Project: Dwight

[Tristerin]

Inspiration - doing my first custom loop, finally got almost all the parts (gpu block in transit, got crushed, tired of waiting)

Name - Thank @Spotty for "Dwight", soon as I read it I thought of the bro from The Office and was sold

 

Build (changes slightly as parts allow):

 

HP Pro 6300 Microtower - will modify case to fit the below

i5-3470 on stock HP cooler - replacing with copper CPU block

Sapphire HD 7750 1gb GPU - replacing with Radeon R7 260X 2gb being cooled by an aluminum block

8 gb (4x2) Gskill Ripjaws DDR3 1600

Lite On 320w PSU - replacing with EVGA 600B PSU, with the Z240 24pin to 6pin power connector

60gb Patriot SSD boot drive

1tb WD 7200 RPM Mechanical drive

500gb Toshiba 7200 RPM Mech Drive with Win 7

Rosewill 4x External 1x Internal USB PCI hub - replacing with PCI slot 4 port SATA I/II card for ODD's

ASUS AC55BT wifi adapter - may keep, but don't like the cords - replacing with USB Bluetooth 4.0 mini dongle

LG Blu Ray/M-Disc/DVD/CD Player/Burner

LG DVD/CD Player/Burner - swapping out one with matching color to the Blu Ray, just somewhere to put this extra drive lol

 

This is my first build log, bear with me as I get through this one before I re-do my FX to Ryzen rig!  My camera'ing skills suck, Im working on it.  I need to figure out my lighting situation.

 

Goal:

Intake 80mm Push pull radiator

500ml res/tank combo

CPU block

GPU block

Exhaust 80mm push pull radiator 

(have 3 rads, may do a top cut out as exhaust as well)

Liquid - 66% distilled/balance antifreeze

 

Why?  Cause, I like playing with adult legos and am doing this before I do my loop on my personal rig with better stuff, bigger rads (copper) etc.

 

 

Bottom 2 pics:

EVGA 600B PSU

2 sets of hoses from Aliexpress

PCI to SATA I/II x4 on top of PSU

Copper CPU block from Aliexpress

24pin to 6pin for PSU conversion on proprietary mobo

 

Bluetooth USB dongle

8 fan 4 pin molex powered hub with speed switch

Pump/Res combo from Aliexpress

XFX Radeon R7 260X BestBuy special gutted, waiting for aluminum block to arrive

5x Arctic P8 80mm fans for rads

3x 80mm aluminum radiators/screws

 

Not pictured yet - some accessories will show during other picture phases will likely take me a week or 2 to finish because kids/other stuff etc as this is a side fun project.  This thing is just a media center currently replaced by the micro form factor in my sig.  Going to end it with a acrylic side window so I can show it off lol.

 

[Tristerin]

GPU got taken apart, aluminum heat sinks added where necessary, a couple weeks ago

Will attach a aluminum block with a block strap and use Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut as TP.

 

[Tristerin]

Making it fit will be fun, Im willing to do some DIY for sure.

Will be doing a cleanup and take-apart this weekend.  It was in use behind the TV for well over a year since last cleanup lol.

[MisguidedChoices]

Very nice! I've always wanted to try something similar to this, had a lot of dust buildup problems as well, there are quite a few decent case options out there for cheap that come with dust filters, might help improve the longevity of your components. 

[Tristerin]

3 hours ago, MisguidedChoices said:

Very nice! I've always wanted to try something similar to this, had a lot of dust buildup problems as well, there are quite a few decent case options out there for cheap that come with dust filters, might help improve the longevity of your components. 

Oh yeah, it was sitting directly on the carpet behind an entertainment center like a perfect tunnel of lint pickup! 

 

I will be adding screens to all places of intakes during the case mod I do not want to replace the case unless absolutely necessary for the lulz lol

 

PLUS - the motherboard is left handed - it will not orient in a normal case   If you look closely you will see Im on the "opposite" side panel of the case

[Tristerin]

Cleaned it up a bit to get measurements and start getting things done while we wait for the GPU block to arrive

[Tristerin]

BUT LO' SOMETHING HAS ARRIVED ON MY DOORSTEP - WHAT IS THIS

[Tristerin]

Other project time - be back on this one later this week!

[Tristerin]

Fit tests from the other night, need to do some drilling on the case for hole patterns.

 

GPU block arrived today - cant beat this $5 aluminum setup coupled with Kryonaut lol.  Wonder how it will perform.

