"Sterling" Silverstone FT02 mods - GTX 980/WCLoop Upgrades

[n0mahd]

UPDATE: 3/17/15 

 

Added spoilers to the first post if you're looking to just find the pictures and not dig for them.

 

Currently waiting to purchase some items for relatively small upgrades:

 

Swiftech Apogee XL CPU Waterblock

 

Bitspower Premium G1/4" Black Matte High Flow 3/8" (5/8") Compression Fitting x 2

SilverStone SP-FF181 Fan Filter for 180mm Fans x 3
DarkSide CONNECT Y Cable - 4-Pin Molex - 12" (Type 6)

DarkSide CONNECT Dimmable 7.75" Modular LED Strip - UV x 2

PrimoFlex Advanced LRT 10ft Tubing - 3/8in. ID X 5/8in. OD - Bloodshed Red

Bitspower G1/4" Low-Profile Stop Fitting with O-ring - Black Matte Finish x 2

EK-FC980 GTX Backplate - Nickel

EK-FC980 GTX Waterblock for Nvidia 980 GTX - Copper/Acetal

Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition Fans

Soldering kit

Distilled water

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Introduction

Hello, everyone!

 

I've been a big fan of LTT ever since the 1366 socket days. Four years ago back when Linus still was working at NCIX and doing videos at work. My favorite videos of him were always the Personal Rig updates. Dunno, for some reason I was always interested in what he used as he would release small tips/tricks here or there. (Must be why the channel is named (Linustechtips, but that's besides the point). Most of the PC junk I have bought was because of Linus so thanks for the giant hole in my wallet.

My rig isn't as extravagant as some of the rigs up here. It's my daily driver and all my upgrade/entertainment money went into building my brother a rig. Still on the z77 platform and I'm STILL extremely happy with it. I'm not a big believer in upgrading every year or so. However, maybe I'll upgrade to a 6-core one of these days when DDR4 prices drop to what DDR3 prices were during the 1155 days.

 

Parts justfication

CPU:

(Retired) i5 3570k - This processor was perfect for me before I was doing video exporting. I had it OC'd like crazy with all types of profiles but I needed a little more speed when it came to video exporting. Thus, the justification for hyperthreading was needed. I couldn't go to the 6-core because it was expensive and I couldn't bring myself to buy one. Also, I had another use for it.

 

(Current) i7 3770k I do video exporting. Which was mainly why I bought this processor. I needed the rendering. And it helped a bit upgrading from my 3570k as the hyperthreading cut a little more time. I'll tell you why I upgraded this CPU later.

 

MOBO: 

 

(Retired) MSI Z77 GD-45  - This motherboard was pretty sweet when I had it. I think Linus used this motherboard is his gaming build guide. Not sure. But, anyways it served it's purpose for a gaming build. However, as soon as I needed something workstation worth it was time to upgrade because I just did not have enough USB ports on the back. Too bad it needed an RMA. My brother uses this in his rig.

 

(Current) Sabertooth z77 - Honestly, I've had two motherboards crap out on me within 4 years and I'm just sick of sending stuff back for an RMA. So, I just said.. You know what? I'm just gonna get a beefy motherboard with a good warranty! The TUF series motherboards carry a 5 year warranty which is good because I see myself sitting on this platform for a while.

 

RAM: (Retired) Corsair Vengeance 8 gigs - This is pretty much the sweet spot when it comes to gaming and overall PC use. It was inexpensive, looks great, and performed that way too. My brother uses this in his rig.

 

(Current) Corsair Dominator Platinums 16gigs 1866mhz - These were mainly just for the bling. And the giving away of my old memory required me to get a new pair. I love the leds on them.

 

GPU: MSI 7950 TWIN FROZR - My old PNY GTX 460 went red hot and blew a capacitor. No joke. I was stuck using an old 9600gt for a week. And I used my first paycheck at my new job to buy this card on sale at the time. It works fantastically and I can run any game I want! OpenCL is pretty sweet too! This might be retired soon though.

 

STORAGE: I currently have to HDDs in my PC with a single Samsung SSD. However, when prices of SSDs drop more I'll probably go ALL SSDs.

 

FANS: AP181 and Corsair SP 120mm - These fans are awesome. I might need to get a fan controller to tweak them a bit. The AP181 are really awesome they push a ton of air and are moderately quiet. I think I'll be able to get them quieter with a fan controller but I'm holding out for Corsair's fan controller.

 

PSU: (Retired) Corsair GS700 - It worked nicely when it did, but I had to change it out because it would trigger the ASUS anti-surge. Which, probably means the PSU is shot. And, could have contributed to what killed my motherboard. At least it had a sweet led light that you could customize.

 

(Retired) Corsair HX750 - Awesome PSU. It's gold rated. Very quiet. I think even George from Corsair said that this is higher quality than the RM series. Hence, why I picked this over it. It's not FULLY modular but it gets the job down and the fan doesn't turn on under high loads.

