Innovatek Water Cooling Kit Set 5 - My Thoughts

Well folks, I spent the better half of the weekend putting together Innovatek's new offering. The set looks pretty much like their standard kit except for the radiator. The Maxxpert radiator is replaced by Innovatek's own InnovaRADI Single low profile radiator. The nice fellows from Sharkacomputers told me that this thinner radiator will actually perform better than Maxxpert's copper-coiled offering.

After I cut out the 120mm hole on top of my case, I placed the unit inside. The radiator along with the 120mm fan is about the size of a CD-ROM drive, which equates to a single 5 1/4 bay. Installation was a snap and no leaks! I also replaced the stock YS-Tech fan for a quieter Vantec Stealth fan. I only used distilled water and the included water additive from Innovatek.

How did it perform? I overclocked my 2600+ to 2164MHz with 11.5 x 190MHz in synced memory mode with 5-2-2-2 memory timings. The system temps idles at 36C and shoots up to 40C on full load (Asus Probe program used since MBM5 doesn't support the nForce 2 chipset as of right now). I tried to push it to 11.5 @ 200MHz, but ran into some stability issues. I even added a 60mm 3000RPM fan to the northbridge! I may need to watercool the chipset as well!

My final thoughts? If you have a smaller case like I do, this kit is a must! This kit is worth every dime! Here are some pics of my case before and after water cooling.

http://files.oncotech.com/is/casemod3.jpg
http://files.oncotech.com/is/caseint.jpg
Before

http://files.oncotech.com/is/wmod.jpg
http://files.oncotech.com/is/wmod2.jpg
After

Enjoy!

Welcome to the forums!
Looks nice
Could you get a shot directly from the side?
Or even better w/out side panel.
Looks like your radiator is on top?
How noisy is it compared to before?

looks nice

i think his rad is ontop he said it takes up a 5 1/4 bay and well those are commonly at the top of the case.

Neo, that looks awsome! good job. I just got the Innovatek socket A kit with the maxxpert rad.
I am running it in my new case with no MB or cpu over night to check for leaks, so far so good. How long did it take for all the bubbles to go away in your setup? I did put the blue filter media 1'' down in the res. I've been running it for 3 hrs now and I still see lots of bubbles. I am running straight distilled water while I'm testing. I purchased my kit from highspeedpc.com but it didn't come with any water additive. I have a small case as well. I couldn't put the rad up top like I wanted so I mounted pulling air in from the Rt side.

Autopsy

Well guys, here is what my setup looks like from the inside:

http://files.oncotech.com/is/opencase.jpg
http://files.oncotech.com/is/radi.jpg
http://files.oncotech.com/is/topcase.jpg

I used the Dremel rotary saw and tried to cut a perfect circle around it (couldn't use the circle-cutter attachment cause of the preinstalled 80mm fan grill). As you can tell, the cut is very amatureish and will get a better fan grill to cover my imperfect attempt.

Randy - I had the same issue with the bubbles and I used the blue sponge filter in the reservoir. The bubbles immediately disappeared and I just left the filter in there and capped the whole thing. The flow rate did not change much and I am getting some great results ... with NO bubbles! As long as you are using clean distilled water and the additive, the filter should not corrode or deteriorate.

REMEMBER! Cut the filter in 4 pieces and stick only one of them in the reservoir. The filter should only engage in the top valve and NOT shoved to the bottom of the reservoir. An inch from the top is too deep. The top of the filter should lie right under the top-off line right in front of the valve. Also make sure that your pump is on higher ground than the CPU block and the radiator to level off more air. When all the bubbles are gone, top off with more distilled water and cap.

Let me know how it goes. Good luck!

WalkerIV - what noise?

Beautiful.
I was always wondering about this case being suitable for WCing.
The reason i asked about the fan is in first series of pics it was unclear weather the top blowhole was moved or enlarged.
Hence the possibility of using 80mm fan for radiator.
I was just curious if it was the case becuse it did produce decent temps.
Thanks for the pics neospazzy.

Edit:

Neo, thanks for the info. I followed your instuctions
and all is well now in fact the water is running so clear that I hardly can tell if it is flowing and the pump is now silent The only way you can tell it's running is to put your hand on the pump. I guess I'll have to order an electric flow meter so I can be assured that the system is running and I don't fry my new XP2400+
Thanks for the Help Neo I didn't think I was ever going to get the air out of the system.

Randy

I like that. Veryyyyyyy nice setup neo!

Thanks Guys!

Thanks for all the compliment guys!

Randy - YES! The filter is supposed to cover the return port. Sorry I didn't make that clear. As you could tell, the water returning to the reservoir comes at a pretty high rate of speed. The filter isn't going to slow the flow at all and it will clear up most of the bubbles. If you can visualize, the filter is sitting right underneath the cap covering the return port.

Try it out and let me know how it goes. Good luck!

WalkerIV - Do NOT use a 80mm fan. I was really tempted to go that route to preserve my then $300 case and just use a 80mm to 120mm fan adapter. The guys at Sharka told me that 80mm fans would not produce the adequate CFM that is required to cool down the rad. Who am I to argue with the pros?

It was a big step for me when I powered up my Dremel to cut that hole on top. I was almost in tears, but let me tell you, it was worth it! Besides, how can we call ourselves tweakers if we are afraid to experiment with potentially dangerous equipment and voiding all computer warranties?

It all looks good... except that cut. Fix it!

neospazzy: I'm thinking of buying Innovatek's dual rad... Do you think it is possible to change the fittings on the rad to 1/2" without to much hassle...?

crotale - Hmm ... I don't know if I could give an answer for that. The 8x1mm compression fittings are removable on the Innovatek waterblocks and the radiators, but I don't know if they make them in 1/2" compression fittings for them. I know for a fact that the 1/4" tubes that Koolance uses will fit on the default fitting on the Innovatek rads and waterblock (a VERY tight fit, but it does work). You may need a barbed fitting to make it work with the Innovatek Rads with your thicker tubing.

The guys at Sharkacomputers may better help you. Talk with either Brandon, Robert, or Wes. They are the experts. You can go to their website at www.sharkacomputers.com. If you go to the Watercooling section and then go to the Watercooling Parts (on the bottom right), you will see where you can get the barbed fittings (though I don't see any for a 1/2"). The best bet is to see if they make them in 1/2" compression fittings before taking the barbed fitting route.

Hope this helps. Good luck and hope you find what you are looking for.

That is a sweet job. I've been eyeing that block for a while now. Glad I checked this thread.

specific - I must say that the InnovaCool waterblock I am using is one of the best I have seen. I used Arctic Silver 3 as my thermal paste of choice and ran Prime95 stress test for over 20 hours. My temps averaged around 40-42C at full load while peaking at 44C during the day (my home gets warm during the day here in sunny CA ... even in winter!). Remember, I am running Prime95 on an OVERCLOCKED 2600+ running at 2312MHz (12.5 x 185).

Can't go wrong with that! Good luck!

I just updated to top pictures. I added more day-glo labels on the capacitors and added an electric flow meter.