 

 

[Tristerin]

Blindly didn't measure the rear exhaust.  Its a 90/92mm.  Need to drill out 80mm hole pattern for rads/fans.  They fit in push pull in the front and rear so far!  Front intake I will be adding screens to the entire front grill of the case.  I will also do a cutout of the case metal for more direct airflow.

[Tristerin]

@Mick Naughty question sir sorry to bother - should I mount everything, then run hoses and put down towels in the case to see if any leaks?  Or should I assemble outside the case then mount the GPU in the PCIe slot and mount the CPU block?  What would you do?

[Mick Naughty]

22 minutes ago, Tristerin said:

@Mick Naughty question sir sorry to bother - should I mount everything, then run hoses and put down towels in the case to see if any leaks?  Or should I assemble outside the case then mount the GPU in the PCIe slot and mount the CPU block?  What would you do?

If you want to waste tubing not knowing the length youll need for each run, you can do it outside. Only thing that would test is the orings on the blocks themselves as you would still need to take it apart to run it all in the case.

 

You can put down towels if you want, common practice. Ive never done it myself. Build it as you want it and then leak test. Do what you can to ensure pump can be at max speed. Just make sure the hoses are tight. Add a zip tie if needed.

[Zando_]

Aluminum and copper in the same loop? Isn't that a big no-no? 

[Tristerin]

13 hours ago, Mick Naughty said:

If you want to waste tubing not knowing the length youll need for each run, you can do it outside. Only thing that would test is the orings on the blocks themselves as you would still need to take it apart to run it all in the case.

 

You can put down towels if you want, common practice. Ive never done it myself. Build it as you want it and then leak test. Do what you can to ensure pump can be at max speed. Just make sure the hoses are tight. Add a zip tie if needed.

Thank you - plan on using zip ties (have clamps but figured zips I could really tighten down)

 

Not much room so need short runs (bought enough hose for a few loops)

 

13 hours ago, Zando Bob said:

Aluminum and copper in the same loop? Isn't that a big no-no? 

Yes, I work with metallurgist however and discussed this with them - the big no no is the copper on aluminum contact where the galvanic corrosion will occur rapidly.  When you have mixed metals (not contacting), and use a 66% battery distilled water and balance ethylene glycol (radiator fluid which is a natural biocide, nothing can grow in it, and anti corrosion already wrapped up as a package) the rate at which it will happen is nil (and in my case completely unconcerned with the components if something were to go catastrophic which is why everything was bought from Aliexpress if possible lol)

 

Long story short, we will find out the hard way bwuahahaha

 

EDIT - I do have copper 240's and 1 120mm for when I do my build I just put together tonight (another Ryzen 7 1700 system to replace the FX) just want to get my experience on this little microtower first

[Tristerin]

8 hours ago, Mr. horse said:

Yes its a problem. But the problem  of galvanic corrosion can be limited and close to stoped all together. 

 

I highly recommend using a coolant that is mixed metals friendly. Koolance used to sell a lot of mixed metal kits and I believe their coolants are still good for such a setup. But don't hold me to that.

 

By the way, alot of AIO kits use mixed metals. But you don't see them failing left and right from galvanic corrosion.  

 

 

Yup!  To save money on this particular setup I am electing for battery distilled water 66% ratio with balance ethylene glycol (biocide, anticorrosion, better heat transfer than propylene glycol) - this is no different than a mixed metals car radiator setup (as well as the Corsair H100i GTX I own lol which is copper block, aluminum radiator) rather than buying a branded coolant.  If I feel the heat transfer properties or the corrosion is muddying the water persay when I do my actual gaming rig (Ryzen rig 2 in my sig) Ill go with higher end components/fluids/etc.

 

Total its less than $10 for enough fluid to do 3+ rigs with the above ratio

[Tristerin]

Pics to come tonight, yesterday accomplished:

 

UPGRADE!  Went from 4x2 8gb DDR3 1600 Gskills to 4x4 Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 kit.  Freed that kit up by building my new Ryzen rig.

Got case nekkid

Motherboard OEM tray had OEM style motherboard standoffs.  As such to mount CPU waterblock had to cut out motherboard tray area out and modify to create space to put in backplate. (pics incoming)

Drilled out fan mount holes for push/pull intake and exhaust rads - rear exhaust originally 90/92mm

Cut out front intake area for better airflow, drill out holes for mounting push/pull/radiator intake

Installed CPU waterblock/remounted motherboard

GPU w/ waterblock installed for fit test

Rear push/pull w/ Arctic F8's + 80mm radiator lined up and fits as exhaust

 

No hoses ran.

