HP Pavilion Revamp: Plan B

[kkpatel87]

 

Great strides were made today... Lol. So the first hing I needed to do was fix my D5 pump. I still have the stock ugly top for mine and since I have gone well over my $0 budget, I needed to modify the top I have. I cut the stock barbs off for two reasons: 1, they are 1/2” and that's too big for most of my projects. And 2, I would need to use adapters to get the desired angles/sizes, which I just don't have space for. So, two cuts with the die grinder and I have only solved half of my problem.

 

Since I am borrowing tools from my Dad, I had just the thing to add threads to my hole(a tap I think?):

 

This pump would have been so much better if it would have com from the factory like this, but oh well. Also, why aren't pumps and taps in gyms? Doing two holes was quite the workout lol.

 

Moving on to the reservoir, I added Velcro pieces to keep my bracket from scratching the acrylic.

 

Sad thing is that I ended up cracking the reservoir while putting the fittings on, so at this point even if it does get a few scratches I won't care. I used zip ties to hold the reservoir on:

 

I should have used black zip ties, but oh well. I might paint that panel so I could change them eventually, but honestly I really don't want to redo this set up (you will see why towards the bottom of this post).

 

To put things into perspective, here is how tight I have designed this case:

 

The bottom of the pump barely clears the case, and there is hardly any room for the tubes.

This is how I mounted the pump though:

 

 I used zip ties and wire mounts(?)to hold it on. Sad thing is that two of the mounts have already come off, but it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

I almost had to drill a hole so I could reach the speed switch on the pump, but I went for the easy approach:P 

 

 

This is how I joined the pump and reservoir together:

 

 

To continue my trend of Home Depot parts, here is my water block with fittings installed:

 

Not pretty, but it will get the job done lol. It will be covered up anyways, so that's why wasn't too concerned bout its aesthetics.

 

Moving onto the GPU, here it is fully plumbed:

 

It used 1/4” tube while the rest of the system uses 3/8” tube, so that's why I had to use those ugly fittings. It beats having to use the adapters I made lol(look at my Phantom build if you want to see the adapters).

 

Basically at this point it was 2 more tubes and a whole lot of headache, but here are the results:

 

The panel doesn't come off as far as I wanted it to.

I think this is the tightest fit computer I have ever built. Between the non modular PSU and the cooling system I think I have used up every bit of space lol.Best of all everything fits! The panel doesn't go in easy, but it fits and that's all what matters. This made my night seeing everything go together .

 

Another cool thing that I haven't shown off is the custom SATA cable I had made(I didn't make it). Since one of the SSD's is mounted up side down, I figured I should get a upside down cable to match it:

And that feeling when you get to say “worth it”:

I can't wait to see this thing run, I've spent too much time and money making a HP case “suck less” lol. I will let the sealant fully dry this time, since that's what made my lines in my Phantom cloudy(although this time I am using RTV instead of Loctite thread sealant). Will it leak? Will it overheat? You will soon find out

 

Also, if you are wondering: “Did doing all of this solve your boredom and was it worth decommissioning two machines?” Why yes it did, and it was totally worth it. I'm not sure if I would do it again ,but I'm glad I did it If I were to do this again, I would probably use my Dell Inspiron case since its a little roomier, but pushing the limits with a small HP case was fun. If the single radiator isn't enough, I'm not sure what I will do. Since I want to start my next build, I might just revert this back to air cooling, but it would be worth re-visiting in the future(either way we come out winning lol).

 

 

This is pretty cool!

 

(Also is plan C working on routing the wire hanresses? I think you should work on routing )

[QueenDemetria]

I have to say this is a really exciting project to follow and hope it turns out excellent. Also just a suggestion to clear up the clutter, snip away any cables from the psu that you are not using and think you'll never use ever (of course just make sure the copper ends don't touch by insulating them). I know that feel with non-modular psus and their stiff bulky cables.

I hope it turns out too and thanks for the suggestion. I don't think I'll cut the wires since everything tucks away nicely and I might use this PSU for a "retro" build in the near future.

 

This is one nice project,Thats some really pro grade stuff you did there.Thread followed   :lol:

Thanks

 

That is actually pretty impressive, getting so much stuff in the small case. Crafty.  I am here so inappropriate commenting!

