Real life watercooling - my setup, impressions

gmat · 11-14-2002, 05:46 AM

Well i've been around for a while now but never talked much about my setup. Recently i acquired new tubing (Tygon) and a heatercore, and dropped almost every remaining fan, to get a rather quiet system.
But let's start with basics:

Mechanical parts:
Case - Yeong Yang black cube, modded to open fan holes (at the time it was air cooled) then re-modded to open a square hole for the heatercore. Re-painted black, smooth matte finish. Interior entirely lined with 5mm thick composite noise insulation material.
Pump - Hydor 1200l/h, 1.95m max. Runs very hot and emits a slight noise under load (see below for more) though i cannot hear it behind noise insulation. It is suspended with elastics, and vibration is dampened with 10mm open-cell foam.
Rad - DTek Pro/Core with shroud, equipped with a Papst 4412 N/2GL fan. Truly the most quiet fan around the planet, but i had to pay a dear price for it ! (see below for more). The fan is pulling air into the case (ie the fan is in the case).
CPU Block - DangerDen Maze2, 1st generation. Bought it when it was the top dog. Has 3/8" barbs - no 1/2" at the time...
GPU & NB Blocks - Aquacomputer Twinplex with 10mm (3/8") chrome barbs
Airtrap - self made. Used a 40mm PVC pipe part, height is 50mm and has PVC caps on both ends, sealed with O-rings. Inlet/outlet sealed with special epoxy - toxic stuff indeed -, the one with metal powder. As strong as metal when dry...
Tubing - Tygon thick walled 1/2" for pump->aitrap->rad->cpu, thick walled 3/8" for cpu->gpu->nb, then back to 1/2" for nb->pump.
Using round Eheim 1/2" elbows. They look like round tubing, no sharp turn (=low restriction) and have a good inner diameter. I have 2, one on the CPU inlet, and one on the NB outlet, as they serve as 1/2"<->3/8" converters (can slip the tygon on them).
Liquid is distilled water with a slight dose of water wetter.

Electronic parts:
Mobo = Asus A7V with KT133A
cpu = TBird AXIA 1000 @ 1400 (can do more, but i'm not interested)
gfx card = Geforce2 GTS (from Hercules, with ramsinks)
PSU = Everpower 300W with PFC
HDDs = 1 IBM Ultrastar18ES 9Go + 1 Seagate Cheetah 10K.6 36Go on an Adaptec 29160N
Plextor UltraPlex CDROM + Yamaha CDRW 16-10-40x all in UltraSCSI
Round SCSI cables
SB Live sound card
3Com 10/100 Ethernet card

Current state impressions:
This is the 3rd evolution of my setup, and it's beginning to look real good. Tygon helps a lot indeed. The two remaining "elbows" are rather "turns" as tygon turns sharper. Currently the main restriction comes from the CPU block.
The pump produces a slight cavitation noise, i'm going to port it and see if it disappears.
Overall i only have 2 fans left: 1 on the heatercore, and 1 in the PSU. When the system is running i only hear the PSU one - it's a high-flow Sunon - as it emits a loud whine.
As you may know the YY cube interior configuration, you may wonder "how is he cooling the mobo side". Indeed the mobo is in one "chamber" and the heatercore + psu + CDroms and HDDs reside in another "chamber". Thus the only airflow i have doesnt even reach mobo, gfx card and so on. The mobo chamber is quite hot, and it will remain like this until i make a custom case.
As for rad cooling i've tested 4 120mm fans:
- 1 no name, got for free. makes an incredible noise, totally unuseable
- 1 Sunon, whines like all Sunons, too much noise
- 1 Evercool Alu fan - heard good things about it - nice and shiny, quite silent indeed
- the Papst 4412 N/2GL - even quieter than the Evercool, with nearly the same airflow. Obviously not shiny like the other one but i noticed the impeller blades have an odd shape (slanted attack edges) - signs of lots of research - and have a perfect finish, slanted + round edges, and less than 0.5mm of clearance with the ring (vs about 1mm for the Evercool). I had to ship it directly from Germany, as no one in France had it in stock - total price ~$42
Temps are:
Ambient = 22°C to 24°C
Case = 34°C to 36°C (mobo side has zero airflow...)
CPU = 42°C to 50°C (reported by the famous 'pessimistic' A7V probe)
Not very impressive, but consider i've got an OC'ed TBird (heat factory..) in a zero airflow case. It's stable as a rock, and more important, RATHER quiet. It'll be VERY quiet when i get rid of the PSU fan. And SILENT when i go passive... Anyways right now the noise level is liveable, although not perfect. The case is a real looker, and the innards as well... It has a good 'wow effect'.

