{UPDATE 1}
Firstly I would like to thank all of those who took the time to reply to my "feedback" thread which got almost 90 replies; all of your suggestions has been considered in the finalisation of my watercooling orders.
FrozenCPU package contents:
-Black Ice GTX Extreme 240
-Black Ice GT Stealth 360
-Alphacool VPP655 pump + Bitspower pump mod kit (Chrome)
-Koolance 370 cpu block
-Koolance R4E mobo block
-Koolance TNK-501 single bay reservoir
-Primochill PRO LRT 3/8" - 5/8" tubing
-IandH Dead Water Copper Sulfate Biocidal additive
-ModRight Mod Mat
So my package from FrozenCPU arrived Thursday arvo and I thought I should get the ball rolling and start the installation of key components. I spent the afternoon and early Friday morning+evening installing the Koolance mobo water block, CPU, RAM, CPU waterblock, 6x 45degree compression fittings onto the blocks, motherboard into the case, bottom Black Ice GTX Extreme 240 rad in the bottom, PSU, GPU, and soundcard.
Came across some issues, and worked around them, further issues came up and I am yet to get around to them and I am willing to take on-board the suggestions, solutions and possibly hands-on help from the community (anyone around Riverton-Perth? haha).
So, it all began with the ModRight mat, which I do recommend for anyone.
First things first, I had to remove the stock heatsinks and replace them with the Koolance blocks:
Next, installed the CPU, CPU block and then the RAM:
Now, get the compressions onto these blocks:
Now to get the board into the case:
GPU into first 16x PCIe3:
Installing the X-Fi Titanium; now the instruction manual says that you can plug it into a full length PCIe slot, but the card only has these two plug-in points:
I wasn't sure if I could just plug it into the next PCIe3 8x slot here(yellow) or here(blue):
I was thinking if I had been running dual-GPU I would have to plug it into the "yellow" socket otherwise the 2nd GPU wouldn't fit into the second 16x PCIe3 slot; but seeing as it fit the PCIe2.0 x1_1 slot perfectly I decided to leave it there...can someone shed some insight into this? Is it normal to plug it into a full length PCIe 3.0 slot or would it only work where I currently have it installed? Currently it is in here:
Also you might not notice in this picture but when the computer is placed upright the GPU seems to be so heavy that the card is actually on a slight slant towards the back..is this normal? I don't remember any other GPUs I've installed to have such a bend near the back of the card; then again I've always used reference cards up until this point, maybe the non-reference Gigabyte cards are not as rigid??
Next came the Black Ice GTX Extreme 240 radiator for the bottom mount:
Now this is where the next issue came up due to me not using normal 25mm thickness fans. The Ultra Kaze's are 38mm thick, and the screws provided with the rad is catered for 25mm fans so I had to go to Searle Fastenings in Riverton to get 40mm versions of the exact same threaded screws:
So this proved to be the exact length I needed to mount my 2 push Ultra Kaze's, but proved to be too short for the 2 pull Ultra Kazes at the other side, because there was an additional layer (rad bracket) of a couple of millimetres the screw had to go through.
So back to Searle Fastenings it was to get 8 of the same screws but this time 50mm lengths. Now you might start to say "err 50mm is way too long it will hit the fins", I knew this so I also purchased about 80 plastic washers to match the screws. Fitting 10 washers each screw compensated for about 9mm of excess length I had to get rid of which meant I didn't have to hacksaw them off. I might add it doesn't actually look as bad as I imaged it to either.:thumbup:
Here's a shot of the rad installed with the two 90degree rotary compression fittings:
At this point I was well tired and about ready to call it a day, but I thought I should investigate the roof of the case to see how I would go about installing my Black Ice GT Stealth 360 radiator. I was under suspicion that the "hooks" on the inside of the case (that hold up the front-most top fan in junction with 2 screws) will be in the way of mounting the rad, and after investigating I realised that was the case. So I just got a nice robust pair of pliers and bent those "hooks" flat into the roof seamlessly:
The "hooks" are those two front bits that are slightly scratched up. The scratches don't bother me as the front sliding mechanism covers that area completely anyway.
After dealing with those "hooks" I could line up the radiator to get a ball-park idea of where it will go, and upon doing so I realised another problem:
(might not be visible in pictures)
Basically what is happening here is (I know it's hard to see in these pics), after I line up the first two thread holes of the rad, there is a gradual misplacement of the bracket mounting holes on the Cosmos 2. I don't know how to describe it but what I'm trying to say is, if I line up the first two holes, then the last 2 holes are too far along to be able to mount all of the fans in their corresponding 4-hole configs. Does that make sense?
