Build Log - Haleybox 2010

[gutcheck]

Hi Guys,

 

This will be a liquid cooled PC that will be used for work, music, and gaming. This build is dedicated to Mr Armegeddon. He showed me how to do this. I will be updating this rather fast as it is pretty much finished:

 

Parts List:

• Case Corsair Obsidian 800D Full ATX

• Power Supply Corsair HX1000

• Motherbord EVGA X58 LE

• CPU Intel i7 Core 920 @ 4.0GHz

• RAM 6GB Corsair Dominator @ 1600MHz

• GPU 1 Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 5970

• GPU 2 XFX ATI Radeon HD 5870

• Sound Card Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Edition

• Hard Drive 1 Intel G2 80GB SSD

• Hard Drive 2 Seagate 1TB

• Optical Drive 1 Liteon Blu-Ray / DVD+R

• Optical Drive 2 Plextor DVD-R/W

• Fan Controller Aerocool Touch-1000 5.25" 4 Channel Fan Controller / Temp Display

 

Loop

• Tubing PrimoFlex Pro LRT UV White Tubing -3/8in. ID X 5/8in. OD (10ft)

• Coolant Feser One Non-Conductive Water Cooling Coolant (2 x 32 oz.) - UV Red

• Reservoir XSPC 5.25" BayTwo Black Reservoir Bay w/ Red LED

• Pump 2 x Swiftech MCP350 12 VDC Pump

• Radiator 1 HardWare Labs X-Flow Extreme III

• Radiator 2 Feser X-Changer 120

• Radiator 3 HardWare Labs GTX Xtreame M184

• CPU Block Swiftech GTZ

• Fittings Bitspower Compression Fitting-ID 3/8" OD 5/8" (x5)

• Fittings Bitspower G1/4 Dual Rotary 45-Degree Compression Fitting-ID 3/8" OD 5/8" (x7

• Fittings Bitspower G1/4 Dual Rotary 90-Degree Compression Fitting-ID 3/8” OD 5/8" (x1)

• Misc Parts Bitspower Acrylic T-Block, Bitspower Temp Sensor, Bitspower Male to Male G 1/4 Fitting

• Fans Thermaltake White ISG Fan12 120mm (x5)

• Fans Skyth Kraze 90mm 2000RPM (x2)

 

Here is a shot of the res with the two pumps that are working in tandum:

 

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9550/img0654z.jpg

 

And here is a shot of what I had to do to the case to get it in there. I had to file down the lips in between the two bays:

 

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/5762/img0656aj.jpg

 

The res I used for the top 3x120 was the crossflow design Mr A suggested. You can see in the final build how cool it made everything look:

 

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/3596/img0655x.jpg

 

I decided to rinse / dry test everything, and this time it was a good thing because my block was not fitting snug and there was a leak between my compression fitting and the block. I tightened it pretty good and the leak wend away:

 

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/8651/img0658i.jpg

[gutcheck]

I was able to mount the third radiator in the drive cage at the bottom by buying a 30mm 6-32 bolt screw. It worked out really well:

 

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/2433/img0662d.jpg

 

Here are my video cards:

 

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9615/img0660y.jpg

 

Here is the 5970 with the stock cooler off:

 

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6938/img0665p.jpg

 

EK changed their box! I like the new styling of the 5970 box:

 

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/4970/img0664f.jpg

 

The connection between the first and second radiator was very tight, but the end result looks really cool:

 

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1661/img0667v.jpg

[gutcheck]

Here is how the bottom rad looks hooked up:

 

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/8839/img0673m.jpg

 

I really like the vid blocks:

 

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/4343/img0671pj.jpg

 

The top part up by the feser rad is really awesome:

 

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/7048/img0670mt.jpg

 

When it was all finished I was pretty happy with the loop look:

 

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/9509/img0674h.jpg

 

Haley also approves:

 

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/3640/img0669z.jpg

[Mr_Armageddon]

Looks great. You may want to re-size those first few pics, they are HUGE!

 

Once you get the new thermal compound on your CPU waterblock, be sure and run some 3DMark Benchmarks. I am interested to see what your system scores at.

[gutcheck]

Yeah, I screwed up on the sizing. I'll get to them after work :) Thanks for the comments! I will have many benchies soon. I gotta get a phsics card in there for 3DMark though. Fry's has a 9600GT (or maybe 9500GT) for 49 USD, I think I may use that.

[Wired]

Definitely resize them. WAY TOO BIG.

[gutcheck]

There you go guys.