Planned:
- putting 2 Y's to separate CPU and GPU+NB loops ...?
- Seagate 15K.3
- Fanless PSU (Deltatronics probably)
- DTek HDD block
- mount both HDDs in a sealed 'box' with the wateblock, wrapped in noise insulation and suspended.
- make a custom case
- get a 2nd heatercore and go passive

(edit) oops i forgot HDD temps. Both HDDs are currently in alu racks, and profit from the heatercore airflow.
10K6 runs @ 26°C
18ES runs @ 39°C
(interesting to see the progress made... the 18ES is a 7.2K rpm unit)

Puzzdre · 11-14-2002, 06:24 AM

Pics! Pics! Pics!
(if possible

)

Almost fanless! I would really like to see the pics of the setup somebody took a good amount of effort to mod/adapt.

Btw, if you go and make that custom case, pls. post the measurements/plans, I'll be most interested in something like that...

All SCSI...I'm kinda jealous...

gmat · 11-14-2002, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Puzzdre
Pics! Pics! Pics!
(if possible )

Unfortunately i have no digicam, or else i'd have put zillions of pics in my post, for the pleasure of 56K'ers

I'll try to get a hold of a disposable cam, and scan the result...

Quote:

Btw, if you go and make that custom case, pls. post the measurements/plans, I'll be most interested in something like that...

Of course ! It will be oriented towards optimum placement for total watercooling, passive cooling (convection) and maximum silence. Structure will be made with alu profiles, walls made with plexi/acrylic.
Hint: it wont be a 'box'

Quote:

All SCSI...I'm kinda jealous...

It took some time to get there, but it's rewarding, to say the least...

jtroutma · 11-14-2002, 10:37 AM

Gmat: Very nice. Good luck on going completely fanless.

Not hijacking the thread but Puzzdre, you would have a heartattack if you saw my I/O setup

Puzzdre · 11-14-2002, 01:19 PM

ERK...KHHHHMMM...HRRRRRKKK....UGGGHHHHH....HAAAAAK KKKK...

(Sorry guys, luckily, just a furball...)

M A N !!!!!!

now, where's my nitroglycerine pills bottle...

g.l.amour · 11-15-2002, 04:40 AM

some pics would indeed be nice!!!

Axle · 11-16-2002, 06:08 PM

Thanks, Gmat

Nice to finally get the full story.

Must say, I'm a bit

about the all SCSI too!!

I'm also curious about why you picked that pump over a Danner or other magnetic drive impeller models; is it quieter?

About the fanless PSUs: do you think something not unlike this:

would be a good idea?
Just have some massive HSs sticking out the back, screw the mosfets onto it (after insulating them with that stuff Bladerunner used (no idea the name

))

gmat · 11-17-2002, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Axle
I'm also curious about why you picked that pump over a Danner or other magnetic drive impeller models; is it quieter?

No, firstly Danners dont exist out there in Europe, and i had the choice between this pump (~$50) and an Eheim (~$110 here). The choice was obvious as my budget was constrained. I'll probably get a Eheim when i have spare money (not the case currently.. must buy this 15K.3)

Quote:

About the fanless PSUs: do you think
(...)Just have some massive HSs sticking out the back, screw the mosfets onto it (after insulating them with that stuff Bladerunner used (no idea the name ))

Yes i was thinking along those lines. Actually i have 3 solutions
- buy a real fanless PSU ($300)
- build a PSU waterblock and watercool a 'standard' PSU
- mod a 'standard' PSU with an alu frame and oversized heatsinks

The 3rd option is seductive, light on the money but i fear the PSU frame would produce lots of heat. Now that i've got little airflow i must be careful about this :/
I was not decided until this WE. It seems my current PSU is getting old... So i may buy a Seasonic or a Zalmann and mod it.

