Stormatavette

Show off your quiet rig.

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HammerSandwich
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Stormatavette

Post by HammerSandwich » Mon Nov 29, 2004 11:01 pm

This is a brief look at the watercooling project a friend did while I worked on Project QBG. I don't have a lot of details such as temps, but I know the PC is running cooler and quieter than before. He lurks here a bit, so if enough interest comes up, I'll prod him to register and post. He also has more project pics, and I've asked him to prep them for posting here.

The system is a 2.53GHz Northwood on an Asus Granite Bay mobo. Vid is 9700Pro with a Zalman passive cooler. The case is a Sonata which had the stock PSU until he heard my Seasonics and bought a Super Tornado for the WC build. The rear fan is a Panaflo FBK120 - the OEM fan with the funky blades - at 5V. The HDs are a 40GB Seagate Barracuda IV and a Samsung SP1614C.

The WC components are a G4/Storm, Chevette heater core, and Edward Ng's second CSP-750 Mark I. Everything connects with 3/8"-ID Clearflex from McMaster.

The Sonata was modded to fit the HC, for better airflow, and to add damping material. To keep a stock-appearing case, the HD cage was gutted to hold the HC. The HC came used with a shroud epoxied in place, which we kept for a mount. The HC's stock fittings were cut off and 3/8" brass barbs JB Welded in place. He removed all the metal that hurt airflow but left enough to support the HC. The hole at the bottom of the cage was perfect for the barbs (though inserting the core requires serious twisting). To allow the inverted core to bleed properly, he drilled a hole in the upper tank for a brass sheet-metal screw sealed with a rubber washer. This works incredibly well: filling and bleeding the system takes about 3 minutes. Finally, the case was extensively foamed with McMaster 53925T84.

Click for a REALLY big version: Image

Banten
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Post by Banten » Wed Dec 01, 2004 12:02 am

Looks awesome!
I'm curious how you mounted the hard drive(s)? If you could snap a picture from the front, with 5.25 bay cover off I'd really appreciate it.

HammerSandwich
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Post by HammerSandwich » Wed Dec 01, 2004 8:58 am

The drives sit on two narrow strips of Sorbothane which run across the cage. Stretch Magic then runs from the cage's side, around a screw on each drive, to the other side of the cage. This keeps the drives quite secure and upright. I'm using a similar technique in my Genie's HD cage, which is too narrow for normal suspension but tall enough for this. I'll try to get a frontal shot of the Sonata, but here's the best I now have:

Image

Banten
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Post by Banten » Thu Dec 02, 2004 12:10 am

Nice, thanks. I'm totally going to steal that idea :)

zoob
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Post by zoob » Tue Dec 07, 2004 8:52 pm

Do you know how warm those hard drives get in there? Looks like they don't get any airflow at all..

HammerSandwich
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Post by HammerSandwich » Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:06 pm

From the owner:
About 36C. I will also see if I can take some pics shortly from the front.

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