 

(Current) Corsair AX760 - I love this thing. It takes everything that was great about the original AX PSUs and turns them up farther. The fan turns off. It's quiet. And my favorite feature.. Platinum efficiency and 7 year warranty.

 

CASE: (Retired) Lian Li K63 - This was the first case I had. For it's time, this was a really nice case. It was tool-less and had dust filters. Not too much room behind the motherboard tray but you could make do. Lots of anti vibration too.

 

(Current) Silverstone FT02 - It's an oldie but a goodie. Originally, I wanted to buy a TJ07 or an FT05 but I saw the FT02. I bought this case because I loved the rotated motherboard. The up-flow design and dust filtering. Also, it has the unibody frame and is somewhat made up of mostly screws. It's very sturdy and I don't see very many of them. It fits all the hardware I want it to. Also, when you make all the necessary cuts for mods.. It's actually a pretty amazing case for water cooling. On top of that, I wanted a case that NOBODY HAD. I mean, who has a case that can hold a triple 180mm rad? Except for a modded FD somewhere on the forums. I don't think anyone really has one like mine. 

 

Past Computers

 

I'll give a small history lesson of my rigs evolution.. It was a crappy old AMD athlon dual core with 2 gigs of memory. BUT IT RAN LEFT4DEAD 2 like a beast.

 

This was my original motherboard - MSI K9A2 Platinum AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX 

 

My original Coolit Domino A.L.C this thing has a sweet screen that showed you the temps and the fan speed. Too bad it leaked after awhile.

 

Now this was my first rig..

 

Moving on to 2012

 

 

I bought an..

 

i5-3570k

8gigs of Corsair Vengeance memory

MSI Z77 GD-45 motherboard

 

BUTBUTBUTBUTBUT. You think I just built this thing and I just wanted to upgrade? NONONONONO! That's not how it happened.

 

The PC ended up crapping out on me after two years. Right before Christmas in 2013. Originally, I thought the PSU which was a GS700 was just faulty. Therefore, I changed the power supply with a HX750. I hooked everything up and the board did not boot.. I realized the motherboard was dead. Then I did an RMA of it which was going to take a month.. A month.. Don't know about you guys but I can't last THAT friggin long.. So I ended up buying a new motherboard.

 

 

Crappy cable management, etc.

 

 

 

 

Radiator pictures

 

The 180mm radiator still in bubble wrap.

 

 

 

Trying a fitting on the radiator.

 

Dremmel cuts

 

Sparks flying

 

 

Fits like a glove

 

Pre-GPU waterblock

 

[connorpiper]

You had the same Mobo and CPU as I do now. Still loving the 3570K. I don't need hyperthreading, so the thing is a beast. 

[martlart]

Could you compare the gpu temps before and after moving it into to ft02? I've heard that having the gpu vertical makes the heatpipes less efficient. I know that gpu coolers with the fins perpendicular to the card (e.g. Gigabyte's Windforce cooler) are bad in this type of case, but the twin frozr has the fins parallel to the card, so the heatpipes should be the only limiting factor (if they are at all).

[n0mahd]

Could you compare the gpu temps before and after moving it into to ft02? I've heard that having the gpu vertical makes the heatpipes less efficient. I know that gpu coolers with the fins perpendicular to the card (e.g. Gigabyte's Windforce cooler) are bad in this type of case, but the twin frozr has the fins parallel to the card, so the heatpipes should be the only limiting factor (if they are at all).

I haven't noticed any difference in temperature. The GPU currently is idling at about 36 Celsius. I played a little hearthstone which hardly taxes the system at all. But, at max the card gets to is like 66 Celsius. However, the orientation of the cards probably doesn't matter. They say heat pipes should be horizontal not vertical. But what about a CPU cooler that's on a test bench? Aren't the heat pipes vertical? Just a little thought. As I'm typing this I'm running Kombustor to see the max.. I ran it for minutes and its about 6 minutes.

 

HOWEVER, if the heat pipes are in a U-shape then it might make a difference. If it's a straight pipe then I don't see why it wouldn't work.

[n0mahd]

Got the 180mm magicool radiator out. IT'S HUUUUUGE!! Comparing it to a disk of Oblivion.. Some keys.. And toliet paper.

 

 

This is going to look SOOOOOOOO GOOD.

[martlart]

I haven't noticed any difference in temperature. The GPU currently is idling at about 36 Celsius. I played a little hearthstone which hardly taxes the system at all. But, at max the card gets to is like 66 Celsius. However, the orientation of the cards probably doesn't matter. They say heat pipes should be horizontal not vertical. But what about a CPU cooler that's on a test bench? Aren't the heat pipes vertical? Just a little thought. As I'm typing this I'm running Kombustor to see the max.. I ran it for minutes and its about 6 minutes.

 

HOWEVER, if the heat pipes are in a U-shape then it might make a difference. If it's a straight pipe then I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Cool, thanks. I heard that the Twin Frozr and similar cooler were supposed to work in a vertical position.

