Watercooled FX-53 Guardian Case Polarflo TT
 

Just thought I'd add my system:

http://www.fx-53.com/watercool/ for more pics

Very nice job but what about performance and noise levels ?

i am in the market for a new waterblock and was looking at the polarflo tt. how is the performance. i need numbers please

dark hacker.. they are less than optimal.

TDX, White water, cascade, mcp6002, dtek WW, storm, will all give u better performance. the polarflow just looks good....

Heh - I surely do like the chrome plate. You mean my FX-53 could be 33C instead of 35C? I'm happy with the Polarflo. I'll concede that the TDX, dtek whitewater and its brethren the cascade (which is no longer for sale) are 1 or 2 degrees 2 cooler. Now the Swiftech? and I've never heard of the "storm"? For 1 or 2 degrees C I'll take the Good Looks of the Polarflo. Hehe - just won another chrome chipset water block on ebay. unF!!!

Behold the power of bling.

ya i finally got a white water when they came back in stock, dont have it running yet but it should get me good temps

Re: Watercooled FX-53 Guardian Case Polarflo TT
 

Should have put both block outlets to the res, less resistance then.

Re: Watercooled FX-53 Guardian Case Polarflo TT
 

Polarflo does get very good flow rates and helps lower temps of other Wcing components but I'd get something else that is chrome like a WW. White water is still a very good performing block

Re: Watercooled FX-53 Guardian Case Polarflo TT
 

http://www.dtekcustoms.com/index.asp...ROD&ProdID=154

Is that enough chrome for ya? Though it hasn't been tested (You doing something with it JD?), I'll bet a lot that it outperforms a Polarflo TT, granted by only 2-3C. No dissimilar metals to boot (pretty sure that the TT has some AL in it).

Nice rig, RAINFIRE. I especially like the paint job on the Radiator. Paint the res next? Personal critique:

1. Lose as much of the purple crap inside the case as you can.
2. Put black foam sound insolation everywhere on the inside of the case, as neat as you can. This makes steel cases look much better as the internal panels appear as only "black sheets" instead of "grey machine formed panels". I've done it before, it looks MUCH better. With the yellow paint, it could really be slick.
3. Tidy up the wires and find a black blower fan.
4. Redo the window a bit. Just looks a little..... cheap?

All IMHO, take it for what it's worth to you.

Re: Watercooled FX-53 Guardian Case Polarflo TT
 

I agree on the window looking a little cheap, but kept it. I actually have 2 LCD's ready to go in the side window panel, one on the left and right top of the window. I did the PS1 LCD 640x480 color mod, just never actually installed it plus have a 2 line green Crystalfonts LCD for the back left. Heh - I got divorced in at the end of May and kind of lost interest in awhile. BTW - had a FX-55 in it since then and now just a 64bit 3500 with a MSI Neo4. Your suggestions are good - thanks. You can see some newer pics here. http://www.fx-57.com

Re: Watercooled FX-53 Guardian Case Polarflo TT
 

Whoa!

You need some serious cable routing help. If you have any old (very old) Maximum PCs laying around, try and find a review of a Voodoo desktop. They way that they fold their PATA cables is beautiful and effective. Buy some black ones on line for like $1 a piece (ebay). Then go with the black foam insulation, maybe sleeve your PSU (for a cheap+quick+easy alternative go to radio shack and get some plastic spiral wrap, you'll know it when you see it).

To route your cables effectively:

1. Take all the panels off of your case. All of em. Even the front.
2. Take all of the wires out of the system. All of em.
3. Sleeve as much of it as you can.
4. Formulate a plan. Look over the case and decide how many wires you need and where they should go.
5. Start with your PATA cables. Fold them as neatly as you can and try to have them run along panels of your case. The old Voodoos are great examples.
6. Next go to you system cables (Front panel connectors, USB, fans). Tuck as much as you can and tie off all of the slack that you can (zip ties or twist ties).
7. Now run your power cables. You'll find that you won't use some. Bundle those cables up, tie them off, and then either stuff them into the top 5.25" bay or above the PSU if there is any room.

Tips along the way:
1. Try to get cables to run "together" in channels. Then tie them together with zip ties. It makes for a more coherent appearance.
2. Move that RAID card to the lowest PCI slot you have available. This makes it easier to the PATA cables to run "along" the case.
3. When you fold PATA cables, use perpendicular bends, and make folds like you would with a paper airplane (pulling the edge of the paper to the other side... similar to pulling the connector across the cable so it is parallel to the wires of the cable).
4. Lose the round cables. IMHO being consistent will make it look better.
5. One hose clamp per fitting is enough. LOL!
6. Space those HDs. It will help airflow and will make cable routing easier.
7. Routing power cables to the front of the case (behind the drive cages) and then under the hard drives to the power connector can help clean things up.
8. If you don't sleve, at least take the time to twist the cables tight, and then tie them off with zip ties. It will take you five minutes to do this to every line on your PSU.

Deep breath..... Hope this helps. Learning from photos is really the easiest way. Much easier than reading my crap. Sorry I can't help you with that. Look for pictures of Voodoo's. They are the best in the buisness when it comes to cable routing.