Axle · 11-17-2002, 09:00 AM

Whatever you decide to do, let us know!!

That PSU pictured there is actually german, and not the worst idea I've come across. The HS is actually sticking out the front, into the case, and there's a temp controlled fan that only turns on when it gets hot. I think it's also around $150 though, so a Zalman or Seasconic mod may be the best solution for the money?

11-14-2002, 05:46 AM	#1
gmat Thermophile Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: France Posts: 1,221	Real life watercooling - my setup, impressions Well i've been around for a while now but never talked much about my setup. Recently i acquired new tubing (Tygon) and a heatercore, and dropped almost every remaining fan, to get a rather quiet system. But let's start with basics: Mechanical parts: Case - Yeong Yang black cube, modded to open fan holes (at the time it was air cooled) then re-modded to open a square hole for the heatercore. Re-painted black, smooth matte finish. Interior entirely lined with 5mm thick composite noise insulation material. Pump - Hydor 1200l/h, 1.95m max. Runs very hot and emits a slight noise under load (see below for more) though i cannot hear it behind noise insulation. It is suspended with elastics, and vibration is dampened with 10mm open-cell foam. Rad - DTek Pro/Core with shroud, equipped with a Papst 4412 N/2GL fan. Truly the most quiet fan around the planet, but i had to pay a dear price for it ! (see below for more). The fan is pulling air into the case (ie the fan is in the case). CPU Block - DangerDen Maze2, 1st generation. Bought it when it was the top dog. Has 3/8" barbs - no 1/2" at the time... GPU & NB Blocks - Aquacomputer Twinplex with 10mm (3/8") chrome barbs Airtrap - self made. Used a 40mm PVC pipe part, height is 50mm and has PVC caps on both ends, sealed with O-rings. Inlet/outlet sealed with special epoxy - toxic stuff indeed -, the one with metal powder. As strong as metal when dry... Tubing - Tygon thick walled 1/2" for pump->aitrap->rad->cpu, thick walled 3/8" for cpu->gpu->nb, then back to 1/2" for nb->pump. Using round Eheim 1/2" elbows. They look like round tubing, no sharp turn (=low restriction) and have a good inner diameter. I have 2, one on the CPU inlet, and one on the NB outlet, as they serve as 1/2"<->3/8" converters (can slip the tygon on them). Liquid is distilled water with a slight dose of water wetter. Electronic parts: Mobo = Asus A7V with KT133A cpu = TBird AXIA 1000 @ 1400 (can do more, but i'm not interested) gfx card = Geforce2 GTS (from Hercules, with ramsinks) PSU = Everpower 300W with PFC HDDs = 1 IBM Ultrastar18ES 9Go + 1 Seagate Cheetah 10K.6 36Go on an Adaptec 29160N Plextor UltraPlex CDROM + Yamaha CDRW 16-10-40x all in UltraSCSI Round SCSI cables SB Live sound card 3Com 10/100 Ethernet card Current state impressions: This is the 3rd evolution of my setup, and it's beginning to look real good. Tygon helps a lot indeed. The two remaining "elbows" are rather "turns" as tygon turns sharper. Currently the main restriction comes from the CPU block. The pump produces a slight cavitation noise, i'm going to port it and see if it disappears. Overall i only have 2 fans left: 1 on the heatercore, and 1 in the PSU. When the system is running i only hear the PSU one - it's a high-flow Sunon - as it emits a loud whine. As you may know the YY cube interior configuration, you may wonder "how is he cooling the mobo side". Indeed the mobo is in one "chamber" and the heatercore + psu + CDroms and HDDs reside in another "chamber". Thus the only airflow i have doesnt even reach mobo, gfx card and so on. The mobo chamber is quite hot, and it will remain like this until i make a custom case. As for rad cooling i've tested 4 120mm fans: - 1 no name, got for free. makes an incredible noise, totally unuseable - 1 Sunon, whines like all Sunons, too much noise - 1 Evercool Alu fan - heard good things about it - nice and shiny, quite silent indeed - the Papst 4412 N/2GL - even quieter than the Evercool, with nearly the same airflow. Obviously not shiny like the other one but i noticed the impeller blades have an odd shape (slanted attack edges) - signs of lots of research - and have a perfect finish, slanted + round edges, and less than 0.5mm of clearance with the ring (vs about 1mm for the Evercool). I had to ship it directly from Germany, as no one in France had it in stock - total price ~$42 Temps are: Ambient = 22°C to 24°C Case = 34°C to 36°C (mobo side has zero airflow...) CPU = 42°C to 50°C (reported by the famous 'pessimistic' A7V probe) Not very impressive, but consider i've got an OC'ed TBird (heat factory..) in a zero airflow case. It's stable as a rock, and more important, RATHER quiet. It'll be VERY quiet when i get rid of the PSU fan. And SILENT when i go passive... Anyways right now the noise level is liveable, although not perfect. The case is a real looker, and the innards as well... It has a good 'wow effect'. Planned: - putting 2 Y's to separate CPU and GPU+NB loops ...? - Seagate 15K.3 - Fanless PSU (Deltatronics probably) - DTek HDD block - mount both HDDs in a sealed 'box' with the wateblock, wrapped in noise insulation and suspended. - make a custom case - get a 2nd heatercore and go passive (edit) oops i forgot HDD temps. Both HDDs are currently in alu racks, and profit from the heatercore airflow. 10K6 runs @ 26°C 18ES runs @ 39°C (interesting to see the progress made... the 18ES is a 7.2K rpm unit) Last edited by gmat; 11-14-2002 at 06:03 AM.

