Hi, You may have seen a fair few posts by me on the water cooled pc I have been trying to build. So far I've spent months gathering the parts, resolving problem after problem with assembly and it is running way over budget. Well I've finally had enough of it and tbh it has got too frustrating and too expensive to keep pouring time and effort into building it myself. Can anyone recommend a vendor who could take the part assembled machine I have with all the parts I've bought and just put the damned thing together for me so it works?
No major brand company would offer that kind of service. Your best bet is a independant shop who may have an employee who can do water cooling work.
lol tbh I should've just started a build log on overclock instead of writing half a dozen threads for every query I have. But hell here's the story so far. New Build - Nephilim Scan Intel Sandybridge i7-2600 Asus Maximus IV P67 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 PC3-12800 Corsair AX1200 PSU 2 x EVGA 1.5GB GTX580 Hydrocopper 2 Silverstone TJ07 Case LG CH10LS20.AUAR 10x Blu-Ray Reader OCZ 120GB Vertex 3 SSD 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black Sata 6gb/s Silverstone SST-CFP51B Black XSPC RX480 Radiator 7 x Gentle Typhoon Scythe AP-15 1850rpm Fans EK Supreme HF Full Nickel Water Block 6 x Bitspower BP-MBCPF-CC5 G1/4" Matt Black Compression Fitting 2 x BP-MB90R2LCPF-CC5 - Bitspower G1/4 Matte Black Dual Rotary 90-Degree Compression 2 x BP-MB45R2CPF-CC5 - Bitspower 1/4" BSPP - 1/2" ID - 3/4" OD Rotary 45 Degree Comp Sharkoon 12Inch x2 RED CCFL 2 x AQUA 53067 Temp Senso int/ext HANDGRIP TUBE Cutter (10-40mm) Kustom PC Indigo Xtreme Chilledpc Koolance RP452X2 Reservoir Koolance VL4N-F/M13-19S QDC HW Labs GTS360 Stealth Radiator CNT-RP452X2 Serial Connector 2 x Koolance PMP450S Pump Mods: TJ07 Triple roof mod meshe style Pulse modding quad radiator stand fitting into base Fan braiding and spray painting black AP-15's Pulse modding silver kill coil Specialtech Mayhems Ultra Pure H20 5ltrs Aquacomputer Aquaero 5 XT Controller Aquacomputer Black Aluminium Front Bezel Aquacomputer 3 pim Connection cable for flow sensor Koolance CPU370 Waterblock Sidewinder computers US Had my in laws ship this to me Bitspower BP-MBWP-C07 Matte Black G1/4 D-Plug set MDPC Germany M3 x 6 mm Screws Black-Oxide Button-Head UNC 6-32 6mm Screws Black-Oxide Button-Head The Watercoolingshop Primochill PrimoFlex Pro LRT Black Tubing -1/2in. ID X 3/4in 2mtrs Koolance Bleed Kit ESP Coatings Full black powder coat to casing So that is more or less all the kit I bought, no need for prices suffice to say alot But I was very happy with my choices. What happened next Ok so cue a few months for everything to arrive due to stock issues on the Vertex 3 then waiting for the case mod to be done by chilledpc etc etc. So everything came back and I started building in earnest and have so far hit the following snags: 1. Bitspower fittings wouldn't screw into the metal thread side of the Hydrocoppers but fits perfectly into the block covered side. A superb recommendation from a user on here directed me to the mini boa constrictor rubber wrench which is truly superb and seems to have solved this. 2. EK Full Nickel block issue - After correspondence with EK no refund or exchange is possible until I use the block and it causes damage. They say it can only be used with ethylene glycol. Additional correspondence with mayhem dyes indicates they don't believe the problem is with the additive. And the community thinks plating issues. Too much confusion and risk surrounds this expensive part I can't return so I have no choice but to fork out more cash for the Koolance 370 which hasn't got the risk attached to it. 3. Top mounted fans don't slot into the roof mod due to the brackets - Cue brother in laws angle grinder and pliers and after much violence it fits! 4. GTX580's don't appear to sit in the pcie slots properly, a screwdriver to the bracket slot and a bit of leverage seems to solve it but won't know for sure until boot time. 5. 2 Hex screw threads on the HDD Cage worn and no longer undo.....no idea what to do about removing these and need to move the drive cage down due to spacing issues caused by the rad and its fittings. 6. Mainboard tray now won't slot in due to the corner bracket being unable to slot under the radiator........guessing I'll need to get the bro in laws angle grinder and slice that off as well...... 7. Misguaged the fittings required nad may require more 45 degree ones due to case angles and positioning. So that's where I stand now, waiting for the bro in law tommorow to saw off the corner bracket then maybe try use the angle grinder to cut a slot into the hex screws.. Anyway that's the source of my frustrations, I've been desperate to replace my current XPS700 for over 2 years and currently have almost 4k of gear sitting on the floor behind me. I seemed to be unable to get past the basic fitting of parts into the case let alone what awaits me with bleeding and then if it even boots at all. I did scan insure alot of my parts but due to the elapsed time between delivery and build I'm not even sure it applies anymore assuming I can get to the stage of botting at this rate!
