Hello from a newcomer in the UK..

[EFMAX]

Hi everyone. First post. I am new to the OC & WC game, though not new to computer mods.. in the past I just looked in awe at some of the system builds using water cooling, but now there are so many kits around, it just makes life so much easier. Forums like this have also made my life so much easier and educated me big time.

Anyway, I have recently built up a system.. It started off as just a need for less bottle necking... promised myself to keep a few bits from the past (H/D and video card) and spend as little as possible but before I knew it I had a new outfit, new monitor and stuff had spent about £1000... never the less I am please with what I have learnt and goals that I have reached. I would say that the old video card (NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT) is now the weakest link but it works, it works well for me and I won't change it just yet.

Kit now comprises of -

Asus P8Z68-v LX motherboard
• Intel i7 2600k (3.4Khz) cpu
• 16GB of 1666Hz Corsair Vengeance DDR3 Ram
• 1x 120GB Corsair SSD SATA3 H/D
• 1x 120GB USB H/D
• 2x 500GB Western Digital HD
• 3x Phillips DVD units
• Corsair H100 water cooler and fan
• Coolermaster 850 pro power supply
• Coolermaster CM690 II Pro case
• Cambridge Audio Minx 2 speakers

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8011/7...380c707f_b.jpg

I have opted to go for the Corsair H100 kit and the Coolermaster CM 690 II. With just a very small modification to the grill, I was able to lift the top lid and place the H100 in there and then mount the fans directly below. This way, the hot air rises and the cool air is forced through effortlessly, plus the rad is totally out of sight and has no way of accidentally getting touched or damaged.

As a finished project, I have added and swapped around various fans plus got an Aerocool X-Vision fan controller. I have now placed 2x Antec 120 x 120 x 25mm TrueQuiet 120 fans on the side panel, one on the back panel, one by the hard drive case, one on the front panel and one on the floor plus a small half size fan behind the m/b. By configuration, this means I get a nice draw of cold air from under the case and from the front of the case. The internal fans are working in a push/pull arrangement and with the back fans in tow, this now cools both the ram and the video card (which is fan-less). With the fan control in play, the machine is quiet and the only real noise is from the water pump as the Antec fans are quiet at full speed.. the real noisy fans are on the rad as they can spin up to about 2600rpm.

What this has all meant is that by using AIDA64 Extreme Edition, I have been able to get a stable 5GHz (QuadCore Intel Core i7-2600K, 5001MHz [48 x 104.20] @1.35vcore). Ram is set at 4x 4 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM(9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz). Temp at idle is always around 2*c above room temp, so around 28*c - 30*c with the fans set at their lowest setting, and with both the fans and the cpu @ 100% load, - they manage to stay around the 70*c mark and only hit the high 80's with the odd spike. General everyday stuff seems to wonder between 30*c - 45*c, which pleases me as that upper end is always a blip rather than steady.

Now for all my sins.. I made the almost fatal mistake of tinkering with the H100 unit last weekend.. don't ask why, maybe I was bored.. but ten hours later I was able to dry out my m/b.. but only after replacing the fluid inside with some decent antifreeze (25%) and some distilled water that had been boiled and cooled down and this appears to have actually lowered the overall temp by another 1-2 degrees over what I was getting before. I bled the system good and actually managed to squeeze in another 50ml of fluid over what had drained out.

I know for some this is not extreme, but for me it's good and already I am asking myself if my o/c settings could be improved with even better cooling - to be honest I don't need the extra speed and now that it boots first time, every time, maybe I should just relax and enjoy.

Anyway, my name is Erskine, I am based in the UK... and getting ready to learn even more..!

[Bootes]

Awesome! Welcome I hope you enjoy your stay. Nice rig too! Look forward to seeing you around.

[EFMAX]

Originally Posted by Bootes

Awesome! Welcome I hope you enjoy your stay. Nice rig too! Look forward to seeing you around.

Thanks... I still have a lot to learn, as I read through some of the posts, I realise that there is a whole new o/c world out there that has really evolved over recent years..

[DarkTower87]

Hello and welcome! Nice rig.

[Bootes]

Originally Posted by EFMAX

Thanks... I still have a lot to learn, as I read through some of the posts, I realise that there is a whole new o/c world out there that has really evolved over recent years..

Yeah things have changed a lot, at least for the Intel chips, No more FSB and all that fun stuff.. lol Kinda a disappointing as OC'ing has become a quick change in numbers.. But oh well.. makes things go faster!

[PommieB]

Welcome to the forum.

[EFMAX]

Well they say "and from humble beginnings".. well frustration and education has taken me a long way in just a few weeks and thus modifications and tweaks had to come, so after a total strip down, here are the changes and my thoughts along the way.

