discussion P182 watercooling

[nikitos]

I'll try to document my little liquid cooling project of watercooling the Antec P182 with a P35-DS3L and an 8800gt with fairly low-end WC parts. While performance and noise reduction are important, I'm mostly doing this for the experience h34r:, so I hope this log becomes somewhat of a useful tool for others. Once the build is finished I will try to provide some quantitave temp and overclocking comparisons.

Parts List

• Pump: MCP655;
• Radiators: MCR220 (2x120mm), MCR120 (1x120mm);
• CPU Block: Apogee GT;
• GPU Block: EK-FC88 Nickelplated;
• Coolant: Distilled water and Hydrx;
• Reservoir: Swiftech Microres;
• Barbs: Swiftech 1/2";
• Tubing: Masterkleer 7/16" ID;
• Fans: Antec Tri-cools and Noctua NF-P12-1300;

A fairly standard choice of components. The reason I did not go with a kit is because initially I wanted to go with 2 MCR120s like Skyguy (http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...ooling-680i-antec-p180-build-log-guide-3.html). I thought I'd be smart and save myself some room by getting a MCR120-QP-RES, the radiator with a built in reservoir. Of course when it got here, I realized that the barbs are not interchangeable and I was stuck with a rad I couldn't use. By that time NCIX has ran out of vanilla MCR120s (I got the last one thanks to Linus!), so 2xMCR120 was no longer an option, so I decided to go with MCR220 on a radbox. I guess the moral of the story is do your research .

Most of the parts are here now, but I am waiting on MCR220, reservoir and radbox.

One last comment, I was really impressed with the EK waterblock; the build quality is just incredible. I'll get some pictures of this and other things up once the other parts get here.

Loop Planning

So that is what I was thinking in terms of plumbing. I don't know yet if my cheap tubing will allow for the bends required but we will see. If anyone has any comments or suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them!

that is all for now

cheers

PS. I guess I have one question: the Swiftech stuff comes with crappy plastic barbs that have really long threads compared to the metal barbs. Does this decrease leak chance? Or does it even matter? I'd rather use metal barbs, but if the plastic ones are safer then I'm willing to sacrifice the looks

 

[Jack Rabbit]

Looks good! I am looking forward to the log. Maybe this will be what it takes to finally get me going.

From what I have read, metal barbs are better but plastic barbs are safer. The value with plastic barbs is that if you cross thread them or over torque them or do some of the other bad things the cheap barb is sure to break and not the expensive component you were screwing it in to. Metal barbs will give a slightly better connections but you have to be very sure you have the right ones and do not cross thread them.

One question I have is about that top rad. It is (or is nearly) above the reservoir so gravity will tend to drain it. If it is not full of water it will not be working properly. Should not your reservoir or the top level in a T-line be above all the components? Even if pressure from the pump is enough to keep it full when you shut the loop down the rad will drain and you will have to bleed it again. How does this work?

 

[3.0charlie]

1. I would change the barbs orientation of the 120, so that they are against the removable panel.
2. In your loop, you are using the 120 to cool the rad and the pump.
3. You do know that a single 220 is enough to cool both CPU and GPU?
4. The pump is great, except the outflow barb. It's straight up, and there is next-to no space left between the pump and the case mid-section. And there are no openings where you located the pump.

I've built a few rigs using similar components, and 2 rigs using the same case. Here's a pic of the second one:

Look where the pump is located:

Babrbarossa did a great log of the P180 and water: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...-cooling-680i-antec-p180-build-log-guide.html. The P180/182 are great cases, but can be challenging when it comes to water-cooling. Have fun and good luck.

Edit: well, you did your research! I didn't check the link from Skyguy that you posted, which is basically Babr's log. I needed some ideas when I first used the P180 and water - and that's how I became a member here.

 

[nikitos]

thanks alot for the pics Charlie, this will defintely come in handy...The reason for the third rad is because due to my ordering mistake I'm stuck with 2 MCR120s only one of which can be barbed properly, so I figured I use it as well. I guess we'll see how it goes, if it's too hard to fit, I'll ditch it.


Jack Rabbit, thanks for the questions, I'll definitely have to think about those things.

 

[nikitos]

hey charlie, is there a special drill bit that you used to cut the tubing holes at the top? it doesn't look like the stock wholes in the p182 can be used without kinkage...

Has any had dealings with Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come How are they? I'd like to order an ACRyan radgrill so I can mount everything internally some time in the future (after this is finished).

 

[ipaine]

I have dealt with Performance-PCs.com once before and had no issues at all. Everything shipped quickly and the few cables that I got from them were sleeved very well and I was quite satisfied.

As for the water cooling I don't have any experience with it so I have no opinions that matter, other than good luck on it. And of course the more I see these water-cooling setups the more I want one for myself.

 

[JD]

hey charlie, is there a special drill bit that you used to cut the tubing holes at the top? it doesn't look like the stock wholes in the p182 can be used without kinkage...

Has any had dealings with Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come How are they? I'd like to order an ACRyan radgrill so I can mount everything internally some time in the future (after this is finished).

I'd assume a 1" Hole Saw would do for the tubing holes. Home Depot sells them along with any other home renovation store.

Performance-PCs is great. Once they forgot to include a box of fans I ordered but they quickly shipped it out after I contacted them. I've order cables and fans from them, and I'm about to put in a rather large order for some water cooling parts to complete my upcoming build. Word of advice, don't use UPS shipping. You'll get hit with expensive customs. Go with USPS.

 

[nikitos]

thanks for the advice, I'll keep it in mind!

 

[sswilson]

Hole saws really depend on the quality of the metal used on the case. I tried to use one on one of the super-low end Coolermasters and the metal was too thin for the hole saw to do a proper job (it bent in rather than cut, and made a major mess). In cases like that, I'd think that going with the tried and true small-drill-bit-to-large method would work best and jewelers' files to clean it up.

 

[JD]

Hole saws really depend on the quality of the metal used on the case. I tried to use one on one of the super-low end Coolermasters and the metal was too thin for the hole saw to do a proper job (it bent in rather than cut, and made a major mess). In cases like that, I'd think that going with the tried and true small-drill-bit-to-large method would work best and jewelers' files to clean it up.

Well they worked fine on my 900, bent a little bit I guess but nothing a block of wood and hammer didn't fix. I doubt the P182 uses lower grade metal.