Watercooled P180

AndyM · Post by **AndyM** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:28 am

Your basic P180 with a C2D 6600 running at 3.6GHz and 8800 GTS, made quiet with watercooling. 2 BIP rads, Dtek Fuzion and EK 8800 water blocks, D5 pump. YL fans all running at 7 volts. Enjoy.

autoboy · Post by **autoboy** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 1:34 pm

Why are both radiators dumping hot air into the case? Shouldn't you reconsider the airflow in the case to keep the hot air out of the case? I would relocate the front radiator to the top and have both blowing out of the case. Cool air in from the front and out the back. It is a proven formula. Otherwise it looks very nicely done.

snq · Post by **snq** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 4:23 pm

Nice job on the wiring, looks very clean

AndyM · Post by **AndyM** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 7:00 pm

I have both radiators getting cool air from outside the case due to heat issues. If I have the machine running like it was air cooled with airflow front to back, under Orthos and ATI Tool loading for several hours it starts pushing high 60C cpu temps read by TAT showing the limitations of cooling one rad with warm inside case air. Having both rads drawing cool air from outside the case solved that. The rads running with 7 Volt'ed YL fans need all the help they can get at that speed with the heat loading my CPU and GFX cards put out. Exhaust via the blowhole fan and the vents above the expansion slots works quite well for this setup. I'd love to have the front rad on the blowhole, but it doesnt fit.

Nick Geraedts · Post by **Nick Geraedts** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 7:27 pm

Looks very nice, but may I ask why you have the fan grilles inside the case? It's not like the tubing is going to get in the way of the fan blades any time soon, and the grilles are only obstructing airflow.

My advice would be to remove them altogether. You'll end up with higher airflow for no loss whatsoever.

AndyM · Post by **AndyM** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 9:17 pm

I have a habit of poking around in there, keeps fingers out of the spinning blades, and I kind of like the look. It hasnt been a build and forget machine, more of a toy, hence the grills.

Nick Geraedts · Post by **Nick Geraedts** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:45 pm

Fair enough. I guess you're not as stressed for every last bit of airflow like most of us...

kater · Post by **kater** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 1:38 am

There are only v few images my eyes like better than a good cablegami job!

Some Q's

1) Is that a small (read: fast & furious) 40mm fan I can see right under your CPU? Ever thought about replacing it with, say, HR-05?
2) You sure you need all those 4 orange fans? I'm thinking - the top one and the one in the bottom chamber?

AndyM · Post by **AndyM** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 8:20 am

Yep, that is a fast and furious 40mm fan...rated at 18db, lol. Sunon Maglev (the slow one). Swiftech has the same fan on thier NB cooler and were saying it was so quiet...uh huh. 12V it is a buzzbomb still. Under MB speed control it is a clicky noisemaker. Under 7V it is pretty much blending in with the rest of the machine with the side cover off, cover on I cant isolate whatever noise is coming from it. Although at that speed I suspect it isnt pushing a whole lot of air. Matter o' fact I was considering the HR-05 or the Noctua version, the NB heatsink does get rather hot under load testing and it runs at 1.6V vs. 1.5 stock, so that might be a new accessory for the machine...

The top fan helps, heat pooling up there is quite noticable, kind of needs something pulling it out, the bottom one...probably not, but I cant hear it anyway, so I guess it helps keeping the HD and PS cool. I wish I could read SMART temps off the HD, but I'm still waiting for a patch for my AHCI driver (known issue) so it would be possible to test if that fan is actually doing something.

tbaussie · Post by **tbaussie** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 10:04 pm

Beautiful rig imho.

bobditts · Post by **bobditts** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 4:03 am

what is on top of the case that the water cooling splits off to? I dont see a return line anywhere?

echn111 · Post by **echn111** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 7:17 am

Nice rig. Good job at keeping everything internal and tidy. Ahd you've picked great waterblocks with the fuZion and EK8800.