Where do you live? Anywhere near me and I'll build it with you. I've got the TJ07 so give me a bit to work through your problems and I'll see if I can help.
Ah, close but not close enough for me to travel, ill health precludes that. 2. I think I'd risk it but drain and check every month or so until you decide whether to replace it. I think you can get filters to protect your pump. EDIT: I can loan you a Heatkiller 3.0 with the correct mounting brackets and backplate. 3. I cut the brackets down on my top grill to get the rad and fans in. I thought you'd get that as part of the mod. 5. Are you using the Silverstone drive bay? I had problems with the threads on them and I think like me, you may have used the wrong threaded screws. Should be able to drill the heads off. 6. Unless the rad will slide over a bit cutting the bracket is probably the only option. Depends how the rad is mounted. I wouldn't bother using the brackets supplied with the mod but hold the rad in place with thin copper wire. That gives you the flexibility to move the rad about to avoid hitting other things. With the fans fitted underneath you won't be able to see the wire. 7. I can loan you loads of silver 45º extenders, they won't match but they'll get you up and running until you get some black ones. They're like this http://www.feser-one.com/site/product_info.php?cPath=78&products_id=331 but scratched (turn of your sound before clicking on the link.
heh thankyou any though was a really nice offer. One of the nice things about these communites is they are always so helpful...makes a change from the gaming forums full of vitriol I actually went ahead and ordered the Koolance 370 the other day after agonising over the choice for weeks. I have to a large degree lost confidence in EK as a company. Their handling has been rather poor and they don't seem to be doing much to help people in my position other than try it and see. Koolance on the other hand seems to be excellent, hell the bleed kit was issued free by them in response to community concerns on bleeding the RP452X2 rad. That is the kind of after sales thought that goes a long way. It's kinda similar to my experience with Dell and Razor. The XPS700 is just awful really and Dell offered a replacement for the truly awful BTX mainboards years ago but never actually told its customers nor advertised the fact. Mine has no upgrade capability, no overclocking capability as it is all locked and the board has two faulty ram slots. Razor I bought a Lycosa from and to give them credit it looks superb but is plagued by the fault causing endless spawns of media player. I dismantled the thing and reseated the board but still have to use coins on the media pad. It's things like that which the companies in question just can't make up for when others out there offer faultless experiences and I should've stuck with my tried and tested Logiect as their gear has never ever failed me. I have seriously been considering a dremel, just hate the thought of buying it only to use it once. Reckon it'd cost £40 due to an offer at Homebase for a Dremel 300-30 then then maybe £17.99 for the cutting tools. Or I can go with the brother in laws almighty angle grinder of death It is the silverstone bay, I used MDPC's hex screws to fix it and it seems to be just 2 of the 8 I used that the thread has gone on. Again thinking a dremel would slice them straight off or cut a slot into them to use a normal screw driver on. I think with the roof mod I expected something else and that is not to fault the work done as it is excellent quality and the vender has been very helpful on email. I was kinda expecting two length ways brackets mounted int othe mesh roof into which the rad would slide and then be screwd into withthe fans sliding underneath. What I have is the fans being mounted against the mesh to slide into the retaining brackets at either end and the rad hanging down underneath which is what is causing the obstruction to the mainboard tray. I think I expected that everything would slot neatly into place leaving me just to worry about slotting all the cables and boards in and the process of bleeding. I should be good for fittings but thankyou again it is a generous offer. Should have 4 more pieces coming after which I hope not to have to spend a penny more on the rig.....seriously this thing better be capable of solving the higgs bosun for the problems and cost!!! Managed to chill a bit over a nice beer and feeling better for dropping the EK block, Aquacomputer also gave me a very helpful reply to my query which was superb. Just goes to show that all the reading in the world of mags, forums and articles doesn't gear you for the reality of building these things. I have to really respect those who do it so effortlessly.
