Project: Deuterium

[TechMinerUK]

Hello everyone

Last year in June/July I completed my first watercooled build "Clear & Simple" which was a hardline watercooled loop using acrylic in the black/white/monochrome colour scheme. It looked great but was rather "muted" in the style area not to mention the R9 290X which didn't really fit into the rest of the systems specifications.

So, I've decided to have another but this time it's going to be a little bit different. For the project the target will be improving the aesthetics to something more colorful and "eye-popping" to help the system stand out, hence the name Deuterium (Nuclear Fusion fuel) :D. As a result the colour scheme for the system is going to be a black, silver/chrome, blue and purple.

This build log is going to go more in depth as I have never attempted case modding, acrylic fabrication or cable sleeving so it will be a learning curve.

Now, without further ado the hardware:
Components
CPU: Intel i7 5820K
Motherboard: EVGA X99 Micro 2
GPU: Palit NVidia GTX 1080 "Founders Edition"
RAM: 32GB of Corsair Vengeance 2400MHz DDR4
SSD: Samsung EVO 850 500GB
Fans: EK Vardar F1-120
Cables: Custom Pexon PC Teleios cables
Case: Caselabs S5

The loop
CPU WB: EK Supremacy EVO Nickel/Plexi
GPU WB: EK GTX 1080 Nickel/Plexi with nickel backplate
Radiators: XSPC EX360 & EX240
Pump: Laing D5
Reservoir: AquaComputer Aqualis Eco 100ml
Tubing: If all goes well, 12/10 Mayhems Glass tubing
Fittings: 12/10 EK-HDC Fittings

So that is all for now (I have already started working on the case) but I plan to get some updates done very soon

Sidenote: No this build is not sponsored but many thanks to Aytex for the header/logo

[NighthawkBNE]

Sounds like a great build

 

[TechMinerUK]

4 hours ago, NighthawkBNE said:

Sounds like a great build

 

Thanks Hope it turns out great as it costs enough!

[TechMinerUK]

So, an early update from today. I have been planning out the loop and I would like to run the CPU/GPU in parallel as this will certainly give a cleaner aesthetic for the system as I can use the pre-bent Mayhems glass and just cut to size. My only issue is that I'm not sure what effect this would have on temperature due to the difference in flow restriction between the blocks.

As for the wiring and cables I have been messing around looking for sellers but for now I am looking at the design like the one below. Feel free to recommend any improvements, sellers etc as this is new territory for me and if I'm paying for custom cables I may as well get the best quality/design

Design found here: (Link)

So that is all for now, I'm currently cutting out some templates for an acrylic panel to cover a section of the case to hide some of the tubing/pumps etc and seeing if anywhere in my local area sells custom cut acrylic panels

[TechMinerUK]

I'm back everyone and I bring news and updates, today my sleeving arrived with a cable connector kit. All in all it went okay, I messed up one (Used wrong measurement) but the other went great

So I need to order more sleeving and I'm in dual minds whether to do the PWM cable again (That's why I haven't heatshrinked the molex at the pump yet but honestly I'm glad I'm not sleeving all my cables (PSU etc) or my fingers would be non existent

[TechMinerUK]

So I'm back for another update. I've still yet to start building this project as I'm waiting for parts to arrive.

This week my Caselabs parts arrived (Thanks to deFiniLogy)

I also ordered some matte acrylic to cut out a cover for the case to hide the pumps and drainage section of the loop.

Unfortunately this arrived (I hate glossy acrylic, so many scratches so easily :mad:)

 

[TechMinerUK]

I'm currently in the process of ordering fittings but I have come across a dilemma. I have limited funds for the build so I need to decide the design first and I have two final ideas.

The first one is using Mayhems pre-bent 90° tubing and 45° fittings on the CPU to pass through ports to form two triangles. Then for the GPU use two 90 fittings on the GPU and 45° fittings for the pass through ports and straight tube to form 45° runs to the GPU

The other option is just to use straight runs and 90° fittings for the CPU to pass through ports to form rectangles and the same for the GPUs. However this method would require a angled run from the CPU to the GPU and extenders as the tube is pre-bent but unfortunately only has 10/11cm after the 90° bend which is too short to reach the pass through ports.

As for the rest for the loop the runs will be lines straight down from the radiator/reservoir to the pass through ports in the panel I'm cutting

So, I'm stuck so I put it to you people. Which do you think would look the best?

[TechMinerUK]

So a short update today, I have been playing around with the colour scheme and component colours and I've settled on the idea of black RAM. I'm not sure if I will choose the Corsair Vengeance DDR4 or Kingston Fury DDR4 or some other brand with EK blocks. However after messing with the colours I think the system may look good if I did the following wiring scheme with purple/blue purple coolant in the piping and reservoir as it should set up a nice pair

Also, I'm not sure on whether plexi blocks or Acetal blocks would look best in the system and I'm open to as much advice as I can take on this build as it's all new territory. So that's the progress point at the moment

[TechMinerUK]

So a smaller update today, I have made progress with acquiring the parts for the project. I have purchased the GPU, RAM and fans for the system. The GPU will be a KFA2 GTX 1080 "Clown card", the RAM is some Corsair Vengeance DDR4 2400MHz 32GB kit and the fans are six EK Vardar F1-120 fans which will be fitted with some XSPC gaskets to help dissipate and absorb any vibrations.

More to follow as and when the parts arrive (GPU could be as late as July :()

[TechMinerUK]

Yesterday I took part in a joint investment for a blade saw, so I thought it would be silly not to have a go and what better way to cut out my mid-plate

This require some assistance in configuring the blade saw and cutting out the panel but I'm rather impressed. In order to give it a finished look I'm going to sand blast the panel and round the edges to install some u-channel so there's less risk of scratching the radiator when fitting the panel and to give a more refined look

Speaking of sand blasting I had a go with the shot blaster on a spare piece of acrylic to see how I could take the glossy edge of the panel. I think the long shot blast looks the best as opposed the shorter blast on the line below.