 

Appropriate Monty Python pic.

My favorite out of context section. You keep on giving B. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

I had just the thing to add threads to my hole(a tap I think?): - Yep a tap

Doing two holes was quite the workout lol.

doesn't go in easy, but it fits and that's all what matters. This made my night

Lol, I got a good laugh from that picture . I'm actually surprised that it only took 3 days from "Hey lets liquid cool a HP" to "I'm ready to pour the oil".

[QueenDemetria]

This is pretty cool!

 

(Also is plan C working on routing the wire hanresses? I think you should work on routing )

Thanks, and I don't really have a "plan c" for this project. My wiring isn't too bad considering I'm using a non modular PSU and probably one of the worst cases for cable management lol. Internally I want this computer to be functional, but I'll make it look pretty by paining the case and adding some cool vents and whatnot. 

[Janssent11041]

this is cool...

[Frankie]

Lol, I got a good laugh from that picture . I'm actually surprised that it only took 3 days from "Hey lets liquid cool a HP" to "I'm ready to pour the oil".

 

That's why I do it, for the giggles. Because oil cooling the whole computer is too mainstream. I am interested how it gonna perform in a closed loop. 

[QueenDemetria]

Unlike Linus's approach at bleeding the cooling system, I opted for using a separate power supply instead of powering the entire system on. I'm using a Pico PSU with a "special" paperclip jammed into the "sense" pins. I could have used any PSU, but this one was handy:

 

Of course, here is the oil I will be using:

 

And after about 45min of bleeding here it is filled:

If you are wondering why the oil is cloudy, its because the bleeding process wasn't easy. Unlike water, the oil didn't "fall" into the pump like I wanted it to, so it just whipped the oil around making a bunch of small bubbles. I expect it to be like this for a week if not two weeks, but if I can give my PC a good rest the bubbles should settle in a reasonable amount of time.The good news is that my D5 pump is plenty for pumping oil, and due to the low viscosity of oil I chose, I only have to set my pump to "3"(out of 5) to get an optimal flow rate(actually, its slightly below 3). When I was running a water set up with this pump I had it set to 2, so its not too bad.

 

As far as oils thermal properties go I have no idea, since I never ran this set up with water to give me a reference point. If I had to guess, oil conducts heat much better than water since I am seeing my GPU heat up a lot more from the CPU(using my water/FX as a reference). Its still not that bad though, with an ambient temperature between 22-24c I am seeing idle temps of 32-35c for my CPU and 37-43c with my GPU. Under load things get interesting since my CPU temp peak at 54c, but my GPU takes a big hit and maxes out at 85c. This is with the worst case scenario of using Prime95 and Furmark simultaneously, but I fully expect close temperatures with games.

 

Also my blue HDD LED works, I didn't mess up the polarity thankfully(honestly I would have left it broken if I messed up). I'll give a few games a try just to test thermals, but the long term is what I am worried about(I could potentially have a lard making machine lol).

[Frankie]

I would not want to see this loop after half of a year or a year.  The oil is not gonna be pretty.

[QueenDemetria]

I would not want to see this loop after half of a year or a year.  The oil is not gonna be pretty.

Lol, I'm actually expecting it to hold up better than water, since oil usually doesn't have problems with mixing metals.

[Frankie]

Lol, I'm actually expecting it to hold up better than water, since oil usually doesn't have problems with mixing metals.

 

Mineral oil probably not, but vegetable oil gonna go bad. I've seen video somewhere, they did whole PC in vegetable oil (to save money) and it did go bad and stink according to them. Dunno about closed loop, just a friendly warning

 

900th post here, that's not coincidence! Okay... it is.

[QueenDemetria]

Mineral oil probably not, but vegetable oil gonna go bad. I've seen video somewhere, they did whole PC in vegetable oil (to save money) and it did go bad and stink according to them. Dunno about closed loop, just a friendly warning

 

900th post here, that's not coincidence! Okay... it is.

Lol, but mineral oil would eat through the o-rings and probably the tubes too . I have hopes that mine will last a while since its a closed system.

[Shotgun]

Lol, but mineral oil would eat through the o-rings and probably the tubes too . I have hopes that mine will last a while since its a closed system.