[gutcheck]

I have overvolted and OC'ed the 5970. My 3DMark benchmarks without a physix card are:

 

All cards stock: 29987

All cards @ 850/1200: 33128

All cards @ 900/1200: 33926

All cards @ 1000/1250: 34816

[gutcheck]

Here is a shot of the fan on the back of the feser radiator:

 

http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/5697/img0677n.jpg

 

Here is a shot of the front of the case. I switched the stock blue LED's with red ones:

 

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/5794/img0678m.jpg

[Mr_Armageddon]

I have overvolted and OC'ed the 5970. My 3DMark benchmarks without a physix card are:

 

All cards stock: 29987

All cards @ 850/1200: 33128

All cards @ 900/1200: 33926

All cards @ 1000/1250: 34816

 

Those are some nice 3DMark scores. Beats mine by a lot. I am getting sick of waiting for the GT300 (Fermi) cards to at least get officially announced. :mad:

 

Hopefully by CES we will have a better idea of an actual release date so I can buy two EVGA 380GTX (or whatever they call them), get their waterblocks, and be able to finally finish my build.

[gutcheck]

Thanks. These new 9.12 cat drivers seem to be much faster still. My OC'ed results are about what I am getting at stock speeds.

[x509]

 

I decided to rinse / dry test everything, and this time it was a good thing because my block was not fitting snug and there was a leak between my compression fitting and the block. I tightened it pretty good and the leak wend away:

 

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/8651/img0658i.jpg

 

This question is for everyone, not just gutcheck.

 

In this picture, gutcheck is testing out his loop without installing the waterblocks. So my question is: How do you install the waterblock(s) on the CPU (and GPUs, etc.) or the radiator?:confused: Do you disassemble the loop? And if you do, don't you need to re-check for leaks once you reassemble the loop after installation of the components? :eek:

 

Thanks,

 

x509

[gutcheck]

Hi X509, thank you for your question. TBH, I didn't leak check the GPU blocks. EK stuff is pretty solid, and I dropped the CPU block so I wanted to check it. I figured I might as well rinse the radiators while I was at it. the block is just the block, it isn't attached to anything. My pumps are actually in the res (I love that) so testing was pretty easy.

 

If you check MR A's thread, he actually has pics of his old dry testing. I have some I will post later. If you want to minimize the risk, testing everything outside the case is good, but IMHO with good parts it is unecessary. I will post pics soon of my first fill after I dry fit everything. Are you going to build a WC setup? We can help.

[x509]

Hi X509, thank you for your question. TBH, I didn't leak check the GPU blocks. EK stuff is pretty solid, and I dropped the CPU block so I wanted to check it. I figured I might as well rinse the radiators while I was at it. the block is just the block, it isn't attached to anything. My pumps are actually in the res (I love that) so testing was pretty easy.

 

If you check MR A's thread, he actually has pics of his old dry testing. I have some I will post later. If you want to minimize the risk, testing everything outside the case is good, but IMHO with good parts it is unecessary. I will post pics soon of my first fill after I dry fit everything. Are you going to build a WC setup? We can help.

 

Thanks. I guess I didn't ask my question clearly enough. I was concerned specifically with leaks where the hoses connect to the fittings. I didn't think that the blocks themselves might leak, but obviously they can.

 

So if you are really cautious :roll: , then you will test twice. Once with just the loop components assembled outside the case, and then with the components installed in the case, but with the motherboard not powered up.

 

x509

[gutcheck]

Yep, thats the deal. My block wasn't leaking it was the way I put the compression fitting into the fitting on the block. The swiftech sticker forced the fitting sideways so it was not in correctly. I thought it was. Needless to say, if this happened with a dry build it would have been bad, so I am glad I did this. With the GPU's, if there is a leak it won't be so terrible as you can triage it. The CPU however could leak onto the mobo, and then my very expensive 5970 so I wanted to take extra precautions.

[gutcheck]

I got my 2 new WD Blacks, so I got my RAID setup. I also got my two monitors delivered. Here is the whole setup:

 

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/289/img0682z.jpg

[Mr_Armageddon]

I got my 2 new WD Blacks, so I got my RAID setup. I also got my two monitors delivered. Here is the whole setup:

 

Nice. I like the monitor setup you have going there. I am kind of doing the same, but I haven't bought my DELL ULTRASHARP 3008WFP yet. Still trying to convince the wife that I need a monitor that runs over $1600. I have two (2) 20in Ultrasharps rotated in Portrait, and a 24in Ultrasharp in the middle, waiting to be replaced by a 30in Ultrasharp.

