hey everyone! im new here. i was googling diy w/c systems when i found the thread turpija made http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=105157 im in australia and doing year 12 (last year before uni or college, i think you americans call it) so exams are coming up between end of october to mid november. ill barely have enough time to get to anything once a week, so if this does become a popular thread, please be patient. ive had this idea (making diy wc) for a very, very long time... daydreaming at school, lol. i want to really do well in my exams so ive held back from starting the project for a little over 2 years. i must admit im far from a computer-person (im not stupid, just not technical: my brother takes that job), but i like doing diy stuff, so what better way but to gamble with electronics? i have a pretty crappy, 5-ish yo computer. im not even sure about my computer specs. i think its an amd XP (K7?) 2GHz (2400?), 1GB ram, umm... nvidia fx5500 (or something like that). all these are quoted from "my computer"). anyway, its not really that important to me. i just want to make a wc system. ive put lots of planning into this, and its difficult to list it all down, but ill put down the important things; i want to cool the cpu, power supply, (and maybe hdd + gpu). now: what i want to do is get ~12mm thick pure copper. trying to minimize 'kinks' and sharp turns in water path, i have ~3 designs, possible for a square block or a round block; swirl, 's' and lastly, (concentric) circles that are linked to next next circle on alternating ends (its really hard to explain; think of it like a maze...). To make it, i want to 'route' (intricately with a drill press) the copper till its nearly through so then i have 3 sides of the water block 100% waterproof. then i either seal the top with a copper plate and solder or i can seal it with rubber o-rings and plexi/perspex. im scared that solder may be water-iffy, but perspex is not as effective in cooling (but looks better!) for a radiator, a simple but effective design like turjipa's is what i have in mind, but a reservoir with radiator as two units joined as one. i want to make both separate and of the case so cooling is more effective. i havent thought about the pump yet, right now - its only ideas. i think november 12 is my last exam, then ive got one more exam (extra curricular subject) like a week after, but i want to start straight after my exams. i havent even looked/called around about copper prices, etc. but ill see how things go. if anybodys done these homemade wc systems or have other ideas that they think are great/effective/better, please feel free to add. as long as i dont give up between now and when i start it, i should be able to start up a project thread and hopefully put my plan into action. this is a practical prototype for a future desktop (in about a year or so). for that computer, i want the full wc works, but with this, i just want to test my handiness. hopefully this is going to be fun. oh, and if anybody knows about important/useful stuff like pricing/copper products/pumps/wc solutions/similar threads, etc. please let me know. i want to decide whether this project is possible or not. i havent exactly set a budget, but im going to try and keep it under AU$100 (take it as US$100) and definitely under $150.
Well $100US might be dreaming. Copper is expensive. I'd salvage a radiator or buy one before I'd try to make one. homeade ones never work well. A heater core from an old car is good. -Water iffy on solder? It's been the preferred method for plumbing since Roman times. It's easy too. For waterblock links... Try the c7 link in my sig, or my Bloo thread. (Yeah, shameless pimping.) Then there's This neat stuff. You can figure out what he's doing from the pics pretty easy. Modsquad has some more shots of his work here.
hmmmm... thanks for that. now i got a a million more questions, lol. how much do you think this will cost me? the proper way of sealing using solder is to paint some heat-conducting paste on both sides, then heat block with butane torch, then apply solder, then sandwich the top to the base (and hope that everything insides perfect), right? im assuming i should add enough to the outer edge to get some slight excess solder squeezed out, yeah? dont 'normal' radiators have tonnes of passes, thus introducing lots of unneeded resistance for the pump? surely a properly-done homemade copper rad should be relatively efficient (remember, bought ones are ally). and also dont forget that comp fans are usually low pressure. car prefer high(er) pressure. im not saying a homemade WILL be better, just interested how much less efficient they are. afterall, you guys have the experience; im working off intuition, haha i was also wondering, is it really necessary to have the little extrusion at the end of the base cos from what ive heard from my friends, its to extract the heat from the chip and prevent spreading to surrounding parts. so maybe i should make the extrusion too? isnt 500L/h (thermaltake pumps) a little overkill? like somewhere i read, its head pressure thats important. flow only needs to be good, not excessive. 500L/h is ~140mL (140cc) per second! its not like im cooling everything with wc, just like 2-3 components. what do you recommend? is it really necessary to have such thick hosing? surely 3/8 ID is way more than plenty (i think 1/4 might even do the trick). but of course im no expert, so let me know why im wrong. oh and i also reckon, a spiral would be the most efficient and should be easy enough to make. if i can get my hands on a rotary clamp/base thingy for a drill press, then i can route the path for water flow, doing about 7/8 of a perfect circle and then the last 1/8 of the circle to join each (outer) circle to the next (inner) circle out by hand.. (so its relatively spirally). hows that sound? my friend says ive got no hope of getting the wc to work. now im more enthusiastic and determined to prove him dead wrong.
