My first WC project. Pics and thoughts

Chief_Wiggum said:

UnLoadeD, thanks for the tip, where'd you get the chip?

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Newegg sells 'em .. get the OEM version for $52 shipped (the last time I saw) .. I'm getting one myself ..

I must applaud you for your job .. clean and good looking .. professionally installed .. how did you cut the case on where you mount the front side of the rad??? my heatercore now is so big that it won't fit on my mid-tower even when I already unplugged all 3.5" bays (left me only w/ 3x5.25" bays ... )

I used a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade. Demels work, but much slower.

Very nice setup man! And great job on the clean photos too!

i like how clean the system is. what gpu block are you using? i feel the same burning sensation related with using 3/8 on my first system. beleive me i wont make that mistake again...

looks great

Chief_Wiggum said:

I used a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade. Demels work, but much slower.

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i guess i'm stuck with my dremel then .. need to cut window hole, then rad. hole .. OMG .. i'm gonna need lots of wheels to cut my case then .. thx for the info Chief_Wiggum.

Looks great! I'm getting mine together and should be up in the next couple of weeks, depending on the cash flow of course...I was wondering how you did your shroud cause it looks awesome. I want to make mine, but the gladware thing doesn't look as good as this one. Did you just bend sheet metal or what? Keep up the good work.


::edit:: oh yeah, I forgot to mention about mcmaster.com...I ordered from there and they are awesome. They sell Clearflex60, but it's under the name Chemical PVC Tubing. There is a thread about it so search for it if interested. The 1/8" thick 1/2"ID is only .65/ft. I got 10ft. for like 10.83 with shipping, tax, and all.

What size adapter did you use for the maxijet?

Great job on the wiring.. what is that red plastic all over the wires? Would love to know were you got that or were you got the cables.

very nice and clean setup.... you must have put a lot of thought into it.... I really like your resevior... it will be even better if it was poly one (clear)

About the wire wrap...here's the part number for the mcmaster sleeving. It's pretty cheap from them, and you can order some heat shrink as well. I've ordered lots from them, always been really satisified.

9284K2

You can get it in a bunch of colors too. About $4.18 for 10 feet. I can usually wrap all the power cables with 10...barely.

edit: I found a good guide for wire wrapping here. VH shows some fabric wrap, but the mcmaster stuff is more of a flexible plastic braid.

http://www.virtual-hideout.net/guides/cable_sleeving/index.shtml

I made the shroud using the guide here:

http://www.overclockers.com/tips1022/

Follow the directions (even the ones about Home Depot) and you should be fine. I don't have a vice, so to make the bends, I bought some 1"x2" hardwood from Hell (you can buy it by the foot; cost me $.49) and cut the wood into 4" lenghts. Then I clamped the sheet metal in between them to make the bends. Worked really well. Instead of double sided tape to hold it all together, I used PC-7 (JB Weld wannabe). After filling the gaps with it and sanding, it looks pretty good. Took about 4 hours all in all. Also, don't cut 45 degrees of metal from the corners, only 22. This leaves you with a flap to bend across to epoxy to the adjoining side.

Hope that helps.

nut581 said:

Newegg sells 'em .. get the OEM version for $52 shipped (the last time I saw) .. I'm getting one myself ..

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Some people have been getting the tbred A cores lately from newegg so I would beware. You can be certain of the right core and steppings here:
http://www.excaliberpc.com/product_info.php?products_id=1486
Costs a bit more, but its a sure thing. They are offering a different week than mine now but steppings are same, just check a few forums and see if these weeks are doing as well.

peace.
unloaded

Thanks for the great links and info Chief_Wigumm. Man do they have stuff at mcmaster.com . What do you recommend I get so I can do all wires inside my pc. 1/4" is good for power cables, what about fan cables and audio cable? would 1/8" do. Lastly how big was the heatshrink you used for the power cables? was is 1/4" also or 3/8". Thanks a million for the links, those cables in you rig look so cool.

you are right

I just finished my system an hour ago like you.

In my system i made everything from scratch...gpu block, cpu block, rez, and heater core shroud...all in one go.

WOW! it was ALOT of work!!!!!!!!!

For one all I had was a hack saw and a power drill which made things a bit harder.

right now I am a little unsatisfied with my water blocks which seem to be performing a little poorly.

Anyways DIY is a ton of work!
Im going to post pics soon

Well, I used 1/4" for everything, but if you only have 2 wires, the 1/8" is okay. It is really expandable, so it should work just fine. I used 1/4" heatshrink. Here's the part #:

7132K74

But they also have this in colors too (black, clear, red, white, or yellow). Just click "catalog page" in the left pane to see.

Finally, they have a great selection of molding as well, for doing things like edging blow holes and such. I used:

8507K61

It works pretty well, although you may want to look at the catalog page to make sure it specs out okay for you. I might try something like:

8507K72

since this one has a profile that tapers. Best of all, it's <$.50/ft.

Hope that helps.

candy7man24 said:

Great job on the wiring.. what is that red plastic all over the wires? Would love to know were you got that or were you got the cables.

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unless im mistaken those are just rounded cables... to get them check:

www.newegg.com
www.sidewindercomputers.com

taht is a really clean looking setup

Oh, the IDE cables are just generic rounded. I thought he was talking about the power cables...

I was talking about the red power cables! Thanks a million again, and thanks for the mcmaster.com link (is in my shopping bookmark folder now)

Was reading through and nodded when I read your comments on the YStech fan. I've got a 120mm YStech and it is noisy - and clicky when you lower the speed. I'm running mine at 5 volts now, but I want to get a decent fan I can crank up a bit more. I'm going to go with the Papst fans myself. One's with rounded blades and / or v's cut from the trailing edge tend to be more quiet... Good job on the watercooling btw, I'm running 3/8ths braided hose over 1/2 inch barbs. I'm going to go back to 1/2 inch tube as soon as I find some decent stuff that doesn't kink / mist up / get stiff with age.

VERY nice system man

Good job! Nice and clean.