CoolIT Systems

Tis the season for a new build….this time around I really wanted to focus on the details. On that note..should something be amiss, or look off, feel free to voice your opinion. Like all great creations…even a master faults & misses something that another eye can pick up (I imply not a thing here b/c I am far from a master – but more often than not I’m focused on one important detail in my mind & miss another in the process)

Anyone can build a computer, but what I am going for is a showpiece. I have spared no expense on the quality of parts (with the exception of cheaping out on the power supply… something that I paid the price for….deeply regret…&….something I will never do again) It is a shame that i did not go w/ the silverstone all along; I would have saved my hands quite a thrashing.

Quite a few of parts have been sitting collecting dust for longer that I would like to admit. Finding time is more difficult that one can imagine. Quite a bit of this will be worked on over xmas (when I have a day or 2 away from the office) & commencing again (if necessary) in Feb ’09 after 1099’s go out (I’m an acct/it mgr for a law firm) time is never on my side – EVER


first & foremost everything in the case short of the motherboard/v-cards & blocks will be painted black - I wanted an automotive themed build I am a huge Porsche Enthusiast & I wanted in some way shape or form to incorporate a few things auto….along the same lines of the Porsche Design…an auto feel/look from a non automotive object


For me that means something with some chrome, black metal & some carbon fiber…..well…hell…A LOT of carbon fiber…but that was pretty much out. It would look a bit tacky imo (though I would not turn down an all carbon caseAfter purchasing (10) .2mm 9.7” x 12” sheets of real carbon fiber 4 months ago, I slowly started seeing more & more sheets return to the box I keep them in b/c it just did not look right. There will be a few accents of real carbon


I did however start out with one of the best cases for water cooling with some nifty wheels already affixed. So…all is not lost with the auto theme…I’m already off to a great start since it can already roll freely & has a built in “emergency brake”



I have had some great experiences using thermal electric cooling on the cpu. This build I wanted to incorporate a TEC system for the cpu, v-cards & entire motherboard

(I later found out that cooling the southbridge was not going to happen w/ the innovatek block that came with the black pearl, so I have decided to just use a fan)I did not like the way the blocks looked that did fit (not that I like the fan option one bit) but routing another hose to that block (SB) would disturb a flow of tubes I have already created in my head & we cannot have that!


I will be using a Lian Li PC-V2000B Plus II as the foundation due to the great deal of space afforded & top it off w/ a 4 fan Koolance shroud (thank you for the clearance info Gone Cruising – no rad up there for now…but…you never know).


After spending a great deal of time on www.extremesystems.org I came across a Lian Li V2000 & v1000 thread www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=154982 which sent my brain to overload. There are so many great cpu systems in this one thread.


I devised a plan of attack, which brings me to the details.


The plan calls for 2 loops – one for the CPU->NB->MOSFETS & the second for the video cards each of which chilled by a hybrid CoolIt Freezone


The grocery list seems to be never ending…there are so many little bits & pieces As follows:

Lian Li PC-V2000B Plus II

EVGA 680i Black Pearl

(2) EVGA 9800GX2’s

(2) EK 9800GX2 Nickel Blocks

Intel E8400 E0 stepping – recently benched in a 780i FTW 4.5 @ 1.27v service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=466655

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 w/ ram fan

Plextor PX-755SA

WD Raptor X 150

Icy Dock 3 Bay hot swap cage

Antec Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W PS
SCRAPPED FOR A SILVERSTONE ZEUS 1200W


(it is 3 now....) Coolit Freezone Thermal Electric Coolers

(2) Feser XChanger 360's

Danger Den Black Ice Extreme 120.1 THIS HAS BEEN AXED TOO

Koolance 4 Fan Shroud

2 x MurderMod MDPC-X Psychopacks (i used one on the antec power supply i ditched & got a second for the new Silverstone Zeus)

(10) Sheets of Hayame real carbon fiber (.2mm thick w/ adhesive backing 9.7” x 12” sheets)

(2) Scythe Kaze Master Fan Controllers

(5) Enermax Magma 120mm x 25mm Twister Red & Back Fans (for the shroud on top & one for the bottom coolit freezone)

