Water Cooled Tech Station

[chibi_man]

Well, onto my second build. As some of you will know I scrapped my last MDF project for obvious reasons. IT WAS HUGE... and it weighed in like a pile of BRICKS.

I was going to start this log when I was closer to finishing, but thats just no fun in the end.

OK details details.

Motherboard: Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe WiFi-AP edition
Processor: (debating) AMD Athlon 64 X2 +5000 Black Edition
Ram: (most likely) OZC Titanium Alpha VX2
Graphics: (absolutely) Radeon HD 3870 (Hopefully have quad)
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB SATA2 32mb Cache
PSU: (probably) Pc Power & Cool Silencer 610W
Cooling: Danger Den blocks and pump with automotive rads and BIG fans.

Goal: Achieve 3.8ghz Overclock

PICTURES
The mobo


The Panels


Frame


Frame assembled


Board mounts


Rear fit


board and card fit


new board and card test fit


Test fit again


First Rad (small)


Big rad painted


power fan


Fan test


When in doubt, make a reservoir


Res mounting


Copper plumbing


more plumbing


pump mounted


Hope this will spark some interest. I have PLENTY of additional stuff to add to this one of a kinda masterpiece

[Cptn Vortex]

I wish I wish I WISH I had some sort of Shop! Back home in Ontario we have a massssive shop, all the tools you could dream of, but here in BC I gots nothing! Something to look forward to I guess.....

Awesome man! How are temps with that thing!!

[chibi_man]

Wish I knew... I don't have all the components yet. I am hoping for 25C to 35C range. I'm going go give the whole cooling system a complete testing and do the math to get a better ball park figure of what it will be capable of.

I'm lucky to have the shop thats for sure, but to be honest, I can do just about everything you see there in my living room. honestly, you get get your materials cut to size at just about all hardware stores. So far all I need was my Drill, tin snips, and my pop rivet gun. few other nick knack tools but you get the idea.

This is of course your build a case from scratch, which I find is MUCH more inventive.

[Prof. Dr. Silver]

GJ Dude! Nice to see that someone has the handy skills that I've been missing for a few years now....LOL

Btw.....Those rads are HUGE! How much liquid is that gonna take?

[chibi_man]

Thanks,
I am going to guess it's going to take anywhere from 1L to 2L worth of coolant, thats just a ball park figure off the top of my head.

The slanted small rad was an intercooler from dudes car that my mechanic was working on, lucky me he lets me go through his junk pile.
The big RAD, is got from a buddy of mine. It's a Heater Core from an 1981 Volvo 240. For those who love Volvo, this if for you...lol

[SKYMTL]

FYI, quad HD3870 cards WILL NOT fit on that mobo. The bottom two PCi-E slots are far too close together. The only way to make them work is to use single slot coolers.

[chibi_man]

Well yea, That I know... Can't slap on just anything to do it.

Of course I will have to stop at 3 cards while working with XP anyways.
I refuse to work with Vista so I'll wait for a good version of linux to support CrossfireX.

[biff]

Nice.

BTW, what king of heatsinks are on your RAM?

[MpG]

The RAM heatsinks are part of the mobo's cooling solution.

Sweet setup! But if I listen really close, I think I can hear the agonized screams of a fan trying to push air through those intercooler fins!

[3.0charlie]

2 things: drill holes through the top section, and use 90* SATA cables. Did you connect the res outlet properly? Since the liquid will have to rise first before reaching the pump.

I don't remember seeing a pump with a suction; they usually need constant flow in order to work properly.

And damn you have great woodworking / workmanship skils.