So what I was thinking is that I need to extend the mounting holes on the Cosmos 2 to be able to mount the radiator, but I don't know how...
First thing that came to my mind is filing the holes across to allow access to the thread holes, or using a Dremel but I don't have such a tool, and I don't really feel like removing the motherboard, but I will if I have to.
I've ordered 3x Gentle Typhoon 3000's to go with the rad. These are the standard 25mm thick fans...because I don't want to deal with custom screws and washers again lol.
After examining the rest of the stuff from FrozenCPU, I had a look at the tubing. I got the Primoflex PRO LRT 3/8" - 5/8", and corresponding Bitspower compression fittings. I got one of the fittings and tried to fit it onto the tubing, but for the life of my I couldn't get the tube to go over the inner barb. The tube is massively thick walled... I don't think it can physically fit the fittings that I have...or am I just weak? lol
Here's a shot of the tube and the compression fitting:
Judging by the looks of it it's supposed to fit... but I can't get it on for the life of me and I promise I'm not weak! haha
I will be sure to update the log as I get more stuff done.
If anyone is around where I live, have the competency, and willing to help with the top mount of the radiator, I'd be happy for you to lend a hand, not just for the radiator mount! I'm sure we can come to an agreement along the terms of number of stubbies of beer and the number of hours spent
:thumbup:
{UPDATE 2}
I've decided to move all my work-log updates into my initial post, so that people can read one consolidated post rather than fishing through the different pages.
My GT3000's finally arrived today!! Along with my second Kingston HyperX 120GB SSD, and additional compression fittings for the Koolance drain valve
So with the fans in my possession I was able to size up the top radiator, and file down the mounting holes to accommodate for all the fan bracket. Here's some shots of the top mount fitted on.
For everything to fit smoothly I had to remove the top sliding mechanism that houses the native fan controller which wasn't hard. So here's a shot with the top sliding part back on, and it's looking very sleek. I quite like how the part flows over the fans to make it seem more mysterious haha probably just looks like that to me :thumbup:
Now with both rad+fan combinations installed, time has come to figure out where to place my pump. I am considering removing the middle HDD cage, and putting my HDD in one of the hotswap bays at the front and just mounting the two SSD's to the case itself using high quality Velcro... What are your guys' suggestions on that? I have concerns that I might have heat problems if I have no air blowing directly onto the SSD's which will be ran in RAID0.
After I did the filing...holey crap there was so much metal dust everywhere. I blew it out as much as I could and wiped it up with a damp cloth but I cannot be certain it's all gone and if it might be displaced from the corners they are stuck in once all the fans are running. I might actually bring my old man's air compressor from his place to make sure there is no metal fragments left in the case before putting the mobo back in..
Thoughts?
{UPDATE 3}
I have finally decided to take some time off playing DotA2 and finish the tubing and complete my water loop. All that remains now is to leak test the system for some (undetermined) amount of time to see if there is any problems before boot up. I've taken a plethora of images, so I will try to caption them appropriately.
There were a few things I decided to do during the construction of the loop which I think you guys might appreciate. You may be able to spot these in the pictures.
Here's a shot of the front and back of the single-bay reservoir, you can see the direction of the tubing.
As you can see I've routed the res>pump through the back of the case, and positioned the pump accordingly (see below). I think this configuration makes the loop look much more neat and tidy. This is the part where I really started to appreciate the sheer width of the Cosmos II, it is an absolute breeze to work with, much recommended.
Here's a shot of the back showing the way I've routed the res>pump and pump>bottom-rad, also you can see where I've positioned the Koolance drain valve with the drain hose fixed into place via small strips of the industrial strength Velcro that I used to mount the pump and ssd's with.
What do you think about this config?
Here's a shot of the side showing the bottom rad connections and the first QDC going up to the mobo block. Pay no attention to the voluminous amount of front IO cables, these will be managed later on.
Sorry about the glare of the flash.
Here's a couple of shots showing the nitty-gritty of the loop.
At this point you're probably thinking the bottom QDC is going to be in the way of the GPU.. stay tuned..
Here are some close-up shots of the intricate mobo and cpu connections. My phone's camera isn't great but you can clearly see that there are no kinks. The tube I bought turned out to possess excellent flexing characteristics (thanks Creekin for recommending Primoflex among other things).
Finally here are a few shots with the GPU installed and you can clearly see that the way I've routed the bottom QDC naturally clears the GPU easily.
That is all for now, I will keep this space updates as I do the leak test. If there turns out to be problems in the leak test you will surely hear about it!