(7) Scythe Ultra Kaze 120mm x 38mm 3000RPM fans (6 for the Feser rad's - one for the freezone in the top portion of the case in the lian li 3x5.25)

many feet of 18AWG Stranded Hook Up Wire UL Approved - Black

1 x Logisys Remote Control Molex Connector Kit (RM01)

a few USB/KK Header Connector 1 X 2's

3 x Dual LED - Pre-wired with Connector - 5mm - White

30 x Lian Li Anodized Thumbscrews M3 Size (1) - Black

30 x black fan screws

50 ft of red & 50 ft of black 26g

100 ft of 22g

30 ft 0.375 (3/8") Chrome Cable Sleeving (just going to use a few feet)

Lian Li Solid Aluminum Black Anodized Casters (wheels!) to replace the oem silver ones

Logisys 12" 12V LED Light Strip - White (may get a few more - i like these things)

White Illuminated Bulgin Vandal Switch - Black Housing w/ Ring Illumination

(2) NMB / Panaflo 80mm x 15mm Fan (3106KL-04W-B50-C00) (for the rear bottom of the case)

Lian Li PC-343B 3 X 5.25" Fan Module with Mesh Front and Filter

15 ft of Slim C-Strip Fan/Window Molding - Black (not going to need it all obviously)

(2) A.C. Ryan MeshxPanelâ„¢ Modder's Mesh sheets - Black (ACR-XP0748)

FrozenCPU Noise Dampening Material

TONS-O-Various Koolance compression swiveling fittings/adaptors/elbows

20 feet of NORPRENE TUBING (3/8" OD; 1/4" ID; BEND RADIUS 7/8" MIN) (I got extra for a blackbird project that i will be working on)

A bunch of various sized rubber grommets

Top Shelf LED controller

Silverstone SST-CLEARCMOS reset button

100 black pop rivets (all will be replaced to black)

12 120mm rubber black gaskets/vibration absorbers (2 extra for the LochnessMounsta's build)

5 sets of koolance quick disconnects (for removing the v-cards easily & also to remove the board) i want to be able to swap out set ups without ripping hair out of mt head

a few Hammond boxes to raise the rad above floor level & hide a few things

& a ton of blood & tears (hopefully there will be little use for the Kleenex box – I know the band aids will be on ready)



A special delivery from Barry @ Coolit:



TY you again for the speeding shipping!







3 freezone’s, some neoprene, & a MTEC controller





Well…lets start w/ taking apart the CoolIt Systems Freezone:





I used a blow dryer to heat up the adhesive to remove the face plate – I will not be needing any them – it makes for easier disassembly as well

There is a small screw that needs to be removed to drain & fill the system – it is located on the pump & requires an allen key

To remove the clamps that are on the system you need a small pair of metal cutters & pry the clamp back away







be sure to note the send & return – the “A” side is the send & the “B” side is the return

or when you are looking @ your freesone, the flow of the system is TEC, pump, block, TEC

after draining & getting flipping the system forward & backward (antifreeze likes to hide in the system) seal off the connections w/ some masking tape till you are ready to move forward w/ some toobage


also…be sure to note (or even better still) mark w/ some tape the send & return of the pump too

(be sure to use distilled h20 to clean out any bits that may be in any blocks/rads you are adding prior to starting the process)

you can order extra neoprene & clamps from Coolit – they sell kits just for taking these apart (well – that is prop not true – they were prob designed for the Boreas barebones kit)

either way…be sure to get at the VERY least some clamps before you jump in – the neoprene is better for closed loop systems b/c it will not loose liquid over time like tygon does – so…it is better to pay now to play rather than find that you are down quite a bit of coolant & your chip is dead

this initial loop you are seeing was changed after I got the toobage from Barry – I used the some extra tygon I had laying around just for testing purposes




after attaching all necessary tubes/clamps/compression fittings:

it is time to start filling the loop

the only nice thing about the tygon is that you can see where there are bubbles

not a big deal though…

after opening the pump screw fill port, use a syringe like this to fill the liquid in w/:

www.dangerden.com/store/product.php?prod...amp;cat=0&page=1

I slowly added a mixture of distilled h20 & Prestone low tox 4:1

You really do not need more than that unless you will be shipping your system to Canada or Chicago in the winter – the end result is to keep the liquid from freezing in transport & for its anti-corrosive properties

