Obsidian 800D first water cooled system.....

[oqsajec]

Ok, this is my first work log, first water cooled set up and my first GPU mod. I just purchased all the components and the case that I've had my eye on & i have begun modding the gpu's stock heat-sinks to accept the Enzotech water-blocks. I'm going to be running 3/8 ID tubing (5/8 OD), 3/8 barbs, and a whole list of stuff. Any ideas and input with this build will be greatly appreciated. This project is a work in progress as I've had the components for over a week and I'm now getting past the planning stage and into the build.

The Hardware List:
Corsair Obsidian 800D
Asus M3N-HT HDMI/Deluxe 780a tri-sli mobo
AMD Phenom 2 X4 955 BE C3
2X2gb sticks of OCZ Fatal1ty series DDR2 800mhz
2X EVGA 9800GTX+'s 512mb DDR3
Corsair 850TX psu
Dual Boot OS:
WD SE16 250gb with Win XP SP3
WD Caviar Black 750gb with Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit
LG 24X DL DVD

Water Cooling List:
Enzotech SCW-REV.A CPU Waterblock
EK multi-op Res X2 250
Danger Den 3/8 barbs + one 1/2
Danger Den Delrin t-fitting
Swiftech 1/2" Aluminum Remote Fill-Port Fitting, gotta exchange it for copper or brass.....
10 feet 3/8 ID, 5/8 OD with 1/8 wall + 1 foot 1/2 ID tubing for drain both UV black
Danger Den Black Ice GT Stealth 120 Rad plus 360 rad
2X Enzotech VGA-IS
Danger Den DD-CPX1 12V 3-Pin Powered Pump
PrimoChill Anti-Kink Coils - 1/2 OD" Tubing - UV Blue
Feser Aqua Non Conductive Ultra Pure Water
IandH Silver KillCoils
Feser Base Corrosion Blocker

here's the hardware


the stock heatsink modded to allow the water block to fit...


water block mounted


water block with the stock heatsink floating, testing for fit. I still need to smooth out the fins with my dremel, and check the clearance of the plastic shroud and the water block. I'm probably going to have to cut a portion of it out.
http://img.techpowerup.org/100825/IM...00824-2030.jpg

The Obsidian 800D

[(FIH) The Don]

@0 nice stuff you got there , black theme overall?

[oqsajec]

Wow, i can build with the best of em, and game till my eyes bleed but i can't get a damn pic to work here!!!!!!!! AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahaha Give me a minute to get this workin...




GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! haha, thanks dudes. Oh damn........
Well, yes, the theme will be mostly black, with chrome and red led's for accent (I don't want to flood the room with light, just a soft glow), as well as cold cathode UV lamps (the tube wrap is UV blue). I'm also thinking of adding a spacer for the 360 rad I'm going to mount on the inside top of the case. AND i just realized that the pump is not "IN" from the top......grrrrrr. Gotta re-think some routing now......

[sneekypeet]

sorry for the confusion, did a bit of housecleaning for you.

Nice rig, I do want to see how this one comes out!

[pantherx12]

Originally Posted by oqsajec

Wow, i can build with the best of em, and game till my eyes bleed but i can't get a damn pic to work here!!!!!!!! AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahaha Give me a minute to get this workin...

http://img.techpowerup.org/100825/IM...24-2030894.jpg


GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! haha, thanks dudes. Oh damn........
Well, yes, the theme will be mostly black, with chrome and red led's for accent (I don't want to flood the room with light, just a soft glow), as well as cold cathode UV lamps (the tube wrap is UV blue). I'm also thinking of adding a spacer for the 360 rad I'm going to mount on the inside top of the case. AND i just realized that the pump is not "IN" from the top......grrrrrr. Gotta re-think some routing now......

Are those heat-pipes underneath the water block?

Or have you simply cut and squashed them?

