Go Back   Pro/Forums > ProCooling Technical Discussions > General Liquid/Water Cooling Discussion
Password
Register FAQ Members List Calendar JavaChat Mark Forums Read

General Liquid/Water Cooling Discussion For discussion about Full Cooling System kits, or general cooling topics. Keep specific cooling items like pumps, radiators, etc... in their specific forums.

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 03-24-2003, 07:35 PM   #1
bigben2k
Responsible for 2%
of all the posts here.
 
bigben2k's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas, U.S.A.
Posts: 8,302
Default HDD waterblock, BB style ;)

Following BladeRunner's great work, and a bit of inspiration from Volenti here, I'm going to be combining both ideas to make an HDD waterblock.

So here's a (very) rough pic (below).

In short, BladeRunner used 2 * 2mm and 1 * 10 mm, which makes a lot of sense.

I'll be using 1/8 in. stock pieces, with 1/4 for the middle plate. I then plan to solder a 1/2 in. copper pipe, for in/outlets.

There will be a recessed hole for the HDD screws. I've opted to divert the flow around that area, because it would be difficult and unnecessary to keep it sealed otherwise.

Of course I now have to accomodate a 1/2 connection, in my 3/4 system (maybe I'll just switch back to 1/2)

The only worry I have is the mix of metals; copper and the solder. My rig was "pure" before this. I also have to redo the drive cage mount in my Chieftec case.

Measurements later...
Attached Images
File Type: jpg hddblock.jpg (21.4 KB, 1274 views)

Last edited by bigben2k; 04-05-2003 at 03:55 PM.
bigben2k is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-25-2003, 05:55 AM   #2
MadDogMe
Thermophile
 
MadDogMe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Just shut up ;) ...
Posts: 1,068
Default

That block/pic shown is going to go on the side of the H/Drives is'nt it?, you'll have one of those on both sides right?. You might want to take a look at the small chips on the PCB of the HD's, on my GPX60 there are two small ones and one large. One of the small ones gets VERY hot, the other gets hot, the large one just gets warm. The two small chips could use some cooling, passive large surface area HS maybe is what I was thinking...

I was thinking of putting fins on the side where you have H20 blocks in mind...
MadDogMe is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-25-2003, 06:21 AM   #3
gmat
Thermophile
 
gmat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: France
Posts: 1,221
Default

I was planning a HDD waterblock too... Mine is slightly different:
- there's one barb per side (i assume yours is side mounted too), 2 blocks
- from the barb, a serpentine shaped channel runs through the block
- the channel stops and connects to a inter-block tube
- the 2nd block is symmetrical
Since i've got 2 HDDs to cool down both waterblocks will be milled (with a CNC i've got access to), and have an 'E' cross-section (to mount HDDs in).

Until i'm there, i'm using extensive passive cooling, with those neat Antec HDD coolers (good heatsinks) and alu profiles. Keeps the 15K.3 at 39°C.
gmat is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-25-2003, 08:26 AM   #4
bigben2k
Responsible for 2%
of all the posts here.
 
bigben2k's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas, U.S.A.
Posts: 8,302
Default

Yes, one block per side.

I am aware of the hot chip, and the only solution I have at the moment is to slap a heatsink on it, and a small fan. Maybe I could put together a miniature waterblock, hum... That'll have to wait until I get the drive.
bigben2k is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-25-2003, 08:38 AM   #5
winewood
Cooling Savant
 
winewood's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: in my chair
Posts: 574
Default

not to be wet blanket...
why is hd cooling necessary?
__________________
-winewood-
winewood is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-25-2003, 08:56 AM   #6
bigben2k
Responsible for 2%
of all the posts here.
 
bigben2k's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas, U.S.A.
Posts: 8,302
Default

Actually, it isn't really necessary, but it's another thing one can do, to avoid using a fan. Fans are still optional though.

With the latest and greatest SCSI drives at high RPM, the temps can be quite high, and so, for the sake of reliability and longevity, it's always preferable to keep it at a relatively low temperature.

Anytime we can keep electronics at a lower temperature is good. Air cooling just doesn't cut it, or is simply too noisy.
bigben2k is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-25-2003, 11:30 AM   #7
bigben2k
Responsible for 2%
of all the posts here.
 
bigben2k's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas, U.S.A.
Posts: 8,302
Default

Hmm kay.

Using the TweakMonster BGA ramsinks as a reference, they are 9mm tall, so I'll allow for 10mm of clearance for the HDDs (yes, this is a dual HDD block).

Using a Maxtor Atlas 15K SCSI drive as reference, HDD dimensions are:
Width: 4" / 101.6 mm
Length: 5.787" / 147 mm
Height: 1.028" / 26.1 mm

So the block will be 2.5" tall, and 6 inches long.
bigben2k is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-25-2003, 11:56 AM   #8
bigben2k
Responsible for 2%
of all the posts here.
 
bigben2k's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas, U.S.A.
Posts: 8,302
Default

Dimensions:
Attached Images
File Type: jpg hdd block dims.jpg (28.6 KB, 1082 views)
bigben2k is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-25-2003, 01:13 PM   #9
bigben2k
Responsible for 2%
of all the posts here.
 
bigben2k's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas, U.S.A.
Posts: 8,302
Default

I saved by not ordering the copper pre-cut. The order has been placed. 5 day delivery.

