EllisD Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 It has been a long time coming, and i have decided NOT to procrastinate anymore and finally watercool my AMD system. I will also be modding my case a bit, which is why i put it here instead of the Cooling section. Specs are as follows: CPU: Opteron 165 @ 289x9 (2.6ghz) w/ Zalman 9500LED Mobo: DFI Lanparty NF4 Ultra-D RAM: Gskill 2x1GB PC4000 HZ's @ 260mhz Video: ATi Radeon x1900xt w/ Stock Cooler Sound: Audigy 2 ZS PSU: Antec NEO HE550 HDD: 120GB Maxtor SATA Optical: Plextor SATA DVD-RW Case: Coolermaster Stacker 830 Black This setup will be referred to as [system Air] from now on. ------------------------------------------------------ Updates: Parts For Build - April 16th, 2008 Lapping - April 17th, 2008 Rad Cutout - April 22nd, 2008 Attaching CPU Block - May 07th, 2008 Attaching GPU Block - May 07th, 2008 Minor Case "Modding" - May 07th, 2008 ------------------------------------------------------ I still have a few odds and ends to pick up, and i will make a shopping list a little later, but as of now, this is the hardware i had: Laing D5 Variable Speed Pump Click for full image Hose Clamps & T-Line Click for full image Fillport Click for full image Danger Den TDX Block Click for full image Base could use a little lovin' Click for full image Danger Den Low Profile Maze4 Block Click for full image Woah woah...Stop the Show! This is what the base of the block looks like. It has been sitting around for quite some time now. Is this something that can be cleaned up? Like lapped and polished? Or should i just buy another GPU block? Click for full image My PSU Jumper Click for full image And now for the new stuff i picked up yesterday... Swiftech MCR220-QP-K Click for full image I'm not too impressed with the packaging it came in. Pretty much no protection. I did pick it up retail though, so i guess it is sufficient. Click for full image Enzotech BMR-C1 Ramsinks Click for full image Oooo...smexy Click for full image Danger Den 1/2" ID ClearFlex60 Tubing - 10' Click for full image Uhoh, we have a minor flaw. May be hard to tell in the picture but i highlighted it with a red square. Seems there is a crease in the hose about 1' from one of the ends. The slightest bend in that area will cause it to kink. That leaves me with about 9' of tubing so i think i should be alright Click for full image Petra's PT-Nuke Biocide Click for full image I have a few 120mm fans kicking around that im going to use. Either 2 of the CM Blue LED ones, or 2 unlabelled black fans (though they are different, i may wanna keep them matched). Or if i feel i need more powerful ones, i will go buy a few. So hardware wise, i think im pretty set. If anyone notices something i missed, please let me know . Now i have to start making the rounds and picking up the finer detail bits. Here is my shopping list. Again, please let me know if you think something should be on this list. Post-Hardware Shopping List 1. 98% Isopropl Alcohol - To clean off the old TIM on CPU, GPU. 2. Something to polish the base of the block? Suggestions? 3. Lint-free Cloth(s) 4. ? Thats all i can think of at the moment. So now that i have pretty much what i need, the first thing i am going to do is lap the waterblocks. I may start that tonight depending on how late i get home from work. Then i will progress onto test fitting everything into my case, which i dont think will be an easy task. The 830 Stacker is a monster on the outside, but the way it is layed out on the inside leaves a bit to be desired IMO. I might have to end up modding the front IO ports on the front face (as opposed to the ones on the top by the power button) or just remove that face completely so i can tuck my fan controller up in there. That should leave enough room for the rad to sit at the front between the 4in3 module and the fan controller. Still have to bust out the ruler though. From there i will have the position of everything, so i will cut the tubes, assemble the loop, and leak test. I also wanna bust out the Dremel (or similar) and cut a hole or 2 in my mobo tray to route cables. This is my first worklog, so it may be a bit unorganized at first. But i will mold it into how i want it to look as time goes on. Definetly more pics to come Stay Tuned :cool: *now back to your regularly scheduled programming* *crosses fingers that pics are the right sizes* EDIT: wewt, 1k posts :dog: EDIT2: You should now be able to click on the pictures for Hi-Res versions ------------------------------------------------------ Updates: Parts For Build - April 16th, 2008 Lapping - April 17th, 2008 Rad Cutout - April 22nd, 2008 Attaching CPU Block - May 07th, 2008 Attaching GPU Block - May 07th, 2008 Minor Case "Modding" - May 07th, 2008 ------------------------------------------------------ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
radodrill Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 You might want to consider using zip-ties rather than the hose clamps; they are less obtrusive and blend in a lot better. Those blocks should clean up nicely with some lapping/polishing. If you can afford it, you should consider sleeving the cabling as well; makes things look a lot sexier/cleaner. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
red930 Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 Your PSU jumper is like 10x better than my PSU jumper. Let's just say mine involves alcohol, water, and fingers. Anyhoo, nice pics man. Keep 'em coming! FYI, your GPU block looks fine. Light sandpaper will take it off, no need to polish it unless you want to. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllisD Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 You might want to consider using zip-ties rather than the hose clamps; they are less obtrusive and blend in a lot better. I was thinking about just straight zip-ties. These looked pretty umm..clampy, and i got them when i bought the block/pump/1x120mm rad so i figured i may as well use them. We will see how it goes though. Those blocks should clean up nicely with some lapping/polishing. FYI, your GPU block looks fine. Light sandpaper will take it off, no need to polish it unless you want to. Exactly what i was hoping to hear. Thanks. If you can afford it, you should consider sleeving the cabling as well; makes things look a lot sexier/cleaner. I have considered this, and is not out of the question at all. Recently the sleeves have been coming off my PSU, so i wanted to get that done also. I will probably do this after the fact though, just to make it harder on myself But seriously, i will see about getting some sleeving before i fill the case with parts. Your PSU jumper is like 10x better than my PSU jumper. Let's just say mine involves alcohol, water, and fingers. Pics or it didnt happen :angel: Anyhoo, nice pics man. Keep 'em coming! Thanks. I should have another round tonight. Gives me an excuse to borrow the Digital SLR from work Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