My kit is now, as follows -
Asus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3 motherboard
Intel i7 2600k (3.4Khz) cpu
16GB of 1666Hz Corsair Vengeance DDR3 Ram
1x 120GB Corsair SSD SATA3 H/D
1x 120GB USB H/D
2x 500GB Western Digital HD
2x Phillips DVD units
Self-Build water cooling kit (see below)
Aerocool X-Vision Fan controller
3x 120mm x 25mm 1400rpm case fans
2x 120mm x 25mm 1200rpm side panel fans
2x 120mm x 25mm 2600rpm top radiator fans
1x 120mm x 25mm 1800rpm front radiator fan
1x 120mm x 12mm 2000rpm rear CPU fan
Coolermaster 850 pro power supply
Coolermaster CM690 II Pro case
Cambridge Audio Minx 2 speakers
W/C kit -
1x 240mm Radiator (Modified H100 rad to accept 10mm hose)
1x 120mm Aerocool NexXxos Pro 1 radiator
1x Alphacool Single Bay Reservoir
1x XSPC Raystorm CPU Water Block
1x Alphacool HF 14 GPU water Block
1x Laing DDC 1T Pump (in custom noise isolation case - see below)
Appropriate amount of high quality 13/10mm Neoprene Automotive Hose
Required amount of Barbs & fittings

The setup is as follows -. Air is drawn in to the case via the front and the floor, and the top rear fan; each of this fans is controlled independently via the m/b fan control panel (ASUS). Exhausted air is through the the two top fans. All other fans are controlled via the X-Vision unit and the water pump is controlled through the bios settings.

From experimenting, I found that the case temps were at their lowest in the above configuration. The GPU does not produce massive amounts of heat and as such is easily taken care of via the w/c loop. The 4x ram modules do not produce much heat either as they have been only o/c by 5% and they are easily cooled down by the air flow within the case. The aim here was to create as much positive and cool air to flow to the top radiator as the only "real" warm air in the case, comes from the front radiator and this is diluted by cold air being blown up from the floor intake.

The w/c flow is as follows -
RESERVOIR >> PUMP
PUMP >> VIDEO CARD
VIDEO CARD >> RADIATOR (120mm)
RADIATOR (120mm) >> CPU
CPU >> RADIATOR (240mm)
RADIATOR (240mm) >> RESERVOIR

Previously when using the Corsair H100 kit, with the i7 (2600K) @ 5GHZ @ 1.375v, (1.4v is the most stable for me); I was able to get an idle temp of approx 2-3*c above room temp.. but the H100 was not consistent (in my case) and the pump was not always faithful. After two swap outs, I decided to ditch the kit and take the full plunge. When it was working, then I would see temps at full load skip between 75*c and 90*c (pump behaviour dependent).

What I have done is effectively gone for a much better water block assembly, brought on-board the GPU (which I have updated from a simple Nvidia 8600Gt to still simple but better Nvidia 230GT) where I removed the old heatsink casing and applied a water block. In stock form this card does not produce massive amounts of heat and I am not a game player so this is a cheap and effective upgrade for myself.

By getting a much better water pump, I have moved from a personally measured 30litres per hour H100 pump to a nice Laing 420litres/hour pump.. that is a serious upgrade.

I figured that as the GPU is not producing massive amounts of heat that the single radiator, at the front of the case, will more than keep things cool before the water gets back to the CPU; where its output is cooled almost instantly before entering the loop cycle again.

That box for the pump..
Taking a small electrical hard plastic box, I screwed it to the bottom of the case using rubber feet between the box and the case and using rubber washers between the screws and the box. The floor of this box is lined with thick neoprene sound deadening material and the pump is placed inside with the tubes already connected. The tubes exit two pre drilled holes which are only just big enough to squeeze the tubes through. The interior is now lined with more sound deadening material and the lid put back on and screwed down, (hopefully the water flowing through the pump should keep it cool).

First indications (using an SPL meter) is that the ambient noise (with the pump at 12v) has increased by just 0.5dB, when the meter is placed on top of the pump case.. this has effectively reduce the pump's claimed noise level of 26dB to almost zero.. it really does seem silent now and there is zero vibration.. Job, very well done.. the other good thing about this box is should there be a leakage issue with the pump, the case acts as a small water container and can hold approx 300ml of fluid.. can't see it leaking, but just in case.. The box now takes up approx two 3.5" bay space.. which was never being used to start with

At this stage, as I am still awaiting delivery of some bits, I can only imagine that the whole thing will work much more efficiently and much more consistently.. will post up info/results when all is complete.

Most of the above has come about from reading and learning from other people's forum experiences, so thanks for helping me along this journey.

[pckid9234]

Welcome Im Right Across The Ocean From You Lol

[EFMAX]

yeah!!! but your experience and shared knowledge is on my doorstep, and this helps make me a wiser man...

This an updated photo - still need to think about tidying up but at the moment it all works well..


This has meant that I have a very stable o/c of 5GHZ and for a input voltage of just 1.356v.



What I am seeing is a steady, everyday surfing, word processing temp of approx 34*c. Totally idle is 30*c - 32*c. This is only 1*c-2*c above the room temp. Full load saw a maximum peak of 65*c and a working load (musical recording and photo/video imaging stuff) of 45*c - 50*c.

From this, the hard work has been worth it and I am pleased with my education and efforts..