Last edited by bigben2k; 03-25-2003 at 01:50 PM.
bigben2k is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-25-2003, 04:49 PM   #10
jtroutma
Cooling Savant
 
jtroutma's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: SLO, CA
Posts: 837
Default

I will be installing (3) Seagate Cheetah 15K.2 36GB into my rig here in a few days..

I decided to forget about watercooling them (too much hassel )

The way I am going to cool those suckers down is with a 120mm bracket that I made up (much thanks to OC.com for the great idea). It will use an Enermax adjustable 120mm fan, will keep these things cool, keep the noise down to nothing, and look great in the process.

I can get pics if anyone is interested.

Yes, I know that this is the Liquid section....just putting in alternative ideas for those who want more ideas.
__________________
Athlon64 X2 4200+ @ 2.5Ghz (250FSB x 10)
OCZ VX 1GB 4000 @ 250FSB (6-2-2-2 timmings)
DFI LANParty nForce4 Ultra-D
SCSI Raid 5 x (3) Cheetah 15K HDDs
LSI Express 500 (128MB cache)
OCZ PowerStream 520W PSU
ATI X850XT PE (Stock)
DTEK WhiteWater + DTEK Custom Radiator
Eheim 1250
jtroutma is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-25-2003, 04:59 PM   #11
bigben2k
Responsible for 2%
of all the posts here.
 
bigben2k's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas, U.S.A.
Posts: 8,302
Default

I wouldn't mind taking a peak.
bigben2k is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-25-2003, 06:40 PM   #12
jtroutma
Cooling Savant
 
jtroutma's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: SLO, CA
Posts: 837
Default

Here it is. I am not quite finished with it yet. I was planning on adding some LEDs to the pannels for HDD activity indicators. I was thinking about adding some blue LEDs to the fan but I am not all that into looks.

Here is the fan cover I made:
Attached Images
File Type: jpg fan.jpg (60.8 KB, 1024 views)
__________________
Athlon64 X2 4200+ @ 2.5Ghz (250FSB x 10)
OCZ VX 1GB 4000 @ 250FSB (6-2-2-2 timmings)
DFI LANParty nForce4 Ultra-D
SCSI Raid 5 x (3) Cheetah 15K HDDs
LSI Express 500 (128MB cache)
OCZ PowerStream 520W PSU
ATI X850XT PE (Stock)
DTEK WhiteWater + DTEK Custom Radiator
Eheim 1250
jtroutma is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-25-2003, 06:42 PM   #13
jtroutma
Cooling Savant
 
jtroutma's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: SLO, CA
Posts: 837
Default

Here is the location where I was going to put all (3) drives and the fan. The drives will sit inside the CDROM bays on brackets and the fan above will cover them up yet providing plenty of air for cooling:

Here:
Attached Images
File Type: jpg tower.jpg (21.2 KB, 1008 views)
__________________
Athlon64 X2 4200+ @ 2.5Ghz (250FSB x 10)
OCZ VX 1GB 4000 @ 250FSB (6-2-2-2 timmings)
DFI LANParty nForce4 Ultra-D
SCSI Raid 5 x (3) Cheetah 15K HDDs
LSI Express 500 (128MB cache)
OCZ PowerStream 520W PSU
ATI X850XT PE (Stock)
DTEK WhiteWater + DTEK Custom Radiator
Eheim 1250
jtroutma is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-26-2003, 03:10 AM   #14
MadDogMe
Thermophile
 
MadDogMe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Just shut up ;) ...
Posts: 1,068
Default

Why have you got three DV/CD ROMs? , is'nt a burner and DVD enough? ...
I'd find the hot chips on those suckers and fin them, I don't know if a RAM sink is enough. They get alot hotter than any RAM I've ever sen, but if you have a fan it'll be OK. I'm thinking passive...
MadDogMe is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-26-2003, 03:20 AM   #15
gmat
Thermophile
 
gmat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: France
Posts: 1,221
Default

I've seen (and heard) those Enermax fans.. They're *far* from silent even at low speed.
Zero fan = real silence -> watercooling !
gmat is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-26-2003, 04:05 AM   #16
murray13
Cooling Savant
 
murray13's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Omaha, NE USA
Posts: 216
Default

I thought I read somewhere that most of the heat of a hard drive comes from the side with the pc board on it. So wouldn't it make sense to cool that instead of the sides?

Just not sure why you chose to cool the sides instead of the bottom.
murray13 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-26-2003, 04:23 AM   #17
gmat
Thermophile
 
gmat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: France
Posts: 1,221
Default

Sides are flat, and closer to bottom (and are the same metal part as the bottom).
Cooling a PCB with various components with *one* waterblock (or heatsink), without shorting anything but touching the most things at the same time is ... tough.
So indeed the sides are the hottest *usable* surfaces for cooling.
gmat is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-26-2003, 08:39 AM   #18
MadDogMe
Thermophile
 
MadDogMe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Just shut up ;) ...
Posts: 1,068
Default

The H/D blocks you can buy that cool the top (PCB) side have to be used with some weird gunk/paste that you slap on really thick to create a flat uniform surface, even then you can only use it if the HD doesn't have an open hole where the moror spindle is, or you leave out the paste around it...