red930 Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 Pics or it didnt happen :angel: Come on, I wouldn't hold an expensive camera while doing that. I'm not stupid. When sanding be sure that the base stays flat of course. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 looks good man lets see more... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Repr Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 Ooh! a WC thread!!! i love it already! very interested in how the block will look after lapping and how you did it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllisD Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 very interested in how the block will look after lapping and how you did it This is one of the things thati would like to do with this worklog. Break it down into a tutorial like state. I love seeing what people can do modding-wise, but sometimes the things they do are a little hard for me personally to grasp with just seeing a start and an end. I want someone to look at what i have done...being a complete nub and not having done any of this before...and feel confident in them being able to do it themselves. I hope i succeed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikachinks Posted April 17, 2008 Posted April 17, 2008 looks good so far man.. =) looking forward to ur build. =) routing the 1/2 tube is a pain but its worth it. =) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
t_ski Posted April 17, 2008 Posted April 17, 2008 That tubing should be good for cutting a small section off. A lot of times when you run the tubes, you need a small piece or whatever. You could even use that section of tube for your fill-port, since it won't matter too much if there's a slight crease. Looking forward to more updates. When I see people w/c their systems, it makes me want to put mine back in Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllisD Posted April 17, 2008 Posted April 17, 2008 Sooo, I decided to lap the CPU & GPU block last night. I think they turned out quite well. I might do another round on the GPU block, though I think it is in pretty good shape at the moment. Here is how it went: I was looking around the repair shop yesterday, and found some 400 grit paper, score! But I still needed something higher. I figured I wasnt going to do the whole 12 step program with starting at ~200-220 grit and progressing to ~1500+ grit because the CPU block was already in good shape, and I thought that taking the top layer off the GPU block with the 400 grit then finishing off with a finer sheet would suffice. So on my way home I stopped by the store and picked up a sheet of 1500 grit paper for $0.99, as well as a few lint-free cloths. So I needed to find a flat surface. Well, I have a little night stand I got from ikea that was a good size to work on, so I used that. I started by taping the 400 grit paper to the table. click for full image Then I checked the reflectiveness to have something to compare to after I was done. click for full image Then I pulled out my sharpie and marked an X on the base. Depending on what parts of the X dissapear first, gives you a good indication on how flat your block is. click for full image With slow and steady movements, I move the block away from me, then towards me, keeping the block oriented in the same direction and trying to only exert enough pressure to keep the block from skipping along the paper. The first few passes were a little rough, but as time goes, it starts to glide quite nicely. Here is after about 40 passes. You can see that the X is fading quite evenly, so the block was pretty flat to begin with. click for full image I then rotated the block 90 degrees, and used the same front to back movement as before. This is after another 40 passes. As you can see, the X is almost completely gone, and faded quite evenly. click for full image From here, I moved to the 1500 grit paper. Began by taping it to the desk. click for full image Checking the reflection again. Some decent progress. click for full image After about 40-50 passes. click for full image And again, after about 40-50 passes. I wiped it down with a lint-free cloth after this round. click for full image I am quite happy with how that turned out. But now for the money shot... click for full image So in total, I probably spent about 45 mins on the CPU block but since I had never done it before, I took it real slow and steady. Dun-Dun-Dunnnnnnn...On to the GPU block So this is how we start. OH MY GAWD IM BLIND! Shiney isnt it? click for full image I had already given it ~10 passes on the 400 grit before I realized that I forgot to mark the base with an X. click for full image This is after about 40 passes. Its starting to shine through click for full image And another 40 passes... click for full image Now we're making progress (after another 40 passes) click for full image At this point, I switched over to the 1500 grit paper. Did about 40-50 passes and its starting to look pretty nice. click for full image Another 40 passes on 1500 grit click for full image This is where I ran out of time and had to get to bed. Before I did though, I cut a strip of paper and ran it around the the edges of the contact pad. click for full image So in total, it took close to 1hr 30mins for the GPU block. This is how they both looked at the end of the night. click for full image This was a good experience and I'm glad I did it. I'm not sure what i am going to do tonight. Probably try and figure out how the heck this is all going to fit in my case, lol. Thats it for now Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllisD Posted April 17, 2008 Posted April 17, 2008 That tubing should be good for cutting a small section off. A lot of times when you run the tubes, you need a small piece or whatever. You could even use that section of tube for your fill-port, since it won't matter too much if there's a slight crease. Good call, never even crossed my mind. Thanks for the encouragement everyone :beer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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