Cosmos S single loop (for now) build log [Archive]

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MIAHALLEN

07-09-08, 08:09 AM

I'm putting together my very first WCing loop in my new system, and I'm looking for as much help as I can get, I cannot afford to screw this up. I've been following MaxxXRacer's guide here (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=54331). I just recieved the bulk of my HW, and I've been cleaning and prepping.

This is what I am planning:
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/WC.jpg

Here are all the parts:
CPU block - Swiftech Apogee GTX CU (http://www.jab-tech.com/Apogee-GTX-CU-Limited-Edition-CPU-Waterblock-pr-4156.html)
NB block - Asus Maximus Extreme (Fusion Block System) (http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=117&l3=0&l4=0&model=1862&modelmenu=1)
Pump - Swiftech MPC350 (http://www.jab-tech.com/Swiftech-MCP350-12-VDC-Pump-pr-2611.html)
Radiator - Swiftech MCR320-QP-K (http://www.jab-tech.com/Swiftech-MCR320-QP-K-Triple-120mm-Radiator-pr-3320.html)
Reservoir - EK-Multioption RES 150 rev.2 (http://www.jab-tech.com/EK-Multioption-RES-150-rev.2-pr-3839.html)
Tubing - Tygon® Silver Antimicrobial 3/8" ID - 1/2" OD (http://www.jab-tech.com/Tygon-Silver-Antimicrobial-Tubing-3-8in.-ID-1-2in.-OD-number-AS600027-pr-4103.html)

How about an alcohol bath? :beer:
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4330.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4331.jpg

This is why I cleaned the CPU block:eek:

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4332.jpg

Only problem I've had so far is that the EK RES has a crack, so I'll be sending that back to Jab-Tech for an exchange. When it returns, I'll be out of town, and will continue when I return (mid August).:mad: Unitl then, any comments or suggestions?

I do have one question, will I have trouble feeding/flushing the loop due to my rad being at the top of my loop (it'll be about level with the fill port)?

Jinu

07-09-08, 10:32 AM

i would suggest res -> pump -> rad -> cpu -> nb -> res. i personally dont have my nb in my loop. i just use a fan to cool it.

Micmal

07-09-08, 10:33 AM

I do have one question, will I have trouble feeding/flushing the loop due to my rad being at the top of my loop (it'll be about level with the fill port)?

Here (http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=568032)

maxspam

07-09-08, 09:57 PM

wow nice setup. love the tubing, never seen it installed though. make sure you post pix when your done. :D

MIAHALLEN

07-09-08, 10:36 PM

i would suggest res -> pump -> rad -> cpu -> nb -> res. i personally dont have my nb in my loop. i just use a fan to cool it.

Why?

atomic ferret

07-09-08, 10:55 PM

Because the water will be pumped into the rad to cool down right before it hits both your waterblocks. The way you have it, the chilled water exiting the rad will sit in the reservoir for a while while it heats back up before being pumped to the cpu and nb.

MIAHALLEN

07-10-08, 01:39 AM

thideras

07-10-08, 02:43 AM

rdrash

07-10-08, 08:27 AM

looks like u caught the bug for sure Miah...next thing you know you'll be getting the hvac tech out to ur house to fix that phase unit...then before you can turn around you'll be beggin to borrow or buy a tube for DI...then you will come asking for a better pot so you can try ln2...hahahahahha..lol

Your equipment looks very nice..I'm certain you'll take your time and make it look very professional. I'll be watchin for updates once you get back from your trip my friend. :cool:

martymonster

07-10-08, 10:51 PM

Here is my Cosmos S WC system (posted awhile ago)
Triple Rad is at the top inside.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=558039

MIAHALLEN

07-10-08, 11:38 PM

Here is my Cosmos S WC system (posted awhile ago)
Triple Rad is at the top inside.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=558039

Thanks for sharing...do you have a picture of it in it's final state, with all your HW installed? Also, I was running my first Q6600 with a much higher OC than you, and I was on air! Have you tried pushing it higher...obviously you have the cooling to handle the heat :D

martymonster

07-11-08, 08:44 PM

Thanks for sharing...do you have a picture of it in it's final state, with all your HW installed? Also, I was running my first Q6600 with a much higher OC than you, and I was on air! Have you tried pushing it higher...obviously you have the cooling to handle the heat :D

I am not too concerned about getting really high speeds, I want stability with LOW temps.
At HIGH FSBs I can run ANY stability program for over 18 hours with good temps, but it can still crash just using it on a normal daily basis.
When it crashes, the screen is garbled, so I have to play around with NB volts etc, I think it is due to having 4 x 2GB sticks of RAM.
Memtest, 3DMark06 and Prime95 can run and run and run.
But normal usage still has hangs.
So far at 356FSB it has been stable. If there are NO crashes in 2 weeks, I then will up the FSB and see how it goes for another 2 weeks and so on.
Long process.

3 of the 4 Rad fans draw outside air into the case. The Rad fan at the back of the case blows air out.
Thus, the fans do
200mm side fan blows in
120mm fan in front of discs blows in
120mm x 3 Rad fans blow in
120mm Rad fan blows out
120mm Rear case fan blows out

Temps inside the case with ambient temp of 22c FSB 356 (3.2GHz)
Rear of discs 24c
Air blowing out of case via Rad fan 25c
Temp of X38 chipset (temps sensor placed in grooves of heatsink) 47c

911us

07-12-08, 01:47 AM

Using alcohol for cleaning is a good idea,it remind me about my loop,it have been 1 year without cleaning :D

atomic ferret

07-12-08, 02:29 PM

Order doesn't matter as much as tubing length. Atomic ferret, you say that his method would "heat it back up". Heat it up with what? The air going through the radiator will be very close to the temp around the res. There will be no difference. Go with what provides the cleanest loop.

