run 5ghz.

Check out the score on the Heaven bench and SuperPiMod. SOOO funny. This surely is no Intel





More pics.

Got some more goodies in and spent some quality time with my new build. Its gettn there. BTW..the black EK compression fittings and red Primochill made it's way into my son Nico's rig. Figured what the heck, his loop needed flushed and redone anyway. Decided after getting into it, to rebuild the whole thing. Only thing still needs done is sleeving all the cables, but that will have to wait.

Anyway, this new rigid tubing is a real bugger to work with. Everything has to be precisely measured to fit. Add to it, this is a scratch build, so I have nothing to go by. Just build as I go. LOL.

Starting to actually look like something now. Soon..very soon! Muhahahaha!

On to the pix.
Stuff.

Work.

Oops...forgot..may as well toss a quick one of his redo.

Shizzle gettin complicated!

Well, got some more work done on my project. This has been a challenge to say the least. What has been the most difficult is not having anything to work from. I have been just picking a spot and going from there. So far, I have the tubing about 99% finished. There are a couple lines I will probably redo because of a little bubble in the bend or something just not exactly even. Anyway, here are some pictures as it sits. Tomorrow I will pull it all apart, clean all the tubes, reinstall them and give it a leak test to see if everything is ready to move on. Gnite.

Got some more progress to update.

Good news and bad news. First the good. No leaks. Bad, need another pump or must completely scrap this whole build.

Here's the story. Got everything all ready to leak test and even had the wife standing by with the camera in case something stupid happened. (Always want to capture dumb stuff for others to LOL over). Filled the case with about 1gal distilled and added a wee red food color (to be able to spot leaks better). Slid the chassis with everything ready to go into the case and plugged in the pump. Roll camera! Hit the button....ahh....nothing! ARRGGHHH! WTF Willis? Turn it off, turn it back on...STILL NOTHING!!! GRRRRRR! Pump was making a very quiet hum and that's all. Bad PSU? Maybe. Turn off camera..send wife away cause she laughing at me raging...grab a KNOWN working PSU. Repeat....OMG, NOTHING!

Well, here's what I learned.
1. Don't have the wife around when you are testing anything, if she is like mine and loves to see me in a rage over these damn things.
2. Before testing anything, make sure the stuff you are using to TEST with is known to be a working unit.
3. MCP 655 pumps are very powerful and quiet but don't have CRAP for suction power.

After failing miserably with the testing, I pulled the chassis out, and started trouble-shooting. I decided to add a reservoir to the loop and then everything went smoothly. Pump worked great, tubing looks amazing with fluid runnin thru it and no leaks. BTW, both PSUs work. :roll:

Turns out the reason for the failure is the lack of any significant suction power with the pump. It never really occurred to me that it would not be able to drawn the fluid a mere 10". It can't. (other people may have already known this and they should have told me before hand. That is what you guys on the forums are there for. To keep guys like me from doing stOOpid things! )

So, this leaves me with a problem to solve. How the hell do I make this setup work as intended? I did some testing and once the pump and loop is primed it will drawn up the fluid, but after trying 3 or 4 different methods of filling things...it can't be done due to this NOT being a entirely closed loop and not being able to access the tubing and fittings once the works is inside the case.

The only options I have open now are, 1....add a 2nd pump at the lowest possible level to "push" the fluid up to the main 655 or 2....scrap the work design and give up on this.

I REALLY want to make this work now for a couple reasons. Never saw it done and NEVER give up on a challenge. So, looks like I need to find a very small pump that can be submerged in the water that I can mount at the very bottom of the case. If any of you have any other ideas or know of a brand/model of pump that will work...PLEASE lemme know. TTL.

Ok, good news. Got a small pump and did some more work. Tossed the booster pump into the bottom, ran the tubing to it...BTW, perfect fit without need to mod anything. . Fired it up and ran just fine. In fact, this little pump is strong enough to actually run the loop on without the need for the main Swiftech 655. I will not be using it for that purpose. I am planning on making this a "bleeding pump". Seeing how it uses a standard wall plug, my idea is to take an old PSU, take out the female power plug, splice the pump cable to it, mount it up near the I/O panel and then when I want to turn on the system, I will first take the PSU cable, plug it into the pump. It will fill the loop and then I can unplug it. Once the loop/main pump housing is filled, then the system works perfectly. It will only need done after the initial installation and filling of the loop. When the PC is turned off, some of the water drains from the system, but the pump housing remains filled enough to start up on its own. I have tested it a handful of times and it is good to go.

I came up with another idea for filling the housing and it also works. I used a "t" with a fill port going directly into the top of the pump housing and it works. This option gives me a couple concerns. It would be fine if the PC is just here at my house where I could fix an issue of too much water draining out, but I plan on taking this to a few LAN parties and that will require partially draining the system and away from my workspace, I am not confident about the refilling process. The other concern, this option will require me to redo a very difficult section of the loop. The line that will need replaced or reworked was a complex tube with multiple twists and bends. Don't wanna go there.

Took a quick clip of the leak testing for you guys. I got lots more work to do, but I think I will be able to get it finished in time for a few LANs including yours. Later all. BTW, read my comments on Youtube about it. Info on the water and such.

I'll say one thing, it's very nice looking, when your done i'm sure it will be even nicer!

garfi3ld wrote: shouldn't it be able to push if you just kept it up higher? Rather than go with two

Pushing the fluid is not the problem. Getting the fluid from the very bottom of the reservoir is. Without it being a "closed" system, the pump is lacking any suction power. The placement of the main pump is not open for change as the chassis/framework would have to be completely redone as would all the tubing. Not something that I am even considering. After considering my known options, I believe this to be the best route. It will take minimal work, give the desired result and still look good. The only addition to the project will be one more cable and the small pump that is hardly noticeable at the bottom.

Looks really cool I hope this works out for you. Awesometastic