Introduction:
I am a first time water cooler but I am not new to the world of computers, I have been tinkering with them now for years and have progressed from my first PC back in the 80’s which was a pre-built system from a UK company called Viglen, to my first build about 10 years ago, which was a thrown together system incorporating the Asus P4S8X and Pentium 4 and then on to various other builds.
My current system is now about 4 years old and consists of the Asus Maximus Formula and Intel’s Quad Core Extreme QX9650 as well as a few other, what were at the time, high end components, this is still a pretty good system but it’s beginning to struggle with some newer games and I think it’s about time to upgrade.
Over the years I have watched the progress of water-cooling with great awe, but have never had the courage to have a go myself as I’ve had this notion that water and electronic components don’t mix very well. However, I’ve done a lot of research and most of the experts have indicated that "as long as you’re careful and methodical the risks are low" so I’m biting the bullet and going for it.
I’ve done a few minor mods on different PC cases but this has only amounted to cutting a few holes in the case to put extra fans in. So like a fool I have plucked up the nerve and decided to have a go at both water-cooling and a bit of modding at the same time, actually the modding part may not amount to much more than a few cut outs and adjustments and a bit of spraying to tidy up any damage to the nice finish of the Obsidian 800D case, I don't want to alter the case too much.
I have been planning this build for some time now and I'm still in the process of hunting down suppliers who can provide the parts that I want, although at this point in time I do have the majority of the bits-n-pieces I need. I have also spent hours trawling various water-cooling and modding forums researching how to cool and mod my system.
This is also my first time posting a build log; I am doing this in an attempt at recording for myself what a pain in the butt it’s all going to be and to get some feedback from all of you experts, so here we go, initially a list of components and a few photos.
| CPU: | Core i7 2600K |
| Motherboard: | Asus P8Z68 DELUXE |
| Memory: | Corsair Vengeance Blue 16GB DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz |
| Graphics Cards: | 2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 580 SuperClocked w/Backplate |
| System HDD 1: | Crucial RealSSD M4 512GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD |
| Storage HDD 2: | TBC |
| Case: | Corsair Obsidian 800D |
| Case Fans: | 3 x 140mm Silverstone Air Penetrator AP141 UV Blue |
| Power Supply: | Corsair Professional AX1200 |
| BluRay: | Plextor PX-LB950SA |
| Radiator 1: | Hardware Labs Black Ice GT Xtreme 360mm |
| Radiator 2: | Hardware Labs Black Ice GT Xtreme 240mm |
| CPU Block: | Koolance CPU-370 |
| GPU Blocks: | 2 x Koolance VID-NX580 Full Cover |
| Reservoir: | Koolance RP-452X2 Rev 1.3 plus 380 Degree Connector |
| Pumps: | 2 x Koolance PMP-450 High Flow Pumps |
| Tube: | Primochill PrimoFlex Pro LRT 3/8" ID - 5/8" OD UV Blue |
| Fittings: | Bitspower Matt Black 3/8" ID - 5/8" OD Compression (various) |
| Fittings: | Bitspower Matt Black 3/8" barbs (various) |
| Fittings: | Danger Den Fill Port Black |
| Radiator Fans: | 5 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1850 |
| Fan Controller: | TBC |
| Pump Controller: | TBC |
I also have other minor bits-n-pieces on order like UV lighting, LEDs, cable sleeve, single slot PCI brackets etc.
The Plan:
A diagram of my planned loop and a layout drawing. This is my initial plan, I’m sure it will evolve over time (not too much I hope) but my thinking is based on a single combined CPU/GPU pumping loop. Two Laing D5 pumps in series, which I figured is the best option as it will provide additional head pressure and redundancy should a pump fail.; the loop order is as follows:
Res> Pumps > 360Rad > CPU > 240Rad > GPU > Res
That's the plan anyway although I have already decided to swap the positions of the BluRay drive and fan controller, just for aesthetic reasons and I'll be adding a Danger Den fill port in the top of the case for filling and bleeding as I have discovered that the Koolance res can be a bit difficult to bleed.
Initial Setup:
I've setup my main components on a test rig just to make sure everything works as it should before I start to rip the stock coolers off of the graphics cards and fit those shiny Koolance blocks.
Cooling Kit Part 1:
I really struggled to get the ring off so that I could install the pumps in the reservoir.
There is a load of muck inside the reservoir, it's tiny slivers of acetal from the milling process, I'll have to clean that out.
Nice bit of kit, I really like the way it reflects the light.
I cant wait to get these onto my GTX580s
The next part of my build log will show some progress with modding the case ready to take the radiators and other bits-n-pieces and a suspected problem I thought I had with compatibility between the Koolance VID-NX580 blocks and my EVGA GTX580 graphics cards, probably the first of many issues I will encounter as I embark into the mysterious world of water-cooling and a bit of modding.
Build log pages: 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10
Thanks again for looking and as always comments are welcomed, you can leave comments below or on my Blog Home page, here.
Sniffs
I like it
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