Danger Den Tower 29 dual loop project.

[Rix]

Here's the parts list, everything is ordered and on-hand, except one DDC pump top.

Danger Den Tower 29 - Black Series LDR case
Option 1: Case color = style blood shot - Dark red front & rear
Option 2: Drive bay = single 5-1/4
Option 3: Front radiator = 560mm 4x140mm size
Option 4: Bottom radiator = 360mm 3x120mm size

Dual brackets for DD-RAD-Reservoir
DD-RAD-Reservoir x 2
Laing DDC-12v 18 Watt Version 3.2 pump x 2
XSPC / Liang DDC Acrylic Replacement Top x 2

Black Ice SR1 560 radiator (4 x 140)
4 x 140mm Yate Loon medium speed (clear/red led)
Black Ice SR1 460 radiator (3 x 120)
3 x 120mm Yate Loon medium speed (black)

EK Supreme HF CPU Waterblock - Nickel / Acrylic
EK Rampage II Extreme waterblock v2
EK GeForce 480 GTX waterblock - Nickel
EK FC Bridge Triple (Serial) - SLI Connection
EK FC Link GeForce x 2
EK FC Link Blank - Serial x 1

Bitspower Matte Black Ultimate G1/4 Thread 1/2" ID x 3/4" OD Rotary Compression Fitting x 12
Bitspower Matte Black G1/4 Thread 90-Degree Rotary 1/2" ID x 3/4" OD Compression Fitting x 6
PrimoChill PrimoFlex PRO LRT Tubing 1/2" ID 3/4" OD with 1/8" Wall - UV Red x 15 feet

Arctic Cooling MX-3 TIM
IandH Silver KillCoils x 2

My existing PC will be transferred to the new case setup. Here are the specs.
Asus Rampage II Extreme
Intel Core i7 920 D0 stepping
Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D 6gb
Intel X25M SSDA2M080G2GC 80gb
Seagate ST31500541AS 1.5TB
EVGA GTX480 Superclock x 2
Dell U2410 Ultrasharp 24" monitors x 3
Plextor PX-806SA optical drive
Corsair AX1200 Power supply

Here's a link to the picture of the system running in my (rather overcrowded) Antec Skeleton .

http://www.acme-labs.net/img/DSC00930.JPG

I do have a question;

What's the best direction for the radiator fans? Given that there is a radiator in the front of the DD case and in the bottom I'm not exactly sure. Right now I have it set to pull air in from the bottom, and push air out of the case in the front.

I've got the case assembled, the radiators and fans installed, the reservoir mount, and one of the pumps installed. Strangely one of the acrylic tops I received from FrozenCPU was previously used and damaged. I would have just polished up the top and called it a day, but the threads were actually stripped as well. Even though I spent ~$1,000 with them they still made me ship it back and would not cross ship the replacement. So right now I'm blaming FrozenCPU for the delay.

A few things I've run into along the way so far;

1. Bitspower 1/2" ID 3/4" OD compression fittings are best described as big by large. You can not fit two of them on the bottom of the Danger Den Rad reservoir.

2. I'm using M4 .7 x 40mm countersunk screws from Ace Hardware (28 of them) to mount the fans/radiators to the case. That came to a whopping $6. They are the perfect length to avoid damaging the radiators when taking into account the thickness of the acrylic panels and the fans.

3. The DDC Liang pumps didn't mount very well with the Danger Den supplied hardware, so I added some M5 washers from Lowes to the mounting points to solidify things. For a kit designed for those pumps, you'd think it would come with better hardware.

I chose the EK blocks because I could brand match between the CPU and GPU blocks, and I liked the EK link setup between cards better than DangerDen or Koolance's options. I originally was just going to get the DangerDen CPU/GPU blocks, but after reading Skinneelabs it became apparent that wasn't a very good idea.

