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Thank you! (a.k.a. My First WC Build)

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ARCJr

Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2006
Location
Just outside Wright-Patterson AFB
I've been lurking here the past couple of months, and after building my first watercooled PC I just wanted to say thank you for all of the info I've obtained here.

About the PC:
Shortly after upgrading my Home Theater PC, I realized the air-cooling solution in the small case was not up to the challenge of keeping it cool (and silent). My HTPC was cobbled together from my old HTPC, and my now-old Game PC.

Socket 939 Athlon 64 x2 4400+ (1MBx2)
Radeon x800XL
2GB Crucial DDR
Maxtor 160GB & 250GB HDs
Plextor DVDRW
Ahanix DVine4 Case
Creative X-Fi
Hauppauge Tuner
ATI HDTV Wonder Tuner

The Ahanix case came with a whopping...(wait for it)...2 60mm fans! I had modded the case to have a 120mm intake at the bottom of the case, but that didn't cut it nearly enough. Based on the info I got here I started looking looking for rads that I could fit into it, without removing the AV equipment look. Not an easy task, just look at the Ahanix website, and you'll see how tiny the damn thing is! I eventually found that even the Danger Den Micro rads were too big (I may yet add the single 80mm rad, but that will be a future story).

The only rad I found that I could use, and still keep the PC looking like AV, was the Innovatek Maxi passive radiator. The positives being that it is passive, makes the case look like a high end amp being mounted to the top, and has sufficient cooling for the PC. The downside being that it is an aluminum radiator operating with copper waterbocks. I believe that's sufficiently mitigated by the radiator being anodized, and using the OE Innovatek anti-corrosive coolant. I'll be monitoring that, but hopefully it will turn out okay.

Anyway, here's the parts list:
Swiftech MCP-350 (quiet!)
Swiftech Apogee
DD Maze 4 Chipset cooler
DD Maze 5 GPU cooler (with both mounting brackets for future use)
DD HD Cooler (Go back to the Ahanix site and see if you can figure out where to mount a fan for the HDs!)
Innovatek Maxi Radiator
3/8" Tygon tubing
Twin T-lines (ahead and behind the pump. Hope it will aid draining)

Results: Nearly silent. Those 60mm fans are the majority of the noise, hence a future replacement with the single 80mm rad. The temps are still TBD. Before I left on vacation, I was tracking Idle temps of the system at 43C, with load temps of 49C. However, I left it running to record all my favorite shows in HD while I was at my parents' for Thanksgiving. When I got back, the Idle temp was 39C. So I'm not sure if the system has broken in some.

Anyone have an explanation for the drop in Idle temps? Ambient temp was the same before and after.

Thanks again for the help, everyone.
 
:welcome:

Congrats on your first WC build.. You sure dove in headfirst putting it that type of case. The temp reduction could just be the thermal paste curing and setting in. It is common for temps to be higher when you first put a HS or WB on. After a few days the temps usually settle down as the thermal paste cures.

Most times you will see a few C lower idle/load temps. That is most likely what has happened.
 
You prob still had some air left in your rad and it cleared out causing your temps to go down .
 
Wow congrats on your first build.. and esp for getting it into that case! I'm about to make the Water Cooling plunge myself :) Sure does look like a nice HTPC ya got there!
 
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