My mistake. The reason I recommended it is also because it only requires a very minor change in his current loop. All he's got to do is connect the top blue line and disconnect the bottom one that goes to the res. Thanks for clearing it up though.

MIAHALLEN

08-20-08, 07:30 AM

So, I stripped out all uneccessary HW last night, and installed all the LC components. Then I cut all my tubing, and connected everything up. I slowly began filling the system with distilled water.

I soon found a leak at the radiator barbs, it turns out the DD barbs don't work well in the ST radiator. I swapped them for some ST barbs used elsewhere in the loop...problem solved. :up:

I powered up and nothing leaked...

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4547.jpg

I attempted to cut a fill port hole in the top of the case, but soon realized that it was not going to work. The rad blocked it once installed.

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4548.jpg

Here is how the case looks right now...

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4578.jpg

I've inserted three extra fans up fron (800RPM for some silent airflow).

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4576.jpg

I'm running dual HD 4870's in Crossfire

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4558.jpg

I have my OS loaded on a VR, and 3x 1TB WD "Green" drives to store all my media files. They're in a RAID5 array controlled by an Areca ARC-1220 (with a custom fanless cooler ;)).

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4555.jpg

The VR is sitting on the special gel from Petra's Tech Shop, and secured with hair bands.

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4571.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4570.jpg

MIAHALLEN

08-20-08, 07:31 AM

The loop turned out just about how I wanted it...here is the initial product:

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4574.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4591.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4583.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4592.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_4595.jpg

Thanks for looking, and suggestions or criticisms are appreciated :beer:

Anubis_386

08-20-08, 07:53 AM

Angry

08-20-08, 09:58 AM

Sick! Your HDD setup makes me...Um well Im not going there! but I envy it!
How much did that pci-e SATA controller cost?

atomic ferret

08-20-08, 10:19 AM

Very, very nice. You considering a second loop for those 4870's?

MIAHALLEN

08-20-08, 05:45 PM

Your tubing looks pretty all over place but otherwise, awesome build man .. I'm envious of your storage setup, I'm debating whether or its worth it to get a Velociraptor for my main PC and a decent RAID card for my server

Sick! Your HDD setup makes me...Um well Im not going there! but I envy it!
How much did that pci-e SATA controller cost?

The setup works very well, and I have the capacity to expand my RAID5 array up to 7TB, or to convert it to a RAID6 with a possible capacity of 6TB. The VR is great for the OS & games, very speedy, no complaints there.:beer:

Very, very nice. You considering a second loop for those 4870's?

Yes, but first I'd like to build a seperate box for my media storage, that will free up a lot of extra room in the case.:)

oc_newbee

08-20-08, 06:32 PM

Thumbs up!:thup:on that silver tubing very good job, I'm also very happy with mine, just plain distilled water and silver tubing (simple, no mess).

NoodleGTS

08-23-08, 12:31 AM

Hey, here's mine. I found it pretty hard to find space for the reservoir and pump actually. THere are no bubbles with my system... when I ran my loop initially i had the system on its side and the reservoir was the highest thing vertically. Once the bubbles were all out, i put the res where you see it now and it runs fine.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=563130

MIAHALLEN

10-22-08, 05:39 AM

I followed the guide here (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=54331). But still ended up with this after only 55 days. :shakes:

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_5057.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_5058.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_5059.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_5060.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/IMG_5066.jpg

I used a 100% copper loop to eliminate the concern of corrosion. I also used Tygon "anti-microbial" tubing and 3 drops of "PT_Nuke" to eliminate the concern for microbial growth....what did I screw up? :shrug:

QuietIce

10-22-08, 06:21 AM

My preference for a WC liquid is a little contrary to popular opinion but it's never failed me:

1 gal. distilled water
5 drops Betadyne or equiv. (10 drops for standard 1st aid iodine)
use as directed x2 - algaecide from aquarium shop
shake well before using

I've never seen this mix allow growth of any type ...

Spawn-Inc

10-22-08, 04:54 PM

i still need to clean my loop out, and now that i have some pt nuke i plan to use 20 drops or so. i woul dup the pt nuke for your next fill.

Kuroimaho

10-24-08, 04:41 AM

Nice setup, could you try to describe the noise the pump makes ?
I am thinking about going back to water but only if it's not more noisy than my current gaming rig.

QuietIce

10-24-08, 05:51 AM

Kuroimaho, the MCP350 and MCP355 pumps make virtually no noise at all if placed inside a standard case and mounted with a cushioned pad. If your ears are particularly sensitive and you've got super quiet fans (like Scythe "D"s) then you might pick up a very faint hum if your HDD's aren't running. If your fans are any louder than a Scythe D then you'll never hear it ...

Kuroimaho

10-26-08, 07:14 AM

Thanks for the info, I looked it up but and figured it is pointless to check it out in the store because it would be too silent compared to the background noise.
So far this is the best info I got. With the fastest fan being a slipstream 800RPM, I guess my velociraptor is the most noisy part of the system.
Sorry for the hijack.