Not being a pessimist,but if you plan on doing a closed loop aiming for low temperatures,water is the way to go,since once oil heats up specially vegetable oil it begins to stink after a period of time and it cools slower compared to water and reusing the same tubing pump etc can be a pain in the ass later.

[QueenDemetria]

That feeling when you upgrade your system:

The HD 7770 was actually a pretty good upgrade from the 550 ti. This should keep me going for a while until I get a 7870 or R7 360x for my actual gaming rig(I only plan to browse the web with this machine once I get my other rigs built). Also the bubbles are working their way out pretty good, the 1/4" lines are clear while the 3/8" ones are only slightly cloudy(clearer than the picture): 

 

@Shotgun Lol, I am past the planning stage. So far the oil has been great, and I'm actually surprised that I can keep my system cool with only a single "thin" 120mm radiator. The oil in the long run will be interesting, since I expect it to either go horribly wrong or be just fine. Thanks for the heads up though

[Subduck]

This is really awesome @QueenDemetria

[cammerv8]

Wouldn't the oil eat the tubing and rubber pieces?

[MeepLikesToBuildPc's]

Why not use distiller water?

[flibberdipper]

Wouldn't the oil eat the tubing and rubber pieces?

It shouldn't, as far as I'm aware at least. Maybe the OP knows more about it than what I do for reasoning.

[Gargantua]

@QueenDemetria HP computers are well made and fine builds . i prefer HP on dell . i still have my HP 7800.core to duo .lol

 

[QueenDemetria]

This is really awesome @QueenDemetria

Thanks

 

Wouldn't the oil eat the tubing and rubber pieces?

If I used mineral oil it would, but the vegetable oil should be fairly nice to the rubber pieces. So far the only negative effects I have seen is that it makes the tubes a little hard.

 

Why not use distiller water?

I used distilled water in my Phantom rig(which donated all of the parts for this rig), and the water got cloudy after a couple months. I'm sure adding a biocide or whatever could have prevented that, but I wanted to give oil a try . Nobody has really experimented with it so I figured I would "do it for science" lol.

 

It shouldn't, as far as I'm aware at least. Maybe the OP knows more about it than what I do for reasoning.

Yep, its pretty nice to the rubber. As a sample test, I put a short piece of tube in a cup of vegetable oil and the only negative effect I saw was that it made the tube harder(but not brittle). As far as longevity and other things, I have no idea, I did hardly any research for this project lol.

 

@QueenDemetria HP computers are well made and fine builds . i prefer HP on dell . i still have my HP 7800.core to duo .lol

Yep they are well made, just not well designed lol. Over the years of owning and fixing HP computers I'm not sure if I would own another one, but this project certainly has been fun .

[Gargantua]

Thanks

 

If I used mineral oil it would, but the vegetable oil should be fairly nice to the rubber pieces. So far the only negative effects I have seen is that it makes the tubes a little hard.

 

I used distilled water in my Phantom rig(which donated all of the parts for this rig), and the water got cloudy after a couple months. I'm sure adding a biocide or whatever could have prevented that, but I wanted to give oil a try . Nobody has really experimented with it so I figured I would "do it for science" lol.

 

Yep, its pretty nice to the rubber. As a sample test, I put a short piece of tube in a cup of vegetable oil and the only negative effect I saw was that it made the tube harder(but not brittle). As far as longevity and other things, I have no idea, I did hardly any research for this project lol.

 

Yep they are well made, just not well designed lol. Over the years of owning and fixing HP computers I'm not sure if I would own another one, but this project certainly has been fun .

lol i'm with you on " not owning another one" ROFL .....custom builds are best coz you make it best as you want .

[dudeskee1325]

The only thing about vegetable oil is that it becomes less viscous once its heated, so it will flow more like water. Why not use a blend of 90% water and 10% anti freeze?  

 

Nice job making something most people have into something super unique!

[Shotgun]

That feeling when you upgrade your system:

 

The HD 7770 was actually a pretty good upgrade from the 550 ti. This should keep me going for a while until I get a 7870 or R7 360x for my actual gaming rig(I only plan to browse the web with this machine once I get my other rigs built). Also the bubbles are working their way out pretty good, the 1/4" lines are clear while the 3/8" ones are only slightly cloudy(clearer than the picture): 

 

 

@Shotgun Lol, I am past the planning stage. So far the oil has been great, and I'm actually surprised that I can keep my system cool with only a single "thin" 120mm radiator. The oil in the long run will be interesting, since I expect it to either go horribly wrong or be just fine. Thanks for the heads up though

Whats done is done,hope it turns out great,keep this thread updated

[DildorTheDecent]

Next up is a 9*120mm rad right? 

