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Building Skynet 2.0

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Dizz-E

New Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2013
First, I'd like to say hello to all the OCers here. I've read a few postings here in the past and decided to FINALLY be a part of the community. :D

I am currently building a new rig, Skynet 2.0. I am currently using Skynet 1.2 that was originally built around January 2007. I'll be using a few parts from 1.2, but it's mainly going to be a whole new rig.

First, a little bit of history on Skynet. :popcorn:

I knew a few things about computers... changing HHD's, memory and PSU's. Eh, that was about it. I got tired of the crappy computers that were prebuilt and I wanted a project to work on after I got off of work (US Army :salute: ). I've never build one from scratch and I didn't want to screw this up. I did a bunch of research on various websites... including this one!!! Finally, I made my decision on the parts and put it all together with no problems at all. It was a lot easier than I thought it'd be. I figured that I'd break something along the way. Us artillery guys break everything we touch lol. I didn't name my computer. I never even thought about naming it. My roommate was telling a couple buddies of ours at work about how big it was. They came over later and the one said "What is that thing? Is that Skynet? Skynet has become self-aware!" So the name stuck. For those that don't know, Skynet was the name of the computer system in The Terminator series. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skynet_(Terminator)

Skynet 1.0 was the original build.
Case: XCLIO A380 Silver
Mobo: ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe
GPU: EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX
Memory: 4x512mb CORSAIR XMS2
PSU: Thermaltake W0131RU 850W

Skynet was updated to 1.1 after I added liquid cooling. All items were bought from Koolance.
Reservoir & Pump: RP-950
Radiator & Fans: EHX-1000SL Internal 1kW
CPU: CPU-330
GPU: VID-282
NB: CHC-120
SB: CHC-120-V06
VRegs: 2x VR-AS40
Software Interface Card: TMS-100K
Coolant Flow Meter: INS-FM16
I ran the cooling blocks in a series/parallel circuit. The CPU and GPU in series with 1/2" tube and the VReg's, NB and SB in series with 3/8" tube, parallel to the CPU/GPU.

Skynet was updated to 1.2 when I installed 2x NVIDIA 560Ti GPU's
I cannot find full coverage liquid cooling blocks for these any more due to how old they are. So, these will be updated at a later date.

Ok, enough with the words. Time for pics!!! I only have pictures of Skynet 1.2 because I never thought of taking pictures of my computer before.

DSCF3870_zps07f0d55c.jpg
Yea, It's dirty. What do you expect from a 6 year old computer with no dust filters? lol


DSCF3872_zps9e90e69e.jpg
Check out that nest of wires and tubes!!


DSCF3876_zps739f6633.jpg


DSCF3877_zpsd89ab7a0.jpg
VRegs, CPU and NB. If you look on the right, you can see that I had a leak at one point.


DSCF3880_zps695b97ac.jpg
The bottom of the radiator and the block where the lines split into 1/2" and 3/8".


3DMarkMaxDemo_zps27888c80.jpg
3DMark Scores


PCMark7_zps86b466f8.jpg
PCMark 7 Scores and temps.



The only things I'm keeping from Skynet 1.x is the PSU, GPUs and a couple liquid cooling items. One thing I'm excited to bring back is my 8800GTX!!! It's going to be dedicated to PhysX.


DSCF4063_zpseb793ed0.jpg


As 2.0 is being built, I'll add more pics. Unfortunately, I have bills to pay. So this build is going to take a little bit of time. I'm hoping to have it done in 2 months. I have the new case and Mobo already, but I have to make some mods to the case for the new liquid cooling systems. Yes, I pluralized system. I'm running 2 separate systems for my CPU and GPUs.

I hope this entertained you all. Any questions or comments, feel free to post them.
 
So what're going to be the system specs of Skynet 2.0? :p

I was going to post it yesterday, but I needed to get some sleep before work.