11-14-2002, 06:24 AM	#2
Puzzdre Cooling Savant Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Croatia Posts: 969	Pics! Pics! Pics! (if possible ) Almost fanless! I would really like to see the pics of the setup somebody took a good amount of effort to mod/adapt. Btw, if you go and make that custom case, pls. post the measurements/plans, I'll be most interested in something like that... All SCSI...I'm kinda jealous... __________________ 'Out of cheese error... ...please reboot the universe (press the GBL to continue)'

11-14-2002, 10:37 AM	#4
jtroutma Cooling Savant Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SLO, CA Posts: 837	Gmat: Very nice. Good luck on going completely fanless. Not hijacking the thread but Puzzdre, you would have a heartattack if you saw my I/O setup __________________ 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 Last edited by jtroutma; 11-14-2002 at 03:05 PM.

11-14-2002, 01:19 PM	#5
Puzzdre Cooling Savant Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Croatia Posts: 969	ERK...KHHHHMMM...HRRRRRKKK....UGGGHHHHH....HAAAAAK KKKK... (Sorry guys, luckily, just a furball...) M A N !!!!!! now, where's my nitroglycerine pills bottle... __________________ 'Out of cheese error... ...please reboot the universe (press the GBL to continue)'

11-15-2002, 04:40 AM	#6
g.l.amour Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: on da case Posts: 933	some pics would indeed be nice!!!

11-16-2002, 06:08 PM	#7
Axle Cooling Savant Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Wind Gap, PA Posts: 112	Thanks, Gmat Nice to finally get the full story. Must say, I'm a bit about the all SCSI too!! I'm also curious about why you picked that pump over a Danner or other magnetic drive impeller models; is it quieter? About the fanless PSUs: do you think something not unlike this: would be a good idea? Just have some massive HSs sticking out the back, screw the mosfets onto it (after insulating them with that stuff Bladerunner used (no idea the name ))

11-17-2002, 09:00 AM	#9
Axle Cooling Savant Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Wind Gap, PA Posts: 112	Whatever you decide to do, let us know!! That PSU pictured there is actually german, and not the worst idea I've come across. The HS is actually sticking out the front, into the case, and there's a temp controlled fan that only turns on when it gets hot. I think it's also around $150 though, so a Zalman or Seasconic mod may be the best solution for the money?

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