I'm kind of doubting the decision to go with the big 1/2" ID 3/4" OD tubing and Bitspower compression fittings at this point. Perhaps I'll feel differently about them when it's all done, but they are a MAJOR pain in the *** to assemble and route the tubing. Can someone remind me that the 1/2" ID tubing works better so I don't feel so bad?

I know everything is more exciting with pictures, I'm going to take some good ones on the DSLR on Friday. Right now I'm building the tubing setups and getting things ready as much as I can. Given the constraints above about the fittings on the reservoirs I am probably going to have to place another order for more Bitspower 90 degree fittings. I use my computer way too much to take it offline for a week, so hopefully I can time things where I can do most of the installation in ~48 hours or so.

Does anyone see any glaring holes in my setup? All comments (and flames) welcome. More soon.

 

[m0r7if3r]

for the airflow you want both pulling fresh air for best results.

1/2" will work just fine so long as you got some 45's or extenders so that the heads on the compressions can fit next to each other...compressions are easier than wormdrives!

oh, just a note here, it's not a big thing but for future reference, the parallel ek fc bridge performs a bit better...not a lot, just a little, but the blocks get better flow and thus do a tiny bit better at getting cold

 

[Tonicart]

That keyboard? Honestly? lol Everything about your desktop is hardcore except for that apple kb... =) Love those speakers.

That DD case is pretty nice though. I would mount all the rads as intakes and eliminate any exhaust fans. Looks like you could use positive air pressure to your advantage and exhaust out the back/top. Couldn't see any pics of the top though... http://photos.dangerden.com/Cases/Black-Series-LDR-Tower-29/12837075_FRUBe#937756791_6LZGH

 

[Rix]

As promised, I'm back with pics. As of today I have the system up and running a leak test. I managed to get everything together, although working with the bitspower compression fittings and the 1/2" OD hose was not a simple affair.

I've heard people say that the compression fittings didn't fit with the EK waterblocks correctly, I didn't run into that problem. I think this is because I'm using the EK triple bridge, the only place the fittings connect is on the bridge itself.

Here's some pictures of the assembly process:

http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/assembly1.jpg
http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/assembly2.jpg
http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/assembly3.jpg
http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/assembly4.jpg
http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/assembly5.jpg
http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/assembly6.jpg
http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/assembly7.jpg

Pictures 1 - 5 are of my initial efforts to get the case, radiators, fans, pumps, and reservoirs assembled. This was not as simple as it sounded. At first absolutely nothing lined up. I literally had to loosen just about every screw in the case, and then install all of the main components to line everything up, then once everything was in place tighten it all back down again. After completing that step I installed all of my components and ran them on air over the weekend to make sure everything was working as expected. Picture 6 shows me disassembling the system, installing the water block, and getting ready to install the video cards, and related tubing.

Here's a couple pictures of the CPU waterblock. I was struck by how perfect the bottom surface of the block was, I couldn't resist getting a couple pictures of it.

http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/cpu_1.jpg
http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/cpu_2.jpg

I also took a couple pictures of the process of removing the stock heatsink/fan assembly on the EVGA GTX480's. I was actually surprised how easy this process was. Everything came apart very easily, no stripped screws, no frustrations.

I was extremely happy with how the GPU blocks went together and the EK bridge & links were a snap to setup.

http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/gtx480_1.jpg
http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/gtx480_2.jpg
http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/gtx480_3.jpg
http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/gtx480_4.jpg
http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/gtx480_5.jpg

Now the system is in leaktesting status.... Here's a quick picture I snapped of it tonight.

http://www.acme-labs.net/img/wc/leaktest1.jpg

I still need to install the front USB/Audio plate, do the wiring for the radiator fans, get some longer SATA cables, wire up the pumps, and find some lighting for the inside of the case.

I'm curious what people suggest for lighting? I'd like to do a UV light and possibly some additional lights to support it.

I'll post more when I'm done leak testing and get everything up and running.

- Rix

 

[m0r7if3r]

nice job with the tubing routing...very good work in the space you had to work with

sweet lookin build!

