WhenKittensATK Posted June 22, 2011 Posted June 22, 2011 (edited) Photo Albums: Lapping CPU Waterblock (June) Lapping CPU (July) Assembly (July) This is my first attempt at a watercooling system. I recently purchased an used GTX 480 that came with a Koolance VID-NX480 water block for free. Then I saw someone selling an used watercooling system and thought what the hell. Water Cooling Parts: CPU Block: Swiftech Apogee GTZ GPU Block: Koolance VID-NX480 Pump: Swiftech MCP355 with XSPC Top Reservoir: Swiftech MCRES-MICRO Rev2 Radiator: Swiftech MCR320 Extra purchases: 6x EK barbs Swiftech MCB-120 Radbox Radiator/Fan Housing Rev 2 Mounting screws for GPU block Mounting brackets for CPU block (for 775 socket) 15 FT of 7/16in. ID (5/8in. OD) Durelene General Purpose Clear PVC Tubing Sandpaper of assorting grits Black & Decker RTX-6 Rotary Tool Koolance 3 pin / 4 way splitter cable for radiator fans Total investment: $186 and a 9800 GTX+ (traded) Edited July 5, 2011 by Krazyxazn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boinker Posted June 22, 2011 Posted June 22, 2011 That is weird. Petra has never gave me any trouble before and I have ordered multiple times. Oh well. Just make sure you do not use anything swiftech on that 480. I lost one of mine 6 months ago due to a mis-manufactured water block conversion mount And swiftech would not own up to that so Im sure you know how I feel about them. If anything else it looks like the set-up will work great. good luck. P.S. what fans do you intend to use. I would atleast go with a Yate loon 120-25 At medium speed for a chip and a 480. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhenKittensATK Posted June 22, 2011 Posted June 22, 2011 (edited) Not sure yet on what fans to use, but I currently have in stock: 4x Scythe Slipstream 120mm Fan (110 CFM / 37 dBA / 1900 RPM) 2x Rosewill 120mm case fans If its better and cheap to just buy 3 new case fans, then maybe I'll do that. If I knew I was gonna do WC, I probably would have gone with a bigger case than the Rosewill Challenger, but its still plenty of space to do watercooling in, except you just have to mount the radiator externally. I'll see if I can borrow someone's digital camera. Pretty sure my laptop's webcam would degrade any pictures I take with it Edited June 22, 2011 by Krazyxazn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishop245 Posted June 22, 2011 Posted June 22, 2011 I have taken the plunge into water cooling myself and my loop was seriously boinkerized i think we did 4 revisions in less than 4 hours lol hope yours goes well and it sucks the barbs seem screwy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boinker Posted June 22, 2011 Posted June 22, 2011 I would use the slipstreams as the fans. They do well with just about any radiator. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhenKittensATK Posted June 24, 2011 Posted June 24, 2011 (edited) Here are some pictures of how the rig is currently setup. Might buy a SATA DVD burner to replace that old IDE one. I'll do some benchmarks to get average temps of the CPU and GPU on load with air cooling. So I have something to compare them to once I install the watercooling system. My thoughts on the Rosewill Challenger Case. Pros: 1) All black exterior/interior (including the case screws) 2) Tool-less 3.5" and 5.25" drive bay (very easy to work with) 3) Motherboard tray cutouts (wiring and CPU mount) 4) Pre-installed fan filters (front intake and PSU) 5) Front panel I/O (I have my external eSATA HDD and Headphones plugged in there) 6) Watercooling tube cutouts for external radiator 7) Supports 1x 140mm (Top) and 4x 120mm (front, 2x side, and rear) 8) PSU fan cutout on the bottom of case (if you want to mount the fan the other way) Cons: 1) Wiring tray cutouts aren't as big as I would like (easy fix get a bigger case) 2) Front panel I/O prevents the use of the top 5.25" bay 3) No filters for side panel 4) No side panel window (I could mod one into it, not for looks but would be the best way to see if water was leaking) 5) Not very wide 6) 3.5" bay cannot be removed 7) Could use more room behind motherboard tray and side panel Edited June 24, 2011 by Krazyxazn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhenKittensATK Posted June 25, 2011 Posted June 25, 2011 The ketchup and vinegar on the waterblock had some effect, but I think I'm going to take it a step further by lapping both the waterblock and the CPU. It'll give me something to do while I wait for parts. I was looking around and I found some people with a similar case that did case mods and/or watercooling: Link 1 (Watercooled) Link 2 (Side panel with fan cutouts and fan grill cutouts) Those are the NZXT Gamma case, I have a Rosewill Challenger which is the same except for the front panel. I think my dad has a dremel somewhere Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Posted June 25, 2011 Posted June 25, 2011 My thermal output probably exceeded what you have with my old Q6600 and my 4870X2 cranking along. With the same radiator (and a slightly more powerful pump) I didn't have any thermal issues with 6 Yate Loon low speed fans running at *just* over startup voltage. I would imagine with your parts you'll have no problems no matter what fans you throw on that radiator. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhenKittensATK Posted June 26, 2011 Posted June 26, 2011 Prepping sanding surface (Glass swinging door from an old entertainment system) Before picture 1 Before picture 2 After 600 Grit 1 After 600 Grit 2 After 800 Grit 1 After 800 Grit 2 After 1000 Grit 1 After 1000 Grit 2 After 1500 Grit 1 After 1500 Grit 2 After 2000 Grit 1 After 2000 Grit 2 After 2000 Grit 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boinker Posted June 26, 2011 Posted June 26, 2011 Looks good crazy. Hopefully that case will be able to do the trick for you. Its a little cramped in there though. Don't plan on doing much too it without draining and removing the loop. Sorry to say but that makes everything an enourmouse pain to service or modify. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrewr05 Posted June 26, 2011 Posted June 26, 2011 Sweet lapping job! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhenKittensATK Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 CPU mounting screws should be here next week. Petra's Tech Shop was nice enough to give me a free shipping label to ship them back the barbs for examination. I'll have to contact them and see whats up. Shipped them last week. Not much happening at the moment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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