I have a little secret sauce I will be adding later on which should drop the temps even further by allowing for better absorption of the heat

All you have to do is hook up all power connections needed (like to the PCB & pump) connect the green wire & adjacent black (ground) wire from your power supply 24pin atx connector w/ a piece of wire, plug in the Power supply, & fill the pump as much as you can – hold it in the air when you are doing the process. Seal it back up after it appears full, turn the power supply on for a sec & turn it off…open the port back up – fill a little more, & repeat over & over till you can fill it no more….best bet is after you reach this point…let it run for 20 min or so…then check it again…same thing in about 1 hr & then…let her rip for 24hrs & check for leaks

After the 24hrs, check the fill port again – if need be – put some more fluid in









I added a DangerDen 120.1 rad inline after it hits the cpu block (this has since been changed)



initial temps on the blocks (cpu/nb/v-reg/DDrad)



plenty more to come….i need to take out my dogs

Here are a few of the items that I will be working with




Some modders mesh

Misc parts


The new switch


This was a must have


A few more misc parts


& my little led controller


The PS I will be using on the build


My murdermod Psychopack from Charles in Canada
store.murdermod.com/murderware/sleeving-...dpc-x-psychopack.htm
- BTW - super fast delivery w/ the cheapo postage (i was not in immediate need of it) - there is so much stuff in the pack
• 100' of MDPC-X 11/64" custom diameter sleeve
• 10' of 3:1 heatshrink for the 11/64" sleeve
• 12' of MDPC-X custom diameter SATA sleeve
• 24" of 3:1 heatshrink for the SATA sleeve
• 6' of MDPC-X 5/8" custom diameter sleeve
• 12" of big 3:1 heatshrink for PCI-E cable transitions
• 6" of jumbo 2:1 heatshrink for ATX cable transitions

- Very happy w/ what i got - def be getting another or 2





Let the fun begin - i have a full battery on the ipod & a ton of podcasts from sonnydeejay that have gone unlistened over the past weeks - time to jam




Note..this was a horrible choice on my part going with the antec – there are these hardened rubber????things that are used in place of heatshrink – horrible choice antec- & quite a PIA to take apart







Here are a few in progress





Some progress

A little more




Hard work does pay off







Mmmhm –this looks very nice!

Time for some prep on loop 2


Before I do the prep for the v-cards, here is loop one mounted.








Flow looks A O K
Still not digging the SB Fan…but it serves a purpose



I was really eager to see the temps so…I jumped the gun hooked up the SATA’s & loaded Vista.
After 12 hrs of running, the max temp under load from Everest was 39 – 24 @ idle (ALSO NOTE…this was done w/ a Q6700 @ stock settings, rather than the E8400 which is temporarily in the computer I am typing this log on


Ok


Now onto the good stuff
Time to take apart one of the new CoolIt Freezones







I added the scythe fans to the feser rad



I OCD’d the fittings for the better part of 4 hours






After mounting the CoolIt Freezone in the lower 120mm fan location, I added the feser rad to the mix
& began to fiddle w/ the tubing








When it was all said & done & ended up w/ this:






Here is how the pumps will be mounted in the top section of the case










Another picture of the pump mounted on the Freezone in the 5.25 drive bays

I like the flow if the tubes a lot



It begins:


I Used AS ceramique on the GPU & ram
2 shiney EK nickel Blocks compliment




w/ fittings





[IMG http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr277/jonhapgood/MArk%20II/100_1939.jpg[/IMG]
One in


They are alive






More to come

Got a few items from performance-pcs.com & frozencpu.com



200ft of 18G wire, 30 ft of chrome sleeving, some 5mm led’s, a few scythe fans, a ton of power supply connectors ATX/SATA/PCIE/Molex & a multitude of male & female pins, some black lian li thumb screws, some zip tie .75” mounts, molex crimper, black lian li wheels & a less than desirable SB fan



& this nifty little thing:

It is a single channel remote control for anything molex – I plan to use it for the entire lighting system (as it will draw little current) – there are other models available w/ more channels – I have seen up to 4


WELL…..that Antec Power Supply is out..