Also I assembled the case with the new USB panel, 240mm radiator mount and the blanking plate.

I also had installed the motherboard and D5 to help plan out the loop. Unfortunately the EK D5 pump top has a line of action of weight which acts outside it's base and the pump decoupler it is fitted to keeps being detached as it overcomes the double sided sticky tape. Hopefully when the tube is fitted it should help fix the pump in position, I hope

Another bit of progress is that I finished the D5 pump sleeving (after the third time) and I'm rather impressed. The sleeving is tighter on the cable now so they are easier to train for when I do the cable management later.

After setting up the case I began to plan out the pipe runs which has led to another dilemma. Unfortunately my original plan to run the 360mm radiator connection down can't happen as it would hit the 240 radiator which leaves using two 45° fittings to take it across the system or a combination of drilling into the case and 90° fittings.

So another big update for the time being, unfortunately now I have a long wait as my fans were supposed to be dispatched this weekend which didn't happen and the GPU is not set to arrive until July 1st

[TechMinerUK]

Another update, today I went to get the glass cut at my local store. Unfortunately I had to have 6mm holes drilled as opposed to 3mm so I'll need to use some sort of padding to protect the glass. Luckily I'll have a week to find something to do this

Onto the good stuff now though, I cut out some more acrylic for the mid panel to get flusher finish with the front and I bought some u-channel to give a a finished look. It's not fitted yet as I just wanted to get the size right as I need to drill the holes and shotblast it first.

I have also ordered some soft tubing and acrylic for under neath the connections underneath the midplate and to get the sizes I need when I cut the glass tubing.

[TechMinerUK]

So after ordering some more parts I'm almost ready to start however I've had to have a "re-jig" of the system loop due to the case not being able to hold the radiator in my desired position.

Plan No. 3
Run the tubes in parallel like previously planned but have a straight run on each length before the 45 angle fittings.

Plan No. 4
Run the tubes in parallel like previously planned but have only vertical and horizontal runs with 90 fittings.

I would just buy all the fittings but what with prices my pocket cant cope

 

Without possessing the fitting this is the best I can do for a comparison, luckily someone from another forum took a picture of the EK-HDC 12 fitting and option 1 and but they didn't have the other fitting I'm looking at so I only have a generic photo for the (AC fitting) other option. I'm still not sure

In other news, my glass tubing, Hue+, waterblock and glass panel for the side of the case (I'll get photos next week)

[TechMinerUK]

This update is quite a big one, I'm hoping to get moving on the assembly of the system next week now that most of the parts have arrived.:D

All the fans have arrived along with the rest of my glass tubing, the Hue+ and my glorious waterblocks. Another bit of good news is that thanks to rIcK I now have a Palit GTX 1080 for the waterblock to go on which is quite useful

I also finally decided on a colour scheme for the cables, since the coolant will be a dark blue/deep purple colour I chose the gradient blue for the cables. As for constructing the cables that will be done by PexonPCs (Thanks guys)

Finally for this update the cherry on the top of the whole system will be a custom cut glass window for the CaseLabs S5. This was from my local glass cutters

So that's all for this update and I will be testing the system tonight to make sure it all works

[glengraegill]

This is looking amazing man!

 

I hope everything goes well for you, it looks so promising!

 

 

I'm gonna follow this and try to ping you with ideas as I can, goodluck man!

[TechMinerUK]

On 17/07/2016 at 0:27 PM, glengraegill said:

This is looking amazing man!

I hope everything goes well for you, it looks so promising!

I'm gonna follow this and try to ping you with ideas as I can, goodluck man!

Thanks

It has been a massive pain with all the delays as the build was supposed to be finished by now however having the extra time has allowed me to work out new plans and change my ideas. Feel free to send me as many ideas as you can think of as I want to make sure the build is the best that it can be

 

[TechMinerUK]

Another update, hopefully they should start to flow faster now that everything excluding the reservoir has arrived

So first port of call is my first tubing cuts, these are two templates that have been cut out of acylic so I can cut the glass tube to the correct lengths. I'm very pleased with the overall look of the tubing and mid plate together.

Now for the best news, the GPU arrived (Thank you to rIcK). Obviously I had to test the GPU out by playing some BF4 on the new monitor. I was very impressed (Ultrawide definitely beats 4K hands down :D)

And here is where things went pear shaped. I removed the stock cooler and attempted to install the waterblock. Issue one was the thermal pads not adhering to the waterblock and falling off meaning/moving everywhere so I had to order more. Second issue was during the test fit the thermal pads appeared to not make contact with the VRMs and RAM chips Hopefully this should be solved when the new pads arrived tomorrow

[TechMinerUK]

This is the last update for a few weeks (Holiday time :D) however I've made quite a large amount of progress

As can be seen from the photos I finally sorted out the graphics card, fitted the waterblock and installed the card into the system along with some 90° fittings to help plan and measure my tubing runs. I must admit that the nickel GPU and CPU waterblocks do look very suave.

The next port of call was to measure some test tube using acrylic as a template for my glass cuts. I actually cut 3 pieces however one of them was for another run which ended up changing and being too small, the other cut smashed due to an imperfection where the score had run over so when a small amount of force was applied is smashed in the fitting

Finally the mid plate is almost finished with all the pass through ports in line with each other and the cable holes cut out, the cable holes are going to have combs fixed on the top to cover where they are as originally I wanted the cables to use the plate as a comb however this didn't work due to the holes merging with each other.