FEATURED Build Log: Water & Wood

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i miss y'all too

but i dont miss killing $650 worth of "cutting edge" hardware before the VISA bill even comes

but dont worry, as the immortal words of Mr Schwarzenegger go, thats NOT my kid.... oops... I'll be back!



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Joe Camel said:

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o how i LOVE "overkill" builds like this!

i hope to, someday get back into non-air cooling...
maybe a mix of my old (OLD) "2-loop" idea and a geothermal "radiator"

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I miss you too, Joe! One of the first WC threads I read through was yours with the PVC res/exchanger and double pumps. Great stuff to inspire a DIY beginner!

Joe Camel said:

but i dont miss killing $650 worth of "cutting edge" hardware before the VISA bill even comes

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cut up that plastic bro

Work continues, slowly but surely.

Yesterday I worked on the dust filter for the fans....unfortunately, it's not gonna cut it. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I started with some 30x30mm pine and chopped it up to make the frame.


Four sides cut


I installed brakets at the four corners to hold the frame together


Frame complete


And a test fitting shows a perfect fit


First time I've ever used a router....worked very well


And then I sanded down everything and evened up the edges


Then I wrapped and stapled some linen in place


Completed filter


Now the downside....this fabric was the most breathable stuff I could get at the Joanne fabric place I went to in Burlington Washington when I was on vacation a few months ago, now I have to source a replacement....stretchy speaker grill cloth is what I have in mind....but I'll probably have to find it online.

Next up was a bracket for the pump & res. A few people commented that they were concerned about the pump hanging from the desktop, so last trip to the HW store, this wooden sheft holder caught my eye and I thought it would be perfect.

(pic was taken after I cut it down, sorry)


Mounted up, it looks great!


Last but not least, I've made a video which shows in detail the other issue I've been working through; power issues. I think I may have overestimated the power in my home, and underestimated the power needs of these three GPUs....

What's the efficiency of that PSU?!?! Even at 80% efficiency (guess on my part), it's pumping well over 1300 watts... Holy hell. Great PSU, but I still think you're in AX 1200 land with a rig like that.

This PSU is a beast, its Silver rated and JonnyGuru showed its good for about 88% at peak

It did a bunch of testing with my AX1200 and the results were about the same....still shuts down the power strip with 3DMark Vantage

But the AX1200 is staying on my benching station

You are making me want one of them Enermax 1050 PSUs Miah... That thing was pushing 50% over rated spec... double

I've told you once already... your problem is you have too many 580s; I'll be happy to help out on that end..

I LOVE your build Mia! I was going to sugest somthing like the cover you are building a few weeks ago.

However seeing you starting I want to add my suggestion. The cover that you are building for the fans, I would put something hard like chicken-wire strung tight or something to keep the fans from getting bumped. Put that under the cloth you are upholstering the filter/cover with to keep from breaking any fans if anything bumps that.

MIAHALLEN said:

This PSU is a beast, its Silver rated and JonnyGuru showed its good for about 88% at peak

It did a bunch of testing with my AX1200 and the results were about the same....still shuts down the power strip with 3DMark Vantage

But the AX1200 is staying on my benching station

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My god. That system pulls 1500 watts at peak load. And a 1050 psu is keeping up!

Nice work Mia

Check on those EK blocks after a while, some people have been reporting issues with the Nickel plating peeling off.

Yeah, agree with Turbohans on reinforcing the filter with chicken wire, also the fabric will loose its tightness over time if they're not elastic and will not look pretty. Also since they're under the table, worry they might get bumped by left leg accidentally.

Just becarefull when installing the filter for the 1st time, if they're too close to the fan, worry they might pulled by those fans at high speed, and possibly ripping them apart, and the torn fabric is somehow get stucked and spun by those blades, definitely not good.

SecrtAgentMan said:

Nice work Mia

Check on those EK blocks after a while, some people have been reporting issues with the Nickel plating peeling off.

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really? is there a link you can guide me to this problem

SecrtAgentMan said:

Nice work Mia

Check on those EK blocks after a while, some people have been reporting issues with the Nickel plating peeling off.

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Yeah, I've been watching that too

bing said:

Yeah, agree with Turbohans on reinforcing the filter with chicken wire, also the fabric will loose its tightness over time if they're not elastic and will not look pretty. Also since they're under the table, worry they might get bumped by left leg accidentally.

Just becarefull when installing the filter for the 1st time, if they're too close to the fan, worry they might pulled by those fans at high speed, and possibly ripping them apart, and the torn fabric is somehow get stucked and spun by those blades, definitely not good.

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Thanks for the thoughts bing....I'm considering other options for my filter as well.

xXSebaSXx said:

You are making me want one of them Enermax 1050 PSUs Miah... That thing was pushing 50% over rated spec... double

I've told you once already... your problem is you have too many 580s; I'll be happy to help out on that end..

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Nah, i want the 580 that he doesn't need

Hope he doesn't pop something in that PSU... do they make a 1500 PSU?

We also have to keep in mind that this is at 50hz, and that they lose a bit of efficiency over the pond.

I have been floating around this thread and now that i see this Demon you call a PC, you sir have inspired me to bloat my budget and go all out for a new PSU and a couple of 6990s if i can find them. I must keep up with those 580s lol

So you're blowing the breaker with that rig?

That kinda sucks after all that work.

he must have bad power in his house. is your place old?

Good job on the build, but 2 things come to mind. First the resistor you broke off and solder back on is a cold joint. You need to reheat it and let the solder flow. You want it to be a smooth shiny joint. Another thing I see that I would suggest against is running the loop with all 4 blocks in parallel. It is fine to run the 3 video cards in parallel since the water will flow quite evenly through them, but the Apogee XT Rev2 is much more restrictive so not much water will go through it.

Rotary said:

he must have bad power in his house. is your place old?

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He's in Japan. Different power standards, I would guess.

El<(')>Maxi said:

So you're blowing the breaker with that rig?

That kinda sucks after all that work.

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No, not the breaker, the power strip. It has a protection circuit built in that the PSU must be triggering. I just finished sleeving the PSU, and in the process, I rewired all the PCIe connectors for optimal load distribution, and beefed up the grounds. I'm hoping it will make some difference

If not, I'll probably just end up running the 3rd card for dedicated PhysX, since I like the tech, and two cards is overkill for a single monitor (hopefully a 2560x1440 soon ) anyhow

Rotary said:

he must have bad power in his house. is your place old?

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No, but power standards in Japan would be sub-standard in the USA. Most houses around here have a single 30A connection....my first place did, I had the landlord upgrade it to a 40A, but anymore would have required new wiring in the walls. This place has a 60A line, but its also twice as big

[AK]Zip said:

Good job on the build, but 2 things come to mind. First the resistor you broke off and solder back on is a cold joint. You need to reheat it and let the solder flow. You want it to be a smooth shiny joint. Another thing I see that I would suggest against is running the loop with all 4 blocks in parallel. It is fine to run the 3 video cards in parallel since the water will flow quite evenly through them, but the Apogee XT Rev2 is much more restrictive so not much water will go through it.

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How do I get that solder fixed like your talking about? Reflow in the oven? Or is there another way so I can target just that one connection?

FYI - I'll have an update later today....I'm off to eat lunch with the wife before she serves me papers