Items I already have:
Case: Thermaltake Chaser MK-I
Mobo: ASUS Sabertooth Z77
GPU: 2x NVIDIA 560Ti & EVGA 8800 GTX
GPU Power: FSP Group Booster X5 (Ordered)
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) (Ordered)

Items I still need:
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge
SSD: Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB
HDD (Games/Programs): Western Digital WD VelociRaptor 500GB
HDD (Media/Storage): Western Digital WD Black 1TB

I'm buying the CPU last. If I don't, I'll end up running on air for months untill I get around to liquid cooling. :p

Also, I've always trusted Western Digital HDD in the past. However, I've been seeing a lot of bad reviews on them lately. Do you think I'm taking a risk by buying those two HDDs?

Liquid Cooling:
I'm still running through ideas about the GPUs. I'd like to use my 1kw radiator for the GPUs, but it's really big. I'd have to do a lot of modding to the case to make it fit AND look nice. I'm sure 1kw is a bit overkill, but I already own it so I might as well use it and save a few $$. I already have solid plans on how I'm cooling the CPU. I'm not going to OC it too much, so I don't need crazy cooling. If I do decide to start pushing it (which I know I will some day lol), I have a spot to put an additional 140mm radiator and fan.

I'm open to any ideas or suggestions.
 
I was thinking of getting a 1.5 or 2TB HDD and partitioning it. With Intel Smart Response Technology, it wouldn't really matter if I installed games on the 1.5/2TB cause it'd be like I was playing it from the SSD. Or am I misunderstanding how it works?
 
I really don't think I need a 256GB SSD. I have a 64GB at the moment and still have 27.1GB free. I think I'll be fine with the 120GB SSD and 2TB HDD.

I decided not to use my 1kw radiator. It's aluminum and I know you shouldn't mix aluminum with copper. I didn't know that when I built Skynet 1. :-/ I'm still going through ideas on running the coolant lines for the GPU's. The main problem I'm having is that the connectors on the 560Ti's don't line up with the 8800GTX. I wanted to run all three in parallel, but it looks like the only way I'll be able to do that is to split the tubing before the cards. I could run the two 560Ti's parallel and then the 8800GTX in series, but I'm afraid that it'll be too restrictive.

Speaking of tubing, I need some opinions from you guys and gals. Since I'm running two different lines, they're going to be two different colors. The CPU is going to be red and the GPU's are going to be blue. Do you think I should use clear tubing with colored liquid or colored tubing? The liquid is UV active, however I'm not big on having lights in my case. (Do you know how hard it is to find 200mm fans without LED's? lol)
These are the colored tubes I'm considering:
http://www.xoxide.com/primoflex-advanced-lrt-1-2in-id-x-3-4in-od-tubing-bloodshed-red.html
http://www.xoxide.com/primoflex-advanced-lrt-1-2in-id-x-3-4in-od-tubing-brilliant-uv-blue.html
 
I guess no one likes my idea on the two colors. That's good cause I had an idea at work today. I make gas lines and some of it gets stainless steel braiding on them. What do you think of black tubing with stainless steel braiding over it? Everything in the case is black (except the RAM). I think the braiding will make it look real nice. Also, I came up with an idea on how to fix my GPU cooling problem. I'm going to get new GPU's lol. I'm thinking two GTX680's. I'm going to use my two 560Ti's (on air) till I can save up for the 680's and cooling blocks. I just want to get this beast up and running.
 
If you go over to the WC forums you will see we always recommend distilled water and colored tubing. Too many horror stories. Also, with modern pumps you really don't need to run two loops, but there's nothing inherently wrong with it, just a bit more investment and space used.
 
It's definitely going to be PVC tubing under the braid. I guess the main reason I want two loops is for bragging rights. Another reason is because I don't want one pump doing all the work and hear it whining all the time (like my current pump). I was going to get a couple adjustable pumps and turn them down to a pleasant dB. However, I have been thinking of having just one loop to save on $$. Blah, somebody make up my mind lol :D
 
Just an update on how the build is going.
I'm going to rebraid the exposed wires.

DSCF4081.jpg

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