 

I got the idea from an UberGizmo review back in 2007. I saw the picture below, and decided that I would eventually have a similar setup.

 

http://www.ubergizmo.com/photos/2006/2/dell-3007wfp-15.jpg

 

I just wish it was easier to find LCD monitors that still use a 1600x1200 resolution. Everything now is either a 16:9 or 16:10 ratio, so I can't get the exact same proportions as the picture above. But the two 20in added to a 30in will still be some serious screen real estate.

[Sullen]

Quick question gutcheck, what SLI/Crossfie fitting did you used for the VGA blocks?

[gutcheck]

Hi,

 

It was the koolance SLI fitting:

 

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/9342/koo-177/Koolance_Dual_VID_Connector_-_Adjustable_1_Slot_Spacing_CNT-VDA2_.html?tl=g30c101s873

 

I wanted to use a bitspower fitting of some kind, but the blocks prevented me from using a normal compression fitting as they were not wide enough.

[Sullen]

Hi,

 

It was the koolance SLI fitting:

 

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/9342/koo-177/Koolance_Dual_VID_Connector_-_Adjustable_1_Slot_Spacing_CNT-VDA2_.html?tl=g30c101s873

 

I wanted to use a bitspower fitting of some kind, but the blocks prevented me from using a normal compression fitting as they were not wide enough.

I see, you think this might have work? Using these extenders http://www.highflow.nl/aansluitingen/fittingen/bitspower/bitspower-g1-4-black-sparkle-ig1-4-extender-bp-bswtp-c40.html with the male/male fitting?

[gutcheck]

Do you mean to connect the video cards with the extender fittings and a male to make fitting? No, that for sure would not work. I have some extender fittings to ensure the 45 and 90 degree rotary fittings clear my top radiator but I can tell you that the vid cards are way further appart then that. I'd stick with the bitspower quick disconnects if you need to use bitspower fittings, but I am pretty happy with the koolance fitting. It slides so you can adjust it. It looks pretty OK too, not the best but OK.

[Sullen]

Do you mean to connect the video cards with the extender fittings and a male to make fitting? No, that for sure would not work. I have some extender fittings to ensure the 45 and 90 degree rotary fittings clear my top radiator but I can tell you that the vid cards are way further appart then that. I'd stick with the bitspower quick disconnects if you need to use bitspower fittings, but I am pretty happy with the koolance fitting. It slides so you can adjust it. It looks pretty OK too, not the best but OK.

I might end up doing the same thing, after-all it's only one fitting XD I updated my thread with a diagram and questions but I have most of it figure out, I'm still debating if to drop the H50 and include the CPU in the loop or not, but well! As for fittings, the 45 degrees, did you had to buy the adapters and the compression fittings separate or it was single piece? Because FrozenCPU sells the two pieces separate, just asking to know what to buy hehehe! And the stop caps, you had to buy them too?

[gutcheck]

The H50 is a good cooler. My idle temps are about the same, but I will tell you that on real water my load temps after 20 min or so are in the 60's, where with the h50 they would be in the low 90's, so it's your call.

 

Yes, I had to buy the stop caps, and they are worth the 2 or 3 USD IMHO. The 45 degree fittings are great, they are expensive, but all you need is the fitting. FrozenCPU has the 90 degree's here:

 

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8835/ex-tub-481/Bitspower_G14_Thread_90-Degree_Rotary_12_ID_x_34_OD_Compression_Fitting_BP-90R2CC5.html?tl=g30c101s1035

 

I think they aer still sold out of the 45's, so here they are at Performance-PC's:

 

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_346_393_611_626&products_id=25664

[a4mula]

Hey, great build. Got a few questions though.

 

Was there a reason to go the 120.3x120.2x120.1 vs just a 120.3 x 120.3?

 

I'm looking at the 800d and it would appear to have room for a 2nd 120.3 in the section you've placed the 120.2. Is that not the case?

 

Also it's tough to tell from the pics but it looks like you're running a single loop? With dual pumps/resses why not dual loop?

 

No Eyefinity?

 

Last question and I'll leave you to it with your great build. Does EK's 5970 block seem to give good VRM coverage?

[gutcheck]

Hi,

 

You can't get a third 3x120 down there unless you put the PSU someplace else, which with some mods you probably could, but it would be a pain. As for the dual loop thing, I went with the single look becuase I thouhgt it would look better, but dual would probably have given me better performance. I may switch to dual loops when / if I buy a couple fermi cards. The EK block is great, and it keeps the VRM's very cool.