- Joined
- Aug 23, 2004
I never really had a plan when I started this system. When I did my last major upgrade, I got an Antec SuperLANBOY case, because I loved the look, and it was smaller and lighter then my old steel mid tower Antec server case. From there, things just started evolving. At first it was air cooled, but I got tired of the amount of noise the VGA, Northbridge, and CPU fans made. I started by installing a passive Northbridge and VGA cooler. I found that the VGA cooler needed airflow, so to keep CFM up and noise levels down, I strapped a 92mm fan on the side. At 1200rpm, it cannot be heard over the rest of the system, and cools both the Northbridge and my 9800 pro adequately.
This still left me with the problem of the CPU fan. So I took the plunge, and went with water. I got a Danger Den TDX and Black ice xtreme 120mm radiator. Because I didn't want to mess with relay cards, and I needed a compact pump, I went with the 12v D4 pump, and a dual floppy bay reservoir for looks.
Version 1.0 of the system had no T-line, and was next to impossible to fill.
Without a T-line I couldn't get enough air out of the system. It kept getting sucked into the pump and caught in the radiator. So I ordered myself a fill port from Danger Den, and installed it up at the top of my case. Originally, it was my plan to install the port near the front of the case, on the right hand side to hide most of it behind the drive bays. Unfortunately, the support for the drive bays made locating the port there to much work. So I placed it in the rear on the left, to make it as visible as possible.
After 1.1, I was happy for a while, until I decided I wanted more temperature information, and I discovered the problem of my distilled water/water wetter coolant becoming cloudy.
A search for coolant and a fan controller began!
I settled on the cooler master Aerogate 3 for my fan controller/temperature monitor. It was inexpensive and it matched my silver case well. This however, left me the problem of what to do with my audigy live drive. I only use it for front audio jacks and it's optical out port. I decided I'd move it inside the case, and wire the front panel audio jacks my case has to it. The optical out just runs out the back of the case through an open card slot. The Areogate 3 went in, and was wired up to control the front fan, the VGA fan, and the radiator fan. The temp sensors monitor 1 HD, video card heatsink temp, coolant temp, and ram sink temp.
A word of caution for anyone who is planning on putting an Areogate 3 in an Antec super LANBOY case. It doesn't fit very well. There is a clearance issue between the drive bay door and the Areogate 3. The door will stay closed, but the plastic does deform a little to do it.
For coolant I settled upon fluid XP. The Idea of a non conductive, and more importantly, anti corrosive/biocide coolant was appealing to me. I also decided I wanted my loop to have some color. Blue, in particular. Unfortunately, all the blue dyes I'd seen so far were either anti-freeze or UV reactive only. A quest for the dye Liquid_Cooled uses ensued.
I never found Liquid_Cooled's dye, but I did find something just as good. Deep blue dye from WildfireFX. It doesn’t affect the fluidXP's non-conductivity, looks great under regular light, and is UV reactive to boot. I've heard rumors that wildfire dyes will break down in your loop, leaving sludge in the pump; but I was unable to find proof of such a thing. Only time will tell now.
With the low RPM fans I have installed, I get about a 45C idle temp, with a coolant temp of 35c. I have a shroud and a very large, very loud sunon 120mm fan I can mount on the back that will drop idle temps down to 39C. Not at all bad for an Athlon XP 3200. The cooling loop is efficient enough that I can run the system without a radiator or front case fan. The VGA fan however, has to stay on at all times. Although the D4 is loud, the medium frequency sound of 1 pump is far less annoying then the whine of 3 tiny fans moving at high RPM.
The remaining things I need to do are sleeving the PSU, Wire cleanup, painting the optical drives to match my case, and making the 3 info lights on the front of my case do something. (I moved my power and HDD lights to behind the reservoir so they shine through. leaving 3 LEDs on my case that do nothing at all.)
And now the big pics.
This still left me with the problem of the CPU fan. So I took the plunge, and went with water. I got a Danger Den TDX and Black ice xtreme 120mm radiator. Because I didn't want to mess with relay cards, and I needed a compact pump, I went with the 12v D4 pump, and a dual floppy bay reservoir for looks.
Version 1.0 of the system had no T-line, and was next to impossible to fill.
Without a T-line I couldn't get enough air out of the system. It kept getting sucked into the pump and caught in the radiator. So I ordered myself a fill port from Danger Den, and installed it up at the top of my case. Originally, it was my plan to install the port near the front of the case, on the right hand side to hide most of it behind the drive bays. Unfortunately, the support for the drive bays made locating the port there to much work. So I placed it in the rear on the left, to make it as visible as possible.
After 1.1, I was happy for a while, until I decided I wanted more temperature information, and I discovered the problem of my distilled water/water wetter coolant becoming cloudy.
A search for coolant and a fan controller began!
I settled on the cooler master Aerogate 3 for my fan controller/temperature monitor. It was inexpensive and it matched my silver case well. This however, left me the problem of what to do with my audigy live drive. I only use it for front audio jacks and it's optical out port. I decided I'd move it inside the case, and wire the front panel audio jacks my case has to it. The optical out just runs out the back of the case through an open card slot. The Areogate 3 went in, and was wired up to control the front fan, the VGA fan, and the radiator fan. The temp sensors monitor 1 HD, video card heatsink temp, coolant temp, and ram sink temp.
A word of caution for anyone who is planning on putting an Areogate 3 in an Antec super LANBOY case. It doesn't fit very well. There is a clearance issue between the drive bay door and the Areogate 3. The door will stay closed, but the plastic does deform a little to do it.
For coolant I settled upon fluid XP. The Idea of a non conductive, and more importantly, anti corrosive/biocide coolant was appealing to me. I also decided I wanted my loop to have some color. Blue, in particular. Unfortunately, all the blue dyes I'd seen so far were either anti-freeze or UV reactive only. A quest for the dye Liquid_Cooled uses ensued.
I never found Liquid_Cooled's dye, but I did find something just as good. Deep blue dye from WildfireFX. It doesn’t affect the fluidXP's non-conductivity, looks great under regular light, and is UV reactive to boot. I've heard rumors that wildfire dyes will break down in your loop, leaving sludge in the pump; but I was unable to find proof of such a thing. Only time will tell now.
With the low RPM fans I have installed, I get about a 45C idle temp, with a coolant temp of 35c. I have a shroud and a very large, very loud sunon 120mm fan I can mount on the back that will drop idle temps down to 39C. Not at all bad for an Athlon XP 3200. The cooling loop is efficient enough that I can run the system without a radiator or front case fan. The VGA fan however, has to stay on at all times. Although the D4 is loud, the medium frequency sound of 1 pump is far less annoying then the whine of 3 tiny fans moving at high RPM.
The remaining things I need to do are sleeving the PSU, Wire cleanup, painting the optical drives to match my case, and making the 3 info lights on the front of my case do something. (I moved my power and HDD lights to behind the reservoir so they shine through. leaving 3 LEDs on my case that do nothing at all.)
And now the big pics.