Case Mod - In Progress Feeding Frenzy: November-11-2009 video card fan installed

This looks great! Nice job on the rad

 

Thanks! Yeah I need the data on the SATA drives so I need to work faster, but my perfectionism keeps slowing me down.

Thanks! Necessity is the mother of invention.

Well I think I need to cruise the druggist today so I can get a gallon of distilled H20. I'm getting ready to put the front mounted Aquabay into the case and I have learned the hard way that it pays to put water in the pump before you bolt it all up.

I'm waiting for my upgrade copy of Windows 7 to get here. I think I will go with the 64 bit version (I got both 32 & 64 coming) as it was noticeably faster.

Just for grins I decided to add to the Feeding Frenzy Wikipedia page.

 

Got to start making USB cables as I got to hook up the Aquaero, Aquastream, memory card drives, and a pair of Tubemeters. Fortunately I have 6 internal USB ports on my motherboard. One down and four to go.




While I don't like speakers on my builds I do appreciate a beep so a pizeo works great!




Here's my +5 volt standby lead going into a cable that will head up to the Aquaero.




Here I ran the cable up the side of the hard drive assembly and under the middle floor to the front of the case.




I decided to use a 6 pin polarized connector in case I wish to take the Aquaero out for some reason down the line. However, I only needed 5 pins because I tied the Aquaero ground to one of the grounds used in the power cables.




Here is the completed connection for power to the Aquaero and upper radiator fans. These Scythe 2,000 RPM fans are a tad noisy at full RPM, but at 800-900 RPM they are really quiet.




I thinks it's time to clean up a bit so I can find everything again.

 

Well I got the mess cleaned up, but now I have even a bigger mess in my living room.

I have been getting ready to install the Aquabay so I was making a triple check of everything and noticed that my GPU cooler was in backward.




Fortunately I was able to get the top of the block off without removing the bottom block. So here is a quick look before I reverse the top.




Here is a pic with the Aquabay assembly ready to be put in as soon as I get the Aquaero Led's installed. Decided to use clear tubing around the pump area as it is helpful to be able to see what's going on when you get ready to charge the system.




The Aquatube uses clear plastic G 1/8 inserts to allow the LED to shine into the Aquatube. One problem for me is that the LED also lights up the surrounding area somewhat and I only want the light inside the Aquatube. After having tried a variety of things to block the unwanted light I have found that black electrical tape seems to work quite well.




I made the wiring setup so the Aquaero set button will turn on the computer. I'm glad I ordered the connector a long time ago otherwise I would be waiting a long time to get a $3 part.




Seeing as how the Aquaero has six (6) temperature sensor inputs I decided to install an ambient temperature sensor. I used one of the older style temp sensors that can be inserted into a push-fit. After thinking about it for a while I figured the front bottom of the case would be the least affected by the computer itself and should give fairly accurate ambient temps. I drilled a 3/8" hole right behind the front wheel so it also won't be easily seen nor get knocked off by an errant shoe.




Next was to install a rubber grommet to isolate the sensor from the case.




Here I have inserted the sensor into the grommet.



Here is the view from inside the case. Pics of the sleeved wire and routing tomorrow if I remember.




Here is the back side of the CPU loop. I used clear tubing in this area as well and you can see one of the new style temp sensors just above the front of the PSU.




At the suggestion of The boy 4rm oz I decided to clean up the video card and mainboard wiring a bit. I put all three cables through the same front hole and applied a couple of cable ties to tidy things up a bit. I used a bulkhead push-fit fitting in the back hole. So now it was easy to run black tubing above and clear below.






So here is my latest messy living room. Being single has it's positives in that I don't have to clean it up before I hit the sack.




Decided to mix up some AC Fluid in preparation to charge both loops when I wake up this evening. For those who don't know, AC Fluid is a chemical that allows you to run mixed metals in your loop without any deleterious effects (Don't bolt dissimilar metals directly to each other though). At its recommended solution percentage of 2% it also has essentially no effect on cooling capacity and for all intents and purposes acts just like water.




I use distilled water because it has minerals removed, it is clean, and it's less than $1 a gallon (approximately 3.78 liters).




It's also helpful to have an accurate measuring device. Syringes are ideal for this as you can measure out in cc's. For a gallon I take out 78 cc's of distilled water and toss it down the drain. I then add back in 78 cc's of AC Fluid which gives me a 2% solution.

 

I shuddered so violently at that last picture. Needles scare me shitless.