 

[Tonicart]

Wow those EK 480 blocks are sweet. Great looking build, good job

 

[Rix]

I've got the system up and running now, so far things are looking really good. I've actually had it up for a few days now but haven't had a whole lot of time to work on it or post.

I am having one problem, which I may or may not have just fixed so I thought I would share and see if anyone has any ideas.

When I first fired up my loops the GPU loop had quite a bit of air in it due to me not anticipating how much water the pump was going to pull. These DDC pumps move a lot of water! It sucked half the reservoir dry in less than a second. That surprised me! At any rate, I got the GPU loop bubble free after leaving the cap off the reservoir over night and some creative tipping of the case to coax the bubbles out. With the CPU loop I was more "in the know" and bumped the pump several times and did a much better job of keeping air out of it.

Fast forward to today, and the CPU loop is going absolutely nutty with bubbles. The thing is like a bubble-o-tron 9,000.

So here comes the theories...

1) I *did* chip the top of the acrylic pump top slightly when installing the fitting. Upon inspection it appeared that the o-ring was still making a positive seal. I also have ZERO fluid leaks. After leak testing I decided it was good and let it go. Is it possible that it is sucking air and water (without leaking)? I have no leaks, but other than theory #2 I have no idea where air could be coming from.

2) My GPU loop is way more restrictive (the huge 560 radiator, two GTX 480's and an EK bridge, plus more tubing) than the CPU loop. Is it possible that I am literally sucking air down into the system from the reservoir? I *think* I saw a bubble form from the top of the reservoir and get sucked down into the pump feed. Since the EK CPU block has a clear acrylic top I can see the bubbles flying through it. It really makes me worry about pump life if left in that condition for a long period of time, plus it's annoyingly loud when it "slurps". I don't have this problem with the GPU loop, but I don't expect that it's flowing as much given the extra restrictions.

In order to test #2 I've added quite a bit of water to the CPU loop. I previously had the reservoir about half full (to allow for me to add biocides when my order arrives) but now I've probably got it at 3/4 or 5/6 full. The immediate reaction APPEARS to have calmed the bubbles down. Any thoughts? Am I off my rocker?


- Rix

 

[m0r7if3r]

You tried the pinching the hose trick? Bubbles are noraml, just give em some time to dissipate. Are you using a tline or a res? How long has the loop been running?

 

[Conumdrum]

Yep, you got high flow and bubbles. You can let it run for days, leave it on, they will work themselves out. Pinching the hose fully closed for a 2-3 second time won't hurt the pump, the bubbles will kinda collect. Timing, watching the bubbles hit the res and know when to pinch again is kinda fun, you get the routine, you can get rid of bubbles, or most of them.

Bleeding is part of the game, don't fret it, it will clear up. By now I don't do the final refill untill 1-2 weeks after building a loop.

You could have big air pockets in a rad if barbs are at the bottom too. Nohing wrong with capping the res tight, and doing a full 360 on the case looking for big bubbles to appear. Thankfully my rads have barbs at the top.

Your close..................

 

[Tonicart]

I had similar problems with my pumps at full speed with the XSPC reservoir. Slowing down the pumps made the loops both quieter and less turbulent, without affecting performance, IMO.

 

[Rix]

To answer the questions above, it's a two pump, two reservoir setup. The reservoirs are Danger Den "Rad" reservoirs mounted to the GPU radiator in the front (installed vertically) in the case.

I'm pretty much bubble free at this point. The GPU loop capacity seems to be just about 1/2 gallon of distilled. The CPU loop is significantly less, I would say somewhere around 1/4 gallon.

What made the difference in the CPU loop was more water in the reservoir. Once I filled it most of the way up the bubbles subsided within an hour or two. I think what was happening was that there was too much flow going into the reservoir, churning the water, and pulling bubbles into the loop.

I'm pretty much done, I'll get some more photos soon and post them up, I think it looks good.