Gigs Rig!

[gigs]

Hey guys I thought I would post up my new wc system. I would like to thank many of the people here who have posted their systems and worklogs as I have learnt alot from you guys (*read* stolen ideas ).

My goals for this system are to have as close to silent as possible and to hit 4ghz + on the Q9550

I also wanted to do something special for this system that no one (in the general public that I know of) in Aus has got a hold of as yet....

A NZXT Sentry XL 5 x fan controller

This will arrive today or tomorrow (imported from the states, stupid aussie dollar atm) and I might do a mini review if people are interested? I believe they will be available in Aus some time in November.

So the system is as follows:

Hardware

Q9550 2.8ghz @ 4ghz (471.25 x 8.5 4.005ghz)
.....Vcor 1.45
.....Vdrop 1.4
.....VLL 1.34
.....PLL 1.5

Asus 790i Striker II NSE
.....BIOS v7.02
.....NB 1.52
.....SB 1.5

2 x Velociraptor 150gb
.....RAID 0

Patriot Viper DDR3 1866MHz
.....underclocked to 1700 (can not get stable above this?)
.....8-8-8-24 @ 1.9v
.....read 12000 MB/s
.....write 10000 MB/s

Nvidia Geforce GTX280
.....@ stock for the moment....

Cosmos S case
.....Not modded

OCZ 750w Modular PSU
.....I am not happy with this PSU as it is too noisy now I have a near silent system. I would say it puts out twice as many db as the whole system combined.

Water Cooling / Cooling Gear

At this stage the loop goes

rad>cpu>nb>res>pump

I will extend to cover GPUs when I get hold of another GTX280 or possibly a new loop...

NZXT Sentry XL

Swiftech Apogee GTZ Extreme

ThermoChill PA120.3 Radiator
.....3 x Yateloon low speed 47cfm fans

Laing-D5 Vario 12v Pump
.....this is the OEM version varable speed Swiftech MCP655

Feser One Fluid - UV Purple

Swiftech MicroRes Hi-Flo Reservoir-Clear

Stock NB WC block with Asus Striker mobo

Some images: sorry about the quality, they are from the iPhone.

Initial Build:

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Plumbing completed:

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VRaptors tucked away:

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Another shot:

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More pics and benchmarks to come. Thanks for looking, any Comments / Criticism gladly taken on board

[Simwah]

watch out with the tube from res->pump. looks like its starting to flatten in the photos.

[gigs]

Hey sim must be the angle of the shot. It is quite a big arc and it isnt an issue

[Ricardo]

Hey Gigs,

Nice job.

How much was the Sentry LX and where did you get it? Also where are you going to place the temperature probes and how are you going to hold them in place?

Regards

Ricardo

[petfoodonly]

I'd love to see an experiment where you find your max OC with your current setup, then take off the NB block, put good air cooling on and find your max OC again.

I would bet that your OC would be higher or the same without the NB block because the increased flowrate would make for a cooler CPU.

I have at least a sixpack supporting that bet.

Otherwise it looks really good! Purple is a cool colour. I totally think watercooled PCs should pull chicks.

[gigs]

Originally Posted by Ricardo

Hey Gigs,

Nice job.

How much was the Sentry LX and where did you get it? Also where are you going to place the temperature probes and how are you going to hold them in place?

Regards

Ricardo

Thanks for the feedback Ricardo. The sentry xl was $59 US + $40 US postage. Try HERE

I havent decided where to put the thermal sensors yet but maybe:
outside case for room temp
inside case for ambient
nb
cpu block
and reserve (can I put a sensor in the water?)

I think the nzxt comes with pads to apply the probes.

Originally Posted by petfoodonly

I'd love to see an experiment where you find your max OC with your current setup, then take off the NB block, put good air cooling on and find your max OC again.

I would bet that your OC would be higher or the same without the NB block because the increased flowrate would make for a cooler CPU.

I have at least a sixpack supporting that bet.

Otherwise it looks really good! Purple is a cool colour. I totally think watercooled PCs should pull chicks.

Interesting points. I think the nb wc block is there just for wank value. I hooked it up just because it was there. At this stage I am maxing cpu at 61 deg after running wprime for over an hour. At idle it is sitting at 47 deg according to Core Temp. On air @ 3.6 the cpu was maxing at about 72 deg and idle at about 55 deg.

BTW The ladys like the purple wc pipes def chick pulling potential!

Congrats of the 2000th post I fell special it is my thread

[petfoodonly]

Thanks! but 1337 was totally the best post count

Any plans on watercooling the vid card?

When I ponder my watercooling and the purpose of my PC, it strikes me that the CPU already makes no difference to FPS, and increasing the clocks a little bit is going to make a fraction of no difference. So perhaps us gamers should just give up cooling and overclocking CPUs and instead focus on overclocking videocards? Videcard fans also seem to be smaller and louder.

Just tossing it out there!

Oh, and what are your impressions of your case? I'm looking for something roomy

[mshagg]

Nice job mate, well done

Just a personal thing but i like to keep more in the res than that... as much as i can, whilst not making it difficult to move the res around/open it up etc.

EDIT: That is one bitching fan controller!!!!

[gigs]

@ petfoodonly yes for sure I am gonna get hold of another GTX280, sli them and wc them. Then OC the shit out of em Have a look at Flabbergast's thread, if you havent already, I am probably going to buy the gpu blocks off him. That is the next thing I have planned for this system...

@ mshagg I agree, this is where the reserve ended up after being full from the initial setup. I guess there where quite a few air pockets. I am bleeding the res now and topping off the coolant to a higher level.

[Arbite]

What additive is that, i ve been looking for a purple for a while.

[Flabbergast]

interesting setup. If you wanna put that GPU on H20 also... drop me a line I got a few 280GTX Acetal Blocks here

[PHAT_pudding]

Originally Posted by petfoodonly

Otherwise it looks really good! Purple is a cool colour. I totally think watercooled PCs should pull chicks.

they don't...

not that i've tried or anything

[fergusb]

Purple is win...

Niiiiiiccccccccccccccccccccccccccce...

[petfoodonly]

Originally Posted by PHAT_pudding

they don't...

not that i've tried or anything

This needs further study.

[alyxander]

how did you get 1/2" ID tubing to fit onto the asus barb? Arn't the barbs 3/8"?