If you need more cooling, you've got enough space to put in an internal Thermochill PA160. It's as effective as two 120mm radiators and can fit into the front of the P180 with minor modifications.

bobditts: that's a T-Line so he can fill his system from the top. Replaces the reservoir. Good choice in a P180 rig.

edit: think the fans (at least the top one) might be useful given the high overclock. Don't think the bottom fan helps much. But if you went pure silence, and a lower overclock, the top fan could be taken out. Positive pressure from the two inflow fans would probably be sufficient to push the air out naturally. And you don't need as much airflow as an aircooled system anyway.

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 8:46 am

if you were to make the top fan intake, and the rear fan where that radiator is, how would that change your temps? sounds somewhat silly to go against the rising heat, but it might chill better that way, but that would be because the top fan would bring in cool air, and that would spread around the case, and then be blown out the back by the rear fan, and the front fan thats blowing in, out that vent next to the PCI slots...it worked in my P4 rig because the RAM is at the top of the board and it chilled the ram better than it was.

bobditts · Post by **bobditts** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 5:14 pm

echn111 wrote:bobditts: that's a T-Line so he can fill his system from the top. Replaces the reservoir. Good choice in a P180 rig.

good in theory.......but it doesnt look like there is a valve on that T-splitter. if there isnt a valve that is allowed to shut, the pump is wasting pressure pushing liquid back into the resevoir yes?

AndyM · Post by **AndyM** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 6:39 am

Good call on the PA160...I was origionally going to get one for this. Only problem is there were/are none available from anywhere. Then I got to thinking about upgrading to a fancy case in the future with a 120.3...so nice cheap BIP's were ordered.

Top fan in or out...I just figure having both rads having the coolest possible air going through them due to the marginal airflow from 7V fan speeds would be best.

You guys suggested an HR-05...thanks for pushing me over the edge, lol....

Here's a little worklog of setting this up, enjoy!

echn111 · Post by **echn111** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 8:45 am

bobditts wrote:
echn111 wrote:bobditts: that's a T-Line so he can fill his system from the top. Replaces the reservoir. Good choice in a P180 rig.

good in theory.......but it doesnt look like there is a valve on that T-splitter. if there isnt a valve that is allowed to shut, the pump is wasting pressure pushing liquid back into the resevoir yes?

Not sure about the theory bit as it looks quite real.

There is no reservoir. The closest equivalent is the fillport leg of the T-Piece (i.e the leg which is connected to what appears to be a DangerDen Fillport). The fillport leg is not only to fill the system, but also used to bleed the system of airbubbles in the same way a reservoir is used.

On the theoretical side, a T-Piece system can be more efficient than a reservoir, with water flowing through the two non-fillport legs rather than being interrupted by a reservoir. (actually, the bigger issue is normally making a reservoir system as efficient as a T-Piece system.)

echn111 · Post by **echn111** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 9:20 am

AndyM wrote:Good call on the PA160...I was origionally going to get one for this. Only problem is there were/are none available from anywhere. Then I got to thinking about upgrading to a fancy case in the future with a 120.3...so nice cheap BIP's were ordered.

Already thinking about upgrading? I had my P180 watercooled for a couple of weeks before I decided it needed to be upgraded. Can be addictive.

HammerSandwich · Post by **HammerSandwich** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:39 am

Nice start, AndyM. I'm impressed by the very clean wiring & tubing (in a P180 no less!), smart airflow path and quality component selection. OTOH, four YLs at 7V would just kill me with noise. I'd bet you could turn off the top and bottom fans with a minimal temperature increase, though that's just a guess.

How fast do you run the D5?

AndyM · Post by **AndyM** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 9:41 am

The D5 is at '4', seems to be this pump's quieter spot when wanting some decent flow. I still have to see what difference leaving it on 1 does for temps. My hearing isnt the best, so an extra 7V fan really doesnt register as noisier to me. The noisiest part I think with the case closed up is the pump, and that isnt all that noisy, just a 'presence' if that makes sense.

You know, this water cooling bug is addictive...Spent the last 2 days at work planning out a Lian Li V2100 with a PA120.3 in the floor...someone stop me! LOL

Maybe in the next upgrade cycle

amjedm · Post by **amjedm** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 1:20 pm

Very nice setup and excellent job on the cabling.