There is a new sheriff in town:



A Silverstone Zeus 1200W



After making the decision to axe the Antec power supply, there was once again a need to order another Psychopack from Charles @ MurderMod
store.murdermod.com/murderware/sleeving-...dpc-x-psychopack.htm
Once again it arrived in light speed via the regular post – shipped out on Monday & I received it today (& keep in mind yesterday was x-mas!) – that is speedy from Canada to Chicago!
TY CHARLES!






Here is what is left from the first one






I will have quite a bit of sleeving to do again…lucky for me it is the weekend & I will have a little free time

After running the cards for almost 24 hours, all seems well…& the blocks are CHILLY!

I love the flow of the tubing that was attained w/ a little O C & D






















I did a little overclocking - just mild on the chip - but really tried to set the v-cards a blazing....

still working with the Q6700 (for a few more days)

chip @ 3.33 1.325v rest of the settings auto
idle 28 27 29 26
load 40 39 38 37

as I have a few extra freezones laying around...I may choose to remove the DD rad in favor of another coolit freezone - that would put 12TEC's (6 on each freezone) on the board & CPU....VERY CHILLY to say the least - we'll see what happens after i put the dual core in - i may not need it (the extra freezone) if the temps are where i want them to be

now the cards...

...

Everyone knows that the GX2's are some of the hottest cards that have ever been created.

my old temps w/ the stock fans:

idle 47 48 48 49 fans @ 100% - load was well into the 70's & beyond w/ the fans @ max




NOW for the GOOD STUFF!!!!

I AM VERY IMPRESSED W/ THERMOELECTRIC COOLING



idle @ stock was 29 30 30 29
@ Load 36 37 36 36

OC'd 756 1890 1131 @ idle 31 32 31 30
LOAD 39 40 39 38


i even jacked the clocks to artifacting land - 777 1960 1161 still....
my delta is less than 10c it never went above 40c- that is out of control!

this should bring us up to date:
I decided after testing the temps that I wanted to add a little more cooling power to the board loop

Time to take it apart














This is what I have decided to add in its (the DD 120.1 rad) place







I started to rework the flow….& oh my….did I like what I was starting to see!




































There is plenty of clearance for the sleeving next to the ram - it looks like they are touching...but not even close



just imagine the chrome sleeving over the tubes – in person it looks fantastic – the spring wrap keeps the tubes from trying to kink & keeps the sleeving a uniform size throughout bends








well...…I could not do the imagination part any longer...so action was required…

I figured that I would like to see how the sleeving would look on the parts that had compression to compression connections (those are finalized connections) – I will end up using the clamps the Barry sent me for the freezone reworking over the koolance clamps (i could not get the sleeving under the reusable clamp - i did find out that the ones that they (coolit systems) use (& sent me) are one use clamps - they will work perfect to hide the sleeving - the final clamps will be painted black



So….off I go for a little more sleeving…


with this:






this is where I got the idea for this kind of sleeving:




it is a Porsche Design Pen I got a number of years ago from my GF – I have quite the PD collection




BUT ALAS….WE HIT A MAJOR SNAG……….



the freaking hot knife got so hot that it melted the metal threading for the connection from the knife to the iron when I was cutting my first piece….






so….off to remove the dual freezone board loop & test for some temps & leaks























I added a little of this:






& got these:






CPU / NB / V-reg / OPEN


i did see as low as 7 / 7 / 7.9





I’m pretty happy w/ what I am seeing
More to come…….

and a new acronym as born...

I hence forth dub thee the OCDN - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder NINJA!

Muhahah!

Keep up the good work, I love seeing builds like this!!!

Barry