 

Plan to install everything in the case first then run the hoses to have the short and cleanest runs possible (running out of room to do it any other way!)

Still unsure if I can fit 2x ODDs or need space for cable hiding.  Same goes for 3.5" slot for Media Card reader, not sure if I will include this or use for cables space

Still unsure where I will be mounting my pump/res combo.  There are spaces and areas but will likely have to fabricate a bracket.

Need to head to hardware store for acrylic panel to create side window.

 

[Tristerin]

Proprietary left handed motherboard, fan holes drilled, front valance removed and cut out aluminum for airflow, and motherboard standoffs that had to be removed in order to put on the CPU waterblock

 

And upgrade!  From 4x2 G.skills to some Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600mhz 4x4 kit

[Tristerin]

So far so good!

 

[Tristerin]

Im terrible at taking and editing pictures lol

[Tristerin]

I think I messed up and need to go back and compress pictures lol

 

Example of how it looked when I bought it...sans the mobo has 2 PCIex1 slots not 2 x16 slots.

[Tristerin]

Nearly finished, just need to head to the store to get my distilled battery water and antifreeze.

 

THE ALIEXPRESS LOOP IS ABOUT TO COME TO ORDER.  Hopefully will finish by this weekend.

 

 

Breakdown of drives:

Blue Ray Burner ODD

DVD/CD Burner ODD

3.5" Media Card reader with usb 2.0

1x500gb 2.5" Seagate HDD

1x60gb SSD boot drive Windows 10

1x1tb 3.5" Toshiba HDD

 

PSU and below:
EVGA 600B w/ 24pin to 6 pin harness to power motherboard

1xUSB header to 4xUSB header breakout board (still need to put wifi/Bluetooth card in which takes another header 1 more than on board)

4x4 Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600mhz

500ml pump/res combo

HP 615114-001 motherboard

i5 3470 w/ copper waterblock

Intake - 2x Arctic F8 w/ 80mm radiator

Exhaust - 2x Arctic F8 w/80mm radiator

XFX R7 260x 2gb w/ generic aluminum waterblock and block strap with heat sinks on all the nekkid parts that need it

PCI to 4x SATA I/II for ODD drives (short 1 header on board)

Molex powered 8x3pin fan header breakout board running pump and all fans, has manual switch to go from low or high settings

Mesh cut to cover entire front area (built for passive intake, gets dusty as you can see in original pictures) behind front bezel

All internals put back sans the original ram and case speaker.  I just didn't want to see yet ANOTHER wire LOL  Though it does fit and before Im finished I may just slap it back in for original sake.

 

Loop order just because:

Top Pump Port feeds rear exhaust

Rear exhaust feeds GPU

GPU feeds CPU

CPU feeds front intake

Front intake feeds Bottom Pump Port

 

All parts of the loop purchased from Aliexpress sans the radiators purchased on Ebay from Malaysia because it was a hair cheaper at the time with pagodas already installed.  

 

Im not done with cable management but there isn't much anything in this case for that lol

 

[Tristerin]

Heading to the store to pick up fluids!  When doing the rinsing portion I did some quick math for volume and how many inches of tubing added the other day to come up with my first pour to fill.  Im overshooting by a margin intentionally to ensure the mixture is close to 66% battery distilled water, and the balance will be glycol - I am going to get the cheapest radiator fluid at the parts store with anti corrosion additives.  Ethylene glycol is better by a slight margin for this but it may be more expensive...will find out!

[Tristerin]

The loop is alive.  However I have a solid red LED, which would indicate a bad PSU (which I am having to use a wiring harness to get past the lack of 20/24pin support on the mobo.  

 

So no leaks, cant check temp, getting no display either from the on board or dGPU.  Time to diagnose as I have time!

[Tristerin]

Found the solution, the wiring harness has to have two of its wires swapped to work on my motherboard.

 

However Im seeing another snag.

 

@Mick Naughty and others - Ive let the loop run now for about 20 minutes.  I did 3 pre rinses on all parts.  I can already see junk gathering up on the CPU block that looks like refuse (not a lot but a few black specs in the fins) how can I flush this block, do I need to take it apart?  I plan on now flushing the system a few times to clear up the gunk which apparently didn't come out with my rinses (aliexpress for the win!)

[Tristerin]

WEVE GOT POST!  SHES ALIVE  Pics to come soon