Great job. Seems to me this project is picking up steam lately

 

I guess you are living alone cause my girlfriend wont let me make such a mesh

 

I live in a 2,5 room apartment with my wife and 3 kids and I do all modding work in the kitchen.
You should see the mess! I guess it's tolerated since I do all the cooking.

Apart from this OT comment I would like to compliment TopNurse for this very well worked mod. I remember it from the english AC forum years ago....
Well done!

 

That needle was a special long needle wih a flat point made especially for filling ink into the continuous inking system of my Epson printer. I would have one hell of a time sticking anyone with that one.

This project is picking up speed because I'm getting tired of using a laptop with a dinky 15" monitor and small keyboard.

You get the girl friend and I get peace of mind and knowing that any dishes in the sink are the ones I left there.

Thanks! Yes this project has taken way too long.

 

If you have an Aquastream XT take particular attention to this pic. The connector (to the left of the blue wire) that has a wire coming off it usually connects to the "internal water sensor." However, if you take a good look you will undoubtedly notice that what you are measuring is the pump body closest to the water jacket. So the simple solution is to ditch the stock sensor and use an external water sensor. What ever is hooked up to this connector will read as the internal water temp in the Aquasuite software. Sounds like a win-win solution to me as the external water temp sensors can be calibrated and the stock sensor can't be.



Here is the CPU loop with water a splashing.




And here is the other side of the CPU loop. Once the computer is fired up I can get an "Ultra" upgrade and connect the fan directly to the XT board.



Decided last night to throw caution to the wind and filled up my CPU loop. Had a hell of a time getting the air out enough to get a continuous flow of coolant. Seems that the Aquastream XT has a deaeration jumper, BUT you can't use it in it's stock condition.

Seems that it will only work if you have it in USB priority over Aquabus and it comes in a default stage of Aquabus priority. Thus you can't use deaeration mode unless you feel up to booting a new computer with limited cooling capacity (not me) or have an extra Aquaero hanging around. I had the extra Aquaero from an Aquaduct, but it wouldn't recognize the Aquastream unless I uploaded some new firmware, which requires a running computer to do.

Now I can understand that AC would want to support their own communication protocol, but AC themselves highly recommend using the USB bus as it adds a lot of functionality to the Aquasuite software. I wonder if there is firmware update that fixes this?

Anyway by cycling on and off the PSU and doing all kinds of gymastics with my case I was able to get the water moving. Now the bubbles will have to wait till I can turn it on and boot the computer.

While I have never had a leak while using pus-fits for water cooling, there really is a reason for a long loop integrity test so don't forget it! I found a leak as below in my pump body. Perhaps an over tightened fitting caused a crack? So I loosened the fitting and now it seems okay. Maybe the epoxy putty I used on my radator will make a star performance soon.





By the way the total cc for the CPU loop was about 400CC.


Now it's time to get the GPU loop under water.

While doing a trial fit of the Aquabay unit I broke off the pump header on the Aquastream circuit board that is attached to the Aquaero. It looks like my soldering gun is about to make another star appearance.

 

Been running the CPU loop for about 24 hours now and one thing that definitely needs fixing is the pump mount needs an anti-vibration pad installed. The case resonance is louder than the fans. More on that later after I come up with a fix.

 

I had the same problem with mine lol, it's amazing how well thin alu picks up vibrations.

 

Alu has a lower mass than steel so its resonant frequency is about 1.7 times as high as steel's. That just happens to sit close to what pumps and fans produce. Easiest way to reduce the vibrations is to add more weight to the panels.

 

In previous applications I always used anti-vibration stand-offs just on general principles. On this build it added in too much thickness so I thought I could squeak by. Now I'm squeaking all right.

So what you are saying is that this might go away if I put the side panels on?

 

^^ Oh, I thought the panels were vibrating. Well, the panels can prevent the frame from vibrating too.

 

I'm hoping that some new changes will make this vibrating go away, but thank so much for the helpful information.

 

It was a little tight getting the GPU plumbing in. I found it easier to move the video card off to the side while inserting the return line. I think I spent more time getting the tubing onto the barbs than I did for all the total combined time with the push-fits. I hate using hose barbs, but they were unavoidable.










While the GPU loop appears to be relatively trouble free the CPU loop is having problems. My first alert was when the loop coolant turned white. While this isn't uncommon during the initial charging of a loop, staying that way is.




Looks kind of like a liquid nitrogen bubble bath, heh?




I'm thinking that there is some kind of contaminant in the loop necessitating a loop flush and recharge of coolant. Alternatively I am wondering if I am having a problem with pump cavitation as I seem to have a constant flow of fine bubbles through the system. My pump sucks directly off the radiator and the reservoir is filled from the hi-pressure side of the pump.

