Watercool a P182 - It's begun (pics inside)

[miicah]

I'm about to embark on the road that will end up with a fully WC'ed P182. Every single thread I've read about this says it's a bad idea but damn them!

Parts list:
Pump - EK DCP 4.0 (Bought)
Res - EK Multioption Res (Bought)
Block - Swiftech GTZ (Most likely)
Fittings - idk
Tubing - idk
Rad - Probably RS240 or Black Ice GTS 240 (questions later)

Photos!

I'm pretty dead set on having the pump in the lower chamber of the P182 for a couple of reasons; 1) noise - should block out any noise (HDDs seek will be louder, 3 panels of insulation etc) 2) airflow - from the PSU.

As I see it there should be just enough room to plop it here:



I'll drill another hole on the other side for a zip tie to go all the way around and I'll use the idea I read elsewhere about making a thick block of sellys no more gaps to make an anti-vibration pad.

The main thing I am worried about is how well tubing will bend to go out the hole here:



and also a yet-to be drilled hole here:



The fitting on the right is the intake and would be going straight up towards the res:



It's a multi-option so I have a fair few ways to connect everything up, but I'm worried with such a tight bend I may have to use 90 degree fittings or risk kinking my tubing. What would be thin enough to not king but thick enough not to look shit?

Anyway those are my initial questions I'm sure there will be many more.

[abc123asd]

I wouldn't use the reservoir if i were you, it looks as if it is cracked from the picture.

[auApex]

Yeah that res is definitely cracked. No way would I put that under water. Grab a new one, they're pretty cheap.

I've got a soft spot for the P182, having used one for several years. It's an awesome little case for the money: it's got great looks, is compartmentalised for decent cooling and is whisper quiet. Would be tough to install more than a 120 rad inside the thing.

@ miicah - where are you planning to put the 240 rad?

[miicah]

Oh woops, yeah I'm replacing the plastic tube, about $10-15 from gammods depending on whether I go for 100mm (in the pic) or a 60mm.

I plan on doing something similar to this guy except I'll be using a 240 to reduce clearance issues with the motherboard.

I have measurements and with a standard 25mm fan in the top of the case I'm looking at a max distance of about 30mm for the rad thickness. My only worry is if the barbs are going to bump into the ram slots....

[miicah]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-8-ID-5-...item1c1e9c9ba6

Is this primochill or have they just used a picture of it? Because it comes out about $5 cheaper than ordering from gammods.

[fatslob222]

If you need any inspiration:




Get a bay res, it's much easier to mount. I'd then use two 120MM rads, on the front and back fan slots. I was running two when I had my card under water


Lemme know if I can help anyway.

[IMtech]

Yeah definitely try to run at least 2 rads with your loop, like 1x 240mm at the top and 1x 120mm at the front or back. Would be better if you had 2x 120mm at both locations tho, for a total of 3 rads, to give you some overclocking headroom.

[miicah]

Nah still just going for 1x240 atm, if I have to expand the loop I'll probably buy a better case to use*.

I've read a lot of posts saying RES's won't work mounted horizontally, is there any truth to this? I really don't have much space to mount it vertically especially if I buy the same size tube (instead of the 60mm one).

*as in attack with a dremel

[Creekin]

they will work
have seen it done before

but just not ideal
difficult to fill and bleed
and double the risk of leaks imho

[miicah]

Drilling pop rivets is fun




End result: rad on the front, 2 intake fans



Marking out 5.25 drive bays for cutting:



Quick-clamps are awesome!



Protected with some uchannel from gammods



Final result:



I can pull the rad in and out from the top, the only clearance issue is if the DVD drive is in place. I may have to attach fans while the rad is in the case but hopefully this won't be too much trouble.

[miicah]

Total Items: 3 Weight: 0.27765kgs Amount: $34.75

EK-Multioption RES X2 - TUBE 60/100mmEK-Multioption RES X2 - TUBE 60/100mm
$19.25 $19.25

PrimoFlex PRO LRT Tubing (Clear 3/8" 5/8" 1/8") per metrePrimoFlex PRO LRT Tubing (Clear 3/8" 5/8" 1/8") per metre
$8.75 $8.75

Silver 99.98% (Flat Strip), 0.3 x 5 x 100mm (1.9g approx.)Silver 99.98% (Flat Strip), 0.3 x 5 x 100mm (1.9g approx.)
$6.75 $6.75

Sub-Total: $34.75

Am I missing anything? I've got the last few fittings and about 4 feet of tube coming from kaosx so I'm pretty sure I'm set after I place this order.

[heller44]

Looks promising.

Have you weighed all the cooling parts going in to this box? I finally have all the bits for my P180 and it comes to ~4.6kg so far.. dual vid card blocks weigh a little bit..

[miicah]

No, but I can only guess it's going to be damn heavy :S

[xok]

This is going to look good, am interested to see the final result

[miicah]

A few pics of my dodgy paintjob. I really like black on white or white on black and possibly in the future I'll get a black mobo and do a window on the p182. The white didn't quite turn out as I'd hoped and it scratches off really easily. I may redo it later with proper paint (primer etc, or even powdercoat) but for the moment it will do. I'm a bit worried about painting my graphics/sound card as they are shiny stainless steel but we'll see.




This is a thing of beauty:



For whatever reason there are holes EXACTLY in the right place for me to mount the res here. I had to drill one of the holes to M4 but apart from that it's absolutely perfect. EK + Antec, match made in heaven!



Now I'm just waiting on my packages from kaosx and gammods, flush my rad, clean the stop fittings on the res, and then transfer my gear back into the case