Relatitive Success...

Alright, finally my install is finished!! (for the moment anyway)

I've installed a swiftech MCW20 chipset cooler and swiftech MCW6002 waterblock running through a pump (320GPH?). I made the radiator myself, its about 5" by 12" sandwiched (of course i left space) between two sheets of plexi-glass with two 80mm fans blowing on it. Also, when the swiftech install recomended using very little thermal paste, I really took the minimalist approach, using only half a tube each for both the cpu and chipset.

My cpu is staying stable now at 37C and the mobo at 32C and with a 2GHz athlon 64 3000+ overclocked to 2.25GHz. What does everyone think? Decent results for the equipment? Its pretty warm in my room, definatly over 70F. Should I enclose the sides of the plexi-glass or let is breath as is?? Should I use more thermal paste?

I'll post pics as soon as I can steal a camera for a few seconds

Any insights welcome!

Cheers
Josh

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS
PICS PICS PICS
Don't use more paste cause temps tend to rise with more, the less the better.

Sounds like a good setup.
WE LIKE PICS WE LIKE PICS

I really took the minimalist approach, using only half a tube each for both the cpu and chipset.

Click to expand...

WHAT???!! Half a tube of what paste?? Man, a normal amount would be a dab the size of a grain of rice. Minimalist aproach would be maybe a dab the size of a pin-head or less. I dont know about the optimal amount on a A64 heatspreader but, HALF A TUBE for each?? *edit*who recommended you that amount? Please specifiy what type of paste and what size tube.

SenC

When installing a heatsink and fan over a cpu they recomend the use of a full, one time application tube, I used the same one time application tube for both the cpu and the chipset. It was much less than paper thin.

Anyway!!! PICS!!!! YEAY!!! (i hope they resize for you because they're a tid bit large)

Oh, and temp has dropped further (maybe because ambient temp had dropped as well??) its now at 35C unstressed and 36C regular use. Again, would you recomend enclosing the sides to my radiator aparatus or should i just be happy with my 43C to 35C drop??

cheers
josh

(oh, and paste was arctic silver i think)

Nice looking setup, I like the glowy radiator Its possible that your temps are lower also because your thermal paste has set in a bit.

I would think enclosing your radiator may help keep all of the airflow going though only the radiator (and would be good,) but I could be wrong.

looks very nice, and i think 36c stressed is good enough.

You could get some touch up pain from auto store and paint the swiftech stuff green

You may want to get some 120mm fans I think those 80mm fans might not be moving enough are.

hey

thanks to everyone for their input.

Yeah, I was thinking about 120's, except wouldnt they be even louder?? I cant seem to find a program that lets me turn down my 7!! case fans so ive got 9 fans running right now. The damn thing sounds like a car and when i go to college at UVM this next month my new roomate might want to kill me. Can Anyone recomend a program or utility that gives control of the fans to me? Its a K8V SE Delux mobo if that makes any difference. Thnaks for the favorable replies!

cheers, josh

you can get a fan controller for the case, or you can do what is called the '7volt mod' (here is a link to a guide: http://www.dslwebserver.com/main/fr_index.html?/main/5-7-adapter.html) and that will make the fans much quieter.

as for the 120mm fans, they will actually be quieter for the same amount of air, so they may be a good investment for you if you wish to make your rig a quiet one.

Another note about 120mm fans. The pitch of the sound is much lower than a smaller fan. That makes them much more bearable. They make a low-pitched growl instead of a high pitched whine at high speeds.

You have an interesting setup. I don't think I have ever seen anybody hang their radiator off the side. Good job.

Welcome to the Forums and the Wonderful World of Water Cooling!

Temps sound good, how is the noise level?

120mm fans will definitely move the same amount of air with less noise, and usually will move more and still make less noise.

Definitely a worthwhile upgrade for the radiator- or elsewhere in the system- I try not to use anything else BUT 120mm fans.

A rheobus of some sort is often a great addition to a water cooled computer: you can fine-tune fan speeds for the best compromise of noise and performance for YOU.

It also makes it much easier to run quiet most of the time and still easily crank up the fans for top performance when load or ambient temps require it. I use Sunbeam rheobusses and think they are a great deal- usually under $20 and as good or better than comparable units.

The system looks very good! I have seen rads side-mounted before, but your "plexi-sandwich" is something I don't remember seeing before....
If you can mod it or make a new one that will also function as a shroud, performance should improve a bit as well.

Thnaks for all your input!!!

I was thinking I'd do a partial boxing, running plexi about 2/3's of the way down the sides originating from the front piece of plexi. That way air will be forced through the radiator to escape from the space left towards the computer side. Good idea?? Thanks for the fan input.

cheers
josh

I'm not sure if I quite understand your plan, but as long as the shroud forces ALL the air to go from the fans through the radiator (whether the fans are pushing or pulling) then it should work.

Generally, people seem to think shrouds of one to two inches depth (space between fans and rad) work best, at least from the reading and experiments I have done.
My shrouds are mostly about 1 1/2" deep.

A good program to control fans connected to the mobo is speedfan. Though i doubt your fans are connected to the mobo, most performace fans use too much power for that and i dont know how you could hook up 9 to your mobo