[Case Mod] Powertosh i5 / PowermacG5 H2O-cooled Hackintosh

So, i decided to finally put my hands on Powermac G5 case, and build my dream computer / cooling system.

And finally ! Few days ago, there it was, one ad got my attention, Powermac 7.3, with LCS, non functional ( LCS drained out all over the PPCs and PSU ), i was happy as hell , instantly got on my e-mail and started communication with seller, i was keeping my savings for situations like this

Aaand in less than 36hours, here it is DHL knocked on my doors, yeeeeeeeeei




LCS was of course malfunctioned, but no worries my friends! Pump is still functional... Great deal, considering only pump would cost me much more than i paid for delivery + item.







So here it is, sweet little DDC guy




As i was talking with seller about our deal, i worked on 3d sketch for my project in the same time, and here it is.

Front



Back



Renders




My dream is to build as quiet as possible, yet well cooled and re-usable case / cooling system that will fit to any motherboard / gpu / cpu configuration in future.

So, what are these compartments inside of it ? Well, i had in mind to use only 3 fans to cool whole pc, and to achieve maximum airflow / cooling effect without any additional fans except these on water radiator.

So in this build i will go with fanless PSU, 3 x 120 NoiseBlocker Bionic eLoop fans on pwm and i will try to make thermal zones, so fans can speed up individually if there is a problem with temperature arise in one of the compartments without need to speed up another 2 fans. Apple Powermac case is perfect for build like this, as his perforated front and back side are ideal for vertical radiator placement and it will enable me to do what i want. Also i think that build quality is well known, this thing is built like a tank



* reserved *

-----------------------------------------

HW

* Other still unknown *
RAM: Avexir Core A Type
PSU: Silverstone Nightjar 520

-----------------------------------------

LCS HW


Watercool HK CPU Rev. 3.0 LC
Watercool HEATKILLER® GPU-X3
EK-CoolStream PE 360 3 * 120 mm radiator ( 19FPI double fin )
Noiseblocker NB-eLoop B12-PS Bionic
EK-XTOP DDC - Acetal (Original CSQ)
EK-DDC Heatsink Housing
Alphacool tubing AlphaTube black
Monsoon 13/10mm (ID 3/8" OD 1/2") white fittings
IceModz cable managment - white, black and grey sleeve combination

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- - - Updated - - -

I decided to pull out all things from it, and leave the rest for tomorrow, but Battlefield 4 servers were swarmed with children that day, so i decided to take a closer look on LCS pump, and to see if that machinery is still working.



Ewwwww



I had to clean that crap out





What the heck? What kind of Laing pump is this ? Well, one with volumetric compensator







Crap that got stuck inside pump, some debris, rust and who know what... I actually found something that was similar to pineapple chunks ( i don't want to know what that is xD )



Case is 90% cleaned out, i have to wait for my Dremel tool to arrive to continue work on it.

And for the end of that night, random workplace pic, i was 50hours awake because of some other projects / work, and that was all for this night. Time to sleep





Current status:

* Waiting for Dremel tool delivery
* Waiting for some cash to buy remaining parts
* Waiting for sponsors to arrange parts sponsorships ( Don't worry, i have this project 100% covered by myself, but sponsor are always welcome )


P.S. Sorry for grammar mistakes, English isn't my native language

Got some presents from: Monsoon / 3/8 - 1/2 White compression fittings

http://monsooncooling.com/








BlackNoise Technologies / three B12-PS PWM eLoop fans.

http://www.blacknoise.com/





Also, few hours later got some parts from AquaTuning.de



Phobya Nano Grease



Phobya 2 component thermal glue / grease



AlphaCool VRAM heatsinks



Watercool Heatkiller GPU X3




Watercool Heatkiller CPU LC




--------

Waterblock base from the inside ( They both use the same base design, but in CPU block water is striking into middle of that base, and for GPU water is flowing from one side to another ).



--------
Monsoon fittings on CPU block



Monsoon fittings on GPU block



I had to put tubing on it, to see how this will look ( Alphacool 10/13 Black UV )







I've decided to install res, as this will make process of filling much easier





Double fin radiator







Case is dismantled and got shower room treatment for stain and oil removal. I used this opportunity to see how components will look inside of it, and also to try their placement on planned spots.





