water cooling [I'll make it fit] Copper pipe water cooling in Node 202 (also, my first build)

[Smollie1]

I meant 'quick disconnect' fittings not push fittings.

[SonoDanshi]

2 minutes ago, Smollie1 said:

Oh man. I wonder if you put a dimmer in the circuit you could run the pump slower allowing you to leave it to bleed without flooding everything.

 

Would something like a push fit open top reservoir work for small builds like these? You plug it in to fill / drain the system but otherwise it's not attached. That would make this whole thing a whole lot easier.

I did try running the pump through a rheostat but it wouldn't run slow enough not to aerate the water so gave up on that in the end. A QD reservoir on the T-Junction may well be an excellent solution. I'll check what I have in stock as I do have a QD and a spare res lying around from my old desktop build that I didn't transfer across to the new desktop. Hmmm time to ponder.....

[Smollie1]

Ha, great. It would be awesome if you could try out the QD idea.

 

The other solution would be that we just cut a hole in the case and have a nice cylindrical res sticking out the top. You could also combine that with the quick disconnect thing so when you're moving the computer (travelling etc.) you can QD the res, empty it and pack it separately. Or not empty it I guess.

 

Not sure if the resale value of the 202 case would go up or down if I drilled a hole in it.

 

This is super fun.

[SonoDanshi]

1 hour ago, Smollie1 said:

Ha, great. It would be awesome if you could try out the QD idea.

 

The other solution would be that we just cut a hole in the case and have a nice cylindrical res sticking out the top. You could also combine that with the quick disconnect thing so when you're moving the computer (travelling etc.) you can QD the res, empty it and pack it separately. Or not empty it I guess.

 

Not sure if the resale value of the 202 case would go up or down if I drilled a hole in it.

 

This is super fun.

My main constraint going into "phase 1" of the project was that unless you looked *very* closely you shouldn't be able to tell that there was anything out of the ordinary about the computer. I think Phase 2 might include tempered glass though so that's going to be thrown out of the window

[Smollie1]

I was going to say, 'just drill a hole in it' but then I read:

You cannot cut or drill heat tempered glass. Not waterjet, not laser, not hot needle, not under water. Physics, not technique. There is no secret formula for cutting or drilling tempered glass.

 

Obvious after spending 1 second thinking about it.

 

One solution might be to have the glass panel start from around the end of the PSU. That way you can still have a hole in the case for the res. It happens that most of the 'action' would actually be in the 2/3rds with the panel anyway.

 

The sleeper PC thing is cool, but I think being able to see it all (or most) would be awesome. I'm inclined towards sticking a panel on mine at some point down the road. Right now I'm super excited about the QD res idea. It solves a bunch of problems instantly (if it works).

[Smollie1]

I think these are the fittings we'd need, or something similar.

 

Does it matter where it the loop the reservoir is? It would be sweet to have the reservoir directly above the CPU block (copper all the way).

[SonoDanshi]

3 hours ago, Smollie1 said:

I think these are the fittings we'd need, or something similar.

 

Does it matter where it the loop the reservoir is? It would be sweet to have the reservoir directly above the CPU block (copper all the way).

General consensus puts the res immediately before the pump as the res is there to stop the pump running dry, but if you're a brave man you can technically put it anywhere but expect the pump to suck air when you initially fill the loop.

 

I have found a nice little Bitspower 40mm res I had lying around but I've misplaced my QD fittings! Probably in another box somewhere with my used w/c components.

[SonoDanshi]

I found my QD fittings this morning but the female side uses a barb fitting instead of G1/4 so I'll have to buy a new set of them if I want to test this out. I am actually not sure if it will work as you always have an inlet and outlet on the res which allows for a pressure break in the look where the air can settle. However, with the QD you'll have a single pressurized path into and out of the res. Well it's only $40 for the fittings and if it gets me closer to a bled and quiet loop then it'll be worth it.

