Project: MATX Water Cooling

Hello guys and gals. I have been researching water cooling for some time now. I have asked some questions on what the best components are among other things. I have been piecing together some components and finally have everything I need to get started. Here is my list of components.
-XSPX Raystorm CPU water block
-XSPC EX240 radiator
-2 Corsair SP120 fans
-Bitspower Multi Res 150
-Swiftech MCP35B Pump
-Bitspower 3/8 ID 1/2 OD Shiny Silver compression fittings
-Bitspower 45 and 90 degree rotary fittings, extensions and other miscellaneous fittings.
-Black 3/8 ID 12 OD tubing
-Silver Kill Coil
-Distilled Water

I started off by running a test on pump because I bought this used so I wanted to be sure that the pump actually worked. I assembled a simple test loop with the res and pump. During the pump test I discovered a leak on hte cap of the res. I posted another thread about my leaking Bitspower Cap here:http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?t=45387



I made a short video of the leak test here: http://www.youtube.com/user/PirateMods?feature=mhee

I have not decided on the case I want to use for this build and have narrowed my choice to either an NZXT Phantom 410 or a CM Storm Trooper.

I have not purchased the case yet but that does not mean I cannot do a little experimenting.

I have an Inwin Dragon Slayer case I have considered trying to mod it to accept some water cooling components.


First thing I needed to do was make some room inside the case so I could fit the EX240. I drilled out the upper 5.25/3.5 drive cage.




Time for a test fit.

I used some standoffs to push the Rad away from the front panel to allow more air to the fans.


The difficult part is figuring out how I will get everything else in such a tight space. I devised a nice little all in one type unit that can easily be removed as an entire assembly. The res is mounted to the rad via a bitspower mounting bracket. the pump is connected to the res using a 50mm extension, a Bitspower Dual G1/4" High Flow Fitting - Male to Male Thread, and a Bitspower G 1/4" Silver Shiny Rotary 90 Degree IG 1/4" Adapter. Coming out of the pump I have a triple rotary 90 Degree which goes straight up the back side of the res and into the rad.


More to come.

good luck with ur first watercooled build m8
I know that it's temporary but won't that res be heated by the res heat?

Here is an update.
Pic of the Raystorm on my 775 motherboard. This is just temporary until I get my new motherboard and CPU.

I installed the motherboard and got everything tubed up.

The GPU is next up. I was a little worried that it would not fit.


Very close but it fits.



Here is a shot of the system filled with water. I ran a leak check over night and there were no leaks.

I am glad I decided to test the pump early and found the leaking cap. It would have been a disaster if I got everything in the system and then discovered the leak.

The block looks mahoosive on the motherboard

I really like that rig mate
And as Yassarikhan (if I spelled it correct) said, that block looks Ginormous on that board.

yassarikhan786 said:

The block looks mahoosive on the motherboard

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AverageNinja said:

I really like that rig mate
And as Yassarikhan (if I spelled it correct) said, that block looks Ginormous on that board.

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Thanks, the block does look large in comparison to the motherboard. I can hardly wait to get some new hardware to replace the old 775 stuff. With the leak check done I am doing some stability testing and am going to see how the temps look.

Looking very nice mate

seumasbeathan said:

Looking very nice mate

Click to expand...

Thanks seumasbeathan.

Here are some shots of the system all put together and running some Prime 95.









These temps are after running prime 95 for about 5 hours in my garage. The air temperature is about 29C/84F. Not to bad for running 100% for the past 5 hours. I don't think the position of the res is causing to much temperature increase. You can see that the GPU is at 39C in the closed case. There are the two 120 fans pushing air into the case and one 140 fan blowing air out of the roof.

UPDATE:
I got some of my new components for my build and will updating the progress as I go for anyone interested. I picked up an Asus Maximus IV GENE Z/GEN 3 over the weekend, It am still trying to test it to be sure everything is okay, I posted a thread earlier. http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?t=45966

I also got an I5-3570K to use. I was unsure if this would work well with the motherboard but after some searching online I updated the BIOS and am hoping it works out. I also got some uchannel molding to use around the window cutout and the cable management holes on the motherboard.

I installed the RayStorm block on the CPU and have begun my internal layout and tubing routing. I also posted an installation video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBrqv0xeo6E&feature=plcp ).

Looking good dude, the raystorm block looks sweet.

Loving this build. It's really small and neat.

Dandaman91 said:

Looking good dude, the raystorm block looks sweet.

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Master&Puppet said:

Loving this build. It's really small and neat.

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Thanks,

Absolutely love the build.

There's an elevated fan grill in the roof anyway, isn't there? What size of fan is that for? 120mm?

drunkenvalley said:

There's an elevated fan grill in the roof anyway, isn't there? What size of fan is that for? 120mm?

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It will fit a 120 or 140 MM fan

i dont believe youll get an advantage by adding a 120 anywhere, other than more hose, fittings
and routing headache. looks fine, but if the heat is too much, think about re-grilling the roof
with thoughts of a 240 push radiator system. even a ex240 would be advantaious.

airdeano

airdeano said:

i dont believe youll get an advantage by adding a 120 anywhere, other than more hose, fittings
and routing headache. looks fine, but if the heat is too much, think about re-grilling the roof
with thoughts of a 240 push radiator system. even a ex240 would be advantaious.

airdeano

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My initial idea was to mod the roof to accept an EX240 and a radgrill like this http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...age_scroll&products_id=3696&image_scroll_id=0.

I bought 4 of the scythe slim fans with the intention of doing this. I am just not sure how to make it look good because the top panel is not flat, the 140/120 fan mount is pushed out a little from the top panel.

eeewww thinnies.. not good rad fans.. not a fan of the 20mm fans. more noise than rad performance.
simple push on a 25mm fan. even if the roof bump was 5-10mm tall, still fesible. much better
investment, than the single 120 "fatty" rad. orrrr... different case (like Tom suggested) "said really fast"

fan grill $25.00
sheetmetal jig-saw blades $10.00
dremel cut-off discs $15.00
2.5hrs labor $XX.XX

airdeano

airdeano said:

eeewww thinnies.. not good rad fans.. not a fan of the 20mm fans. more noise than rad performance.
simple push on a 25mm fan. even if the roof bump was 5-10mm tall, still fesible. much better
investment, than the single 120 "fatty" rad. orrrr... different case (like Tom suggested) "said really fast"

fan grill $25.00
sheetmetal jig-saw blades $10.00
dremel cut-off discs $15.00
2.5hrs labor $XX.XX

airdeano

Click to expand...

I have considered many options, even a better/bigger case. I even had the Phantom 410 in my shopping cart and then decided to try my luck with an mATX case. If I screw up the case it is not much of a loss and I can get something else, I enjoy the challenge.

The Scythe fans are only 12 mm thick and are very quiet. They do not performe as well as other fans but when you are tight on space they can be handy.

My current ideas are not set in stone.