It'd be better to cool the sides and the chips separetly IMO...
MadDogMe is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-26-2003, 11:51 AM   #19
lukasz70
Cooling Savant
 
lukasz70's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Ontario. Canada
Posts: 159
Default

the side thing has been done before,



http://www.insanewb.com/waterblock/ma.er_hdd/maer.htm
__________________
Asus A7V266, AMD1600xp
1x 256ddr 2100 Crucial
radeon 8500 64mb, Ati TV-Wonder PCI
Maxtor Diamond Max Plus 9 7200rpm ata133 & 60 MAXTOR ata100@5400rpm
6xdvd, TDK dvd+RW
SoundBlaster 5.1 w/ logitech Xtrusio DSR100 speakers
Case: Enlight 7237
lukasz70 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-26-2003, 12:21 PM   #20
bigben2k
Responsible for 2%
of all the posts here.
 
bigben2k's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas, U.S.A.
Posts: 8,302
Default

Hum... I like the tubing in the back.

Too bad this fella didn't have a pic of the insides. It looks like he drilled straight through 6+ in. of a copper block.


After reviewing some more data on corrosion, I think I may opt for brass barbs.
bigben2k is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-26-2003, 02:03 PM   #21
jtroutma
Cooling Savant
 
jtroutma's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: SLO, CA
Posts: 837
Default

MadDogMe:

I have (3) CD Drives because each one has its own strengths and weaknesses:

Pioneer 6X DVD = Good DVD drive and convienent slot feed mechanics but wont read all CDs and makes annoying "whine" when CDRs are used in it.

Toshiba 32X = All purpose drive. It is not the fastest drive but if a CD can be read, this drive will read it (or die trying )

Yamaha 16x10x40x CD-RW = Newest drive. Good for burning and fast installs but does not like to read all CDs either.

All of these drives are SCSI devices so they are not cheap and I dont necessarily enjoy swapping CDs all the time when changing programs .

As for using the Enermax fans, I bought those almost a year ago for another project and forgot about them until I was about ready to buy another fan for this project. Already had them so I used them. They should be quiet enough for my needs (considering I am still useing a 120mm Sunon 108cfm on my radiator)

Yea water would be nice, but trying to make/plumb 4-5 HDDs in a bank would get old and annoying really fast.
__________________
Athlon64 X2 4200+ @ 2.5Ghz (250FSB x 10)
OCZ VX 1GB 4000 @ 250FSB (6-2-2-2 timmings)
DFI LANParty nForce4 Ultra-D
SCSI Raid 5 x (3) Cheetah 15K HDDs
LSI Express 500 (128MB cache)
OCZ PowerStream 520W PSU
ATI X850XT PE (Stock)
DTEK WhiteWater + DTEK Custom Radiator
Eheim 1250
jtroutma is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03-26-2003, 08:51 PM   #22
TerraMex
Cooling Savant
 
TerraMex's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Portugal, Europe
Posts: 870
Default

>Yea water would be nice, but trying to make/plumb 4-5 HDDs in a
>bank would get old and annoying really fast.

Actually i remember seeing someone do that in a webpage , unfortunatly i dont have the link, and cant find it (googled a bit).

What he did was make a hard drive cage, just like one from chieftech cases, and welded a copper pipe to each side of the drivecage.

Something like that :



Its an ideia anyway .
__________________
"we need more cowbell."
TerraMex is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04-04-2003, 10:24 AM   #23
bigben2k
Responsible for 2%
of all the posts here.
 
bigben2k's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas, U.S.A.
Posts: 8,302
Default

The copper is here!

Arrived yesterday, in a heavily taped cardboard tube.

Hack time!
bigben2k is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04-04-2003, 03:16 PM   #24
redleader
Thermophile
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: The deserts of Tucson, Az
Posts: 1,264
Default

Quote:
I thought I read somewhere that most of the heat of a hard drive comes from the side with the pc board on it. So wouldn't it make sense to cool that instead of the sides?
This is false. A 10000 RPM motor puts out a LOT more heat then a PC100 mem chip and a few controllers.
redleader is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04-05-2003, 02:03 PM   #25
bigben2k
Responsible for 2%
of all the posts here.
 
bigben2k's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas, U.S.A.
Posts: 8,302
Default

Ok, I don't know what that had to do with anything...


I should have measured the position of the screws, before ordering the copper stock: I might not have ordered a full 2 1/2" wide plate, for the middle layer!

I think I'll flip the second HDD over, so that I can have more clearance for the HDD screws.
bigben2k is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:12 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
(C) 2005 ProCooling.com
If we in some way offend you, insult you or your people, screw your mom, beat up your dad, or poop on your porch... we're sorry... we were probably really drunk...
Oh and dont steal our content bitches! Don't give us a reason to pee in your open car window this summer...