[Smollie1]

Shame they are barb fittings. I'm not sure what you mean by there being a pressure break?

Processor arrived. Going to fit that now which means taking out the motherboard and graphics card because I'm a n00b. Then going to do a bunch of sleeving. I should be booted by tonight. Sleeving is going to take a while though.

 

Let me know which QD fittings you choose. The world of choosing fittings is hazardous due to the insane number of variants.

[SonoDanshi]

21 minutes ago, Smollie1 said:

Let me know which QD fittings you choose. The world of choosing fittings is hazardous due to the insane number of variants.

I am going to opt for the Bitspower Black Sparkle (G1/4 male on both ends) as I use the black sparkle fittings for everything else and as the male QD would be a permanent feature of the loop I'd want them to match....... As I type this I am thinking I might try something else entirely!

 

I have a drain port in the system away from the pump where the fluid might be a little less aggressive. If I use a 90degree male:male fitting, I could throw on a reservoir there temporarily and no need for any QD fittings as it has a valve on it already. I think that's worth a shot first as I already have everything I need to try that.

[Smollie1]

Interesting. Keep us updated with pictures if you try anything. In other news.

 

WE HAVE POST.

 

 

 

[Smollie1]

I finished the 24 pin sleeving which went a lot better today.

 

<This is where the pictures of the cables close up and the finished system would go but I'm getting a 20mb limit warning every time>

 

Next up:

1. Install Ubuntu onto 8gb USB stick and boot the 202 into that
2. Download displaylink drivers so the 202 will work with a USB 3.0 monitor (which I own already)
3. Sleeve all the rest of cables that it's possible to sleeve (incl. the ones I'm not using right now)
4. Shorten stupidly long cables e.g. re-routed power cable and USB 3.0
5. When cable combs arrive, put those on
6. Buy supplies for water cooling (start with just a CPU loop)
   1. EK CPU block
   2. G1/4 compression fittings
   3. DDC or D5 pump (or something else reliable, not sure here)
   4. Quick disconnect fittings
   5. Small reservoir that will work with QD fittings
   6. Copper pipe
   7. Pipe spring for bending
   8. Distilled water (probably some anti fungus stuff also)
7. Put together loop. Pray it doesn't leak.
8. Look at my creation and figure out WTF I'm going to do with a computer that barely fits in my luggage on it's own when I have to fly transatlantic in 2 weeks.
   1. I'm in San Francisco right now but I don't live here, I live in the UK. I basically have to get rid of this as soon as I'm done. Do people sell this kind of stuff on this site, I saw some kind of classifieds section.

[Smollie1]

Clarification: I'm not building this to make a quick buck. I did an impulsive thing because I couldn't help myself. If I can sell this build, I'll immediately start working on my next build (not sure where I'll be, I move around a lot). If I could sell this one for cost, I'd be very happy. (I doubt anyone will want the cpu/ram/mobo. I can keep hold of them for posting later builds).

 

If there was a way for me to build systems and make $50, I'd be overjoyed as I can't afford a nice rig right now. Also by the time I'd saved up enough to afford a nice build, I'd also have a ton of experience.

 

Building this machine so far has been the most fun I've had in a long time. I can't believe I didn't start doing this earlier. Can't wait to bend me some pipes.

 

 

[Smollie1]

It lives. Bootable Ubuntu drive was really easy. Getting displaylink drivers installed, not so much. System is hanging and it 'gedit' can't figure out what format it's in.

 

[Smollie1]

Just looking at water blocks. Do you think I'd be better off with an EK Supremacy Evo (nice full copper one) or something like this XSPC one?

 

I've gotta get these parts together or this build isn't going to get done in time.

 

Sleeved the CPU power cable tonight. Figured out I can't install the displaylink drivers with the Ubuntu trial bootable version so will have to install to an external hard drive tomorrow

[SonoDanshi]

I've only ever used EK blocks for my builds, but the XSPC one does look smart - plus it's cheaper.

