Radeon 9500 Pro waterblock (homemade)
 

Here are some pics of my custom made block for Radeon 9500 pro. Unfortunately the card recently died :cry: so i'm just left with the waterblock. I'm waiting for the replacement as i speak :)

Here are the pics:
http://freeweb.siol.net/mcekon/voda/radeon/lowfront.jpg
Block for the GPU side.

http://freeweb.siol.net/mcekon/voda/radeon/rmicroch.jpg
Microchanels just above the GPU

http://freeweb.siol.net/mcekon/voda/radeon/lowback.jpg
The bottom side of the GPU side block. You can probably stilll see the ATI logo, where was the GPU.

http://freeweb.siol.net/mcekon/voda/.../highfront.jpg
The backside block

http://freeweb.siol.net/mcekon/voda/radeon/highback.jpg
Bottom of the backside block

http://freeweb.siol.net/mcekon/voda/.../bothfront.jpg
Both blocks and a spacer that enables (when asembled) the flow form the front GPU block to the back block.

http://freeweb.siol.net/mcekon/voda/radeon/bothback.jpg
And both blocks with spacer from the back.

Your commets are wellcome.

Very nice.

not the most beautiful ive seen but looks like it should do the trick!

i wouldnt mind using it

very nice, some blue leds on the plexi wont hurt :)

how did you measured the height for the "pads" for the core and the mems ??

Well... first I removed all heatsinks form the card, then i used Precision Pocket Calliper Gauge (something like on this picture here) to measure all details about the card. The PCB board was hight 0 for me. Then i measured height form the board to the top of the ram chips and GPU. Ram was 1 mm out of the board, and GPU was 2.2mm out. All other SMD components on the board were max 2.3 mm high. So i decided that the block should be 2.5 mm above the board so it would not touch any of the SMD components. Then I made pads for ram chips that are 1.5mm out and pad for the GPU that is 0.2mm out. And the same was for the back waterblock.
If you want a drawing of the card in Acad send me a PM an i can give you the link to see everything in detail.

PS: I didn't have the will power to do the mirror polish on the blocks because they already took too much of my nerves ;)

Great looking card cooler!

My only concern is the back side over the GPU... aren't there traces with surface mount components there? I'm thinking you may want to double check your contact area before you run the replacement card to make sure you aren't shorting something out. :shrug:

That is right, that's why I'm using some kind of spacer there that looks like rubber, but conducts heat very well. So there is no fear of getting anything short circuit.

As you can see there is a small space without components right behind the GPU. And right there that pad and spacer should go.
http://freeweb.siol.net/mcekon/01.jpg

And as you can see, the original Hercules card already has a heatsink there.
http://freeweb.siol.net/mcekon/05.jpg

And besides... the firs card died much earlier that I even tried watercooling.

Just a concern... good call on the pad... I had remembered there being components in that area and so wanted to make sure you weren't overlooking the obvious. :D :dome:

Cool design, nice to see someone cooling the memory chips as well as the GPU on a graphics card.

What equipment was used to create these blocks?

I used a saw (doh), some files (doh), some sandpaper and for milling I used modified drilling machine (no fancy moving table) with some very sharp HSS mills. I just improvised with milling... but the result at the end is pretty good i think. Microchannels in the block are made with a dremel and a plate for cutting metals.

Great Work!!!!

One suggestion. Replace all liquid gasket areas with a rubber gasket.

BrianW

The blue thin (gasked) is some very nice silicone that is very heat resistant. It can even be used at the car engine (that is what it is intended for). So I don't see what would be different with rubber gasket.

Looks is all.

BrianW

you can use the orange rubber shit we use to patch dirtbike pipes and use as sealants... takes HOT temps ;)
if u like orange

Well for now I'll just stick to the blue ;)

It goes nice with the fittings ;)

Can you give some more detail about your mill setup? Is it based on just a drill press? I don't imagine I could just get an xy-vise and a mill bit and turn my drill press into a basic milling machine..

Very nice! So what did you get out of the card before/after?

again nice work!

Basicaly it is just a drill press. Very simmilar to this:
http://freeweb.siol.net/mcekon/drill1.jpg
Amd I even didn't use a xy-vise. I used two metal profiles 10 mm high fastened alongside the table,. So I could just fit the copper between them and it could move only back and forward. Then I fastened another metal profile across the other two, so the piece of copper could not move up. Then I just set the right hight of the table and pushed the copper forward as far as I wished and I got a nice groove. When I had one done, I moved the table to left or right (it can rotate around vertical axis) so I could made another groove next to the first one. And i repeated that so long and with different directions that I got theese waterblocks.
I know the aren't the most beautiful, but with the tools i've used making them... I think they're great ;)

So do I! ;) ...

WOW with to the tools you had you made these!

Here is a man with ALOT of patience

Yes.. It took me too much time and nerves.
But it wasn't as difficult to machine it as
this one.

How long did that GPU block take you? How much did you take off in each pass? I'm interested in giving this a shot myself..

I used 10mm mill bit and I took 1mm off with each pass. Depth 1 mm was just enough for me, to handle it with bare hands. There were total 4 passes (4mm deep channel). For the back of the blok I took first pass 1 mm and then 0.5mm. (except pads for gpu and ram)

It took me around 2 hours for each block (just milling part)

Great work Jackal!

I have the drill press just like the one in the pic, and milling with it was quite an experience with all the shakes and chuck falling off the axe and...:rolleyes:

Just a couple of q's: is that a plexy or polycarbonate for the top, and what is that liquid sealant (Loctite?)?

Pretty great work just with a crappy drill press and no xy table!

Cheers!