My P180 and Watercooling!

[Sagath]

Well, I got er done. A few hiccups along the way, which I'll get into.

Here is a link to my reference parts:
Watercooling Build: Looking for input!

And credit to Babrbarossa for his guide to get me going:
Water Cooling a 680i in an Antec p180: build log and guide

I did quite a bit of planning for this, with one slight change of plan (The spraybombing the case black, which I absolutly LOVE TO DEATH with that red hose. Really glad I did this!!!). I only ran into two real hiccups:

1) As seen, my P5k has a copper heatpipe all-in-one cooling solution for VRM's, NB and SB. I didnt even think of this when ordering my chipset MCP30 block. I was going to just hacksaw (after removing it of course) it apart, but I'm pritty sure my mainboard isnt my bottleneck on my overclock anyways. I just seem to hit a wall at 3.6 regardless if I go 450x8 (or 400x9). So the NB block sits unused. I may do the mod at a later date if I have to take apart my rig (or upgrade mobo/cpus...)

2) The 88gtx I was given turned out to be a dud. Which pissed my buddy off to no end when I told him, since he spent hundreds in parts 'troubleshooting' his PC for crashing while gaming. He assured me it wasnt the card, but he 'upgraded' to a 98gt, and didnt want it. I took it, even tho the first thing I told him was causing his crashing was a bad card.... He thinks hes a super tech. I think he knows who the man is now
So, after getting it leak tested, and back into windows, I fired up a game, and blam, crash. Oh, I knew what it was right away, out game the GTX, off came the waterblock, on went the waterblock, in went the 88gt...

Other then that, it was pritty smooth. I expected it to be a little more...aggrivating...I guess, but I took my time. All totalled, it took me from Friday after work to Sunday night to get up and running, including leak testing overnight Saturday, and removing/reinstalling the 88gt.

On order are some Yate Loon 120 Red/Blacks from NCIX, and Fan Grills for the top of the rad. I'm still trying to figure out how to light it; Any suggestions? I dont like the blue from that front fan. Its going to get replaced.

It was alot of fun, and my weekend ended way too short. I couldnt BELIEVE how quick the time flew! I love projects like this, and I'm really not sure what I want to do next. Maybe a side window mod to see that beautiful inside?!? Or...plan out a new build...if the wife doesnt know...

Anyways...ON TO THE PICTURES!

I'm VERY interested in comments, responses (good and bad!) and suggestions. Please post them! Thank you.

[sswilson]

Looks great!!!

I can't make it out from the pictures, but I'm guessing that your res is below the HDD? If you have the time when you get your new fans in, it'd be interesting to see what kind of difference you get from a Push/Pull config vice the Push config you currently have.

Babs' worklog was one of the first to go up here. It's great to see it still getting some use.

[3.0charlie]

Nice job using the 180 - it ain't the best case for wc'ing...

Side note: Babrbarossa is a he, and a big one at that...!

[Sagath]

Originally Posted by sswilson

Looks great!!!

I can't make it out from the pictures, but I'm guessing that your res is below the HDD? If you have the time when you get your new fans in, it'd be interesting to see what kind of difference you get from a Push/Pull config vice the Push config you currently have.

Babs' worklog was one of the first to go up here. It's great to see it still getting some use.

Res is actually behind the HDD cage. I have to access it from the other side cover. I'll take another pic and show you, or you can access swiftech.com, and pull up their P180 watercooled factory case you can buy...browse the pics and you'll see where I got the idea.

And yeah, my temps I think still seem high. It could be the Antec fans I'm using...but even if I crank them from low to high, it doesnt seem to affect my temps...I'm loading out to 48-50c, Idling at 32. Its marked lower then my 120 extreme which I was peaking at 62 iirc. Most people seem to Idle at ~2c above room temp, so I may try reseating the CPU first...but I'll let you know once those Yates come in. I'm only buying 3, so I'll have to reuse these Antecs on the (pull?) side to do this.

Originally Posted by 3.0charlie

Nice job using the 180 - it ain't the best case for wc'ing...

Side note: Babrbarossa is a he, and a big one at that...!

Hrm, not sure why I wrote her. Freudian slip? Sorry Bab *edited main post.
And yes, the 180 was a challenge, but I enjoyed it. I think I did allright with cable/hose management too. You can see two of the PCIE power connectors just hanging, from when I removed the 88gtx. Other then that, its pritty clean.

[sswilson]

I wouldn't be overly concerned about your idle temps, your load temps certainly look pretty good if you've dropped 12c from a TRUE. Best thing about WC is the delta from full load to idle temps... Air is a slow drop as it wicks away the heat, Water is from full load to normal idle temps in a few seconds. :)

[element291]

Looks good. Excellent job cramming all that in the p180. I would recommend getting some fan grills or somethign to protect the rad at the top though...

[Sagath]

Yeah, they (fan grils) are on order with the yates :)