Any chance (please) of a pic of the other other side with panel off?

Did you have to cut the case to make the cabling so tidy?

Edit: What hard disks are you using and what are the enclosures.

Thanks.

snq · Post by **snq** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 4:26 pm

AndyM wrote:The D5 is at '4', seems to be this pump's quieter spot when wanting some decent flow. I still have to see what difference leaving it on 1 does for temps.

I have a D5 as well and for me setting the pump on 1 didn't make any noticable difference in temps, but it did make a difference in sound. That's with an X2 3800+, 7900GS and chipset watercooled, and 1 BIX rad, so obviously YMMV

AndyM · Post by **AndyM** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 8:21 pm

amjedm wrote:Very nice setup and excellent job on the cabling.

Any chance (please) of a pic of the other other side with panel off?

Did you have to cut the case to make the cabling so tidy?

Edit: What hard disks are you using and what are the enclosures.

Thanks.

Thanks! So you want to see the down and dirty disaster on the other side of the case, eh?

List of excuses...Ugly cuts due to me forgetting I owned a jigsaw before I attacked the case in some places with tinsnips. Tape is used instead of clips, as using clips bulges the sides of the case outward resulting in broken side panel hooks. This is due to the MB tray being so close to the side panel. The P182 addresses this issue. Antec is kind enough to be willing to ship out new panels under an RMA (as I tried using clips) when they are off backorder...and the P180 will be converted to a P180B in the process

(I couldnt resist the $80 sale price for this silver version).

Holes needed to be cut in various places so cable routing as pictured could be accomplished. The P182 has pre-cut holes so some of the cuts I made will not be necessary, this new version of the P180 is sure to be a winner!

My HD (just one) is in the factory lower section HD holder.

amjedm · Post by **amjedm** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 12:58 am

AndyM wrote: Thanks! So you want to see the down and dirty disaster on the other side of the case, eh?

Thanks for the pic.

IMO looks almost as good as the other side

- you've done a good job.

hexen · Post by **hexen** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:22 am

forgive the simplicity of the question, but

since u have a watercooling setup, do you really need all those case fans?

cyberspyder · Post by **cyberspyder** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 10:33 am

NO WONDER I FOUND THIS FAMILIAR! I saw it at XS quite a while ago. Great job!

MrSpok · Post by **MrSpok** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 2:17 am

..Wow..bravo!
Clean Job

AndyM · Post by **AndyM** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 6:13 am

A lil update:

If 2 BIP's are good...3 must be better. Sure is...dropped ~5C off my load temps. Wiring to be cleaned up once I decide whether to keep the MB PWM fan controls or hard wire to 7 volts. I'll probably mod the stock plastic floor panel to fit the tubing as well to clean up that area.

Lots of room here!

cyberspyder · Post by **cyberspyder** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 8:41 am

HOLY CRAP dude, you're running THREE rads off of ONE pump?! YOu will get much better performance if your switched to two IMO.

Vulcan · Post by **Vulcan** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 10:07 am

cyberspyder wrote:HOLY CRAP dude, you're running THREE rads off of ONE pump?! YOu will get much better performance if your switched to two IMO.

He had two, saw a 5C drop by adding the third.

Your theory is flawed

cyberspyder · Post by **cyberspyder** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 10:59 am

Vulcan wrote:
cyberspyder wrote:HOLY CRAP dude, you're running THREE rads off of ONE pump?! YOu will get much better performance if your switched to two IMO.
He had two, saw a 5C drop by adding the third.

Your theory is flawed

It's not flawed, BIPs are Black Ice Pros...RADS. AFAIK, he has ONE D5, not three.

If 2 BIP's are good...3 must be better. Sure is...dropped ~5C off my load temps. Wiring to be cleaned up once I decide whether to keep the MB PWM fan controls or hard wire to 7 volts. I'll probably mod the stock plastic floor panel to fit the tubing as well to clean up that area.

Your theory is flawed

Brendan

Watercooled P180

Watercooled P180

Re: Watercooled P180