[QueenDemetria]

lol i'm with you on " not owning another one" ROFL .....custom builds are best coz you make it best as you want .

Yep

 

The only thing about vegetable oil is that it becomes less viscous once its heated, so it will flow more like water. Why not use a blend of 90% water and 10% anti freeze?  

 

Nice job making something most people have into something super unique!

Thanks, I like being unique, but I am still confused with the properties of oil lol. It does become less viscous when it gets heated, but from my little bit of testing it seemed like it didn't effect anything. Sadly I will be going back to a more traditional set up since the oil became weird, but I suspect this is due to user error so I won't completely dismiss oil cooling just yet(ill explain more in my next post).

[QueenDemetria]

So just a quick update: I dun goofed and had my SATA controller set to IDE(I knew about this for a while), but fixing this was low on my priority list. Due to my messed up Windows installation though, I had no problem reinstalling Windows and changing it to AHCI. Installing Windows took freaking forever(over 2 hours), since conflicting devices were creating unnecessary I/O wait(I assume it was either my keyboard or soundcard), but its fixed now(Ubuntu had no problems installing, figures...). Luckily I have everything installed/stored on the WD Black drive, so recovering my data should only take minutes.

 

Also an update on my cooling system: My reservoir has developed a slight leak, but since its slight and non conductive I'm not going to fix it right away(lol). I am going to drain the oil tomorrow because I also goofed with it as well. I was warned that I should eliminate all water before filling the oil and yeah, I am terrible at following directions, so it turned cloudy and I assume nasty(will find out tomorrow lol). I'm still deciding if I am going to refill my system with distilled water or if I should use some Thermaltake coolant that I found. I want to have blue coolant now, so I am thinking about what style I want(UV reactive, the metallic/shiny kind, or the milky/non see through stuff). For now, hold off on using vegetable oil in your PC, but I want to revisit this later(Project: Demetria's ShitBox? Lol).

 

Whats done is done,hope it turns out great,keep this thread updated

Lol, I had to do it for science . As you see above it didn't exactly work out, but I definitely want to try it again with a clean system(I have enough parts laying around now, sooo.... Lol).

 

Next up is a 9*120mm rad right? 

Naa, both chips stay cool with a single rad lol. I just need a 90 CFM fan to keep it cool .

[Shotgun]

 

So just a quick update: I dun goofed and had my SATA controller set to IDE(I knew about this for a while), but fixing this was low on my priority list. Due to my messed up Windows installation though, I had no problem reinstalling Windows and changing it to AHCI. Installing Windows took freaking forever(over 2 hours), since conflicting devices were creating unnecessary I/O wait(I assume it was either my keyboard or soundcard), but its fixed now(Ubuntu had no problems installing, figures...). Luckily I have everything installed/stored on the WD Black drive, so recovering my data should only take minutes.

 

Also an update on my cooling system: My reservoir has developed a slight leak, but since its slight and non conductive I'm not going to fix it right away(lol). I am going to drain the oil tomorrow because I also goofed with it as well. I was warned that I should eliminate all water before filling the oil and yeah, I am terrible at following directions, so it turned cloudy and I assume nasty(will find out tomorrow lol). I'm still deciding if I am going to refill my system with distilled water or if I should use some Thermaltake coolant that I found. I want to have blue coolant now, so I am thinking about what style I want(UV reactive, the metallic/shiny kind, or the milky/non see through stuff). For now, hold off on using vegetable oil in your PC, but I want to revisit this later(Project: Demetria's ShitBox? Lol).

 

Lol, I had to do it for science . As you see above it didn't exactly work out, but I definitely want to try it again with a clean system(I have enough parts laying around now, sooo.... Lol).

 

Naa, both chips stay cool with a single rad lol. I just need a 90 CFM fan to keep it cool .

 

Get distilled water,get some color hot pink if you can add it and run water if you want to  

On a serious not,well atleast now we know what oil can do to a system.I think you should go water.