Remember that case from the beginning, when i took DDC apart to clean it off, well, after closer look i saw that mbo tray is removable, so my current case won't be sacrificed as much as it needed to be.



Also original holes and mount will be used to fix in place some of components like psu and radiator



I'll put diy mounting system in here, so i won't have problems later to dismantle something if needed.

I want to see where this goes..... subbed.

Got some presents from: Monsoon / 3/8 - 1/2 White compression fittings

http://monsooncooling.com/








BlackNoise Technologies / three B12-PS PWM eLoop fans.

http://www.blacknoise.com/





- - - Updated - - -

Update:

So.. I've received packet from AquaTuning.de just few hours ago



Phobya Nano Grease



Phobya 2 component thermal glue / grease



AlphaCool VRAM heatsinks



Watercool Heatkiller GPU X3 core




Watercool Heatkiller CPU LC




Monsoon fittings mounted on CPU block



Monsoon fittings mounted on GPU block



I had to put tubing, to see how this will look ( Alphacool 10/13 Black UV )



+

Got update from EK Waterblocks, they shipped packet to Croatia, I should get it tomorrow by end of the day ( CoolStream PE 360, RES X2 - 100 Basic, XTOP DDC - Acetal (Original CSQ) )

And I'am still waiting on confirmation from Dremel ( Dremel 4200 ) ; SilverStone / XFX / SeaSonic ( Fanless PSU ) on parts sponsorship.



- - - Updated - - -

Update:

Got parts from EKw





I've decided to install res, as this will make process of filling much easier





Double fin radiator







Case is dismantled and got shower room treatment for stain and oil removal. I used this opportunity to see how components will look inside of it, and also to try their placement on planned spots.





Remember that case from the beginning, when i took DDC apart to clean it off, well, after closer look i saw that mbo tray is removable, so my current case won't be sacrificed as much as it needed to be.



Also original holes and mount will be used to fix in place some of components like psu and radiator



I'll put diy mounting system in here, so i won't have problems later to dismantle something if needed.

Here we go, some minor updates.

Today i had in plan only to mount some heatsinks on VGA card.



But DHL courier surprised me with Dremel tool, so i had to test it out

First thing to do was: cutting out excess material from optics cover, so i can fit it in and connect to the rest of the case with epoxy.



It isn't perfect cut, but enough for epoxy treatment. Piece is finished and ready for stage 2.



MBO tray shared very same destiny as optics cover. I had to cut out excess material for fitting it inside the case.



After all, i've decided to use Chieftec's side panel, and put it to good use in this mod.







Radiator mount is finished, i need to cut out middle part and some holes to hold everything in place.

Next to do: Cutting out back side for new IO panel.

Stay tuned !

Radiator holder is finished I still need to take the old paint off and prepare it for paintjob + drill holes for radiator mount + glue some L holders with epoxy.

I applaud your patience with a dremel tool, and can not wait to see your progress! Seeing stuff people built on CNC machines is cool, but seeing stuff people built that only have the same tools I do is cooler

Just so you know, not sure if it was mentioned above at all but the stock LC components are pretty good! I ran a loop with a PM G5 pump & radiator with a normal PC block to cool an Athlon 64 X2 and it did awesome!

Also, if you wanted to go over the top... I was just thinking if you continued the hole pattern on the optical bay cover that'd be pretty sweet. You could epoxy the gap / seem, and then trace the holes on paper and use that as a template to continue them.

Thanks man ! I really appreciate support from community

Yeah, that is the plan, hole pattern will be continued over that opti bay cover , the same goes for the back side.

So.. I've decided to do some minor work today to put this tool to good use.

Radiator panel holders have been cutted out from old psu case:





Few pictures of planned fixation to the panel:



I also cutted out honeycomb mesh to use it in this project, i still don't know where this will be placed, and how; but i'am considering placing it somewhere near the pump, or to use it at top radiator panel mounting points.

Another day, another worklog update I was cutting out IO bracket from Chieftec ( pain in the *** #1 ) and a backplate hole for IO bracket on Powermac's case ( pain in the *** #2 )

Iet the pictures talk for themselves:




IO bracket separated



Pre-cutting measuring



Done!