Tbh I'd say small car/bike rad, 250mm fans, pond pump, and tubing from a hardware store Even then the entire thing would (only just) be under $200 USD
dang thats expensive! and i gotta buy a rotary thingy for the drill + ~$75 so that totals to around (rounding up) $300. jeez thats expensive... all for some copper for block making and (possibly) some more copper for a homemade rad? how much is copper down at your end?
Here? You can't get hold of it... You're lucky if you can get any scrap metal at all It costs about £20/sq. ft off the net in the UK
-Soldering: Add flux to the areas to be stuck together, put them together, heat, touch solder to hot seams. Capillary effect makes the solder flow into the seams, and the flux helps it stick to the metal. If you screw up, re-heat and pull everything apart. -Homade radiators have a LOT less surface area to transfer the heat to the air. They also have less contact between the cooling fins and the water pipes. -Extrusion at the base? Are you talking about the patterns people often make on the inside of the block just over the chip area? That is to increase surface area so water and copper have more contact with each other. -You want the pump to have enough power to push the coolant from the lowest point in the system to the highest. That's why head pressure is important. If the pump can't push the water over that high point, it will not circulate. -Are you talking about making a solid waterblock with a spiral coolant path inside? It sounds interesting, but a lot more work than what you need. Cleaning it out after soldering it together would be a beast. You don't need a rotary thingy, (although chicks would dig you if it did that.) -You can get the same effect with just re-positioning the part for each cut. -The cost could be shaved down. You can nip a radiator from just about any cooling system. Any junk car, refridgerator, AC unit... An 1/8" x 2" x 12" copper bar will cost you about $18US. You could also chop the base off an old heatsink. ...Also one more example of a homade loop. He essentially sealed and flooded the original sink.
hmmm... the cost is making me reconsider; im now estimating (with very rough figures) that its gona be ~$200... not what i had in mind, but im still pretty determined. it is gona be a once of thing anyway... hmm.. following your advice, cheapskate, ill think on it. i might just buy one, but then again... its not as fun, haha the extrusion at the base im talking about is what 'normal' heatsinks have; its the extruded surfacethat actually makes the contact; like the thermaltake w1 cooler(i know thermaltakes probably not the best wc brand) if you dont suggest a solid block with a spiral coolant path, what other design is there? i want to make this as pro as i can get it (without buying it). i was hoping to get a big block, route my path in it and seal. ill probably make use of a rotary thingy after im done with this project; my households pretty handy (we like to do everything, and i mean everything: including concreting driveways, landscaping, decking... the works) so im not going to really consider that as a cost. this has given me a lot to think about now... edit: whooaaaaaaaa just went out surfing for local prices, cooling solutions (kits) are well over AU$200 for a budget and over $350 for a decent kit! then i saw radiators... AU$100+!!! i expect copper to be cheaper down here than where you guys are simply cos australias got plenty of it. ill take conversion rate as 1:1 so its $360 per L-equivalent. i could get close to 300cc of pure copper for that price. maybe ill go through some car wreckers? blocks for any component are around the $75-$100 mark... again, i could make something reasonable with that price. i think overall, if i was to ever spend $400++ on a cpu water cooling solution, i would have to have a pretty awesome computer, or else its a no-go.
hmm.. i did some more research on the net (namely overclocker.net) and saw this guy make a really, really, really awesome block . it was a... umm.... forgot what it was called; an imp-something (the type of design with pins protruding from the base). i really makes all other custom blocks ever made look like amoeba sh*t (haha, but no offence to anyone - its a joke, just in case there are those hypersensitive people out there) from what i can make, he bought some mill and actually made an absolutely pro block. (and damn, i mean so pro, you couldnt tell the difference): check this out. note that i didnt actually do much reading... moreso picture skimming, lol maybe when i get a job, possible move out (from the very critical-eyed parents ) and can tell myself that i can do better, ill make the block. For now, despite what ive said up previously, i now dont believe that the cost, time, effort or even the satisfaction is justified. at least not with that super-awesome block in the back of my mind teasing me with how awesome it is. sigh, what a disappointment... but when the time comes for me to build it, damn, ill make one 1024 times better, and ill make sure all your eyes weep (in a good way, of course). just you wait... haha. (ps thanks to cheapskate and bigsharn for all your help. i really appreciate it.)
That's iandh. He's pretty badass with a mill. Lots of us have made our own blocks (most of mine are either reworked or originals) but you have to plan first. I made a Cuplex Di clone, only to find the pressure was popping epoxy joints... I may have only just now gotten it sealed... Solder works great, I may do a solid copper block soon for that very reason. I've got more ideas I haven't perfected, but when I do...
Ah, yes. That is nice. His CNC-Fu is strong. I should get out more. -And I already have an idea to increase the surface on his design. I just wish I had a CNC mill. You should read the threads instead of picture skimming. It will at least help you with your vocabulary.