The problem with the roof mod is that you have to remove the rad to change the fans and you can't fit fans with closed corners (unless you grind them down) which rules out Gentle Typhoons. My copper wire mount worked perfectly although I no longer bother with a rad in there now. Glad you're feeling better about it. Have another beer. You should be able to drill the screw heads off with a hand drill, that's what I use anyway. I'm not 100% sure now but I think the bay uses M3 screws not 6-32 (or vice versa, I can't remember now. Curously 2 of mine got stuck too. Aquacomputer have really good technical support (Sven). I always get an answer within a few hours.
hah def better today, my brother in law shattered the rivets and broke off the corner bracket so the mainboard tray fits now with the roof mounted rad. I bite the bullet and bought a dremel and violenced the stuck screws with extreme prejudice...and lo they were free and the drive bay moved and much frustration unleashed in a shower of pretty sparks. Now I have a slight dilemna: As you can see in the pic the roof rad has to be mounted with the fittings at the drive bay end. Now it doesn't cause a prob with the bays as I will fit the aqauero 5 up there so plenty of space. However I had planned a loop order running Res / Pump > GTS360 Roof rad > CPU Block > 2 x SLI GPU > RX480 Base rad > Pump / Res Now as you may be able to see with the forced fitting of the roof rad this would require an irregular uneven u turn for the tubing to go from the res to the rad. I'm gearing to order the final fixtures so would appreciate any advice on what I might be looking at. I took a selection of images to help illustrate how it looks atm. Fittings will be bitspower and thinking maybe 3 x 45 degree and 1 x 90 degree, excluding the prob as above. Also note on the reverrse side of the case in the base I'm looking to fit in the aquacomputer flow meter and two QDC's. Btw sorry for the image quality, really annoying given I'm using a Sony HX5 on program select.
Oh....almost forgot tool of the gods; And quick amusing story, I actually only got this tool from homebase today discounted to £39. So never having used any power tool before I attached the cutting disc and placed it on the sofa before fumbling for the power supply to plug it in. Now it is prob pretty obvious what happened next but yes I plugged it in without checking whether the power was set to on on the unit itself. Cue immediate panic as it springs into life quickly proving its incredable efficiency at cutting leather into neat slices It did end when the cutting disc shattered and I managed to pull the power.
You look as though you've got the space to reverse the top rad and have the fitting at the back of the case rather than in the drive bay. Any reason why you can't do that? Edit: Alternatively you could go from the pump to the CPU block>GPUs>GTS360>480>res/pump You could then switch the inlet and outlet you have setup on the GPUs (or go for double d-plugs and parallel flow) and use a double or triple rotary on the bottom GPU block to get the angle to go back up. Alternatively you could use a 45º rotary extender and a 90º together to get a 135º bend instead. I think you'd have space for either of them. Look at Conumdrum's piccies http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=678189
Yeah did try that but it catches on the mainboards USB ports. Would've been ideal otherwise but don't see anyway around that problem. And cheers that does look like a good idea, pouring over the chaps images now and sketching some diagrams to see how it'd pan out but it looks promising.
If you reversed the rad and used 45º or 90º fittings would that clear the USB ports? I just noticed you're using a pair of the Koolance Strong D5's. I don't know if you know that you can get a 24v controller to boost the performance http://specialtech.co.uk/spshop/cus...V-Pump-Controller--CTR-SPD24X2-pid-13607.html
Yeah even with dif fittings I can't get that rad turned about Tell ya what I've just spent almost 2 hours cutting hosing and trying to close the compressions and I still cant get them fully tightended. Going to try get someone stronger as I cant even do it with the boa! Ive also worked out I require 2 more 45 degree and 2 9 degree compressions. Based on space, position and how Im going to need to route it I have had to direct the flow this way so far Res / Pump > Flow Meter in base > QDC > RX480 Base > GPU's > CPU > GTS360 Roof > ? I'm thinking if I rop the res down further to mid case it gives me a bit more space to play with in trying to route a u bend from the roof rad back into the inlet. I think you could then use 3 45 degree female threaded rotaries to arc back and then run tubing to a 45 degree fitting on the roof rad. Edit: yeah I did want the bay controller for the pumps but I've just run out of spare drive bays Edit 2: Just had a thought, what about using a Matt Black Rotary 90-Degree G1/4" Extender attached to the roof rad, then connect a Matte BlackTriple Rotary 90 Degree G 1/4 Male to Female Fitting followed by a 45 degree compression. Use a 45 degree on the inlet of the reservoir and then tube to connect?
You don't close the compressions fully. Doing that could actually cut the tubing. As long as the tubing is tight that's fine. I've just made a complete fitting using the same 90º and a triple rotary which gives a 180º bend. The centre of 1 fitting to the other is 35mm if that helps. Maybe you could strip the guts out of the Koolance pump controller and fit it in the base of the case. After saying that you should have ample flow without it.
ah that pic really helps, I can visualise that. It might well work, if I shift the res back upto the top and then use that 180 degree bend hopefully I can route the hose to a 90 degree compression extending down from the rad. Just waiting for my cam battery to recharge but then I can post an update of how it is looking.