On this one you can see true power of Dremel tool if used correctly

What are you going to use for your build as far as board and cpu?

Currently i have Asrock Pro3 Z97 & i5 4460, BUT Sabertooth Mark 1 Z97 is on it's way together with Seasonic Fanless PSU. They should arrive by March 25.th. And later i will swap current CPU for 4790K or maybe with Broadwell one when they get released.

Do you have the right pinout for your pump to molex + pwm?
I have a couple of the original Delphi DC pumps (Brand new) lying around with matching diagram for plugs. I had some issues figuring the wiring out as there are a few different models.

Yeah I've figured it out already, new wires are soldered on ( V+ and GND ), PWM unfortunately isn't, but i won't need this. Pump will be regulated via relay between 7V and 12V ( regular 7V and bench setup 12V ). Also i intend to put Arduino Nano for this controls ( pump regulation, Fan switching between 12V and board regulation and led light ).

perestrojka said:

Yeah I've figured it out already, new wires are soldered on ( V+ and GND ), PWM unfortunately isn't, but i won't need this. Pump will be regulated via relay between 7V and 12V ( regular 7V and bench setup 12V ). Also i intend to put Arduino Nano for this controls ( pump regulation, Fan switching between 12V and board regulation and led light ).

Click to expand...

Sounds good.

Any premade arduino code or do you code it yourself?
Asking as I have an arduino (freeduino) lying around I made some years ago.. I'm not much of a coder though.

Ummm, i don't know yet, if i will have motivation to learn coding i will do it myself, but for now i plan to use few finished codes and connect them to one larger code.

But i don't think that this will be hard to learn, basically i'll have to map few inputs and few outputs, this could be easily made with few switches and transistors without arduino board, but i want to leave some space for future upgrades so i can put something new if i wish to, without too much hassle around the wires

One thing though, which might or might not matter to you:
if you undervolt a pump that could had run using proper PWM, you loose a lot of head.
PWM pumps that are undervolted tends to not last nearly as long as the PWM pumps that get a proper 12v line and adjust it's speed based on the PWM signal.

I'm just using an Aquaro from aquacomputer to control and monitor my stuff. Darned expensive though...

edit: I realized I might be mistaken about the head thing (I've been reading up on stepper motors vs other motors, so might confuse it some)

Well to be honest with you, i'am not sure if this pump is pwm controlled at all. I'll have to dig in and do some research, as this is Laing DDC-1VC pump, and i saw many diagrams online, but just a few of them are correct.

Here is my wiring diagram: [ GND ] [ V+ ] [ ? ] [ ? ]





If you have any idea for this pump ( PCB v5.4 / Black impeller ) on PWM and TACH connections, please share them with me

My two pumps are 18w V6 versions with red/Brown impellers.


Do you plan on reattaching the lower chamber or? If you do not, you need a good 0-ring and a solid plate of steel or similar to put under there to prevent liquid from getting out - there is a hole in the inner chamber that leads down there.

So, why do you need a fat O-ring if you don't keep the lower chamber?
Or even need a O-ring if you do keep the lower chamber anyway?
If you do not have any 0-ring you are going to flood your pump as Water goes Down through the small hole and ends up in the expansion chamber.


The original O-ring only Works with the lower chamber. The chamber is really only the very small area the size of the 0-ring and a few mm Deep.


Here you can see the actual expansion "tank" and it presses up against the 0-ring.


The lower chamber can be replaced by a stanard Laing DDC house, but you do need a thicker 0-ring, as shown above (and below here) and a metal-plate to press up against the 0-ring to ensure that no liquid gets out and onto the PCB.

dintid said:

Do you plan on reattaching the lower chamber or? If you do not, you need a good 0-ring and a solid plate of steel or similar to put under there to prevent liquid from getting out - there is a hole in the inner chamber that leads down there.

Click to expand...

I won't use volumetric chamber, my plans for this water passage are to seal it with epoxy, this should work fine as there is no much pressure in system, and i think that epoxy will handle it well ( ofc i will perform longer leak tests, just to make sure that sealant is holding. )

Thank you for pictures, i will try those rpm / pwm pins, to see if they work as they should.