Firstly I would like to thank all of those who took the time to reply to my "feedback" thread which got almost 90 replies; all of your suggestions has been considered in the finalisation of my watercooling orders.
FrozenCPU package contents:
-Black Ice GTX Extreme 240
-Black Ice GT Stealth 360
-Alphacool VPP655 pump + Bitspower pump mod kit (Chrome)
-Koolance 370 cpu block
-Koolance R4E mobo block
-Koolance TNK-501 single bay reservoir
-Primochill PRO LRT 3/8" - 5/8" tubing
-IandH Dead Water Copper Sulfate Biocidal additive
-ModRight Mod Mat
So my package from FrozenCPU arrived Thursday arvo and I thought I should get the ball rolling and start the installation of key components. I spent the afternoon and early Friday morning+evening installing the Koolance mobo water block, CPU, RAM, CPU waterblock, 6x 45degree compression fittings onto the blocks, motherboard into the case, bottom Black Ice GTX Extreme 240 rad in the bottom, PSU, GPU, and soundcard.
Came across some issues, and worked around them, further issues came up and I am yet to get around to them and I am willing to take on-board the suggestions, solutions and possibly hands-on help from the community (anyone around Riverton-Perth? haha).
So, it all began with the ModRight mat, which I do recommend for anyone.
First things first, I had to remove the stock heatsinks and replace them with the Koolance blocks:
Next, installed the CPU, CPU block and then the RAM:
Now, get the compressions onto these blocks:
Now to get the board into the case:
GPU into first 16x PCIe3:
Installing the X-Fi Titanium; now the instruction manual says that you can plug it into a full length PCIe slot, but the card only has these two plug-in points:
I wasn't sure if I could just plug it into the next PCIe3 8x slot here(yellow) or here(blue):
I was thinking if I had been running dual-GPU I would have to plug it into the "yellow" socket otherwise the 2nd GPU wouldn't fit into the second 16x PCIe3 slot; but seeing as it fit the PCIe2.0 x1_1 slot perfectly I decided to leave it there...can someone shed some insight into this? Is it normal to plug it into a full length PCIe 3.0 slot or would it only work where I currently have it installed? Currently it is in here:
Also you might not notice in this picture but when the computer is placed upright the GPU seems to be so heavy that the card is actually on a slight slant towards the back..is this normal? I don't remember any other GPUs I've installed to have such a bend near the back of the card; then again I've always used reference cards up until this point, maybe the non-reference Gigabyte cards are not as rigid??
Next came the Black Ice GTX Extreme 240 radiator for the bottom mount:
Now this is where the next issue came up due to me not using normal 25mm thickness fans. The Ultra Kaze's are 38mm thick, and the screws provided with the rad is catered for 25mm fans so I had to go to Searle Fastenings in Riverton to get 40mm versions of the exact same threaded screws:
So this proved to be the exact length I needed to mount my 2 push Ultra Kaze's, but proved to be too short for the 2 pull Ultra Kazes at the other side, because there was an additional layer (rad bracket) of a couple of millimetres the screw had to go through.
So back to Searle Fastenings it was to get 8 of the same screws but this time 50mm lengths. Now you might start to say "err 50mm is way too long it will hit the fins", I knew this so I also purchased about 80 plastic washers to match the screws. Fitting 10 washers each screw compensated for about 9mm of excess length I had to get rid of which meant I didn't have to hacksaw them off. I might add it doesn't actually look as bad as I imaged it to either.:thumbup:
Here's a shot of the rad installed with the two 90degree rotary compression fittings:
At this point I was well tired and about ready to call it a day, but I thought I should investigate the roof of the case to see how I would go about installing my Black Ice GT Stealth 360 radiator. I was under suspicion that the "hooks" on the inside of the case (that hold up the front-most top fan in junction with 2 screws) will be in the way of mounting the rad, and after investigating I realised that was the case. So I just got a nice robust pair of pliers and bent those "hooks" flat into the roof seamlessly:
The "hooks" are those two front bits that are slightly scratched up. The scratches don't bother me as the front sliding mechanism covers that area completely anyway.
After dealing with those "hooks" I could line up the radiator to get a ball-park idea of where it will go, and upon doing so I realised another problem:
(might not be visible in pictures)
Basically what is happening here is (I know it's hard to see in these pics), after I line up the first two thread holes of the rad, there is a gradual misplacement of the bracket mounting holes on the Cosmos 2. I don't know how to describe it but what I'm trying to say is, if I line up the first two holes, then the last 2 holes are too far along to be able to mount all of the fans in their corresponding 4-hole configs. Does that make sense?