 

 

'

Got the 180mm magicool radiator out. IT'S HUUUUUGE!! Comparing it to a disk of Oblivion.. Some keys.. And toliet paper.

 

 

This is going to look SOOOOOOOO GOOD.

That's equal to 6.75 120mm rads. It would probably be enough for 2 gpus and a cpu.

[n0mahd]

BTW, sorry for the crappy pictures. I don't have a super nice camera and I'm just using my phone. I'll take more pictures of the end product as opposed to the building because it's been pretty rainy and dark in Chicago as of lately. So, lighting is kinda crap.

 

Looks like my ft02 needs some cleaning..

 

Took everything off. The uni-body frame, HDDs, components.

 

TIME FOR SOME CUTTING!!

[spwath]

Subbing,I just got a ft05

Are you using dual or triple 180mm rad?

[n0mahd]

Subbing,I just got a ft05

Are you using dual or triple 180mm rad?

I saw the ft05! I considered buying the dual 180mm just in case lol I wanted to move to one of those. But I thought better go big or go home,

TRIPLE BABY! And a 120mm I got from someone. So, in all.. 540mm + 120mm = 660mm of cooling? The 120mm probably doesn't do a darn thing but it looks cool!

[n0mahd]

MOAR PICTURES

 

Did some necessary cuts to fit the radiator. I want my sliding dust filters. Not doing this the cheap way and just dumping the radiator in the bottom. BTW, if you're wonder why I was wearing gloves.. Well I was working on the car too.

 

 

Woohoo! Fits like a glove! Now, I just gotta file her up and get her looking pretty.

[Norman_the_Owl]

niceeee

[n0mahd]

Okay, is it just me.. Or is it REALLY FRIGGIN TOUGH to get the tubing over the fittings? And getting the ring over is even harder.. I'm using 3/8 ID 5/8 OD compressions with same size tubing. I have to use a lot of force...

[spwath]

I saw the ft05! I considered buying the dual 180mm just in case lol I wanted to move to one of those. But I thought better go big or go home,

TRIPLE BABY! And a 120mm I got from someone. So, in all.. 540mm + 120mm = 660mm of cooling? The 120mm probably doesn't do a darn thing but it looks cool!

I may water cool my ft05 once I get a job (hopefully at frozencpu.com as I live 5 min away)

[n0mahd]

I just used 3mm heavy duty double sided tape AKA tape of the gods to re-mount the HDD cage.

[n0mahd]

Well here's some rough pictures!

 

 

 

Socket area.

 

 

GPU AREA

 

Front bay (EK D5 BAY RES)

[n0mahd]

UPDATE: 3/17/15

 

Not sure if I should just post pictures of my rig updates or just make tiny vlogs. What do you guys think? I obtained a reference GTX 980 using the EVGA step-up program. I'll be putting a block on that along with some UV lighting effects. Changing the tubing. Flushing the block and my rads. Thinking about doing some painting mods to the inside. Maybe plasti-dip the inside?

[n0mahd]

Something came in the mail.

 

 

Out of the Box

 

 

Pretty!

 

[n0mahd]

UPDATE 3/18/15

I'm thinking of Plastidipping the inside of my case to stop vibrations. And it's durable. I've used the stuff quite a bit on my car.

Hopefully, my watercooling order comes in.

[spwath]

Looking nice.

What kind of temps, considering my dual 180 rad can go fanless

[n0mahd]

Looking nice.

What kind of temps, considering my dual 180 rad can go fanless

It's pretty close to ambient temperatures at idle. At load it's only a few degrees hotter. Seriously, I'm kinda jelly that you have the dual 180mm. This triple is nice and all but it's a serious PITA to drain. I had at least a 3 giant bowls worth of water. Also, unscrewing everything is tedious. I'm probably NOT gonna rescrew everything. So I could just slide things out.

Also, I've completely massacred my harddrive cage. I need to file it done and get it looking pretty. Remount it somehow. Velcro or bolts.

Hopefully it isn't too cold outside I need to plastidip!

[spwath]

It's pretty close to ambient temperatures at idle. At load it's only a few degrees hotter. Seriously, I'm kinda jelly that you have the dual 180mm. This triple is nice and all but it's a serious PITA to drain. I had at least a 3 giant bowls worth of water. Also, unscrewing everything is tedious. I'm probably NOT gonna rescrew everything. So I could just slide things out.

Also, I've completely massacred my harddrive cage. I need to file it done and get it looking pretty. Remount it somehow. Velcro or bolts.

Hopefully it isn't too cold outside I need to plastidip!

My dual 180 isn't screwed in. But I can't take it out without removing my entire system

[n0mahd]

@spwath it's probably fine. you have a tube res. Easier to drain.

[spwath]

@spwath it's probably fine. you have a tube res. Easier to drain.

I would disagree, after draining

[n0mahd]

I'll just leave this teaser here.

 

[n0mahd]

Here's one of my loop upgrades.