If the later put a wee bit of pure alcohol in them squish them down again and solder the ends shut, BAM fully working heatpipes again

[oqsajec]

Thanks a bunch man. I'm pretty stoked about this build, spent a bunch of money on the parts, case, and my second phenom. I gutted the old Gamma case i modded and gave it to my girl so she can come up with a color layout/theme so I can build her a rig of her own.


mobo in the obsidian, gonna take out the V8 and put it in my lady's rig.

@PANTHER...When i cut out that section, i ended up cutting the heat pipes going along the side (when i was cutting the fins out) so that part is severed but the pipes don't go under the water block. It ends right before it gets under the pressure plate for the block.

[a_ump]

good stuff man . I love hardware myself more than gaming haha so i always dig people that do these projects. Love to do one myself but no funds for water-cooling or a place to modd a case lol, college dorm

[oqsajec]

Sorry i haven't posted lately, school started and i already got tests.....i love college. Ok, I managed to cut both the heatsinks to the GPU's.........




but i noticed clearance issues with small corners here and there so I'll cut those out tomorrow.

notice the mount where the screw goes from the plastic shroud to the heatsink? the black plastic tube hits the water-block mounting plate; this stops me from aligning the screws through the card to the heatsink when the shroud is mounted to the heatsink.

The fan shroud also hits the waterblocks mounting plate so when the blower is mounted on the plastic cover, i can't align the screws properly.





Another thing i notice is that the water-blocks are so recessed back and the barbs are so short that mounting the tubing and tightening down the hose clamps will be close to impossible.

Here's the waterblock on the CPU and one card with the GPU water-block, as well as the res in place for reference.

So i ordered a few Enzotech MFL-G14 G1/4 thread Male-Female Adopters which will give me about 1.25 inches extra, and a few HFS-G1/4-12D8 G1/4 Fitting ID 3/8" Thread Type G1/4" and one 1/2 ID so the barbs won't be long. By my measurements they should only stick out by about a half inch, perfect for what I want. I also made my last order for the red led strips that I'm going to hide behind the edges of the motherboard, the 2 cold cathode UV lamps, OCZ memory cooler, magnetic fan dust filters to cover the top of the case, more tubing for 1/2 ID (I'm going to use 3/8ID for the 360 RAD to the Res, to the pump, to the 120 RAD to both cards but switch over to 1/2 ID going from the top card to the CPU, then to the 360 RAD. I am also using 1/2 ID hose and drain/fill caps on top of the Res for filling, and between the Res and pump for draining). I also have some rotary angle barbs for some tight turns, and 4 LianLi 120mm fans (1 is UV, 3 are LED for over the radiator). When the rest gets here i'll mock up all the components and hoses. Then when I'm satisfied with the set up I'll take it all apart and put it together outside of the case. Test it, then hook it all up inside the case. The fluid is non-conductive so maybe all the precaution is overkill..? Stay tuned for more updates......

[oqsajec]

Ok, I got female to male barb extensions and the smaller barbs put on both cards. They stick out the sides of my cards exactly 1/4 inch, just enough for me to put the tubes on and clamp them down. I'm going to start sealing all the barbs tonight and running the tubes in the morning...................Let me know of any ideas ya'll might have.





I'm starting to like what i see..............

[(FIH) The Don]

looking good man

[oqsajec]

Thanks bro.

[MT Alex]

You've put a lot of effort into this build, and it looks like it will turn out great

What made you decide on the 9800s?

[oqsajec]

Thanks alot man, I don't know really why i picked the GTX+'s, I just bought one bout a year ago and decided to get a second for SLI in my other rig. That one had freakin awesome air cooling (cards idled at about 28-32 depending on room temp) and the cpu was at about 30! BUT, the thing sounded like a blow dryer. So i decided to jump into WCing, i don't like to try little stuff. If you want to go for it, go all out ya know? The blocks i got for the gpu's are universal so in the future if i decide to go for a few GTX460's or better, i can just use these blocks for them and buy aftermarket heatsinks for my GTX+'s if i ain't killed em by then. :-)

[oqsajec]

Ok guys, i have a question for all the water-cooling fanatics........I got my loops done, sealed, tested (found one leak on the bottom of the reservoir) and now i'm running my led strips and black light bars BUT, i noticed just now that since my res is only about 90% full when running, theirs alot of air bubbles traveling down to the bottom and the pump is catching them (making the slight buzzing sound). Do I top off the res, or is this normal. I would think that the more bubbles going through the loop, the worse the temps will be........any ideas?