[Smollie1]

I went with the EK AMD one. Fittings are primochill. I didn't get the QD fittings. Going to have the reservoir sticking out and not keep the lid on to start. If that goes well, I'll get the QD fittings and try running the system with no res.

 

oh fuck, just realized I don't have a drain port. 

[Smollie1]

Making progress. All cables I'll be using are sleeved (I didn't do a molex I don't need). CPU block, pump and res coming tomorrow. Should be interesting getting the pump / waterblock in there. I should have a good sense of where all my runs are going to go, then I'll get the copper tubing.

 

Next jobs after that are shortening internal cables (waiting on some flux).

 

 

Can't believe the radiator and SP120 fit in this case with the lid closed. Was sure I was going to have to go for a slimmer rad / fan combo.

 

 

[Smollie1]

@SonoDanshi I think I'm likely to need to power adapters / splitters to be able to power both my pump and the SP120 but I have no idea what those should be.

 

What's the deal with powering this stuff? I'm inclined to put some TASTEFUL dim white led's in there also.

Last night I hacksawed the gap between the two sections. Was a pain in the ass but turned out OK. Will be totally covered by literally everything anyway. No plumbing stores open today so can't get copper pipe. Will work on shortening internal cables and getting water block on. mobo didn't come with standard FM2 backplate so couldn't mount the block last night. This was confusing and annoying, but the backplate should come today and then things can get going.

 

I'm probably going to hold onto this thing (for the time being). You were right, hard to give up something you put so much work into.

[SonoDanshi]

4 hours ago, Smollie1 said:

@SonoDanshi I think I'm likely to need to power adapters / splitters to be able to power both my pump and the SP120 but I have no idea what those should be.

 

What's the deal with powering this stuff? 

What pump have you bought? Is it powered by 3/4 pin fan headers or molex/sata? Your motherboard has 2 4-pin fan headers so you shouldn't need any splitters.

[Smollie1]

I got this little EK one, it's very nice. Should fit OK, once I get hold of the tubing I should have a better idea of how this is all going to work.

 

Yeah, I think you're right. It looks like I have a CPU header and fan header so I should be fine. If I wanted LED's I would have to get some adapters, although without a glass side panel that doesn't seem like a priority.

 

Have you had any time to play with your 202 configuration?

[SonoDanshi]

26 minutes ago, Smollie1 said:

I got this little EK one, it's very nice. Should fit OK, once I get hold of the tubing I should have a better idea of how this is all going to work.

 

Have you had any time to play with your 202 configuration?

Where are you planning to put that then? When I looked at "normal" pumps there was simply nowhere I could fit one inside the case.

 

As for playing with my 202 build.....

 

 

I have the pump hooked up to variable voltage but even at the minimum I can get it, it still pumps too fast to get the fluid around the loop without forcing air bubbles into it. I'll keep cycling it over a few days and see if I can improve the situation at all.

[Smollie1]

Ha, I think I can get it to fit. if I was doing a GPU loop as well I might have problems. We'll see when I get hold of the pipe. I'll send more picture tonight so you can see the proposed layout.

Looks pretty cool with the reservoir out the side like that. I was looking at where I could put mine. Hadn't considered out that side. Whether I could do that depends on my proficiency hand bending copper pipe. If I wanted a GPU in the loop I'd need a slimmer rad / fan. I'd also have to swap the 120 rad in for a 240.

 

Your build looks great, shame that you can't get the bubbles out. I like the pastel coolant.

[SonoDanshi]

It looks like it is working very slowly. Everytime I power cycle the pump I am getting a few bubbles coming into the res before the loop settles down. I think I just need to do that several dozen / hundred times.

 

Looking forward to seeing more pictures of what you're doing.

[Smollie1]

Do you know how to get around the 20mb limit on pictures? It's a real drag. Maybe I have some kind of n00b ranking that prevents me from uploading a bunch.