So what I was thinking is that I need to extend the mounting holes on the Cosmos 2 to be able to mount the radiator, but I don't know how...
First thing that came to my mind is filing the holes across to allow access to the thread holes, or using a Dremel but I don't have such a tool, and I don't really feel like removing the motherboard, but I will if I have to.
I've ordered 3x Gentle Typhoon 3000's to go with the rad. These are the standard 25mm thick fans...because I don't want to deal with custom screws and washers again lol.
After examining the rest of the stuff from FrozenCPU, I had a look at the tubing. I got the Primoflex PRO LRT 3/8" - 5/8", and corresponding Bitspower compression fittings. I got one of the fittings and tried to fit it onto the tubing, but for the life of my I couldn't get the tube to go over the inner barb. The tube is massively thick walled... I don't think it can physically fit the fittings that I have...or am I just weak? lol
Here's a shot of the tube and the compression fitting:
Judging by the looks of it it's supposed to fit... but I can't get it on for the life of me and I promise I'm not weak! haha
I will be sure to update the log as I get more stuff done.
If anyone is around where I live, have the competency, and willing to help with the top mount of the radiator, I'd be happy for you to lend a hand, not just for the radiator mount! I'm sure we can come to an agreement along the terms of number of stubbies of beer and the number of hours spent
{UPDATE 2}
I've decided to move all my work-log updates into my initial post, so that people can read one consolidated post rather than fishing through the different pages.
My GT3000's finally arrived today!! Along with my second Kingston HyperX 120GB SSD, and additional compression fittings for the Koolance drain valve
So with the fans in my possession I was able to size up the top radiator, and file down the mounting holes to accommodate for all the fan bracket. Here's some shots of the top mount fitted on.
For everything to fit smoothly I had to remove the top sliding mechanism that houses the native fan controller which wasn't hard. So here's a shot with the top sliding part back on, and it's looking very sleek. I quite like how the part flows over the fans to make it seem more mysterious haha probably just looks like that to me :thumbup:
Now with both rad+fan combinations installed, time has come to figure out where to place my pump. I am considering removing the middle HDD cage, and putting my HDD in one of the hotswap bays at the front and just mounting the two SSD's to the case itself using high quality Velcro... What are your guys' suggestions on that? I have concerns that I might have heat problems if I have no air blowing directly onto the SSD's which will be ran in RAID0.
After I did the filing...holey crap there was so much metal dust everywhere. I blew it out as much as I could and wiped it up with a damp cloth but I cannot be certain it's all gone and if it might be displaced from the corners they are stuck in once all the fans are running. I might actually bring my old man's air compressor from his place to make sure there is no metal fragments left in the case before putting the mobo back in..
Thoughts?
{UPDATE 3}
I have finally decided to take some time off playing DotA2 and finish the tubing and complete my water loop. All that remains now is to leak test the system for some (undetermined) amount of time to see if there is any problems before boot up. I've taken a plethora of images, so I will try to caption them appropriately.
There were a few things I decided to do during the construction of the loop which I think you guys might appreciate. You may be able to spot these in the pictures.
Here's a shot of the front and back of the single-bay reservoir, you can see the direction of the tubing.
As you can see I've routed the res>pump through the back of the case, and positioned the pump accordingly (see below). I think this configuration makes the loop look much more neat and tidy. This is the part where I really started to appreciate the sheer width of the Cosmos II, it is an absolute breeze to work with, much recommended.
Here's a shot of the back showing the way I've routed the res>pump and pump>bottom-rad, also you can see where I've positioned the Koolance drain valve with the drain hose fixed into place via small strips of the industrial strength Velcro that I used to mount the pump and ssd's with.
What do you think about this config?
Here's a shot of the side showing the bottom rad connections and the first QDC going up to the mobo block. Pay no attention to the voluminous amount of front IO cables, these will be managed later on.
Sorry about the glare of the flash.
Here's a couple of shots showing the nitty-gritty of the loop.
At this point you're probably thinking the bottom QDC is going to be in the way of the GPU.. stay tuned..
Here are some close-up shots of the intricate mobo and cpu connections. My phone's camera isn't great but you can clearly see that there are no kinks. The tube I bought turned out to possess excellent flexing characteristics (thanks Creekin for recommending Primoflex among other things).
Finally here are a few shots with the GPU installed and you can clearly see that the way I've routed the bottom QDC naturally clears the GPU easily.
That is all for now, I will keep this space updates as I do the leak test. If there turns out to be problems in the leak test you will surely hear about it!