[erocker]

You need to bleed out the air bubbles. I generally have the pump hooked up to a separate PSU and turn it on and of a lot so the air can escape up.

[Loosenut]

Originally Posted by oqsajec

Ok guys, i have a question for all the water-cooling fanatics........I got my loops done, sealed, tested (found one leak on the bottom of the reservoir) and now i'm running my led strips and black light bars BUT, i noticed just now that since my res is only about 90% full when running, theirs alot of air bubbles traveling down to the bottom and the pump is catching them (making the slight buzzing sound). Do I top off the res, or is this normal. I would think that the more bubbles going through the loop, the worse the temps will be........any ideas?

I usually keep the fill cap off of the res to eliminate the excess bubbles. IMO the lack of pressure release in the res keeps the small bubbles going through the loop. Once all bubbles are removed, replace the cap.

[MT Alex]

Leave the cap of the top of your res so the air can escape easier, and just let it keep running. Eventually, 12-24 hrs, the air will all escape through your res. It's totally normal to have the tiny little bubbles when you first get it going. Leaving your res open is important so there isn't as much pressure. Cap it once you are bubble free.

EDIT: Looks like Loosenut said the same while I was typing!

[oqsajec]

Sweet, i just topped it off and turned it on/off about a half dozen times. VERY little bubbles but I'll tie off the fill port and leave it vented. I haven't drilled a hole on the top of the case for the fill port, just have a tube attached to a 90 degree bitspower barb and the fill port cap on that. I'll post some pics in a few............thanks guys.

[oqsajec]

pics.......




Now I got to figure out how to turn the leds around on the OCZ ram cooler............or just cover them up. ? any helpful ideas would....be......helpful. :-)

[MT Alex]

Sweet job. Looks very clean and professional.

[overclocking101]

the coils ruin it for me but to each their own. good idea with the graphics cards to

[oqsajec]

Ok, i got the fans set up like i want, and all the cables tucked away. Got almost all the air bubbles out of the lines but i still have a few stuck to the side of the res. grrrrrrrrrrr
For now, i had to change out the stock fans for a few Masscool 140mm fans i had laying around, my hard drive temps were pretty high (37-39 Celsius at idle), and the ambient temp in the case was pretty warm. I literally could feel the warmth come out of the case when i took off the side panel!! I added 2 120mm Coolermaster R4 fans to the inside portion of the 360 radiator so now i have 2 pairs of 120's in a push/pull configuration with one set up being intake, and one exhaust. i couldn't fit the third R4, the bitspower 90degree and the fill port hose take up that lil space. I ran Cinebench 10 on the cpu, i haven't tried 3D mark Vantage yet. I couldn't believe what temps i was getting on my cpu with all 4 cores at 100% for 3 minutes. It wasn't long enough for me so i ran the test 5 times in a row and took a pic of the last test when it was right before completion. It was sitting at 37 Celsius, it hit 38 twice but went back to 37. I am going to overclock the crap out of my rig!!!! I kinda have no choice now, with these temps and the cold winter we get here, I'm going to start worrying about condensation on the tubes.
Anybody got any ideas for me, i'm almost done but i'm also adding 3 Aerocool shark BE 140mm's so i can take out the blue led masscools, and a 5 channel NZXT fan controller. and maybe a few 4 inch UV cathode lamps to the bottom area....other than that, i do believe i am done.


In this pic, i had already added the 140mm to the hard drives, before that i had the stock fan on them and it was at least 9 degrees Celsius hotter (18 degrees Fahrenheit).