Another thing I noticed is that the fine holes of the accelerator block are getting filled with some white colored stuff, which probably means that a CPU block removal and cleaning is a necessity along with the loop flush. Plugging up of these accelerator holes are a common problem in these types of water blocks.

In order to cover all the bases I'm thinking of doing a loop flush using a couple gallons of distilled water. Prior to that I will take my Cuplex XT out, disassemble it, and clean the accelerator holes along with the corresponding lower block pin grid.

In order to prevent my holes or pin grid from being fouled again I am thinking of installing an Aquacomputer in-line filter that I had shipped in recently.




In case I like the product I also put in a clear plastic fitting in the back of the unit for a LED of some type. At first I was a bit mystified about the need for two (2) turn off valves, but then it suddenly hit me that the coolant has to be stopped to get off the filter off. I was going to convert over to button head socket cap screws, but one size I need will have to be ordered in from McMaster-Carr. So I left the internal button heads on and will do the external screws when I get them.




I thought that their really wasn't any room to put this in anywhere (kind of funny considering the size of my case), but as they say necessity is the mother of invention.

So I figured out where would be the best place and then went and tried to figure out how to make it work. I ended up securing it the case with the use of cable zip ties and used some rubber molding to prevent any vibration related issues as can be seen below. If anyone else has a better way of mounting this unit I am all ears.




The plan is to use clear tubing off the radiator to the filter and another piece of tubing back to the pump inlet (not installed yet). With the small amount of reservoir space in the filter and the extra tubing I'm hoping to eliminate any pump cavitation problems.




Here is a couple of pics of my VFD Aquaero screens. The lower GPU water temp than the Ambient temp shows that I really need to calibrate the sensors using an ice bath.






I would have preferred a "Feeding Frenzy" name on my Aquaero, but space was limited so I settled for a "TopNurse."

 

Finally got everything running in the right direction, sort of. The CPU circuit is now clearer after a two (2) gallon flush of distilled H20. Unfortunately, it appears that I may have to do another flush as I think the Aquacomputer filter added some slight amount of contaminant to the system resulting in a slight amount of not so clear coolant.

I'm kind of on the wall with using the filter as I can't seem to bleed the air from the unit. It does make for a nice look with the air bubbles swirling around. If I can figure out how to get my Nikon to take a movie I will post one later.

Had a bit of trouble getting the Aquaero to show up in the Aquasuite software. I disconnected the Tubemeter and Aquastream XT and then the Aquaero showed up. Connected back up the XT and Tubemeter and now everything shows correctly in the Aquasuite.

Now I need to get an Ultra upgrade to my Aquastream XT so I can add the fan and temp sensors for more quiet automated cooling. BTW, a single 120 radiator seems to work just fine with my AMD 720 BE. Obviously the 360 radiator is overkill ATM for a HD4870, but you never know when a really hot video card can utilize a 360. Besides the 360 in the shroud looks pretty cool IMHO.

So now I need to get busy with the power cables to the drives and the SATA cables.

 

Really nice work you have done there Top Nurse.

I have gotten some of the same stuff, or so I think, in my previous rig. I think it has something to do with ACFluid, and or Alu corrrosion. Because one of my alu waterblock got corroded in that loop.

So for my new loop, Ill go for the new stuff from AC ready mixed.

And for filling the loop, I have discovered a trick that works for me. I place a small tube over the aquajet. Uses the aquatube as fillport, and then suck the water through the loop through the small tube. Works like a charm every time!

drbo

 

Thanks for the nice nice!

I am almost positive that AC leaves their machining coolant on all parts they make. When you mix water and a water soluble machining coolant it invariably turns opaque to one degree or another. Shoggy told me many years ago that it was wise to run a new system for a few days and then flush the system to get out the pollutants. I had a flushed system, but then added in the AC Filter without remembering to degrease and clean the part before use.

I haven't had any experience with the pre-mixed stuff so hopefully you will have some input for us.

Thanks for the filling up tip as that sound like a perfect way to charge up a vertical system. I used a pill bottle to get it running so I could have the Aquatube face plate off without having the Aquajet spraying all over the place.


I discovered that the AC Filter has a definite input and output (unless you like the air show). Input is on the left and output is on the right with the G 1/8 fittings facing you with the face plate up.

 

Your probably right about the water soluble solvent, but I still belive that ACFluid has some issues. Because all three times I have tried, has enden the same way ...

drbo